Locust Abortion Technician (2024 Remaster)

The second part of Matador’s reissues of the essential early records by Texas’s Butthole Surfers continues with three of their most insane slabs -- 1985’s ‘Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis,’ 1987’s ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ and 1988’s ‘Hairway to Steven. 

The period during which these records were first issued parallels the Buttholes’ transition from being weirdo Texas outcasts to becoming internationally recognized smut-kings of the American underground. In 1985 they were still the sole province of hallucingen- soaked punk rock freaks. By 1988 they had toured Europe, had records licensed internationally, and bought a house in Driftwood Texas to serve as their home base. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. 

Without anyone looking over their shoulders, the band really rose to the occasion with ‘Locust Abortion Technician.’ From the opening track, “Sweat Loaf,” which quotes Black Sabbath with results both hilarious and bowel-stomping, to the scuzz-guitar riven “found” vocals of “22 Going on 23,” ‘Locust’ is a non-stop face-full of hallucinogenic gas. Maniacal sludge guitar figures and Gibbytronix vocals are smeared everywhere, with most excellent results. For many folks. ‘Locust’ represents the album with which the Buttholes fully fulfilled their insane potential.