People who know me know my love of THE DWARVES so, naturally, I was ecstatic to get this first solo effort from their masked guitarist.
Quite frankly, the first time I listened to it, I hated it. I had the pleasure of meeting Hewho (as his bandmates refer to him) where he told me that he was originally The Dwarves’ keyboard player and he was really into FRANK ZAPPA, so I guess I expected something more “off-the-wall” than the catchy, sometimes poppy punk rock I got. Wanting to be fair, I gave Sunday School Massacre another listen and I realized that these are some excellent songs that prove that there is more under Hewhocannotbenamed’s mask than the cartoon character he portrays with The Dwarves.
For the most part, the songs are slower in pace than the typical thrashers he’s known for playing, combining the dark tone of The Dwarves’ Sugarfix with the production and punch of The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking (another album I hated when I first heard, but now love). Lyrical themes cover sex, drugs, superheroes and general misanthropy – all delivered in a catchy, but sinister sneer. For example, my personal favorite, “Duct Tape Love,” is a love song from the point of view of a psychopath to his bound and tortured victim, whereas the Zappa influence really comes through in “Wake Up” and “Bill vs. the Gnomes.”
Current and former Dwarves members, BLAG DAHLIA, REX EVERYTHING (aka NICK OLIVERI), SALTPETER, THE FRESH PRINCE OF DARKNESS, WHOLLY SMOKES and KMFDM drummer ANDY SELWAY all make appearances.
