Violence Has Arrived - Album Layout and Concept

Album Layout and Concept

Violence Has Arrived re-attains the brutal focus of their earlier albums. It is similar to Scumdogs, in that Brockie is now the dominant voice of the band again, and the theme is centered on generalized carnage. Gwar takes on more "medieval" themes this time around, such as torture ("The Wheel") and conjures up some truly ugly imagery in songs such as "Licksore", "Beauteous Rot", "Immortal Corrupter", and "The Apes of Wrath." "Biledriver" is about a fluid-spewing cannon, which can be seen in the "Immortal Corrupter" video and on tour; the cannon itself has now become somewhat of a staple at their live shows.

"The Song of Words", inspired by the 11th-century French epic "The Song Of Roland", is the only song to feature the voices of Jizmak Da Gusha and Flattus Maximus (though Flattus does sing lead vocals on the 2009 album Lust in Space), though neither of them are really singing. Nobody is really singing on the song (Beefcake the Mighty, Balsac the Jaws of Death and Oderus Urungus all speak, as opposed to sing - appropriate for a "Song of Words"). Technically, it is tied with "Jiggle The Handle" for the most vocalists on a Gwar song, though Flattus and Jizmak each have five words. Indeed, the entire album has a narrative feel to it.

Though touching on the "Gwar lore" that began on Hell-O, Violence Has Arrived follows no individual story. This was due in large part to the disappointing reaction to We Kill Everything by the band, and due to Slave Pit Inc.'s diminished ranks - the previous year saw the departures of Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra Hymen) and Hunter Jackson (Techno Destructo), as well as "slave" Davis Bradley (though retired from touring for spinal reasons, he did build the Biledriver).

The cover artwork was created by Games Workshop illustrator Adrian Smith. There are two versions of the illustration used for the cover: the version used on the album cover featuring Oderus with a codpiece, and the poster in the booklet features the Cuttlefish of Cthulhu uncovered.