The band was the result of the collaboration between Hunter Jackson and Dave Brockie, then the singer for a punk band called Death Piggy. Jackson was working on a movie at the time the two met. The movie, entitled Scumdogs of the Universe, featured a plot involving terrifying intergalactic barbarians. Jackson and Brockie combined their ideas, re-named the band Gwar, and have been performing as ghoulish intergalactic warriors ever since. Their costumes are generally made of foam latex, styrofoam, and hardened rubber. It should be noted that the costumes they are wearing actually cover very little with the rest of their bodies being accentuated with makeup. They further their production in concert by dousing, spraying, and at times nearly drowning their audiences with imitation blood, semen, gore, and other bodily fluids. All the fluids are made of water and dye that washes out easily. It is rumored that corn syrup or a similar product has been used as a thickener.
Another trademark of GWAR's live show is their mutilations of celebrities and figures in current events. Victims of GWAR's antics have included O.J. Simpson, George W. Bush, Paris Hilton, and many others. The band also makes frequent references to political and historical figures, fantasy literature, and mythology. For instance, the song "Whargoul" makes reference to Minas Morgul, a setting in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books; and the title of their sixth album, Ragnarok, comes from Norse mythology.
GWAR, though by no means a small-time band, have not enjoyed as much mainstream recognition as many other bands. Around the time of their second album (Scumdogs of the Universe), they enjoyed a fair deal of success, due in part to Beavis and Butt-head. After that, however, GWAR's popularity waned and they were even featured on the VH1 program "Where Are They Now." Though not at the peak of their popularity, GWAR was recently invited to play on the Sounds of the Underground tour, which was very well received.
Gwar were, at one time, banned from performing in their home city of Richmond, Virginia due to their raucous stage performances. During that time they would appear in their home town under the pseudonym Rawg and play sans costumes. The ban was later lifted and the band can now play in Richmond again in full gory attire. GWAR was banned earlier in North Carolina for obscenity reasons (Brockie was arrested for wearing his "Cuttlefish of Cthulu" prosthetic penis; this incident was the inspiration for GWAR's America Must Be Destroyed album). Band members and associates often have cookouts at their house, dubbed "Gwar-BQ's." The video for "Saddam a Go-Go" from This Toilet Earth appeared in the hit movie Empire Records. Gwar was/is primarily a band of former art students, and this is reflected in the obscure references made in some of their songs. Gwar fans are known as Bohabs or Scumdogs.
The origin and meaning of the band's name has been left intentionally vague by its members, although the most widely accepted explanation (though false and denied by the band members) is that GWAR is an acronym for "God What an Awful Racket!" One rumor states that the name may have come from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel Watchmen, in which a poster reads, "Pink Triangle LIVE at the Gay Women Against Rape Benefit Concert." Other unsubstantiated rumors state that GWAR! is the sound monsters make in old horror movies, or that a fan at a club yelled "You should call your band..." and vomited before he could finish, making a sound close to the word GWAR. A final possibility, and the most viable as of yet, coming from sources close to the band suggests strongly that the name comes from the answer David Brockie gave to Hunter Jackson when asked what the band should be called. David Brockie simply responded with a mostly unintelligble word and isolated a single sound out of the rubble therefore creating GWAR.
On Sunday March 23, 2014, Brockie was found dead in his apartment by a band member. According to police, Brockie was found deceased and sitting upright in a chair.
Gwar's management confirmed the reports of Brockie's death on the official Gwar website at 4am on March 24, 2014. In an official statement released later that day, Gwar's manager Jack Flanagan said "It is with a saddened heart, that I confirm my dear friend Dave Brockie, artist, musician, and lead singer of GWAR passed away at approximately 6:50 PM EST Sunday March 23, 2014. His body was found Sunday by his band mate at his home in Richmond, VA. Richmond authorities have confirmed his death and next of kin has been notified. A full autopsy will be performed. He was 50 years old, born August 30, 1963. My main focus right now is to look after my band mates and his family. More information regarding his death shall be released as the details are confirmed." News of Brockie's death spread quickly with many of his fellow musical peers and bandmates responding through social media.
Mike Bishop, former member of Gwar, was one of the first to confirm Brockie's death. Bishop said "Dave was one of the funniest, smartest, most creative and energetic persons I've known. He was brash sometimes, always crass, irreverent, he was hilarious in every way. But he was also deeply intelligent and interested in life, history, politics and art. His penchant for scatological humors belied a lucid wit. He was a criminally underrated lyricist and hard rock vocalist, one of the best, ever! A great front man, a great painter, writer, he was also a hell of a bass guitarist. I loved him. He was capable of great empathy and had a real sense of justice.”
The Virginia State Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that Dave Brockie's death was caused by an accidental heroin overdose on Tuesday, June 3 2014.
After the death of Dave Brockie, the character of Oderus Urungus was given a Viking funeral at the 2014 Gwar-B-Q, held at Hadad's Lake park. Concurrently, Michael Bishop formally rejoined Gwar and assumed lead vocal duties in the persona of Blöthar the Berserker. The band resumed touring, and on October 20, 2017 released the first album
sans founding members, The Blood Of Gods.
Horror Of Yig
GWAR Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and moral terror are your friends and they are not.
that they are your enimies the horror"
[from "Apocalypse Now"]
I saw Yig. Yig saw me.
We're together in dark concavity.
I saw Yig. He's so big. He smokes cigs.
Eats just like a pig.
Yig now is shifting his gibbering mass.
He hides boils with maggots.
The pus-sac extrudes.
The horror that is Yig...
When he rapes your mind, your mind will snap like a twig.
Shaping and raping, his conscience is clear.
Infest - black death.
Spreads hate and foul cheer.
The horror, The HORROR!
Where Yig doth tread no man tread tomorrow.
Reeking death harvest of humans in hatred.
Suck on the shitbag of what you created,
What we created. Yig now in coming, Yig now is here.
Yig now he makes things impossibly queer.
Piles of maggots
Clouds of flies
Putrid breath
And bulging eyes.
Yig comes and you die, you all die.
The lyrics of "Horror of Yig" by Gwar is an ode to the cosmic entity from H.P. Lovecraft's mythos: Yig. The song speaks of Yig, a giant snake-like creature who is so huge that he can smoke cigarettes and eat like a pig. The song also focuses on Yig's horrifying nature and how he infects the minds of his victims with dark and foul emotions. The lyricist implies that one cannot run from the horror that Yig inflicts, one must face it and make a friend of horror. The song refers to Yig's tendency to infect his victims with mental illnesses until their minds snap, leaving them with a gibbering mass.
The song emphasizes Yig as a bringer of death and destruction. When Yig comes, he brings with him piles of maggots, clouds of flies, putrid breath, and bulging eyes. The song also describes the result of his manifestation, a reeking harvest of humans in hatred. As Yig's influence spreads like black death, the lyricist states that the horror of Yig is imminent and that no man can tread where he has been. The song ends with the caution that Yig comes, and all die.
Line by Line Meaning
Horror is a face, and you must make a friend of horror horror
Embrace fear and horror, for they are a part of life.
and moral terror are your friends and they are not.
Moral terror, or the fear of doing wrong, is a necessary but uncomfortable feeling.
that they are your enimies the horror
If one fails to accept the horror or uncomfortable realities in life, they will become an enemy to themselves.
I saw Yig. Yig saw me.
Encounter with a god that represents death and knowledge.
We're together in dark concavity.
The artist and Yig share a deep, dark knowledge.
I saw Yig. He's so big. He smokes cigs.
Yig is a massive and powerful being who is casually destructive.
Eats just like a pig.
Yig is a being who is primal and animalistic in nature.
Ooooohhhhhh! I saw Yig. I saw Yig. I saw, I saw Yig!
The emotions and intensity of the encounter with Yig are overwhelming.
Yig now is shifting his gibbering mass.
Yig is constantly changing and chaotic in his nature.
He hides boils with maggots.
Yig's destructive nature is hidden within a deceptive exterior.
The pus-sac extrudes.
The destruction and sickness of Yig are oozing out of him.
The horror that is Yig...
Yig is a being of pure horror and destruction.
When he rapes your mind, your mind will snap like a twig.
Yig has the power to shatter an individual's mind through sheer horror and destruction.
Shaping and raping, his conscience is clear.
Yig is unapologetic in his nature, causing destruction with no thought of remorse.
Infest - black death.
The destruction and horror caused by Yig is all-consuming and overwhelming.
Spreads hate and foul cheer.
Yig's chaotic and destructive nature is far-reaching, infecting everything he touches.
The horror, The HORROR!
Yig is the very embodiment of horror and destruction.
Where Yig doth tread no man tread tomorrow.
The destruction and chaos caused by Yig leave a path of destruction in its wake.
Reeking death harvest of humans in hatred.
Yig's destruction is purely motivated by hatred and hate towards humanity.
Suck on the shitbag of what you created,
Humanity created the conditions that allowed for Yig to exist and wreak destruction.
What we created.
The destruction caused by Yig is a reflection of humanity's failings and sins.
Yig now in coming, Yig now is here.
No one can escape the destruction and horror caused by Yig.
Yig now he makes things impossibly queer.
The reality warped by Yig's presence is beyond explanation or reason.
Piles of maggots
Yig's presence and destruction leave behind sickness and waste.
Clouds of flies
Yig's destructive presence is followed by an ongoing cycle of decay and destruction.
Putrid breath
Yig's very presence is the embodiment of sickness and rot.
And bulging eyes.
Yig's chaotic and unrelenting presence causes physical torment.
Yig comes and you die, you all die.
The destruction and horror that come with Yig's presence will end in death for all.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GWAR GWAR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind