Member Since: 16/04/2006
Band Website: http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=24006
Band Members:
Influences: THE FLINSTONES,THE JETSONS,BURGER KING,SUBWAY,TACO BELL,SKIPPERS,WENDY'S,ARBY'S,ARCTIC CIRCLE,KFC,GODFATHER'S,PIETROS,BAGEL LAND,RONALD MCDONALD,THE DESERT,SPEEDY GONZALES,BLOW DRYING YOUR HAIR IN THE NUDE,BUB,EC,CLUE,MONOPOLY,RISK,CONNECT FOUR,BATTLESHIP,LARGOT,THE GOLLY ORANGE BAND,MEATHOOK,DELPHERD MCNOUGAT....SIEGE,DICK DALE,THE VENTURES,THE SURFARIS,MANO NEGRA,LES NEGRESSES VERTE,ACE FREHLEY,RAMONES,PLASMATICS,DEVO,FISHBONE,RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS,LIVING COLOR,THE PLATTERS,THE DRIFTERS,THE COASTERS,THE FLAMINGOS,BUDDY HOLLY,BIG BOPPER,FATS DOMINO,THE SUPREMES,PHIL SPECTOR,ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA,THE MOVE,IDLE RACE,THE BEATLES,BADFINGER,JELLYFISH,MOST EARLY FUNK,SOUL & DISCO FROM 1969 TO '76
Sounds Like:
"Here we go with egotistical, sarcastic speedcore run amok. The band is Spazztic
Blurr, the cover is pathetic and the lyrics are mostly about themselves.
Supposedly the members are from some band in Oregon. Could this be the first comedy speedcore release (or are they all?), mocking their sound and scene while still doing it better than some of the serious bands? Of course, there's a lot of fast stuff and pretentious leads, but the contents-screams, chants, monologs, inconsistent musical rhythms and general stupidity-combine to create a wacky, enjoyable platter. Sort of like the ultimate thrash party album. Hey, let's be stupid with Spazztic Blurr and sing along. it has a tight feel, an interesting balance, and it's really not overdone." - Brian Pushead Schroeder THRASHER MAGAZINE 1988
"One of Earache's earliest signees, Spazztic Blurr were just that: a blinding maelstrom of metal burps and paroxysms, with the odd spelling of their name implying a good deal of cheesiness and goofy humor. Their 1988 self-titled album, now remastered and released on CD for the first time with a new booklet and layout, lampoons every aggressive genre with a punky edge like fellow beer thrashers Wehrmacht. Furthermore, Mike Patton would be lying if he ever said that Spazztic Blurr didn't influence his early output for Mr. Bungle.
The cover art says it all: on the front, the boys are rolling in the dough with a vintage roadster and car phone, but on the back, theyre dressed in rags and huddled around a rusted-out junkyard van, with the caption 'After The Album.' They even had one of their press photos taken with Chuck E. Cheese! Musically, they take Mr. Bungle's hilarity one step further: the CD booklet has a written description of every effect along with the lyrics. "Blurr Hogs" introduces the band with 'well whistles,' 'nifty hand claps,' and a 'total rock star ending.' "Images" chronicles the stereotypical personas of rockers, rappers, skinheads, jocks, and wavos (Swatch-wearing preppies), plus a twisted version of "Popeye the Sailor Man" at the coda.
The guys cover their "ABC's"; after an Eddie Van Halen solo, "Spazztic Puke" recounts a Chef Boyardee-induced Technicolor yawn; and "Bouge Jonzin," complete with its 'slow, sad, cry part,' memorializes a leech-like band groupie who was always bugging the guys for money. "He Not-A-Home Me Marco" (also included on Earache's must-have 1990 Grindcrusher compilation) pokes fun at guitarist Marco's Italian mother and the way she talks. "Let There Be Blurr" sports a rollicking bass solo and 12-string acoustic interlude; a faux Ace Frehley stops by the studio for a quick solo in "Ace"; and "Def Metal" has a 'total death metal drum intro,' 'distorted guitar,' 'ska part,' 'fast part with heavy guitar,' 'armpit sniff,' 'total speed metal ending,' and a gong to boot.
The epic "Mexicalli..." (the same from Earache's 'Immortalised' tin can collector's set), clocking in at nearly seven minutes, includes mini-homages to Speedy Gonzales, Burger King, The Flintstones, Milton Bradley board games, and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer - all tied together with mouth and balloon pops, death metal screams, and a tambourine. Like "I'm The Man"-era Anthrax meets early Lawnmower Deth, Spazztic Blurr is a quintessential must-have for all metal and hard rock fans who live by the band's motto: If yer serious, you lose!" - Dan Woolley, DigitalMetal.com
"A SPAZZTIC TRAGEDY"
"Back in the day, Earache ruled the land of Metal releasing such hit bands as Carcass, Morbid Angel, Terrorizer and Napalm Death. Phenomenal they may have been, but i've always found Earache's true legacy to be in bands like Lawnmower Deth, the mighty Naked City, O.L.D., Sore Throat and, yes, Spazztic Blurr. It was a sub-genre the English label seemed to specialize in at the time, intense and comedic metal, bands that leave your jaw dropped but manage to crack you up at the same time...
Spazztic Blurr hailed from Portland, OR and contained the guitarist and vocalist of NRR's thrash superstars Wehrmacht. This is their sole LP (well, not exactly true; Stop Torture Records released their demo on a split LP w/ Brutal Truth's last year. It's limited to 250 copies, so hurry up!!) and stands as one of my trans-genre top fifteen to this day. The drumming is a blur by all means, as they completely outperform Brian Lefehldt's work on any of Wehrmacht's releases. Likewise, the guitar riffs are faster and far more creative in Blurr than the 'Macht'; Not just because they jump from thrash to surf to ballad and back again, but because they actually are written far more maturely.
But let me go back a bit. For those of you not familiar with Blurr, the whole "jumping" concept may need some explaining. They're extremely similar to old Naked City in this sense that one second they're pumping out extremely fast metal, the next you get a Christmas carol (but don't count out Eric's brutal freakin' drumming during those silly parts!) and they're playing surf. It's unpredictable. It's intense. It's fast. It's funny.
The lyrics transcend random silliness with hilarious criticisms of the metal and punk scenes. They constantly urge others to "be creative" and warn that "if you're serious, you lose." There are numerous moments of resentment towards the ostracization of metal heads in the dominant punk scene as well as emphasized spite towards "generic punk."
The Blurr truly were the prophets of their time.
Additionally, a lot of seemingly inside jokes are included (Bouge Jonzin, He-Not-A-Home) and references to various aspects of 70's and 80's generational pop culture. It's stuff you can relate to. It's stuff you can reminisce with. It's just fun.
The production suffers somewhat, though it's not horrible. The guitars can be a little muddy, as can the drums, but it's far better than "Reek of Putrefaction" or anything AC ever released. There is a lot of studio work, various sound effects and the like dropped in, and that also makes it a lot more fun. In this sense, it's definitely an "album," the artist's actualized vision. The booklet to this CD version is supposedly packed with some extra pages, but I can't tell you much about that as I only have the LP.
In other words, buy it. If you've heard of Spazztic Blurr and you're checking this out, I have little doubt that this album is for you. If Lawnmower Deth was too tame, if Naked City was too unlistenable, if DEVO just didn't touch enough of that Earache sound, then check out the Blurr, it's thrash the way it should have been played (so long as no one ever heard it.)" - Amazon.com
Record Label: EARACHE (UK)
Type of Label: Major