GWAR
Battle Maximus
Metal Blade Records
10/10
I fucking love GWAR. Have since 6th grade, which was about 20 years ago. Since then, I’ve watched as GWAR evolved from a grotesque bunch of smelly scumdogs to a grotesque bunch of smelly scumdogs who fucking shred. In first album since the untimely passing of Flattus Maximus, the band is keeping with the destructive sounds that Flattus had heralded in. GWAR is continuing with epic solos, brutal riffs and detailed (albeit ridiculous) tales of death and destruction.
As Oderus Urungus, whose face kind of looks like my dog’s ass, screeches the tales of Flattus’ passing, the sounding of the Horn Of Hate, and the subsequent arrival of shit-tons of Maximus’, the rest of the band continues to raise the bar. Probably to hit you in the face with. Flattus’ cousin, Pustulus Maximus, has stepped in to melt people’s faces off (which you knew because you read our interview with Oderus in which he introduces Pustulus. You know, THIS ONE!), and does so with a fury only known to the Maximus clan. Jizmak Da Gusha’s drumming has somehow gotten even faster (I have a suspicion that he makes Michael J. Fox handle the kick drums), Balsac The Jaws Of Death’s short stint of handling lead guitar between Maximus’ has led to some sort of double shredding sound, and Beefcake The Mighty’s bass has gotten, umm, bassier. Even though I gave them a glowing review, I wholly expect to be annihilated when I attend their fall tour, in which I will probably have my torso ripped open when Oderus mistakes me for a giant Twinkie.
-Jonathan “I’m Just Gonna Die Anyway” Yost