GWAR: Madness At The Core Of Time – new video

 

 

Anything GWAR do is an official (music or otherwise) video. ‘Madness At The Core Of Time’ comes off your Lords and Masters' latest largely conceptual album ‘Battle Maximus’, which was not released in vain in September 2013 by Metal Blade Records, selling approximately 3,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position number 109 on The Billboard Top 200. ‘Battle Maximus’ is both a tribute to Flattus Maximus (guitarist Cory Smoot) as well as the next chapter in the story of GWAR (Oderus Urungus, Balsac the Jaws of Death, Jizmak Da Gusha and Beefcake the Mighty have mourned and have honoured their longtime guitar player Flattus Maximus; ultimately, the “time to fucking devastate in the name of Flattus and the supreme entity that is GWAR” arrived). And that meant the blowing The Horn of Hate. Which is:

“an ancient Slave Pit contraption that summons all the Scumdogs in the Universe in the unlikely event that one of them is killed in battle, disintegrated, or becomes a Mormon. As the cosmic tones echoed throughout the universe (which unfortunately sounds like a giant duck-fart), the Maximus tribe answered the call by traveling to Earth to wage the mighty Battle Maximus, a musical trial-by-combat for the right to follow in the footsteps of Flattus. When the dust had settled, but one Scumdog remained standing… the zit-encrusted and undeniably shred-tastic Pustulus Maximus.”

The ‘Battle Maximus’ features twelve brand new tracks that tell the story of GWAR's latest struggle against what may be their greatest enemy yet: the insidious “Mr. Perfect” (“who has travelled through time itself to steal the power of GWAR – the power of immortality, and use this power to mutate the human race into his twisted vision of what the “perfect” human should be”). Because:

“If anyone is gonna destroy the human race, it’s gonna be us… so get ready for the most epic struggle yet. ‘Battle Maximus’ is destined to further solidify GWAR's place as the masters of Earth and Man, and no time-travelling demonic despot is going to change that, even if we have to kick his ass in every venue from the most puke-smeared club to the most illustrious festival stages worldwide,” [said Oderus].

‘Battle Maximus’ was recorded at the band's own Slave Pit Studios, and was mixed by award-winning producer Glen Robinson and mastered by “the matchless” Howie Weinberg. And, “seriously if you haven’t gotten it yet, what the fuck are you waiting for? Oderus needs drug money”, get ‘Battle Maximus’ here (Metal Blade store) or on iTunes or Amazon.

 

AllMusic's Steve Huey claims GWAR were formed at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, USA as an experiment in marketing strategy by several musicians, art students, and dancers in 1984, but I’m sure GWAR would claim otherwise. What cannot be disputed is that they are “all-powerful interplanetary warriors, descended from aliens stranded in Antarctica and initially created from the lowest filth in the universe, who came to Earth to sexually enslave and/or slaughter the human race” (more here). Since the group's many members perform dressed in bizarre costumes on a bizarre stage (corpses spewing washable bodily fluids on the audience etc), some authority figures “didn’t take kindly” to GWAR (obscenity charges, shut down concerts, GWAR suing and settling out of court) over the years. GWAR first introduced themselves in 1988 with debut album ‘Hell-O’, followed by their first record released on Metal Blade, 1990's ‘Scumdogs Of The Universe’ – their best selling album to date. ‘America Must Be Destroyed’ followed 1992 and their first album to be censored, ‘This Toilet Earth’, came next in 1994. ‘Ragnarök’ continued to tell the GWAR story in 1995, succeeded by ‘Carnival Of Chaos’ in 1997. GWAR proved once again that no subject is too crude for them with their second censored album, 1999's ‘We Kill Everything’, and ‘Violence Has Arrived’ arrived in 2001. The group switched labels from Metal Blade to DRT Entertainment prior to the release of ‘War Party’ in 2004 which turned to be their best selling album in recent years. GWAR journeyed to Hell and beyond in 2006 on ‘Beyond Hell’ and returned to Metal Blade in 2009 with ‘Lust In Space’. The last album to feature the character of Flattus Maximus (the band's characters never change, only the musicians playing them) was issued in 2010 called ‘Bloody Pit Of Horror’:

“What has set GWAR apart from most of the “masked metal competition” is that they have always had a sense of humor in what they’ve done, while some of the similar-looking bands that followed in their path take things a bit too seriously. You’ve got to give GWAR some credit – they’re still at it (decades after first appearing on the scene), as evidenced by the arrival of their 12th studio album overall, 2010's ‘Bloody Pit Of Horror’. As with past GWAR releases, you know exactly what to expect before your “listening experience” begins: METALLICA-like buzz-saw riffing, grizzly/gory lyrics, etc. And wouldn’t you know it? ‘Bloody Pit Of Horror’ sounds just like their previous albums!” [exclaimed Greg Prato, AllMusic – more here]

GWAR features: Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) – vocals, Balsac the Jaws of Death (Mike Derks) – guitar and backing vocals, Jizmak Da Gusha (Brad Roberts) – drums, Beefcake the Mighty (Jamison Land) – bass and backing vocals and Pustulus Maximus (Brent Purgason) - lead guitar