Album Review: GWAR - The Blood Of Gods

01. War On Gwar
02. Viking Death Machine
03. El Presidente
04. I'll Be Your Monster
05. Auroch
06. Swarm
07. The Sordid Soliloquy Of Sawborg Destructo
08. Death To Dickie Duncan
09. Crushed By The Cross
10. Fuck This Place
11. Phantom Limb
12. If You Want Blood (You Got It) [AC/DC Cover]

This is Gwar's first album since the death of their original frontman Oderus Urungus (or Dave Brockie to his mates). Now fronted by Blothar (AKA Michael Bishop, who incidentally was the original bassist Beefcake The Mighty), The Blood Of Gods is an extremely significant album for Gwar and their fans. This is the record that they need to win people over and justify the continuation of the band, because let's be honest, if it was a steaming pile of shit, the band would be done for. Fortunately, that's not the case.

Gwar has always been sick, unrepentant fun, and their image, coupled with their stage show, was what attracted fans. They have some really good songs in their repertoire, but plenty of shit ones too. It doesn't matter though, because Gwar is an institution, and their nihilistic crazyness will never fail to entertain. Having said that, their last couple of studio albums were very good, and I think it's important that that isn't overlooked.

The Blood Of Gods is far from perfect, but still manages to 'hit the spot'. It touches on every genre that Gwar has dabbled in in the past, from the Megadeth-esque Thrash of El Presidente, the more Punk vibed Fuck This Place, and the ZZ Top meets Cinderella dirty Classic Rock of I'll Be Your Monster.

The production is a bit 'lo-fi' for my tastes, and I think it makes it sound a bit cheap. However, I know that some people love that kind of raw sound .

The Blood Of Gods won't change the world, but it is entertaining. It's certainly a strong start to this new chapter in Gwar's legacy.