Two days before the 20th anniversary edition of “Beyond Hell” comes out, Gwar released the video for “School’s Out” in HD, their cover of Alice Cooper that accompanied that 2006 record.
The anniversary edition
The edition comes out on Friday, September 25 via their own label, Pit Records. It has been remastered by Paul Logus and adds an outro that was recorded back then and left off the record. It is also the first time “Beyond Hell” comes out on vinyl, while the deluxe edition has already sold out from the band’s store.
The video
The original video was shot in August 2006 and premiered on MTV’s “Headbangers Ball” on August 19, ten days before the record came out. The song had been sent to radio before the release.
“Beyond Hell” was their tenth studio album. It was released on August 29, 2006 via DRT Entertainment and tells a journey toward hell.
More on the same side of metal: Anthrax: Frank Bello says «Cursum Perficio» is a darker record than «For All Kings».
Devin Townsend remembers
The production was handled together with the band by Devin Townsend. As he recalled, he had been a fan since childhood: he liked the freedom, the metal, the spectacle and the passion. He met Dave Brockie on a shared tour and, after cornering him in an elevator telling him he would even work for free, he ended up co-producing. The drums and the basics were recorded at the Slave Pit in Richmond, Virginia, the rest at his studio in Vancouver, and the whole job took about three months.
Townsend can also be heard on the record, on the backing vocals of “Tormentor”. The two musicians he mentions are no longer alive: Cory Smoot, the Flattus Maximus who played guitar and was involved in the production, died in November 2011, and Dave Brockie, the Oderus Urungus on vocals, in March 2014 at the age of 50.
See also: Nita Strauss: She returns to Alice Cooper’s band
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