UMUR "Ooh Crikey It's... Lawnmower Deth" is the debut full-length studio album by UK crossover thrash metal act Lawnmower Deth. The album was released through Earache Records in September 1990. Lawnmower Deth formed in 1987 as a project for drummer Mr. Flymo (then drummer for Scrawm). On this album he is assisted by Mightymow Destructimow (bass), Concorde Face Ripper (guitars), Schizo Rotary Sprintmaster (guitars), and Qualcast Mutilator (lead vocals).

Stylistically the material is crossover thrash metal with silly/humourous lyrics which song titles like "Can I Cultivate Your Groinal Garden", "Flying Killer Cobs From the Planet Bob", and "Got No Legs? Don't Come Crawling to Me" are a testament to. Sometimes the band touch grindcore territory with some blast beats and fast riffs, but the music is predominantly hardcore punk mixed with thrash metal riffs and a vast amount of odd and adventurous musical ideas (which includes a ska section and a robotic vocoder section). Qualcast Mutilator has a raw voice and an aggressive delivery. His voice is similar to the voice (although with a British accent) of the late Oderus Urungus from Gwar (real name Dave Brockie) and there are other features (like the vulgar humour) which are shared by the two acts, but Lawnmower Deth are ultimately quite original and have a sound of their own.

Having a unique sound is of course always a plus, but Lawnmower Deth also have another advantage...they can play. They are very skilled musicians delivering their music with great power and precision. Tempo changes and effectful stylistic changes between and within tracks are performed with ease, so while "Ooh Crikey It's... Lawnmower Deth" may at first come off as a silly humour crossover thrash metal release, it´s a bit more sophisticated than what initial listens reveal...and yeah I know songtitles like the ones mentioned above and others like "Sumo Rabbit and His Inescapeable Trap of Doom" and "Spook Perv Happenings in the Snooker Hall" are in almost direct violation of the rules of sophistication, but this really is both sharp and clever (and yeah...very silly too).

"Ooh Crikey It's... Lawnmower Deth" features a powerful and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. Not too raw but not too polished either. Upon conclusion it´s a high quality crossover thrash metal album, which is actually really hard to label correctly because of the many different musical influences floating around the album. Whatever it is, it´s a very entertaining release throughout and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Vim Fuego All you really need to know about Lawnmower Deth and Metal Duck is that both bands were seriously funny.

This split album was the debut release for both bands. It is now hard to find in any format, but the fact that fans are still desperate to get their hands on the album attests to the enduring attraction of a sense of humour and good fun thrash tunes. Part of the attraction is the self-effacing humour. Neither band took themselves terribly seriously at a time when thrash was generally a very earnest business. Some bands, like Sacred Reich took on serious issues, like politics and prejudice, successfully. Others, like Testament, Flotsam and Jetsam, and even Nuclear Assault just came off sounding cheesy.

But really, who cares about nuclear war or environmental problems when you can have songs with lyrics as classy as “Watch out Grandma, here comes a lawnmower/Gonna rip your face off” repeated over and over. Lawnmower Deth tackled the odd issue later in their career, but back when they recorded ‘M.L.F.’ their only concern was liberating repressed lawnmowers everywhere. There is not a serious moment on the entire album, but you wouldn’t expect it with song titles like “I Got the Clap and My Knob Fell Off” and “Drink To Be Sick”. Yep, if Lawnmower Deth were going to get called crap, they were going to have fun doing it.

Musically though, they were not crap at all. Filtering through the decidedly dodgy production, there are some excellent riffs surfacing, and a more than competent rhythm section. If Lawnmower Deth had taken themselves seriously, they could easily have outperformed Xentrix, Re-Animator or even Acid Reign as far as British thrash goes.

Metal Duck shared the same type of humour lyrically (“Cheese Puff Death Squad”, “March of the Metal Duck to the Duck Ponds of Hell”), but trod different ground musically. Rather than the UKAC (United Kingdom Apple Core) style thrash of Lawnmower Deth, their brand of urine extraction was accompanied by a rougher, faster style, at times verging on old school grindcore. In places, it is possible to believe you are listening to old Extreme Noise Terror, dual vocals and all. Of course, ENT didn’t usually play songs whose lyrics consisted of counting to 12.

This is a short split album, even though there are 24 tracks. Both bands took great delight in peppering their recordings with hyperblast micro-songs. At times hard to comprehend, but always funny when you can grasp what’s going on, this split album achieves something very important. It leaves you wanting more.

Vim Fuego OK, so we all know Lawnmower Deth were as mad as a barrel of monkeys, but there was method to their madness.

The self-deprecating humour helped cover any musical inadequacies, and gave the band an excuse for recording silly fuck-about songs. And let’s face it, those songs are fun. “Spook Perv Happenings In The Snooker Hall” examines the commonly held belief snooker star Ray Reardon is actually a vampire. “Sheepdip” proved Lawnmower Deth were equal opportunity crusaders, pushing for liberation of organic lawnmowers along with the mechanical kind. “Lancer With Your Zancer” is a retelling of the story of King Arthur, although there’s some doubt as to whether the Lady of the Lake actually said “Oi, Arthur/Come over here/Take this sword/Now fuck off”. “Seventh Church Of The Apocalyptic Lawnmower (Skank Mix)” adds a little Reggae and a lot of ganga to what was a straight thrash song from the band’s debut split album with Metal Duck.

The silly titles continue, with “Flying Killer Cobs From The Planet Bob”, “Sumo Rabbit And His Inescapable Trap Of Doom”, “Cobwoman Of Deth Meets Mr Smellymop” and “Sharp Fucka Blades Of Hades”.

Like many hardcore influenced bands, Lawnmower Deth also enjoyed making silly little micro-songs. Sometimes it takes longer to read the title than play the song, like “Weebles Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down”, “Got No Legs? Don’t Come Crawling To Me”, and “Punk As Fuck”.

Under all the humour though, there was a strata of seriousness. Well, there were four semi-serious songs... “Dodo Doe” was a revenge song aimed at Bernard Doe, the self-important metal journalist who thought himself a bigger star than many bands, because Doe had savaged Lawnmower Deth’s first release ‘Mower Liberation Front’, a split album with Metal Duck’s ‘Qwack ‘Em All’. Doe gave ‘M.L.F.’ 0 out 100 in Metal Forces magazine, and Lawnmower Deth quite rightly accused him of bias toward bigger, more established, more commercial bands. Who was right? Well, who still likes Bernard Doe? How happy were fans when Lawnmower Deth reunited? I rest my case.

“F.A.T (Facist And Tubby)” was dedicated to Billy Milano, vocalist for S.O.D. and M.O.D. for being, well, exactly what the title said. Whether Milano has ever noticed the song or not, the chant of “You fat bastard, you fat bastard” is timeless. “Rad Dude” pokes a stick at trend followers, including 11-year-old skater kids who thought they were metal because they skated, but knew fuck all about the music. “Betty Ford’s Clinic”, obviously, is about alcoholic celebrities going to the Betty Ford Clinic.

The highlight of the entire album is “Satan’s Trampoline”, the greatest thrash metal song of all time, bar none. Well, OK, bar several, but it’s the best song on this album. The song showcases everything good about United Kingdom Apple Core style thrash. The song is fast and heavy, includes an amazing single note bass run, features some outstanding guitar riffs, and has great comical lyrics. Stealing the melody from “An English Country Garden” was a brilliant touch too.

The CD version of the album was expanded with seven extra live tracks and the three track single “Kids In America” tacked on the end. The live tracks show Qualcast Mutilator abusing the crowd and taking the piss out of Acid Reign, who were there in the audience, and Billy Milano and Bernard Doe, who most likely weren’t. “Kids In America”, the unashamedly mediocre Kim Wilde song, is given new life with the Lawnmower Deth treatment, which includes a yobbo shout-along chorus and a fair bit of acceleration.

This is essential thrash, even for casual followers of the genre. Critics often knock Lawnmower Deth’s lyrics, but conveniently miss the serious songs and misunderstand the fun songs. Sure, there are musical jokes, but in between, there is some of the best thrash ever to emerge from the UK. If you don’t go icky ficky, or you don’t believe Larry Lamb is God, or you’ve never been on Satan’s trampoline, then you’re missing out on all the fun.

Time Signature Somebody call me a taxi...

Genre: pop punk

"Billy" was the album where crossover legends Lawnmower Deth took a new direction. It was also the album that would prove to be their downfall, as their usual fan base did not like the pop punk direction they took (think of a slightly less polished version of early Green Day and early The Offspring).

And I totally follow, because most of the songs on the album are pretty uninspired.

The only track that really qualifies as crossover or thrash is the opener 'Somebody Call Me a Taxi', while the title track is also a bit metal-oriented. The remaining tracks have nothing to do with metal or crossover, or even hardcore punk, but are probably better described using another -core term - namely, melodycore (the genre that is now referred to as pop punk).

Seen in retrospect this change of direction was probably an attempt at shedding their thrash metal background and finding a style with more mass appeal. Remember that metal was falling out of favor back then, and a lot of metal bands scrambled to adopt more popular styles - and most of them failed.

Thrashheads and hardcore punks who are interested in Lawnmower Deth should forget about this album and instead check out "Ooh Crikey It's... Lawnmower Deth" or "The Return Of The Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns".