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August 28, 2008 |
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01. Bring Back The Bomb
02. Krosstika
03. Womb With A View
04. Decay Of Grandeur
05. War Party
06. Bonesnapper (The Faces Of The Slain)
07. Lost God
08. The Reaganator
09. The Bonus Plan
10. You Can't Kill Terror
11. Fistful Of Teeth
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Man oh man...GWAR (featuring Oderus Urungus/bellowing, Balsac the Jaws of Death/guitars, Beefcake the Mighty/bass, Jizmak Da Gusha/drums, Flattus Maximus/guitar, and the ever-present members of the 'Slave Pit'). Where do I even begin on this one!?! Are these guys the biggest joke in Metal, a serious, albeit satire-drenched theatrical act who have simply opted for a 'unique' image, a bunch of damned psychopaths, or all three wrapped up in one weird-as-all-get-out package of gore, plastic swords, spikes, rubber prosthetics, loud guitars, and outrageous stage sets that include a giant penis cannon and gigantic maggots who 'devour' willing audience members!?! I honestly don't know. For me, GWAR have always been the penultimate 'joke band'. End of story. I just can't appreciate them on any level above or beyond that. I mean, sure I get that it's meant to be taken as satire - Ha, ha, ha...okay? - and yeah...I even found it all somewhat fun and amusing myself...THE FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES!
It's been awhile now, though. A LOT of albums too. A reeeaaalll LOT of albums. The thing is, I think this review simply reflects my tolerance for all things GWAR-related having run its course. You can only hear the same joke so many times before you stop laughing. I'm sorry but when you and your band portray yourselves as mutant cavebeasts who claim to have been unfrozen from some antidiluvean tomb only to be summoned via a trail of crack-cocaine leading to New York City to battle evil and play Heavy Metal, well...come on guys. Surely given all of this nonsense I can be forgiven for refusing to take you seriously. Or, for that matter, for refusing to care any more either. It's just not as funny as it used to be. At the most, I will state that seeing these guys live is probably amazing. But again, that's only because the 'live' setting allows for maximum enjoyment of what is 85-90% a wholly visual spectacle.
As far as the music goes - in and of itself - this one-trick pony has pretty much gasped its last breath. And truly, 'one-trick pony' is indeed an apt 'nom de plus' in GWAR's case. Ever since their inception, GWAR have always been a band who relied more upon the spectacle of their image and stageshow than upon any inherently awe-inspiring, or original musical talent. Like KISS...only much uglier (although at least KISS had a gift for hooky melodies and anthemic barnstormers!). Admittedly, the theatrical element plays a large and integral part in making such an over-the-top genre of music as Heavy Metal what it is, but there does come a point when the theatrical element can be overdone - even in Metal. Ultimately, the music should be the focus. It ALWAYS comes down to the strength of the music in the end.
In GWAR's case, as evidenced on latest offering 'War Party', the music is, at best, second fiddle to the choir of the outrageous that is their stageshow. Like UGLY KID JOE, SCATTERBRAIN, and more obvious GWAR copycats, the now-thankfully-defunct GREEN JELLY...the Antarctican Hellspawn play pretty paint-by-numbers, pedestrian Thrash/Funk/Punk/Hardcore set to a backdrop of high-school level 'leer-uckz' which struggle to deal with a whole host of political and social-ills type subjects that frankly, ring more than a tad hollow when delivered by a guy in a monster costume sportin' a 12" prosthetic wang swinging a broadsword whilst equally ridiculously-outfitted characters cavort around him in an orgiastic display of senseless cartoon sex, violence, and other general chaos. This WAS funny once, but not so much any more. Come on guys, this is supposed to be Metal. Not the Ring-a-ling Bros! The end result may be fun to watch...but try closing your eyes and simply listening. Not much to write home about, eh?
Exactly. With 'War Party', GWAR admittedly turn the affair up a notch or two, with a surprisingly improved sense of riff and heft, anchored by a more than competent rhythm/percussion section. This is actually fairly listenable stuff, I must admit - middle-of-the-road Thrash/Punk/Hardcore that would have sounded fresh and 'really heavy' about 15 years ago. Nothing more, nothing less. Just nothing of a calibre that warrants adjectives like 'awesome', or 'outstanding'. Perhaps what makes me harp on so in regards to the band's image is the fact that - again - judging by the tone of the lyrics and choice of subject matter, they seem to WANT to tackle the big issues. I mean, we've got an anti-nuclear war track with 'Bring Back The Bomb'. Then there's the warning against xenophobia/organized religion of 'Krosstika'. The decline of Western civilization on 'Decay Of Grandeur'. Another anti-organized religion rant on 'Lost God'. 'The Reaganator' takes on the Republican-right.
'You Can't Kill Terror' faces down the...you guessed it...Terrorism! Like, who do these guys really want to be: the circus of the deranged that is GWAR? Or RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE!?! As it stands, I think they are trying to be both. At best this is...really weird. At worst, completely ineffective and pointless.
Most importantly though - IMO - above everything else, taken purely in terms of the quality of their music, GWAR are nothing to get excited about. If I ever had the opportunity to review one of their shows for METALEATER, then hey man...I'm down! As stated earlier, I'll bet it's a helluva laugh live, and probably a lot of fun too. I would doubtless give such a spectacle a higher rating than '5' to boot. As far as GWAR 'the listening experience' goes though, I'm sorry but I just don't get it, guys and gals and I'm sticking to my guns on this one. Maybe one day these guys will manage to integrate the musical side of the GWAR universe more fully with that of the visual. Until then however, I'll file this under 'dated and rapidly running out of gas'.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: the enhanced CD version contains a video for 'Womb With A View'. It's about as funny/disturbing/bizarre as any other GWAR video you've ever witnessed. Enjoy.
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