‘It took 25 fucking years for people to realize that this is a viable band’ — Oderous Urungus

DETAILS

Gwar with Job For a Cowboy and The Red Chord
MacEwan Hall
Thursday, December 3 - Thursday, December 3

More in: Rock / Pop

After a quarter-century of vomit jokes and bestiality references conveyed through rubber suits, one would think the running gag that is Gwar would have run its course by now. That would be ignoring one key factor, though: This band rocks. There are actually talented musicians under those goofy suits, and their long-running stage show — involving decapitations, spewing sexual organs and copious amounts of blood — is really secondary to the music put forth on Gwar’s albums.

Nothing hammers that point home harder than the band's 11th studio album, Lust in Space. A stunningly refined piece of work, the album is the band’s best in years — almost 15 to be exact, but who's counting? From the energized hooks of “Let Us Slay” through “Metal Metal Land,” with its hilarious lyrics, and ending tune “Parting Shot,” Lust in Space is an astonishingly high watermark for a band most thought had long since passed its shelf life. Hell, even vocalist Oderous Urungus is shocked at its warm reception from fans and critics alike.

“We actually debuted on the fucking Billboard Top 100, an unfathomable event,” he boasts. “I guess people are finally getting their heads out of their asses and realizing that Gwar is one of the greatest motherfucking heavy metal bands to ever live, not just a bunch of costumed clowns. I think it took 25 fucking years for people to realize that this is a viable band because we look so sexy. It's difficult to get past that part. When you see a band as sexually attractive as Gwar, you automatically think Justin Timberlake or Boys II Men: just a pretty face unable to play metal. But we've surprised and astounded.”

Why such hype and revived enthusiasm in and around Gwar after 25 years? As Oderous notes, the band’s incomparable ability has always been there. However, Urungus and company (the band is completed by guitarists Flattus Maximus and Balsac the Jaws of Death, bassist Beefcake the Mighty and drummer Jizmak Da Gusha) have only now warmed up — as the story goes, from being frozen in an Antarctic tomb for centuries until the hairspray from hair metal bands of the ’80s depleted the ozone layer enough to thaw the polar ice cap that encased them — enough to perform to their fullest capacity.

“It is our finest record yet, but there is room to get better,” Urungus babbles. “It took a long time for this band to de-thaw. We did the first 23 years of records with large sections of our bodies still covered in permafrost. We've now fully thawed out and now we're more dexterous on the instruments we slobber and vomit all over. Technically, it's the greatest record we've done. We produced it and Flattus has mastered all the electronic wizardry required to do this. I don't see why the next album won't be even greater.”

More mind-numbing than the music though, is the tale behind Lust in Space. As with most previous Gwar efforts, a loose theme runs through the record and is relayed during the live show. In the past, killer penguins, a hormone-stealing scientist, a raging Tyrannosaurus rex and more have assaulted the stage, resulting in the band's legendary gore-soaked spectacle. This time, however, Urungus reveals the return of a former foe, Cardinal Syn, the religious robot. He has returned, er, hellbent on ridding the universe of Gwar once and for all.

“The events of Lust in Space are foretold on the album, so if you want to know what happens, buy it,” he hollers. “When you go to the show, though, you witness the colossal battle between Cardinal Syn and Oderous. A few other people show up and get their heads clobbered pretty hard in the battle, too. The next record will be based on what happens after that. Do we defeat him or are we destroyed by him? It'll have a big effect on what the next album is all about. Cardinal Syn wants to destroy us and wipe out Earth. Then there will be no next album. We can't have that happen.”

“That's why you humans have to come down to the show and defend your planet,” he continues. “Fight with Gwar to destroy Cardinal Syn. He will outlaw strip clubs. He will literally go to the strip clubs and stomp them with those giant robot feet of his... with the strippers still in the club. It's disgusting. There's nothing sadder than seeing a smashed pole dancer.”