Take your pick. Either Gwar are extra-terrestrial war gods from the dawn of time itself exiled to Earth for their cosmic crimes… or they’re a bunch of nerds from Richmond Virginia who formed the band out of the remains of other hardcore groups and nicknamed themselves things like Sexecutioner and Techno Destructo.
Personally, war gods from the dawn of time has a nice ring to it, but believe it or not, the truth is even better. The band came together from an idea that eventual lead singer Dave Brockie had. He was the frontman of Death Piggy, a hardcore band who were starting to get some serious recognition for their outrageous antics in concert, and his band struck up a friendship with Hunter Jackson.
Jackson was making props for both Death Piggy and a film he was trying to get made called Scumdogs of the Universe. However, the film was going nowhere and Brockie suggested that they use the props made for it, which were just going spare at the time, to create a new band to support Death Piggy. They called this new band Gwaaarrrgghhlllgh, but they shortened it to Gwar when the idea proved so successful that people were coming to see Death Piggy and leaving directly after the newly formed Gwar’s set.
Of course, this all sounds like the start of an outrageously fun but ultimately pointless summer project for some bored but imaginative hardcore kids. Not so for Gwar. Twenty years and an utterly astonishing 820,000 records sold over 13 studio albums in the United States alone, Gwar are still going strong even after Dave Brockie’s death in 2014. They are true legends of their genre, and a message that if a crazy idea might just work, with enough effort and hard work, it can.
Soulfly wasted no time in releasing an eponymous debut album that would go on to reach number 79 in the Billboard 200. They developed their metal sound to invite influences from traditional South American music. They released their second album “Primitive” on September 26th 2000, on the prestigious alternative music label, Roadrunner Records, which made it to number 32 in the Billboard 200 chart, and number 11 in the Independent Albums chart. The album featured appearances from Corey Taylor from Slipknot on the song “Jumpdafuckup” and Slayer front man, Tom Araya.
Next came the album “3” which was the third album by Soulfly released on June 25th 2002. It made it to number 46 on the Billboard 200 chart and was responsible for the singles “Downstroy” and “Seek ‘n’ Strike”. “Prophecy”, released on March 30th 2004, was the band’s fourth album. It has since sold 275,000 units. Cavalera invited some ‘world’ music influences, inviting Brazilian elements into the arrangement of the album. The album would reach 82 on the Billboard 200 but make it to 24 on the German Album Charts.
“Dark Ages” was the following instalment released on October 4th 2005. It featured the vocals from his son, Richie on “Staystrong”. The following album “Conquer” was a step in the right direction with the album charting not only at number 66 in the Billboard 200, but number 7 on the UK Rock Albums chart and then the top 40 of Germany, Austria, Australia, Finland and Netherlands. The sequential album “Omen” released on May 18th 2010, gave the band an anomalous number 1 in Greece.
GWAR is not for the squeamish. Their hellbound style of thrash and hardcore punk is loud and straight to the point.
Front man Oderous Urungus (recently deceased Dave Brockie) started the band in the late 80's. They quickly rose to infamy for their vulgar lyrics and even more vulgar live shows.The band typically plays smaller to medium sized venues.
The concert I saw was in a bar/venue conversion that held a few hundred people. The members of the band dress in full demonic costumes, covered with spikes and adorned with weaponry such as axes and swords.
During their set you will be shocked as they crucify nuns, abort fake fetus', and murder pop icons on stage, spewing fake blood (red corn syrup) over the crowd for the duration of their set. The band claims to be a band of interplanetary warriors and blasts favorites from their albums such as Ragnarok, Carnival of CHaos, and Scumdogs of the Universe. The shows are vehemently filled with political satire, pop culture, and relevant media icons -- typically being brutalized and murdered on stage for the enjoyment of the crowd.
The music is loud and crass, and the deep crunchy guitars will obliterate your soul with their screeches of death. GWAR has to be one of the most iconic bands on the planet, and if you can stomach the crude lyrics, loud guitars, and outrageous on-stage antics then go see GWAR next time they come to town.
Rising from the depths of probably the most instrumental bands in the development of thrash metal Sepultura, following his departure Max Cavalera formed Soulfly in 1997. Utilising the familiar sound he had helped create, Cavalera fed it into the band making use of traditional Brazilian tribal and world music while fusing it with death metal. His vision for Soulfly was to incorporate the idea of merging spirituality with sound. Their debut self-titled album was released the following year reaching number 79 in the Billboard charts. Subsequently they have gone on to release a further 8 studio albums and although the line-up since its inception has changed several times, Max Cavalera remains constant.
Summer festivals are one the best environments to see Soulfly live, they certainly don’t do things by halves. Before they even arrive an eruption of smoke fills the stage, accompanied by an operatic soundtrack as the crowd chant “Soulfly! Soulfly” to which the band run on stage. Kicking off the set with “Babylon” and then into “Prophecy” as Cavalera’s signature deep roar resonates through the air. From the offset the crowd waste no time in jumping up and down with their devils horns high in the air as the brutal drum beats raise the tempo to maximum. The intense breakdowns combined with the fierce strobe lights ignites organised chaos with various circle pits opening up in the crowd as they fling their bodies round and round before merging into mosh pits.
Soulfly have no qualms about owning the stage, the crowd is at their command. Cavalera is an excellent frontman as he enthuses the crowd with an unlimited supply of energy. If you’d forgotten where they were from, there are gentle reminders on stage right from the Brazilian flag hung from the drum riser, to the colours of their plectrums and even down to their customised guitars. Of course you can expect to hear some Sepultura classics like “Roots Bloody Roots”, “Refuse/Resist” and “Troops of Doom” thrown in the mix- it’d be rude of them not to! There are moments of pure brilliance when Marc Rizzo shreds the guitar like his life depended on it, simply mesmerising.
From start to finish the crowds are in motion as waves of bodies travel across the crowd. It’s not surprising, Soulfly have the innate ability to take over your body for the duration of their set and allowing you to let go of all inhibitions. Whatever musical projects Max Cavalera is involved with, you can expect pure magic.
Aussie brutal set by the PATROT of not a few but all iconic parrot tracks. These guys r gonna go far(further) quick so if i were you I'd get em In as often as you can . From LeeRoi. Am originally north suburban Melbourne like KP.
If u want a hip-hop event I promo for how many deep . Check our channel on YT for clips . We I ain't no posers like 99.90% of "Aussie hip-hop or rap" it'd go off, n your venue is perfect contact Raymond Shaw for bookings