GWAR

Live in Philadelphia (2014)

John Gentile

To say that GWAR’s latest tour is important in their chronology is an understatement. The first tour since the death of longest living GWAR slave Dave Brockie, the GWAR Eternal tour also found the band playing for the first time ever without GWAR frontman, Oderus Urunugus. Just before the band’s set on November 29, 2014 in Philadelphia, the Electric Factory was alight with conversation- no new knew exactly what to expect. How would the band handle their first tour in almost thirty years without their fearless, and brutal, leader?

The show began with a magic mirror, and in true GWAR style, there was no boo-hooing or really somber moments. Instead, the audience was faced with an image of GWAR manager Sleazy P. Martini berating the band, the audience, and pretty much everything in sight. The band might have lost Oderus, but Sleazy P. still wants his money.

The magic mirror also brought us up to date on recent GWAR happenings. Based around the excellent Battle Maximus album, it was explained that Oderus was actually lost in time while battling the villain Mr. Perfect, who seemed to be a sort of Ozymandius, genetically perfect specimen.

The band then took the stage in their new lineup. Now at the front was Blothar, a sort of Viking Inspired juggernaut. Clutching a massive shield and battle axe, Blother added his own spin to the GWAR catalogue. A combination of thrash-metal screech and punk spitting, Blothar’s style was an energetic, frantic attack on the material.

Shortly after the show began, long time GWAR foe Sawborg Destructo arrived in a time machine to taunt the band. Of course, the band killed him, sprayed his blood over the audience, and then stole the time machine to go look for Oderus. Also, of course, they frequently stopped to pick up drugs or to fill random people.

Meanwhile, new GWAR co-vocalist Vulvatron also made an appearance. The first main female lead since the 2002 departure of Slymentra Hymen, Vulvatron brought a powerful, feminine energy to the band. Contrasting her cleaner vocals against Blother’s, she added a new dynamic to the band. In fact, the group played up this new contrast with “Hate Love songs” which was created specifically for this purpose, but more recently, has been put out to pasture.

In fact, the band played a number of tunes that haven’t gotten much exposure as of late, including “Black and Huge,” “Saddam a-go-go,” and “U ain’t shit.” As for Vulvaron, like Blother, she’s a powerful, unique addition to the band. There’s no replacing Oderus, but the group has found perhaps the best path to fill that void- dynamic new characters that bring their own identity to the group while staying true to the GWAR ethos, which is, of course, drugs, killing, sex, and more drugs.

Without giving away the saga’s ending, the band definitively answered the question of “What happened to Oderus?” Strangely though, unlike the tour after the death of Cory Smoot, there didn’t seem to be as much sadness in the air. Rather, there was almost a joy that the band was continuing forward despite their recent onslaught of tragedy. The apparent lack of sadness added credence to the theory that GWAR really are creatures with no sense of emotion, sadness, or empathy who revel in violence and heavy metal. But, if I had to, I’d had to wager, I’d bet that killing and heavy metal is how the band expresses grief.