GWAR Frontman Says New Album Is 'A Work Of Titanic Mastery'

Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault recently conducted an interview with GWAR frontman Dave Brockie (a.k.a. Oderus Urungus). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metal Assault: Your new album, "Battle Maximus", comes on Tuesday, September 17. What can your fans expect from this one?

Oderus Urungus: Well, they can expect it to be the new album of GWAR music. But I'm pretty sure that everybody knows that already. I don't know what to say except that they will have an experience unlike what they've had with any other GWAR album because of all kinds of different reasons. First of all, the music is different, and secondly the guitar player is different. The songtitles are also different. So, you know, like every other GWAR album, it will sound unlike any other GWAR album but it happens to be a work of titanic mastery and it will leave them gasping with shit-stained pants and urine-clogged thighs, having literally lost their ability to hold their bowels together and it being released all into themselves, just with joy. Even after everything that GWAR has been through in the last two years, somehow we've made an even greater album than the last one.

Metal Assault: On this album, what are the lyrical subjects that you've explored?

Oderus Urungus: The album attempts to do three things at once. First, kick ass. Second, tell the next chapter in the story of GWAR's quest against all the insidious fucks who're trying to steal the secret of eternal life from GWAR. And also, the album is a tribute to our scumdog brother Flattus Maximus who departed to the stars and who we made this "Battle Maximus" for.

Metal Assault: Usually does it take time or effort for you to come up with these lyrical themes or are you just natural and too used to it by now?

Oderus Urungus: It's basically what I enjoy and it also describes the events that are happening in my life. My life is pretty fucking full of events! Shit is always popping off when you're Oderus Urungus. One second you're on tour, one second you're on TV, one second you're in the studio, next thing there's a superpower mutated fucking asshole is destroying the building trying to chop your balls off. So, basically, once I get through the battle, victoriously, I might add, I sit back in my throne and I ruminate about such things and they turn into the ideas behind our songs. It's a purely natural process. Sometimes it can take a lot of time and sometimes it can happen very quickly. And I have to say the new album is a combination of both of those things.

Metal Assault: A lot of your critics or haters say that you're nothing without the costumes. But I think if you actually did the shows without costumes, people would get to see what it's like.

Oderus Urungus: Well, the biggest problem with that idea is, they would not come to the show if they already had such an opinion. But you know, the thing is, anyone who says that GWAR is just a costume band is completely not getting it because I've been trying to explain the fact that these are not costumes! This is what we wear. I can't tell how many times I've said that. Nobody seems to understand what I'm talking about.

Read the entire interview at Metal Assault.