GWAR – Beyond Hell: Twenty Years Later, The Scumdogs Still Know How To Raise Hell

Review by Glen Parkes

There are bands that make heavy metal, there are bands that perform heavy metal, and then there is GWAR. For more than four decades, the Scumdogs Of The Universe have built a world where music, theatre, outrageous humour, blood, guts and sheer bloody-mindedness collide. Now, twenty years after its original release, Beyond Hell returns in a deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition, and it sounds every bit as gloriously unhinged as it did back in 2006.

Originally released in 2006, Beyond Hell was already one of the more ambitious records in GWAR’s catalogue. The concept was classic GWAR: the band descend into Hell to rescue their long-lost comrade Flattus Maximus. What could possibly go wrong? Musically, however, there was much more going on than the outrageous storyline might suggest.

A major reason for that was the involvement of Devin Townsend. A lifelong GWAR fan, Townsend helped produce the record, bringing another level of weight, clarity and musical focus to the band’s already distinctive sound. With basic tracks recorded at Slave Pit in Richmond, Virginia, before the production moved to Profile Studios in Vancouver, the sessions brought together two very different but equally fearless creative forces.

The result is an album that can be brutally heavy one minute and completely ridiculous the next, without either side feeling out of place.

Opening with ‘Intro’, the record wastes little time setting the scene before launching into ‘War Is All We Know’. From there, Beyond Hell takes the listener on a chaotic ride through riffs, pounding drums, theatrical vocals and the kind of outrageous subject matter that only GWAR could deliver with a straight face.

‘Murderer’s Muse’ and ‘Go To Hell’ continue the assault, while ‘I Love the Pigs’ brings that trademark GWAR humour firmly to the front. Yet beneath the jokes is a band that understands metal inside out. The riffs hit hard, the arrangements are packed with ideas, and there is an undeniable sense that everyone involved was having a seriously good time making the record.

Then comes ‘Tormentor’, one of the album’s standout moments. Heavy, aggressive and built for the stage, it demonstrates why GWAR’s music has always worked so well alongside their infamous live performances. ‘Eighth Lock’ follows, and its inclusion in this anniversary campaign is particularly welcome, especially with its long-lost music video finally receiving renewed attention.

The album continues through ‘The Ultimate Bohab’, ‘Destroyed’, ‘The One That Will Not Be Named’ and ‘Back In Crack’, each adding another chapter to this wonderfully bizarre trip into the underworld.

And now, twenty years later, the album has been given a fresh lease of life. Remastered by Paul Logus, whose credits include Anthrax and Killswitch Engage, the anniversary edition gives these songs renewed punch while retaining the character of the original recording. Most importantly, this is not simply a cash-in reissue. The inclusion of a previously unreleased outro recorded during the original sessions gives longtime Bohabs another reason to return to an album they already know inside out.

The biggest attraction, though, is that Beyond Hell is finally getting its first vinyl release as part of the 20th Anniversary Edition, due 25 September 2026.

Listening to Beyond Hell again after two decades, what stands out is just how well the record captures everything that made GWAR unique. It is heavy without taking itself too seriously, theatrical without losing its musical bite, and completely committed to its own strange universe.

Twenty years on, Beyond Hell has not mellowed, matured or behaved itself. Thankfully, neither have GWAR. This is metal with the safety catch removed, and the Scumdogs are still having the last laugh.