Shock rock legends GWAR are marking the 20th anniversary of their landmark 2006 album Beyond Hell with a fully remastered deluxe edition, arriving September 25 via the band’s own Pit Records. For the first time, the album will also receive a vinyl release, giving fans a fresh way to experience one of the band’s most ambitious concept albums.
Remastered by Paul Logus (Anthrax, Killswitch Engage), the anniversary edition revitalizes the original recordings while including a previously unreleased outro track that was recorded during the original Beyond Hell sessions but ultimately left off the album. To accompany the announcement, GWAR have unveiled a remastered version of “Eighth Lock” along with its long-lost official music video.
Originally produced by Devin Townsend, Beyond Hell chronicled GWAR‘s descent into the underworld to rescue their fallen comrade Flattus Maximus. The record remains one of the band’s most theatrical releases, featuring fan favorites including “War Is All We Know,” “Tormentor,” “Back in Crack,” “Womb With a View,” and “The Ultimate Bohab.”
Reflecting on the experience of producing the album, Townsend said:
“I had been a GWAR fan since I was a kid. I loved the freedom, the metal, the spectacle, and the passion that went into it all. I met Brockie on a tour we did together and, after cornering him in an elevator basically telling him I’d work for free, I found myself co-producing Beyond Hell. Dave and Corey came to Vancouver to stay with me, and we recorded at Profile Studios. The drums and basic tracks were done at Slave Pit in Richmond, Virginia, and the whole process took about three months.”
He added:
“GWAR were, and are, an amazing combination of artistic freedom, absurdity, and hard work bundled up with metal and performance. Loved them then, love them now.”
The deluxe package includes the album’s first-ever pressing on 180-gram vinyl, housed in an elaborate tri-fold jacket that unfolds into an inverted cross. The CD edition also receives an upgraded presentation with a fold-out poster. Collectors will have several exclusive variants to choose from, including a standard Gold edition limited to 2,000 copies, a Blood Moon variant limited to 300 copies available exclusively through the band’s webstore, and a Blood Smear edition limited to 200 copies.
Following a series of late summer festival appearances and select headline dates with WEEDEATER and BRAT, GWAR will launch the “Gor Gor Must Die!” North American tour beginning October 27 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The extensive trek will feature direct support from MIDNIGHT, with MAC SABBATH opening every show and X-COPS or ATOMIC RULE appearing on select dates. The tour includes stops across the United States and Canada before wrapping up December 12 in Norfolk, Virginia.
