Persistence is a word that comes to mind when you receive a promo copy of a new album from Gwar. The freaks from outer space have toiled with us puny humans for a quarter of a decade now, and it’s been 25 extremely entertaining years.

Depending on the nature of your sense of humour, the musical output from the gore lord Oderus Urungus, Beefcake the Mighty and the rest of the extraterrestrial ogres has, let’s face it, been less entertaining if you’re looking for real quality.

‘Lust in Space’ is no news, then. You can’t say that Gwar’s punk infused thrash metal is really poor, but it’s certainly no revelation either. They have grown over time and modern thrash elements have been incorporated, but there’s still a long way to the Machine Heads of this world.

If I were to point out one tune that stands out from the mediocre mass of tunes, it would have to be Release the Flies, a Fear Factory inspired track with a nice and powerful touch.

I can’t see Gwar making a living from CD sales, that’s for sure, but never mind as long as they’re one of the most entertaining live acts on the planet as they just proved at this year’s Wacken Open Air. Go see them live if you ever get the chance. Just make sure that you wear white clothes or, alternatively, a raincoat. Fun guaranteed!