By Rich Hobson
With the passing of Dave Brockie in 2014, it looked sure that the metal world had just lost one of its most reliably entertaining – and visibly distinctive – bands. After all, who could envision GWAR without Oderus Urungus? Well, GWAR, for one. Five years after the loss, the band are still going strong, their legacy upheld by surviving members who ensure the intergalactic porno-metal-opera continues in fine (bloody) fashion, crash-landing in Wolverhampton to a thoroughly (but not uncomfortably) heated KK’s Steel Mill.
First order for the evening however are proto-thrash speed metal legends Voivod. Whilst the band may have gained a reputation for more cosmic leanings in recent years, the band sound utterly monolithic as they take to the stage tonight, coming on with the heaviest bass rumble this side of Motorhead. In fact, the band are so loud and powerful that it becomes almost incomprehensible to actually make out what they are playing – and while that might sound like a recipe for disaster, it actually just serves to drive home just how powerful and vital they still are after almost 40 years. There doesn’t seem to be anything ‘proto’ about what the band are pulling out tonight, the likes of ‘Post Society’ and ‘Psychic Vampire’ sounding like a full Bay Area-style assault on the senses. Of course, this does strip away some of the more cosmic energies of newer songs like ‘Obsolete Beings’, though you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s going to complain about hearing more souped-up, heavy metal appropriate renditions of such songs!
Because, when it comes down to it, tonight really is about heavy metal. Skidding into metal’s most outlandish, ghoulish tendencies, GWAR are a KISS that actually fit into our world, whose image fits the unholy racket they create, topped only by the unbelievable live shows they put on. And thus, long absence or no, we are happy to report GWAR still create an ungodly fucking mess whenever they play, leaving the venue looking like an abattoir. It’s cartoonish as all hell, but you can’t look around without seeing enormous shit-eating grins on the faces as the band take to the stage and let loose with thrashy, hardcore-tinged, sloppy punk heavy metal on the likes of ‘The Salamanizer’ and ‘Krak Down’.
Underground heroes through and through, that hasn’t stopped GWAR from having an effect on everybody from Evil Scarecrow to Lordi, more or less birthing the genre of horrorcore and giving it a sense of theatricality that cannot be matched in both comedic and gore stakes. Pulling on material from across their career, the band match each song with obscene set pieces that never fail to get the crowd roaring in approval. Whether that’s spit-roasting a pig-faced police officer (geddit?) or tearing Donald Trump’s chest off and spraying vats of fake blood onto the crowd, the whole show feels like the world’s least family friendly heavy metal panto.
It wouldn’t work without the songs, and GWAR deliver on that front too, the likes of ‘I’ll Be Your Monster’, ‘Have You Seen Me?’, ‘Bring Back The Bomb’ all powerful tunes that could get a room tearing itself apart even in its own right. Considering they came from the era where heavy metal was at war with the puritanical likes of Tipper Gore and Mary Whitehouse, it’s incredible such an act could not just survive, but thrive against those that would see such acts jailed for obscenity. But then, that’s the glory of GWAR – taking things to such excess that they essentially went nuclear at a time when most metal bands were still using sticks and stones – comparatively, at least – to wage war on the puritanical right.
Coming on with joyous, unabated nastiness and loving every second, GWAR still offer one of the best heavy metal nights out bar none. That the band can still roar with such vibrancy and still go completely uncowed 35 years into their career speaks a lot for their ability to engage audiences worldwide, reminding everybody that sometimes the best unifier of all is smut, smut and more smut (with a healthy dose of splatter on the side).
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.