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War Party | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 26, 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2004 | |||
Genre | Thrash metal, heavy metal | |||
Length | 38:26 | |||
Label | DRT Entertainment | |||
Producer | Gwar, Glen Robinson | |||
Gwar chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Classic Rock | [2] |
Rock Hard | [3] |
War Party is the ninth studio album by the heavy metal band Gwar. It was released on October 26, 2004, being the band's first album in DRT Entertainment. In addition, this also marks the first studio album with Corey Smoot as Flattus Maximus and the first of two albums to feature Todd Evans as Beefcake The Mighty. The album was released to positive reviews.
After Violence Has Arrived , Gwar switched labels from Metal Blade to DRT Entertainment. War Party was released on October 26, 2004, and continues the decidedly heavier focus reintroduced in Violence Has Arrived. War Party is the most political Gwar album since America Must Be Destroyed , tackling such subject matter as the 2004 American election and the war in Iraq in such songs as "Bring Back the Bomb", "Krosstika", "War Party", "The Reaganator" and "You Can't Kill Terror". Dave Brockie said "...basically Gwar pledges support to the powers who support the war, and we make such a right-wing statement that the right wing would be ashamed to have us."
Gwar still has more gratuitous violent imagery in "Womb with a View", "Fistful of Teeth" and "Bonesnapper" and retains some trademark silliness in the Beefcake the Mighty-hollered French punk song "The Bonus Plan". War Party was supported in fall 2004 by the Mock the Vote tour. The enhanced CD portion contains a music video for "Womb with a View", which shows a plethora of concert footage from the band's spring 2004 tour.
Dave Brockie was especially favorable about this album, as it continues with a heavier musical direction for the band. According to interviews with Todd Evans (Beefcake the Mighty) and Brockie, War Party was selling very well, and was attracting new Gwar fans, as well as seeing old ones come back.
Although not following a true story per se, unlike many of the band's previous albums, there seems to be an ongoing concept throughout the album about a fictional political party named "The War Party", with policies dedicated specifically to the eradication of the human race by supporting global war and hatred, under the "Krosstika", a symbol crossing the Christian cross and the Nazi swastika ("Two great hates that hate great together"). The band refers to the Krosstika on their next studio album, Beyond Hell , and will often play this song towards the beginning of their concerts.
Though the War Party itself has disbanded (according to Gwar lore), the band continues to play songs from this album in concert, as the album is among the band's favorites, most notably the song "Bring Back the Bomb".
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Bring Back the Bomb" | 4:23 |
2. | "Krosstika" | 3:35 |
3. | "Womb With a View" | 2:26 |
4. | "Decay of Grandeur" (misprinted on the back as "Decay of Granduer") | 4:05 |
5. | "War Party" | 3:16 |
6. | "Bonesnapper (The Faces of the Slain)" | 4:42 |
7. | "Lost God" | 3:58 |
8. | "The Reaganator" | 3:05 |
9. | "The Bonus Plan" (vocals by Beefcake the Mighty) | 1:16 |
10. | "You Can't Kill Terror" | 3:17 |
11. | "Fistful of Teeth" | 3:56 |
Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists, and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. Since the death of frontman Dave Brockie in 2014, the collective has continued recording and performing without any of its founding artists or musicians.
Hell-O! is the debut album by Gwar. It was released in 1988, on Shimmy Disc Records. The album was produced by Kramer.
Scumdogs of the Universe is the second album by American satirical heavy metal band Gwar. The album is their first album on Metal Blade Records and was released on January 8, 1990. To date, it is the band's best-selling album.
This Toilet Earth is the fourth album released by heavy metal band Gwar. Released on March 29, 1994, this album was to be one of their oddest and most bittersweet albums. It was the first Gwar album to be censored, due to their gain in popularity as a result of MTV exposure. The music and artwork is almost cartoonish when compared to the previous albums, and the instrumentation had expanded to include horns that reinforce the goofiness. An instrumental version of the song "Jack the World" was also featured in the Beavis and Butt-Head video game for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Ragnarök is the fifth album by the rock/heavy metal/punk band Gwar. It was released on October 24, 1995, on Metal Blade Records and contains the most varied vocal stylings of any Gwar album, with the majority of band members singing at least one track.
Flattus Maximus is the name of a character and former guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known for his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" is indicative of the character's signature flatulence. His speaking mannerisms suggest a childlike intelligence and naivety.
America Must Be Destroyed is American heavy metal band Gwar’s third album, released in 1992 as their second album on Metal Blade Records. The album’s lyrical content was inspired by controversy over obscenity charges against the band and an incident in Charlotte, North Carolina, in which frontman Dave Brockie’s prosthetic penile attachment, "The Cuttlefish of Cthulhu", was confiscated by police officers.
Carnival of Chaos is Gwar's sixth studio album, released on March 25, 1997, by Metal Blade Records.
We Kill Everything is the seventh album by Gwar, released on April 6, 1999, through Metal Blade Records.
Violence Has Arrived is the eighth studio album by the band Gwar. It was released on November 6, 2001, through Metal Blade Records.
Beyond Hell is the tenth studio album by Gwar. Released on August 29, 2006, by DRT Entertainment, the album was originally announced through the band's official website on February 23, 2006. Unlike the band's output since 2001, it is a concept album and a rock opera, centering on Gwar's journey to Hell as they escape from the attacking armies of humanity.
David Murray Brockie was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the bands Death Piggy, X-Cops, and the Dave Brockie Experience (DBX), and starred in the comedy horror TV sitcom Holliston as Oderus Urungus. Brockie died of a heroin overdose in 2014.
Rendezvous with RagNaRok is a performance film by the band Gwar coinciding with their 1995 studio album RagNaRok, though the video was released in early 1997. The bulk of the video is concert footage, with a mock interview interspersed between each song. Additionally, three music videos - "Saddam a Go-Go," "Meat Sandwich," and "Surf of Syn" - are among the scenes.
Lust in Space is the eleventh studio album by Gwar. It was released on August 18, 2009. It is their first album since returning to their old label Metal Blade Records. The album also saw the return of their former bassist Casey Orr, even though he would later part ways with the band yet again. Lust in Space debuted at #96 on the Billboard top 200 Charts and according to Blabbermouth it was Gwar's highest position reached for the debut of an album.
Bloody Pit of Horror is the twelfth studio album by Gwar. It was released on November 9, 2010, on Metal Blade Records.
Battle Maximus is the thirteenth studio album by American metal band Gwar. The album was released on September 17, 2013 through Metal Blade Records. The album was the first to feature new guitarist Brent Purgason, portraying the new character Pustulus Maximus, the first album to feature bassist Jamison Land, portraying longtime character, Beefcake the Mighty, and the last to feature vocalist Dave Brockie who portrayed Oderus Urungus, due to Brockie's death from a heroin overdose on March 23, 2014. The album was re-released September 1, 2023 as a special "10th Anniversary Edition". The re-release features completely new mixes of the album as well as the previously unreleased track "Tammy, the Swine Queen", which is the last song recorded by Dave Brockie before his death.
Lust in Space – Live at the National is a live DVD by the American heavy metal band Gwar, recorded at The National theater in Richmond, Virginia on October 23, 2009, during the band's Lust in Space tour. It was released on June 26, 2010, under Don Drakulich's Hypereal Productions label. Bonuses include a 10-minute "Behind The Murder" mockumentary.
The Blood of Gods is the fourteenth album by thrash metal band Gwar. It was released on October 20, 2017 by Metal Blade Records. It is the band's first album without founding member Dave Brockie, who portrayed Oderus Urungus, due to his heroin overdose death on March 23, 2014. The album is also the first to feature Michael Bishop since 1999's We Kill Everything, portraying the newest character, lead singer Blöthar the Berserker, as opposed to his role as the original Beefcake the Mighty. It is the band's last album to feature Jamison Land as Beefcake before his departure in 2019 as well as the last to be released through Metal Blade.
Black Friday is a single by thrash metal band Gwar, that was issued on picture disc for Record Store Day Black Friday 2016. It is the first studio material released by the band since founding member and lead singer Dave Brockie died of a heroin overdose on March 23, 2014.