GWAR To Carry On Without Dave Brockie

GWAR have detailed their plans to continue the satirical thrash metal outfit without late frontman and founding member Dave Brockie. The news comes after a representative for the band confirmed that some form of GWAR would make an appearance during the upcoming Riot Fest in Chicago.

Speaking to Metal Insider, GWAR drummer Brad Roberts, who goes by the stage name Jizmak Da Gusha, explained that the band has recruited GWAR’s original “Beef Cake” bassist to take over vocal duties and that the new incarnation of GWAR will be a return to the band’s “old format.”

“[Oderus Urungus, the character played by Brockie] was just the anchor,” said Roberts. “There were so many characters and so many different people singing, and so much action and gore and death on the stage in the old days that it wasn’t like it was more recently, where we stripped away all of that and made Oderus the focal point. The old Scumdogs of GWAR, there’s chaos everywhere.”

“So we’re kind of going back to the old format, embracing it. The stage shows will be wilder, and more chaos probably than you’ve seen in a lot of years. We kind of stripped it away into a pretty good heavy metal band that had some cool gore to it, and I think it’s gonna be more involved now.”

Roberts insisted that the band has no intention of replacing Brockie, who died of a heroin overdose in March. “No one would respect us if we just threw another guy in the costume and said, ‘Oh here’s Oderus’ replacement.’ There is no way to replace Dave Brockie, not in a million years,” he said.

Roberts said that while the band still plans to finish touring their latest album, Battle Maximus, GWAR will celebrate their 30th anniversary with new material and a possible box set. “We’re definitely writing some new songs and we’ll have something to show that GWAR is moving forward,” he said.

According to Roberts, an upcoming North American tour will address “the mythos of what happened to Oderus Urungus and give the fans, the GWAR fans that we love so much, a way to come pay their last respects and see the band that they love. It’s an exciting time, and it’s also scary… but GWAR is always up to the challenge. We gotta saw off a couple heads to get there, no problem.”

Watch: A Message From The Guys of GWAR