Song: The Salaminizer
Album: Scumdogs Of The Universe
Year: 1990
Genre: Metal / Punk
This post rose to the top of the hundreds of bands I am going to write about due to the death of Dave Brockie this past weekend. Mr. Brockie, sometimes better known as Oderus Urungus, was the singer and innovator behind the punk-metal international super group Gwar. According to cosmic legend, Gwar are intergalactic space rejects banished to this planet to coexist with the scum of the universe; humans! But back on our planet, they have been a recording and touring juggernaut for nearly 30 years. If you’re unfamiliar with Gwar, they use a powerful, imaginative punk rock and metal musical hybrid as a platform for their highly original, and customarily outrageous, stage show. If possible, envision if an Alice Cooper concert was somehow combined with Peter Jackson’s cult classic film Dead Alive; funny, over-the-top and gory! They took the theatrics and special effects of a rock band to new levels. Gwar incorporated lots of humor, monsters, blood, guts, unmentionable parts of the human anatomy and bodily fluids into every performance. Their stage victims have included politicians, religious figures, hippies, skinheads and even 20 foot killer dinosaurs; which were all guaranteed to end up eviscerated, decapitated or just plain old blown to pieces. I got to experience this violent puppet show many times and I always left the venue smiling. The hard work, creativity and dedication it takes to keep a machine like Gwar running is beyond anything I can imagine. From what I know, Dave Brockie’s love and passion for music and art was the driving force. Music lost a true original; there will never be another band like Gwar. Love or hate what they’ve done, there is no denying the slime covered footprint Gwar has stomped on this “mudball” Earth. Musically, any of their records will tell you what they’re all about. My favorite happens to be their 1990 release Scumdogs Of The Universe. Although the future is unwritten, it feels like an appropriate to say thank you to Dave, and thank you to all the other musicians and artists in Gwar, for the music, the laughs and the memories.
Listen to "The Salaminizer" here.
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