Sixth Annual GWAR B-Q Set For August 14th-16th


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GWAR’s 30th year of conquest will be celebrated on the weekend of August 14th through 16, 2015 at the sixth annual GWAR B Q at Hadad’s Lake (7900 Osborne Turnpike Richmond, VA 23231). Watch a trailer below.

In related news, March 23, 2015 marked the one year anniversary of the passing of GWAR founder Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus). We celebrate him on this day as we celebrate and worship him every day. Hail Oderus!

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Cancer Bats – Searching for Zero


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One of my favorite acts to come out of Canada, Cancer Bats, return with their fifth studio album Searching for Zero (Metal Blade Records) hitting shelves this week. I’ve been looking forward to hearing new material and I’m pretty pleased with the result.

‘Satellites’ starts things off at moderate clip and is a decent enough song on its own but it’s missing that extra oomph that I’m used to. It isn’t until ‘True Zero’ kicks in that the Cancer Bats vibe really starts to kick in. I’m not surprised that this is a single, it’s just so catchy and makes you want to sing right along with Liam Cormier.

If I have to choose a favorite track, it’d be ‘Beelzebub’ if simply for how it stands out from the other songs around it and hits you in the gut from the very beginning. It takes things down a few notches and feels longer than it actually is. Those stoner-y riffs are like candy to me.

I can’t just go without saying something with regards to ‘All Hail’. Regular readers of my ramblings, if you exist, should be very familiar with the giant soft spot in my heart for GWAR and former front man Dave Brockie. Maybe I’m a sap but I think it’s touching to see members of the community band together and show their support. The first time I ever saw Cancer Bats, they were opening for GWAR. I had no idea who they were but I fell in love in that night. I ran into Liam while he was working the merch booth at GWAR-B-QUE 2014. It was late in the afternoon and he was exhausted but he also seemed at peace. I don’t know when this tribute to our favorite monster was first penned, but I would like to believe that he would be content at seeing a common chant put to music.

This album is full of energy and it’s contagious. I was sick as a dog while writing this and I still the urge to just tear apart the living room. I don’t know what it is about these guys but they always get to me and put a smile on my face. Pick up the album and make sure to catch them on their current US tour through the end of March. I’ll see you at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA on the 27th.

8.0/10

ALEIDA LA LLAVE


GWAR – Corrosion of Conformity – American Sharks: Live at Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT


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A three-hour drive brought me to New Haven for the first time in almost exactly a year. I had gone down for a GWAR show back then as well. I remember being excited about having Iron Reagan on the bill. This was only my second time going to the venue and it was strange to be back in the last place that we had seen Dave (Brockie) before he passed away just three months later I didn’t remember it being so packed, especially not with so many bro’s and wannabe thugs. It was a weird crowd and there were a lot of fights throughout the evening.

Openers American Sharks took the stage first. I had no idea who they were before the show but I was pleasantly surprised. Stoner metal from Texas, I dug it. If you like groups like The Sword or Red Fang, you’ll likely enjoy them as well. I was only able to catch about the last third or so of their set due to medical emergencies involving police and pizza. Hopefully they’ll come back around with a date somewhere in MA next time.

Corrosion of Conformity were in the middle of the action and opened their set with ‘Seven Days’ before transitioning into ‘Brand New Sleep’ off of their last album; IX (Candlelight Records). I had expected more of a plug of newer material to promote their latest release but I was wrong. We got a decent mix of things including ‘Vote with a Bullet’, ‘Psychic Vampire’, and personal favorite of mine in ‘Deliverance’. CoC always puts on a great show and they had every head moving in the building.

Third time seeing GWAR since Dave’s passing, second stop on the current tour, and, somehow, it never gets old. Just like last time, the set opened with ‘Fly Now’ accompanied by Oderus Urungus on a screen. I understand that they are paying tribute to the fallen but it still makes me uncomfortable. Kill all of the babies, politicians, and celebrities that you want but this just hits too close to home. I still can’t get over how great it is to have Michael Bishop back in the swing of things. Whether you like Blothar or not, the man is a top notch performer and I love his digs at Beefcake the Mighty (Jamison Land). All in all, the Scumdogs gave us a nineteen song set including staples like ‘The Private Pain of Sawborg Destructo’ and ‘Hate Love Songs’. A tribute was paid to their fallen brothers in the form of a moment of violence in which every was encourage to let out a war cry. My voice cracked from one too many Jager Bombs, but damn, did it feel good. The last few songs of the performance consisted of the band’s renditions of ‘West End Girls’ by Pet Shop Boys and ‘People Who Died’ by The Jim Carroll Band, the combination of which went on to win this year’s A.V. Undercover competition.

I held myself together far better than the last two times I saw the band. I blame it on them not having played ‘Gor-Gor’ this time around, but it’s okay, I didn’t mind. Like most, I managed to save my tears for ‘The Road Behind’, which makes slightly more sense than getting emotional over a song about a zombie T-Rex. I can’t say what will happen in the future, but, we’ve got one tour behind us and things are starting to look up.

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WORDS BY ALEIDA LA LLAVE


On The Road (Behind) …. with GWAR


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GWAR is on the road again for the GWAR Eternal tour, searching for their missing leader, Oderus Urungus, and steamrolling every venue, and every fan with madcap mayhem in the process. The band is out on their first tour since the passing of Dave Brockie earlier in the year and they last show of the current leg ends tonight in Seattle with Decapitated and American Shark. With Decapitated leaving and, the band is being joined by their fellow metal/punk brethren in Corrosion of Conformity for the next leg beginning on 11/15. The current stage show, which addresses the disappearance of Oderus, and features of who’s who’s of scumdogs, including new additions Blothar and Vulvatron, in a hilarious, wholly reprehensible and heartfelt way that Brockie would have loved. Meg Loyal caught GWAR in front her lens during their stop at this years’ Rock And Shock Festival in Worcester MA. Check out her photo set:

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Iron Reagan – The Tyranny of Will


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Being in a thrash metal band sure looks like a hell of a lot of fun. You get to pay homage to the metal greats, incite swirling circle pits and play songs with lyrics ranging from the horrors of nuclear war to the joys of being a borderline alcoholic. It’s no surprise then that the genre is still mightily popular despite not really evolving since the 80s.

In fact, it’s so much fun to be in a thrash band, that for some of those in the scene, one band is not enough. That’s presumably why Tony Foresta and Landphil from Municipal Waste formed Iron Reagan, who differ from their parent band by having slightly shorter songs and a cruder, garage-based approach. Or maybe it’s because they just want to rock the fuck out, which is exactly what sophomore record The Tyranny of Will (Relapse) does in spades.

Less concerned with the goofy, beer-obsessed cartoonish approach that is the Municipal Waste operandi, Iron Reagan play old-school thrash served up with an unhealthy mix of hardcore punk and the occasional dirty splash of crust and even hints of grind. Imagine the members of the modern thrash scene brawling with the likes of Stormtroopers of Death, D.R.I. and the Cro-Mags in a skate-park covered in flyers for old punk shows and you get the idea of what’s going on here.

There’s some great thrash workouts such as ‘Tyranny of Will’ ‘Close to Toast’ and ‘Miserable Failure’ while the brief yet savage blasts of ‘Glocking Out’ ‘Your Kid’s an Asshole’ and ‘Bored to Death’ will delight those who still scrawl giant X’s on their hands at gigs. Add in some hilarious lyrical concepts courtesy of the dearly departed Dave Brockie of GWAR and it’s no wonder why Foresta et al decided to make Iron Reagan more than just a side-project. And what a good decision that was, for The Tyranny of Will is a blast for all of its infectious 31 minutes.

8.0/10

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JAMES CONWAY


Recap: The 5th Annual GWAR BQ – Hadad’s Park Richmond, VA


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This year’s pilgrimage to Richmond, VA was full of a lot of strong and, at times, conflicting emotions. I didn’t make this trip as a writer. I did it as a Bohab and a human being who just wanted a chance to pay her respects to someone who had shown her kindness and had a profound effect on her life and to celebrate his life as well as grieve with some of the incredible people that make up an extensive hab family.

We arrived Friday morning and had breakfast with some of our bohab brethren staying at the same hotel before taking a nap and heading out for Hadad’s Lake and Dave Brockie/Oderus’ viking funeral. It was strange seeing the costume laid out in such a way, it was all very peaceful for a blood thirsty alien. I saw many habs sitting by the shore, some in quiet reflection, while others had their own conversations with our beloved monster.

The official memorial service featured eulogies by Jello Biafra, Randy Blythe, Adam Green, Michael Bishop,and others. There were a lot of tears but there was also a lot of laughter as jokes and stories about Brockie’s antics were shared. There was singing and the entire crowd let out a primal scream in his honor. Green played a voice mail that Brockie had left him. I had listened to it several months before but hearing his voice was still difficult.

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The actual send off itself was beautiful and included an archer launching a flaming arrow onto the small ship and Danielle Stampe a.k.a. Slymenstra Hymen tossing a flaming torch into the water as bagpipes continued to play in the background. There were a number of different chants going around the crowd but it was very quiet until the firefighters showed up – after the flames and smoke had nearly completely died out. We have no idea if a neighbor called them but it gave us all a good laugh and seemed like a fitting way to end Brockie’s public memorial service.

Cut to the next day’s GWAR-B-QUE back at Hadad’s. There were a number of hiccups with regards to the event’s planning such as VIP ticket holders (myself included) not getting their lanyards, some people getting two of them in their bags, and some premium ticket holders winding up with them instead. Tents were not labeled properly and we wasted a lot of time in line at the GWAR merch booth before being told that we had to go to another line to start all over again just to be told that they were out of lanyards and to come back in an hour. We had already missed a number of bands and signings by this point and by the time we got our VIP stickers, the GWAR signing was well underway. I decided that it wasn’t worth the hassle of waiting around for a few hours in yet another line just to be rushed through the meet & greet and spent some time by the lake with some habs while listening to the festivities behind us.

There was quite a bit going on apart from the music as well. There were the mandatory band merch booths, the pool was open, there were a number of food vendors, a jewelry tent, tattooing, and a cigar truck selling CiGWARS. And that, kids, is how I had my first cigar. There were more bathrooms than last year but the lines were horrendous. You were looking at a minimum of a half hour wait for everything.

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Unfortunately, I missed a number of bands due to being stuck in line hell but at least I had seen Bishop’s Kepone and Iron Reagan in recent months and they always shred. Revocation had to drop off the bill and, as far as I know, Goatwhore just didn’t show up. I can’t complain about the line for those delicious pulled pork sandwiches because that’s where I was watching Body Count from. They were fantastic! Ice-T and crew looked right at home among us and I saw more than my fair share of reciting every song word for word.

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What about GWAR? They shared vocal duties with Bishop’s new character, Blothar, Slymenstra, and Don Drakulich’s Sleazy P. Martini. Blothar looked interesting, like some kind of weird wizard with antlers on his back. I’m sure the costume will have been changed and refined a bit by the time the fall tour comes through town. Slymenstra did some of her fire dancing but I would have liked to have seen more. Singe off my eyebrows! I hadn’t seen Sleazy since 2008/9 but it was nice to have him back on stage, even if he was, understandably, less energetic than usual.

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I had a difficult time watching the performance. This is not by any means a reflection on the band, they were incredible, it was simply hard for me personally. There were people climbing on top of the smaller buildings to get a good view of the stage. I hung around the back of the crowd and caught maybe a minute of ‘The Years Without Light’ before my emotions got the best of me and I had to retreat back to the safety of our bohab base camp. I was content with staying behind and merely listening…Until those first few notes of ‘Gor-Gor’ hit my ear holes and I ran back into the middle of the crowd with Mama Hab. That Gor-Gor puppet is the beautiful demented dinosaur that I’ve ever seen. The song had been on my bucket list of songs that I wanted to see performed live but I just wish that it had been under better circumstances. There were more tears following its end than at any other time the entire weekend. ‘The Road Behind’ was played as expected and while my mind will always associate it with Cory Smoot first, I think there’s a little room in there for Dave too. GWAR & Company wrapped things up with a ‘Slaughterama’ that felt a bit rushed.

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I know that there are going to be people criticizing the event and I know that with better planning, the problems of this year’s event can be minimized the next time around. With regards to GWAR’s performance after losing such an electric front man, all I ask is that you give them a chance. GWAR is more than just any one person and they’ve suffered a heavy loss, not of a musician, but that of a friend and family member. Picking up the pieces is no easy task but I think that they’re up to the challenge and I am optimistic about what the future holds for them and all of us.

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For me, the main event of this weekend was the funeral and I’m grateful to everyone who took the time to grieve and celebrate with me, even if we did almost get the cops called on us. There will always be a cuttlefish shaped hole in our hearts but good friends and good music work wonders.

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WORDS BY ALEIDA LA LLAVE

PHOTOS BY NICK PHELPS OF MASTER PHELPS


Dave Brockie aka. Oderus Urungus of GWAR – Dead at 50


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A death in the world of metal is never easy to hear about, especially when its such a hugely impactful guy. Devastating news came down this morning that Dave Brockie of GWAR has died. Better known as his irascible alter-ego Oderus Urungus, we were hoping this was some kind of twisted hoax, which Dave would have loved, but his manager confirmed the sad truth with a message this morning.Continue reading