ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Single Review: GWAR El Presidente

El Presidente
From their upcoming full length The Blood Of Gods out on Metal Blade October 20
As long time fans probably know, Gwar is a band that has survived a lot since releasing Hell-O in 1988. It goes without saying that the untimely passing of founding member Dave Brockie aka Oderus Urungus left a void in the worlds of shock rock and underground metal that is felt to this day. As much as the body of work he left behind, the Dave Brockie Foundation was created to keep his memory alive. And the fifth annual Gwar-B-Q in Brockie’s Richmond, Virginia hometown held a Viking funeral for the Oderus character. The band decided to continue and three years after Brockie’s passing they are preparing to release their first album since 2013’s Battle Maximus. Fuck This Place was the first video made to promote The Blood Of Gods, and was released in Brockie’s memory. This song and the performance where the video was filmed (most likely during the Vans Warped Tour) shows what Gwar have always excelled at: critiquing popular entertainment and the goings on we see in the news with their own brand of blood and gore soaked black humor. Wherever he is, I would think Brockie would be proud to know the band is persevering as musical and visual innovators. According to Metal Blade records, The Blood Of Gods represents a “massive battle between Gwar and the forces of all that is uptight and wrong with the world… from politics, pollution and organized religion to fast food and factory farming.” After three decades their vision remains of addressing the ills and corruption of the world around them, conveying their message through the metaphor of human beings as a parasitic infection. A minute sample of what Gwar slaves can expect from their new recording, their second preview of their new album El Presidente contemplates the political climate of Trump America and the public division prevalent among Americans since Trump’s election. In the tradition of America Must Be Destroyed and War Party, they pull no punches and leave no stone unturned when it comes to offering scathing and sardonic social commentary. In the age of media spin and the “fake news” controversy in which it’s progressively harder to decide what the truth is, it’s satisfying there are still musicians out there who are unafraid to air their viewpoints without the pop music escapism dominating the airwaves. Gwar is touring from September to December in support of The Blood Of Gods, and Metal Blade is updating news on their activities regularly. -Dave Wolff

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