 By 1989 Lumary had left the band and Robbie Allen joined them in the studio to play bass on the album "Slippery When Ill".The album was something of a departure from the punk rock formula of their previous releases, fusing country and western styles with their humorous brand of punk into a sound the band called "cow punk," somewhat mocking the resurgence in popularity of country music in their native Huntington Beach.The joking style confused many of their fans and the album would remain in obscurity until its 1999 re-release as "The Vandals Play Really Bad Original Country Tunes".