“GWAR LIVES!”
I have a death wish. A metal death wish. So it was clear that I had to work 9 hours and high tail it straight to Downtown Los Angeles for a night of total fucking metal at The Belasco Theater. The occasion? GWAR. Need I say more?
Against the Grain
This four piece from Detroit have embraced everything that was wonderful about Motorhead while still retaining a solid blues metal sound. Fantastic growly vocals over harmonized guitar and driving fuzzy bass. What more could you want or need?
Toxic Holocaust
Next up? Nonstop thrash metal from Portland’s Toxic Holocaust. Founder Joel Grind and his cohorts are great and they don’t let up, with hardly a moment to breathe from song to song. They embody one of my favorite things about metal, showmanship. They know how to keep the people moving and having fun. I did overhear someone saying they’ve never seen the same guitar player twice though which certainly begs a few questions, but the three of them looked like they were having a blast up there tonight.
Sacred Reich
Not enough thrash? Enter Sacred Reich, another great thrash metal band who have resurrected themselves from the ashes of the 90s. These guys have fun and they refuse to let anyone stop them at that. Phil Rind doesn’t shy away from stating his political stances and ideologies which I can honestly appreciate. It takes a certain fearlessness to tell a GWAR crowd that the meaning of Awakening is an awakening of one’s heart, love, and passion. Most of the audience here is among those who usually decry “politics” in metal, but honestly it’s fucking time for them to all wake up and smell the tire fire. There are no more excuses.
GWAR
I won’t lie, I was a wee bit aprehensive, but GWAR without Oderus is still so fucking fun. The entire show is a production set up like an impeachment proceeding via court tv wherein Blothar is the obvious Trump representation. In spite of the crudity of the act, the satire is razor sharp and biting as hell.
They take on everything from corrupt police and politicians to high profile gossip celebrities to fast food chains. No one is spared the wrath of the Scumdogs of the Universe. Hell, even some of the scumdogs themselves get their arms ripped out to spew blood on an eager front row. They may never be the same without Oderus Urungus, but they still have plenty of juice left in the tank and show no sign of giving up any time soon.
