By Erik Casarez
GWAR is a lot of things, but subtle they are not. The Virginia band that has been blending punk, metal, and hard rock for the last four decades brought their “Gor-Gor Strikes Back” tour to Emo’s on April 23–performing as a band of alien monsters banished to Earth by their creator for destroying the wrong planet. King Parrot and Soulfly opened.
King Parrot
Seminal grindcore band King Parrot opened for GWAR with a high intensity set. The Australian quintet sped through their discography with blast beats and dizzying distorted riffs and played classics like “Sh*t on the Liver” and newer song “F*ck You and the Horse You Rode in On.” It was the perfect combination of vulgar humor and thrash-worthy vibes to set the stage for GWAR, the self-appointed “Scumdogs of the Universe.”
Soulfly
King Parrot was followed by metal legend Soulfly. Soulfly has elements of nu metal and thrash with Caribbean and Brazilian influences. Their unique sound meshes these sounds quite well interspersing dancey bass grooves with aggressive chords and commands like “Get the F*ck Up!”. There’s a synergy between the band and the crowd that feels spiritual without feeling forced, and it’s a truly captivating live music experience.
GWAR
Strobes of light flicker like lightning in the dark, but instead of thunder you hear wailing guitars in the background. A large egg sits center stage surrounded by five monstrous figures straight out of a distant planet nightmare. The top of the egg cracks and a baby dinosaur pokes its head out, shrieking and spewing blood into the crowd. The music erupts and the crowd cheers. This is messy, this is chaotic, this is GWAR.
GWAR’s theatrical stage show features alien costumes and makeup and comic book hyperviolence that includes bloody battles, a dinosaur named Gor-Gor, and the dismembering of infamous celebrities and politicians. Part metal show, part sci-fi and part comedy, GWAR’s production value rivals that of Broadway theater. After nearly 40 years, they up the ante with each show and fans reciprocate with appreciation and the type of engagement that feels much more real than just double tapping a video on Instagram. It’s easy to forget how proficient the band is as musicians with their clash of primitive sounds, complex guitar work, and engaging soundscapes. It feels less like a rock concert and more like living in a horror movie with a killer soundtrack.
On the merch line, a towering man covered in tattoos with an undercut mohawk waits with his two young sons wearing ear plugs. They look about old enough to have played video games with similar vulgarity and gruesomeness. This isn’t isolated either, there are tons of kids with their parents bonding over an act that might have some parents clutching their pearls.
It’s a level of wholesomeness and earnestness you don’t really expect from a show that involves intergalactic monsters spewing blood cannons into the crowd and it’s kind of beautiful.
Some people come prepared for the bloodshed wearing ponchos, some wait in the pit waiting to be baptized in the holy terror that is GWAR. Whether you’re moshing it up to the sounds or gory visuals or just taking it all in with your kids, GWAR delivers a live music experience that reminds you why you go to live concerts in the first place.
