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.
War Is All We Know
GWAR Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the east from the west all around
And so fate's die is cast
They marshaled their forces and foundus at last.
So it's come to this
The child is the destroyer
The young god comes to slay
WAR
For blackness is all that I crave
Shells explode across my hide
Take me death, I am your slave
For I don't have a soul
And I don't have a heart
Come then and face me
But first you must suffer my wrath
HATRED OF ALL THINGS ALIVE
War is all we know
they say that war is a last resort
For me it's the only way
I have tried reading them Poetry
It suits me better to slay
All that I touch seems to break in my hands
Then it just bursts into flames
The piteous pleadings as innocents die
Only an odor reamains
So burn the bitter butter
Break out our murder machines
Bring me my scabbard my halber, my hauberk
Fetch me my enchanted greaves
My walls they are melting
The drugs they aren't helping it is the time for the old gods to die
To arms is the only cry
HATRED OF ALL THINGS ALIVE
War is all we know
The humans must feast on their Gods
We know it fucking blows
Hatred is a seed that's easy to sow buckets of blood will help it to grow
And raised on high, the fetid throne
Death is Fate's master, he sits all alone...
The say war is all we know
If only that were true
No matter how I work my schedule
There's always other things that I do
But excuse me now, there's a tank at the door
And that slave's head just rooled 'cross the floor...
He tries to say something and that something is puke
Right about then the pigs set off a nuke
War is all we know
Hatred
When I said I loved war I lied
It fucking sucks on the losing side
And speaking of which, my face is on fire!
A lightning withdraw! we quickly retire!
A flury of carnage, my brainpan is nicked!
To my unending shame my ass just got kicked!
And as the shells fall in a relentless hail
The fortress was gutted and we had to bail...
HATRED OF ALL THINGS ALIVE
War is all we know
The humans must feast on their Gods
WE KNOW IT FUCKING BLOWS HATRED OF ALL THINGS ALIVE
War is all we know
The humans must feast on their Gods
War is all we know.
The lyrics of the song War Is All We Know by GWAR are an explicit commentary on the destructive nature of war. The song starts by depicting the arrival of an enemy force from the sun, the east, and the west, marking the arrival of a battle. Fate is sealed, and the child is seen as the destroyer who is destined to slay the father. The singer of the song expresses his desire for death, portraying himself as a mindless drone devoid of any soul or heart. The song emphasizes the inevitability of destruction through war and the futility of finding solace in love, hope or any positive emotion, despite the fact that the singer admits to trying to read poetry to appease himself but in the end, waging war is the only way he finds he can truly satisfy his desires. The song goes on to state that hatred is what fuels this violence, and violence will only lead to more violence. It ends with the irony of the singer's declaration; he says that although they know war is all they ever know, it is not something that he enjoys.
The lyrics reveal a violent, psychopathic character who has no respect for love or peace. The song speaks of the human inclination to engage in destructive actions instead of finding peaceful solutions to conflicts. The lyrics express disillusionment with the brute force of war as a means of resolving conflicts. Like many other songs by GWAR, War Is All We Know is a social commentary that delves deep into human nature.
Line by Line Meaning
They came from the sun
An army approached from all directions.
From the east from the west all around
The army approached from every direction.
And so fate's die is cast
The outcome is doomed due to fate.
They marshaled their forces and found us at last
The army gathered their forces and found the artist.
So it's come to this
The situation has deteriorated to this point.
The child is the destroyer
The young protagonist is the one who will destroy.
The young god comes to slay
The singer is coming to kill.
WAR
The theme of the song is war.
Son, kill the father
The young will overthrow the old.
For blackness is all that I crave
The artist seeks darkness and destruction.
Shells explode across my hide
The singer is under attack by an explosive.
Take me death, I am your slave
The artist longs for death.
For I don't have a soul
The singer lacks a soul or emotions.
And I don't have a heart
The singer lacks love or compassion.
Come then and face me
The singer challenges their enemy.
But first you must suffer my wrath
The artist seeks revenge on their enemy.
HATRED OF ALL THINGS ALIVE
The artist hates all things living.
War is all we know
The theme of the song is the constant presence of war.
They say that war is a last resort
War is thought of as the last option for conflict resolution.
For me it's the only way
The artist sees war as the only option.
I have tried reading them Poetry
The artist has tried peaceful solutions before.
It suits me better to slay
The artist finds killing more fitting for them.
All that I touch seems to break in my hands
The singer's touch leads to destruction.
Then it just bursts into flames
The things the artist touches burst into flames and disappear.
The piteous pleadings as innocents die
The singer hears the pleas of innocent people as they die.
Only an odor remains
Only the scent of death remains after the battle is over.
So burn the bitter butter
Descriptive lyrics used to build the violent imagery.
Break out our murder machines
Violent imagery used to describe the artist's weapons.
Bring me my scabbard my halber, my hauberk
The artist is ready for battle and needs their weapons.
Fetch me my enchanted greaves
The singer calls for their enchanted boots that grant power.
My walls they are melting
The singer's defenses are failing.
The drugs they aren't helping it is the time for the old gods to die
The artist's coping mechanisms failed, it's time for the old ways to die.
To arms is the only cry
The only solution is to fight back.
The humans must feast on their Gods
The theme that humans must become vicious and feast on their oppressors.
We know it fucking blows
The singer knows the situation is terrible.
Hatred is a seed that's easy to sow buckets of blood will help it to grow
Hatred grows easily, blood fuels the passion for violence.
And raised on high, the fetid throne
The throne represents power in the song.
Death is Fate's master, he sits all alone...
Death is in control and sits alone, ruling the destiny of all.
If only that were true
The singer thinks of war as the only option, but it doesn't make it desirable.
No matter how I work my schedule
The artist's life is consumed by violence and war.
There's always other things that I do
Even though the artist is consumed, they have other things to tend to.
But excuse me now, there's a tank at the door
Victims of war are knocking at the door.
And that slave's head just rolled 'cross the floor...
Violence is a constant presence in their life.
He tries to say something and that something is puke
Violent imagery used to build the mood and setting of the song.
Right about then the pigs set off a nuke
Violent imagery used to build the mood and setting of the song.
When I said I loved war I lied
The artist does not enjoy war but sees it as a necessity.
It fucking sucks on the losing side
The singer hates losing in war.
And speaking of which, my face is on fire!
The artist is injured in combat.
A lightning withdraw! we quickly retire!
The singer's army quickly retreats from combat.
A flurry of carnage, my brainpan is nicked!
The singer is injured in battle.
To my unending shame my ass just got kicked!
The singer's army loses in battle.
And as the shells fall in a relentless hail
The war rages on and destruction continues.
The fortress was gutted and we had to bail...
The artist's defenses failed, and they have to retreat.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GWAR GWAR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind