Blood, guts, and space alien monsters bent on destroying earth. That’s what the metal band GWAR is known for internationally. It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. But for those in Richmond, where the band calls home, it's much, much more than noise.
It’s the freezing Antarctic tundra and a legion of soldiers is marching through the snow.
“Sarge, I got a bad feeling about this.”
Clad in battle armor adorned with massive antlers, bearing a grotesque udder, The Berzerker Bloathar walks into the light…
“Father of War, what troubles my sight…”
Of course we’re not really in Antarctica, we’re at The National Theatre here in Richmond, Virginia. And the “armies of man” are members of GWAR’s crew with comically extended necks. As the rest of the song unfolds, those men meet a gruesome end as fake blood sprays all over the audience to massive applause.
Created in the mid-80s by a group of self-described misfits attending Virginia Commonwealth University, the early days of GWAR saw young artists pushing political and moral boundaries. Their message was often obscene beyond belief - some recurring themes are far too extreme to detail on NPR, but the backbone of their work was always creative and rooted in satirizing popular thought - it also helped develop the artists and the city into what they are today.
“Richmond has really long, subversive, bohemian history that a lot of people aren’t aware of because of its location. It’s a forgotten little crack in the sidewalk. Because of the art school. And we’re part of that.”
That’s Bob Gorman, a member of GWAR since 1988, he now runs the Slave Pit, the band’s creative studio located in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood. Gorman was alongside the band's infamous long-time creative leader Dave Brockie in those early days. Brockie’s words and brain, teamed up with Gorman and his cohort’s crafting skills, created some memorable, albeit terrifying props.
Down at the National, there are still a few hours before the band’s opening show on their fall 2017 national tour. I’m sitting backstage with The Berzerker Bloathar, known out of costume as Dr. Mike Bishop. While a founding member, Bishop has been in and out of the band ever since. He took over as lead singer of the band after Brockie died in 2014.
Now on their 14th studio album, The Blood of Gods released earlier this month, Bloathar said modern America, politically and socially, has made it harder to embrace the old taboos that helped launch the band many years ago.
“GWAR’s struggle to keep up with the depravity of humanity. The way GWAR makes meaning is through satire and this weird enactment, enacting these horrors.”
And that horror has found a lasting home here in Richmond. In addition to having permanent pieces at the Valentine, a museum devoted to Richmond’s history, there’s a Gwar Bar, a restaurant owned by the band’s founders. And VCU’s new modern art museum, the Institute for Contemporary Art, is set to open next spring with an exhibit featuring to GWAR’s legacy. Stephanie Smith, Chief Curator at the ICA, said the band exists on the edges of cultural production.
“They have this evenhanded protest of everything, and they do it with great humor and wit and over the top intensity that's translated not only in their performance but in their costumes.”
Back at the That National, as GWAR looms on stage for their encore, the band launches into an AC/DC cover that ends the new record and the crowd goes wild…
“Do you want blood?!”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.