Gwar - Battle Maximus (2013) [Gorgatz]

Gwar - Battle Maximus (2013) [Gorgatz]



INFO:

In November 2011, the members of GWAR were about to cross the Canadian border when they found the body of guitarist Cory Smoot, who went by the stage name of Flattus Maximus. After such a traumatic experience, some wondered if GWAR would continue, but less than two years later, GWAR have released their new LP ‘Battle Maximus’ and it couldn’t be a more fitting tribute to Smoot.
Kicking things off with a curveball-intro track that features soft guitars, synth and a Theremin while Oderus Urungus yells over the top. Then ‘Madness at the Core of Time’ graces us with its presence and we’re home again. This is the GWAR we know and love; hard rockin’, hard drinkin’, utterly offensive and completely R-rated. It’s a glorious tribute to Smoot and a welcome change from all the metalcore bands currently flooding the market.
The composition, while nothing to write home about, is still good and they’re the kind of song structures that work in this style of music. The guitars are huge, serving a fitting tribute to the dearly missed Smoot. The riffs are mad fun and the solos are tops. Dudes can shred. The bass is actually audible sometimes, and the drums are solid, but nothing outside the box. The vocal deliveries are extremely diverse, as you’d expect from a band with multiple backing vocalists. If this was any other band then the vocals would be the worst part of the record, but with GWAR, stuff like this is exactly why it works.
It’s like this: if you enjoy inspired lyricism, immaculate, carefully considered song composition or at least some kind of morals, you couldn’t be in a worse place. GWAR is none of those things. It’s awesome straight-up metal, but it’s not for the queasy or easily offended. GWAR are the kind of band who will open a show by disembowelling an effigy of Paris Hilton. They use gross, socially taboo topics in their lyrics and are generally the epitome of the worst stereotypes of heavy metal. Don’t let that turn you off, though, because they, and ‘Battle Maximus’, kick every possible kind of arse. ‘Battle Maximus’ is stupid amounts of fun from a bunch of men who never grew up and the world is richer for it.

‘Battle Maximus,’ the thirteenth studio album by GWAR, is set to release September 17th and encompasses everything GWAR has ever been known for. I could almost see the costume clad icons dancing around in a menacing way in my head as I listened to this album. No, I did not have nightmares, but I feel like I should have. The album is a story in a sense of their battle against the treacherous Mr. Perfect who wants to seize the power of GWAR.

This album is GWAR’s first release since the departure of Flattus Maximus, who was officially retired from the band in 2011.

GWAR fans know their songs are heavy, albeit silly. With catchy riffs and good drums, the lyrics are almost ludicrous. Okay, they are ludicrous, but hey, that is nothing new for them. In listening to this release for the last two weeks, it rather grew on me. The intro, aptly titled “Intro,” is an interesting short story with a musical backdrop. There is, however, a line in the intro “Even death can die.” That seemed silly, but we are talking about GWAR here, so it is not out of their realm.

“Mr. Perfect” is a great tune that begins in a non-musical way; sort of like a scene from a violent play and turns into a very catchy, hard-hitting musical mash-up of angry lyrics, drums and well… this is just an angry song. Which, makes sense since Mr. Perfect is the bad guy!

Say what you want about their costumes, their names and their lyrics, GWAR kicks ass in all the right ways. They have the right amount of heavy coupled with a hefty dose of lewdness. GWAR continues to live up to the name they built for themselves the last thirty years.

T R A C K L I S T :

1. Intro 01:55
2. Madness at the Core of Time 03:30
3. Bloodbath 03:27
4. Nothing Left Alive 04:04
5. They Swallowed the Sun 04:56
6. Torture 04:47
7. Raped at Birth 03:59
8. I, Bonesnapper 04:02
9. Mr. Perfect 05:35
10. Battle Maximus 03:38
11. Triumph of the Pig Children 03:50
12. Falling 02:49
13. Fly Now 04:49

Bitrate: 320 k
Genre: Thrash
Subgenre: Thrash Metal
Size: 119.19 MB

Credit Goes To LaVey Of Rockbox