Guts of a Virgin

Guts of a Virgin
Studio album by Painkiller
Released	October 1991
Recorded	April 1991 at Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Genre	Jazzcore, grindcore, avant-garde metal
Length	24:15
Label	Toy's Factory Earache[1]
Producer	John 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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	5/10[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.	Title	Length
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

• John Zorn – alto saxophone, vocals
• Bill Laswell – bass
• Mick Harris – drums, vocals

Production

• Wes Naprstek – engineering
• Howie Weinberg – mastering
• Oz Fritz – mixing
• Lisa Wells – photography
• Tanaka Tomoyo, Anthony Lee – design

Publishing

• M.P.O – pressing
• Earache, Theater of Musical Optics, Nation Music – 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.