The Blood of Gods

Where to begin with this one. I think it’s safe to say that after the untimely death of lead vocalist, Dave Brockie, GWAR didn’t have to continue. They could’ve called it quits and I believe that most fans would have reacted positively. Over 30 years of delivering punk rock/metal tunes and spraying assortments of fluids is impressive, and the passing the band’s front man would’ve been a good excuse to wrap things up. Give up on GWAR though? Hell no! Instead, the band decided to carry on, find a new (and old) vocalist, and keep the dream alive! Brockie himself said GWAR was a band that could continue, “for thousands of years”, under the veil of latex suits and sociopolitical commentary, two things certain in life. But dreaming is one thing, doing is another, so how did GWAR’s attempt to march on in a post Brockie world turn out? Pretty good so far!

‘The Blood of Gods’ is a monumental GWAR album by default. Naturally, it is the first one to feature an entirely new lead vocalist: Blothar the Berserker a.k.a. GWAR alum Mike Bishop. Bishop previously played bass on the first 4 GWAR albums before departing the project. Equipping Bishop to perform lead vocals was probably the smartest thing the band could’ve done, and slightly ingenious if you think about it. Bishop had already sung tracks on previous GWAR albums and proven himself quite versatile. But could he carry a whole album, let alone a whole GWAR album? I am quite pleased to report that Bishop’s performance on the album is remarkable! His gruff and tough warrior persona brings a new-old life to the band, more time weathered and weary. He delivers an articulate message of aggression through his restrained performance, keeping a mostly straight face throughout the album. He also has his share of trademark GWAR silliness, seen on tracks ‘Death to Dickie Duncan’ and ‘I’ll Be Your Monster’. He’s not so much a “replacement” for Brockie, as he is just another solid character in the band’s lore. However, none of this is to say he isn’t without his detractions, especially when comparing him to Brockie. This may sound like a contradiction, but it’s certainly hard to ignore knowing that Bishop is now the lead vocalist for the foreseeable future. Bishop seems apprehensive about being too silly or throwing out an unexpected variation in his performance. He’s consistent to a fault considering the band he’s in. You always know what notes he’s going to hit and doesn’t pull any punches. I’d say he sings a bit too safe, but I can see where he’s coming from. This is his introductory album and pulling something too wacky might’ve scared long-term fans off.

Let’s not forget that Bishop is not the only one proving his worth on the album! If there’s one thing I can safely say, it’s that the other members continue the trend of advancing their technical skills. I remember the first single, ‘Fuck This Place’, dropping while I was at work and stopping to listen. The opening riff was as majestic as it was memorable, while the rest of the song perfectly encapsulated the band’s motto going forward. I’d say if you were on the fence about this album, listen to that song and see if it tips you over. Brent Purgason at this point has cemented himself as the lead guitarist and has so taken on a heavily creative role in the band. See, ‘The Blood of God’s is noticeably less metal this time around on certain songs. Purgason has exclaimed his enjoyment of the punkier side of GWAR and it shows. Tracks like ‘Death to Dickie Duncan’ and ‘Viking Death Machine’ are distinctly bouncy and punky. This is kept in healthy balance compared to the mostly heavy/thrash metal songs on display. Guest vocalists Matt Maguire and MC Chris do an awesome job at animating their new additions to GWAR’s ever expanding list of villains.

Let me also sing the praise of how this album honors Dave Brockie. The tracks ‘Fuck This Place’ and ‘Phantom Limb’ are two sides of the same coin. GWAR isn’t stupid and they knew fan reaction to this album and the band’s future in general would be polarizing. The message of ‘Fuck This Place’ is directed more towards the potentially ireful fans and is intended to be an unabashed mission statement of Bishop’s role as vocalist. He’s here to carry on the legacy of Oderus, declaring his shared misanthropic hatred of Earth. It’s meant to share commonality with the deceased member and appeal to those who may be unswayed. It’s also a (bit on the nose) satire of those who would write off Bishop regardless, with the song quipping that, “#BlotharRuinedGWAR”. It’s aggressive and it works as an intro the this “new” era of GWAR. The track ‘Phantom Limb’ is much more somber, and Bishop goes to excellent lengths to mourn the loss of his fallen brother. This song is much more emotional on a deeper level and ponders the morality of continuing the band’s exploits without Brockie. This is all of course under the veneer of the band’s alien personas but is unmistakably the real-life pain and struggle of anyone who had a connection to David Murray Brockie. It’s a powerhouse, not for the faint of heart, and dare I say the highlight of the album. It unifies the feelings of not only the bandmates but the fans as well. It consolidates not just the death of Brockie, but anyone who has ever felt a tragic loss and rouses feelings of regret and uncertainty. Absolutely stunning.

Those two songs are almost enough to make me forget the faults of the album. Almost. There are a few songs I have a bone to pick with. First off, straight face thrashers like ‘Auroch’ and ‘Swarm’ are almost wholly disposable. Bishop can carry a song that’s composed in an interesting way, but straight face thrash is instantly a bore. Speaking of which, the track ‘Crushed by The Cross’ is abysmal by GWAR standards. It’s plain and simple Slayer worship with no interesting spin on it. Even if you’re a fan of Slayer, I doubt you wanted to hear GWAR play a Slayer song. It doesn’t even feel like a take on the band, so…. Points for imitation? Nah. Also, if you’re going to write a song as heavenly as ‘Phantom Limb’, please do NOT follow it and end the album on a cover of AC/DC. Ending an album on a cover is tricky business in my opinion, and it’s done entirely wrong here. It’s tonally jarring as much as it is musically jarring. I associate AC/DC with GWAR less than I do with fucking Slayer. It’s also out of place because GWAR doesn’t do covers often, and when they do, they’re regulated to singles or special editions. The worst offense of it all? It’s AC/DC. No offense but I am not a fan. I may be rambling on here or making a bigger deal than need be, but I cannot overstate how much it undercuts the weight of ‘Phantom Limb’. I know ending on a somber note isn’t usually in GWAR fashion, but at least come up with something better, or hey, DO end on a somber note this time around.

So, how does ‘The Blood of Gods’ do at continuing the journey of GWAR? I think that the album did as a good a job as it possibly could have. There are undoubtedly a few hiccups here and there, and the album treads water a few times. For example, the love rock anthem of ‘I’ll Be Your Monster’ feels like a retread of ‘Bloody Mary’ from ‘Violence Has Arrived’, except done flatter. On the flipside, the album has a distinct and modern sound to it, ever impressive performances, and honest to God, songs that are works of art. At worst, the album can be described as hit or miss. At best, it’s a loving tribute to a member that will not be soon forgotten. There’s a metric ton of heart, and that’s what matters in any work of art in the end.

P.S. As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of the cover GWAR did of Jim Carroll’s ‘People Who Died’ and thinking how much better that would’ve been to close out the album. Talk about a missed opportunity.

Originally written for Antichrist Magazine

So anyone who has been fearing a full release post-Oderus, allay your fears. Blothar does a wonderful job in his stead. He doesn't try to be Oderus or mimic his style, but instead brings his own flair to the front-man position. His vocals remind me quite a bit of the late Ronnie James Dio, especially on tracks like "I'll be Your Monster". It's that high-end growl that makes it similar, though Blothar doesn't ever quite reach the vocal heights of Dio. There are a few points where his voice seems strained. Not in a over-used way, but he's trying to keep his character's voice going in particularly difficult sections or quiet portions like on "Phantom Limb". The rest of the band performs at the standard they've set for themselves or just below. Not being entirely their fault because the style has changed a bit which we'll talk about in a second. There were some great leads and the best ones that are offered are a tonal match to the vocal pattern, like on "El Presidente". Those are fun but not impressive. The drums end up pretty cookie-cutter on some tracks, like "Crushed by the Cross", however they excel and bring fresh compositions with the music on "Death to Dickie Duncan". Really great drum track on that one.

The style on The Blood of Gods differs from the evolution of sound on their previous handful of albums. They were getting heavier and more metal. This release is a patchwork of that style, but re-introduces songs that would fit on their early discography. With that comes more punk songs, thrash, silliness ("Death to Dickie Duncan"), and catchy hooks that'll stay with you. With that territory comes more fun and silliness. There are also some songs that I would classify as heavy rock, like the very lame "I'll be Your Monster". I mean, they did cover "If You Want Blood (You Got It)". The heaviest and for sure fastest song is "Crushed by the Cross". It is also for sure the most boring track. This could signal a permanent turning of the tides for the bands direction. That song is an unabashed Slayer copy. Kerry King opens all his solos with a searing whammy bar tone that immediately noddles out of control. Check. High-pitched and scratchy scream in the Tom Araya style and barks of short words for a chorus. Check. Riffs ripped from middle-career Slayer. Check. The most punk it gets is on "Intro/Swarm" (Yes, the disc version calls it that and yes, there is an intro dead middle of the album.) So if you're wanting recent more-metal Gwar, you may skip that song and possibly "Swarm". The album flow is a bit weird in that the songs alternate in theme, emotions, and speed, but in the most jarring of ways. It's not necessarily a bad thing but you'll notice how all-over-the-place it is.

The writing is in tune with the rest of their discography; complete with biting social mockery, puns galore, and fantasy enemies that are reflections of real-life people/celebrities/attitudes. The album has a lot to say this time around; Obesity, American politics, unstable relationships, overpopulation, false religion, the value of human life, and the loss of loved-ones. There's actually a touching track about the late and aforementioned Oderus Urungus. I should also note that I really appreciate getting almost a full-hour in an album. So many this year have skirted around the LP/EP border with 7 tracks or a just over 30 minute run-time. Thank you Gwar.

Best tracks:
--El Presidente
--F*** This Place
--Death to Dickie Duncan
--Intro/Swarm

Technical Skill: 64% Song writing: 87% Originality: 82% Album production/structure: 63%

Originally Written For The Kringelorde Archives

I honestly can’t imagine how a GWAR album might sound to a newcomer at this point. How do I possibly explain the decades of bizarre costumes, genres, and subject matter the band has covered in as little as a paragraph? Suffice to say GWAR is the nonsensical thrash/punk band from the mind of late frontman Dave Brockie, whose entire mantra seemed to be “do whatever you want and we’ll see if it sticks”. So GWAR’s discography looks like a giant collaboration between Frank Zappa and Motorhead with a B-Movie theme. But while GWAR was enjoying a recent resurgence of good material, Dave Brockie passed away leaving GWAR’s fate up in the air, only to return with a past member now taking up vocal duties, and the band seeming to continue on in Brockie’s memory. So all that’s left to ask is… how is it?

The first thing that struck me about The Blood of Gods was the song titles. GWAR’s discography has been less obscene and more approachable over the last few years, but the group still wasn’t afraid to throw songs like “Raped At Birth” or “Fuckin’ An Animal” at you. Seeing that track listing for the first time and seeing nothing of that nature just didn’t sit right with me. “OK”, I thought, War Party and Beyond Hell didn’t have anything like that and they were fine, so maybe I’m just generalizing. Then I actually listened to the whole album and felt my fears were correct: the problem with The Blood of Gods is that it’s GWAR and their most safe for work. So much of the in your face attitude and obscene language is just plain missing. And when it’s not missing, it’s buried in the bland performances. “Viking Death Machine” for instance is about a viking death race, something that is right up GWAR’s alley, but the language in the lyrics is just plain boring. This song in particular even has what may be my favorite lyric ever (“hot dog of doom”) but Michael Bishop’s dry delivery gives no weight to what should be a goofy romp.

Speaking of Bishop (aka Blothar), I’ll actually give him some credit, he is a better vocalist than Brockie. But GWAR was never about objective quality, they’re about fun. My biggest problem with Bishop is his dry delivery of every line. He sounds like he’s really trying to nail these songs and make them sound perfect. I respect his gumption, but his vocals come nowhere near the unexpected shrieks and growls of Brockie. The Blood of Gods is at it’s best when the band lets loose and goes all out on the goofy nature of themselves. “El Presidente” is a fantastic example. It’s got a groovy/punky riff, a chorus that features vocals from every other member, and some horns to boot. But it’s Bishop’s delivery that makes these songs feel more flat and lifeless than they should be.

The production meanwhile, seems to waver between strong and bland. The guitars have this overall weak sound compared to previous records, but then out of nowhere (see “El Presidente”, “Auroch”) the mixing will bring back that thick, heavy sound. The drums meanwhile, sound like they were recorded in the other room. You can barely hear them over anything else, and when I could hear them, I didn’t hear anything remarkable. The songs themselves meanwhile, have a really nice mix of classic heavy metal and punky thrash. GWAR’s recent discography was very thrash focused, so it was nice to see a bit more variety in the songs. That being said, much like Bishop’s vocals, there’s something very safe and clean about the music choices. The horns on “El Presidente” for instance, never make a return. Maybe I’m just nit picking, but I keep thinking back to albums such as “America Must Be Destroyed” which touched on punk, thrash, and lounge jazz within 4 songs, then back to Blood Of The Gods and wonder were all the bizarre variety is.

I’ve had a lot of bad things to say about The Blood of Gods, but in truth, as I sit here and listen to it for the 40th time, I can’t bring myself to hate it. Buried somewhere in the piss poor mixing and bland lyrics, there is a good GWAR album in here. I can tell so much effort was put in to make this album sound just right, but as I said before, GWAR is at their best when their attitude takes over. Without Brockie, it’s obvious something is missing, but with a little more effort, this new GWAR could make something really special.