This was my first review I ever wrote, back when I worked in the Fangoria office in Times Square NYC.
Greetings all you nefarious navigators of cyberspace, I’m coming to you from the FANGORIA offices, hidden deep within the labyrinth of New York City, to share with you my discoveries of delightfully wicked arrangements composed by artists whom might normally slip under the radar due to their macabre nature. Here at FANGORIA, we bring you the best that horror has to offer, and that is precisely what I intend to do with this FANGORIA MUSICK BLOG. With every resource available to me, I will search countless genres of music to find the most frightening artists that this sick and twisted world has to offer us horror fans.
But what exactly would we consider horror music? Shock rock, psychobilly, death metal, hardcore rap, industrial, ambient, classical? Some will argue that shocking theatrics are the embodiment of horror music, while others will claim it is the classical compositions scored specifically for a horror movie that are the truly frightful compositions. I could never decide on one all-encompassing definition for horror music. Instead, I like to include all genres and base my assessment on content, rather than category.
I would like to first write about shocking musicians, and save the classical composers for another blog entry. When it comes to shock rock, GWAR delivers some of the most graphic and depraved live shows to hit the stages of the world. With 20+ years of experience, there are few that can compete with GWAR ability to shock an audience. Decapitations, dismemberments, disembowelments, and rapes are all a part of the simulated violence that occurs on-stage that has brought GWAR a stature of infamy in the metal world. I like to call them the Gods of Gore. Even their names are godly. Oderus Urungus on lead vocalists, Balsac The Jaws of Death and Flattus Maximus on guitars, Beefcake The Mighty on bass, and Jizmak Da Gusha on drums.
GWAR can be classified under the Metal genre, but their dark sense of humor separates them from the many mediocre metal bands whom take themselves too seriously. GWAR is able to laugh at themselves, after they laugh in face of our everyday world. Their latest release, Beyond Hell, features an advancement of their musicianship toward a more progressive metal sound. GWAR’s newer progressive writing can be heard on songs like “War Is All We Know”, "The Ultimate Bohab" and "Eighth Lock". The simply written, goofy songs styles are something of the past for GWAR. Their past 3 releases have showcased GWAR's ability to write clever metal songs, yet still retain their trademark dark humor, demonstrated on such tracks as "I Love The Pigs" and "Back In Crack". Beyond Hell also features a bonus track; a cover of the Alice Cooper classic "School's Out". Alice Cooper could be considered the first shock rocker, so how fitting that these Gods Of Gore would do a tribute to Alice with their rendition of one of his tunes.
The 5 members of GWAR appear as large, grotesque monsters set on destroying the human race. Their music sets the mood for violence as other characters walk through and interact with the band and the audience. These characters can resemble political figures like U.S. President G.W. Bush and Adolf Hitler, and some resemble religious figures like The Pope and Jesus. Each of these martyrs gets slaughtered by GWAR’s front man, whom is assisted by his slaves, minor characters whom act as stage hands to assist with large props. Each victim spews vile colored fluids from their wounds which spray all over the band and the audience (now remember, this is all simulated and done with latex, rubber, and lots of food coloring), and it’s the slaves who control the mechanics of this violent charade.
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of witnessing one of GWAR’s horrific performances when they played at The Roseland Ballroom as a part of the Viva La Bands tour, supporting C.K.Y. and Cradle Of Filth. GWAR was not headline, which meant their stage set up was a little smaller. Their usual setup has a total environment look, but this time they used a plain black stage and covered it with large tapestries depicting demonic figures.
GWAR played an impressive 11 song set, hammering through such classics as Saddam a Go-Go and Immortal Corrupter.
They say the show aint over until the fat lady sings, well at a GWAR show that fat lady is a giant T-Rex named GorGor that appears at the end of the show and completely destroys the stage. Although set seemed short for GWAR (no encore) and the stage seemed small, the sound was good and the band played tight, and when you're blood soaked and in the pit, that's all that really matters.
GWAR Roseland Ballroom, NYC.
Nov. 2nd, 2007.
Set List:
War Is All We Know
Crosstika
Go To Hell
Bring Back Da Bomb
Saddam A Go Go
Tormentor
Immortal Corrupter
Baby Dick Fuck
Murderers Muse
Eighth Lock
Horror Of Yig
http://www.gwar.net/
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