Review by Joshua on February 13, 2005.

Stop already. Please. Stop.

Gwar aren’t entertaining anymore. Their combination of shock, schlock and rock is a decade beyond overdone. Their musical talent has faded to practically nil, assuming they ever possessed any. What’s left are the smoldering remains of a shock rock, one-hit wonder, a bunch of aging thirty-somethings in rubbery costumes, still trying to convince the world that they can be shocking and extreme.

To be fair, this review should be judged on musical merit alone, but Gwar have defined themselves by their theatrics for so long that it’s become more relevant to a description of them than their music.

No wait, this still sucks.

War Party’s music is so completely forgettable, hackneyed and trite that it hardly deserves mention. Much like their ridiculous stage antics, this CD is absolutely scripted and predictable. Gwar haven’t changed their style in a decade. In case you slept through the early 1990’s, back when this band was somewhat interesting, this is an amalgamation of pop-punk and slow American thrash, with a slight Primus/Mr. Bungle influence. Unfortunately, not only has their musicianship not improved, but it’s diminished considerably during the last decade. This is a limp-wristed, impotent parody of metal. The enthusiasm, anger and power that once fueled bands like Scissorfight, Scatterbrain and Gwar themselves has long departed, years before Gwar made this abysmal, worthless record.

At least Gwar had the occasional, redeeming song on Scumdogs of the Universe. At least Gwar had a memorable hit or two on, This Toilet Earth. This album has nothing comparable. In fact, of eleven offerings, only the song, “You Can’t Kill Terror,” is vaguely reminiscent of past benchmarks, “Jack the World” and “Slaughterama.” The moment a song ends, it’s another anonymous radio blunder.

Oops, we’re back to showmanship and bad theatrics. These can’t be ignored for long. This album, in stark contrast to previous albums, features songs about war, killing people, murder and hey, terrorism; at least they’ve expanded their horizons to include lyrics about terrorism. Much like every other Gwar CD, songs like, “Womb with a View,” contain words such as, (and these are not made up) “Your womb is a sewer/your womb is manure.”

Who writes this garbage? High schoolers? Gwar’s grandkids? That crazy lady who shouts at the pigeons downtown? Maybe there should be a disclaimer on this album that reads, “lyrics by Ms. Stevenson’s 10th grade behavior disorder class.”

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 5
Originality: 2
Overall: 2

Rating: 3.2 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 7, 2025.

Four tracks with a length of 15 minutes in total is not the most charming format and to offer the coloured EP for 23 Euros (a mail order in Germany with usually average prices) is not very sexy as well. That's a pity, because Avenger Of Blood show a surprisingly agile, vital and dynamic performance on Revenge Is My Name. Production plays a major part in this. The guitar sound is menacing, powerful and energetic, but the drums with the perfect snare beats must be mentioned as well. It seems as if the technical possibilities lead more and more to fantastic results for those bands who know what is to do in the studio. But the glory of the EP is naturally not only based on the mix.

Murderous riffing, a high portion of pure aggression and a diabolic lust for destruction characterize the quartet of songs. Especially the brutal guitars which kick off each and every song promise mega death thrash hits and to be honest, they promise a little bit too much. No doubt, the songs have the intention to pulverize everything within a radius of 5,000 kilometres and they are quite successful in doing so. Hateful, terrorizing vocals that express contempt with every word, a constantly high level of vehemence and pulsating solos form tracks that would work as a very appropriate bonus section for "Epidemic Of Violence", the ultra wild and only masterpiece of Demolition Hammer from 1992. So we have to face only a few minor details that do not totally work. The more or less conventionally arranged songs do not have very catchy choruses, to mention the "biggest" problem here. Yes, it is not big in objective terms, but maybe in the choruses we find the room for improvement. The songs are excellent, but not perfect.

So what? All songs of the EP are better than those of Death Brigade, the only album I am familiar with and on a par with the outstanding "Enemy Attack" from the "Speed Kills… Again" sampler from 2007. Revenge Is My Name whets the appetite for more, for much more, to be honest. The United States once were the paradise for masterful thrash metal, but due to about 1,000 reasons, the country has lost this status a long time ago. Avenger Of Blood will not change this with an EP, but they send a sign of life. If the guys can keep up their creative furore and deliver more sledgehammers like Revenge Is My Name to the interested audience in the next few years, then the formation from Nevada will be a very hot stock on the worldwide thrash metal market.

Rating: 8.7 out of 10