Guts of a Virgin
Studio album by
Painkiller
Released1991
RecordedApril 1991 at Greenpoint, Brooklyn
GenreJazzcore, grindcore, avant-garde metal
Length24:15
LabelToy's Factory
Earache[1]
ProducerJohn Zorn
Painkiller chronology
Guts of a Virgin
(1991) 		Buried Secrets
(1992)
John Zorn chronology
Filmworks 1986-1990
(1991) 		Guts of a Virgin
(1991) 		More News for Lulu
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide5/10[4]

Guts of a Virgin is the first album by American band Painkiller, a band featuring John Zorn, Bill Laswell and Mick Harris.[5][6] It contains twelve tracks and was released in 1991 on Toy's Factory in Japan and Earache Records in England.

Artwork

The cover art, which features a bald woman with her insides exposed, was censored, seized and destroyed the first shipment in the UK for violating the Obscene Publications Act.[7]

Critical reception

The Quietus called the album "intense but still something you could call 'rock.'"[8] Trouser Press called it an "exposition of versatile thrash jazz," writing that "each instrument occupies its own sonic terrain, combining in a sprawl of unanticipated death metal."[9]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Scud Attack"3:07
2."Deadly Obstacle Collage"0:21
3."Damage to the Mask"2:43
4."Guts of a Virgin"1:19
5."Handjob"0:10
6."Portent"4:00
7."Hostage"2:24
8."Lathe of God"0:56
9."Dr. Phibes"3:00
10."Purgatory of Fiery Vulvas"0:26
11."Warhead"1:12
12."Devil's Eye"4:37

Personnel

Production

Publishing

References

  1. ^ Shteamer, Hank (June 22, 2020). "'He Made the World Bigger': Inside John Zorn's Jazz-Metal Multiverse". Rolling Stone.
  2. ^ AllMusic album entry accessed July 22, 2011
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 877.
  4. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 450.
  5. ^ Jenkins, Todd S. (December 7, 2004). Free Jazz and Free Improvisation: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313333149 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (November 12, 2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge. ISBN 9781135949501 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Potts, K. Sacred Dub: the music and projects of Bill Laswell website accessed July 16, 2008.
  8. ^ "The Quietus | Reviews | Painkiller". The Quietus.
  9. ^ "Painkiller". Trouser Press. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
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