The thirteenth long player from long-suffering, blood-spattered, satirical heavy metal/miniature kaiju ensemble Gwar, the 13-track
Battle Maximus is the first Gwar release to be made after the passing of lead guitar player Flattus Maximus (Cory Smoot), who is replaced here by Brent Purgason (aka Pustulus Maximus); new bassist Jamison Land (aka Beefcake the Mighty) also makes his Gwar debut. Recorded in the band's own Slave Pit Studios with award-winning producer Glen Robinson, the largely conceptual album should please longtime fans of the venerable mutants, while offering newbies a solid slab of hard-hitting, modern monster metal that's sure to send them back into the group's considerable archives in search of another fix.