Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician
(Latino Bugger Vail)

You will be hard pressed to find an album as disturbing, sometimes revolting, sometimes hilarious but regardless, essential as The Butthole Surfer's 1987 masterpiece Locust Abortion Technician. The Surfers have always represented the uglier, more hallucinatory side of the punk / hardcore / indie music scene of the 80's as they were usually on drugs and almost always lighting something on fire, but Locust Abortion Technician is the sweet spot within their terrorizing discography. Largely due to the atmosphere in which the album was created with their recently purchased communal home turned recording studio, the band finally had the time to experiment as much as they wanted without considering the cost. Their sense of immediacy and potential to be extreme is clearly rooted in the punk DIY ethos of the time, but their need to experiment in the studio is something that set them apart from many of their peers. Tape splicing, backwards tracks, vocal trickery (or "GIBBYTRONIX" as it was named), was something that most bands didn't have an ear for, nor the time, but for the Butthole Surfers it was par for the course. Locust Abortion Technician from front to back is an insane endeavor. It will make you scream but it will probably also make you laugh. It is the audio equivalent of a migraine that pushes you to the brink. However it’s the kind of headache you wouldn't mind having again because it kind of felt good, or at the very least it felt kind of necessary. It's a record that influenced and informed decades to come within the underground music scene, and sounds as vital and fresh today as it ever has. Totally absurd, but completely essential. (Adam)
Check out a track here.