IV: Revenge of the Vengeance[1] is the fourth studio album by American
comedy metal band
Psychostick, released on November 4, 2014, through
Rock Ridge Music. It's the first full album by the band that features no lineup change.
Background
The album was recorded in the band's own studio, funded by the fans through
Indiegogo. The band announced the fundraiser during a
webcast upon the release of the song and video of "Obey the Beard." The studio took six months to build.
The band announced that they were making a new album during the "America F*ck Yeah" tour with bands
Dog Fashion Disco and
The Bunny The Bear, and played "Quack Kills" to promote it. On September 18, 2014, the band announced during a webcast that the album titled Revenge of the Vengeance was releasing November 4, and began accepting preorders for the album.
Songs
"So. Heavy." is a parody of the perceived "heaviness" of
deathcore music, particularly the extremely low guitar tunings, reliance on screaming, and breakdowns. In the preceding skit, H-Flat, Josh notes that "there's no such thing as H-flat"; in certain countries the
B note is
written as H, which would indeed make
B♭ become "H♭" or "H-flat". However, in those notations, "H♭" is either noted as "B♭" or "A♯". The song itself is in
standard eight-string tuning (F♯).
"Quack Kills" is a reference to
anatidaephobia - the fictional fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you - first mentioned in
Gary Larson's The Far Side.
"NSFW" is a song almost entirely composed of variations of the word "
fuck"; similar to a scene from the episode "
Old Cases" from The Wire. The song itself features sections of
Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the finale of the
1812 Overture; Bill Manspeaker of
Green Jellÿ is featured in one section where he sings the obscenity over the main riff of
Three Little Pigs and Beethoven's
Symphony No. 5.
NSFW, New to the Neighborhood, Trick or Treat:
Bill Manspeaker as himself, Lori Willmer, Patrick Murphy (voice, director, writer)
Loathe Thy Neighbor: Idea written for Indiegogo donor Nick Belyung
Choking Hazard: Neil Patterson (Downtown Brown), Sean Farrell
Bruce Campbell: Idea written for Indiegogo donor Nick Belyung, Stefan Cadra (marching percussion)
Dimensional Time Portal: Idea written for Indiegogo donor Guale “Wally” Hovden, Magda Ksiasak, Amanda Dolega, Rob Nichols (Downtown Brown), the audience at Dirtfest 2014, Patrick Murphy, Matthew Kuchta, Sheena Perez, Jyn Radakovits