GWARhas left a path of death and destruction in its wake for decades, all while performing some of thebest (and bloodiest) songs in metal. (Literally. Go to a GWAR concert and try NOT to come out covered in blood, bile, and other bodily fluids that spurt from the people they mutilate onstage during their show.) But what the casual onlooker might not realize: GWAR wouldn’t have lasted for 40 years if there weren’t some serious musical chops behind the foam latex costumes, giant weapons and dismembered body parts.

Since forming in Richmond, Virginia, in 1984, these rampaging barbarians have delivered a unique brand of shock rock, with songs about cosmic death pods, rampaging dinosaurs, and—of course—sex, drugs, and violence (not always in that order). There have even been songs about censorship and religious oppression, poignant observations that are paired with gratuitous acts of brutality. Their 2025 single “Lot Lizard,” off their multimedia releaseThe Return of Gor-Gor,shows this band can thrash! But not everyone knows thatGWAR is more than just its suits and swords,so here are 10 songs that prove GWAR are the shock rock lords and masters.

10"F-ck This Place"

The Blood of Gods (2017)

The Blood of Godsmarks a turning point for GWAR. It’s thefirst album without their original vocalist, Dave “Oderus Urungus” Brockie, who died in 2014 from an accidental overdose. Instead of breaking up, the band reunited with Michael Bishop, a former member who originated the character of Beefcake the Mighty. Bishop, who sang on previous GWAR albums, took over lead vocals by becoming Blothar the Barbarian to lead the band through its mourning.

GWAR wouldn’t have lasted for 40 years if there weren’t some serious musical chops behind the foam latex costumes, giant weapons and dismembered body parts.

The band’s grief is felt throughoutThe Blood of Gods, with the heart of their pain on “F-ck This Place,” a song abouthow much Earth is a dumpster fire. Blothar wails how “Oderus…left us stranded on this world of pus / And in death you have forsaken us / Oh, this planet f-cking sucks." In recent years, the song has become a fan favorite and often closes GWAR shows.

9“A Short History Of The End Of The World (Part VII (The Final Chapter (Abbr.)))”

We Kill Everything (1999)

The death of Dave Brockie nearly broke up GWAR.We Kill Everythingalmost did, as well. The album is widely consideredGWAR’s creativelow point, when the band leaned too heavily on theatrics. Though GWAR has always had a dark sense of humor to its music, the songs onWKEare almost farcical (“The Master Has a Butt,” “Penile Drip” etc.). Brockie toldMetal Insiderin 2013 that he didn’t even want to “call it a period of GWAR’s career.”

“I call it the ‘silly’ years. We weren’t sure if we were Frank Zappa or Black Sabbath, or what the hell was going on.”

Buteven at their most directionless, GWAR could still play. The album’s instrumental track, “A Short History Of The End Of The World (Part VII: The Final Chapter (Abbr.)),” was usually played during the onstage battle between Oderus and the concert’s end boss. For anyone who argues that GWAR aren’t incredible musicians, play them this song.

8"Happy Death Day"

Violence Has Arrived (2001)

By 1999, GWAR had been a band for 15 years and was on the verge of calling it quits.We Kill Everything’s scattershot and goofy nature made it seem like there wasn’t any gas left in the tank, creatively. 2001’sViolence Has Arrivedrefocused GWAR with a renewed commitment to playingloud, violent, and intense metal. The album is also the band at its leanest. Gone are longtime members Hunter Jackson (Techno Destructo/Scroda Moon), Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra Hymen), Don Drackulich (Sleazy P. Martini), and Chuck Varga (Sexecutioner).

What’s left is thirteen tracks of crushing fury.“The Apes of Wrath,” “Biledriver” and “Immortal Corrupter” are relentlessin their might, and have remained parts of GWAR’s set since then. But GWAR without a sick sense of humor isn’t GWAR. That’s why “Happy Death Day,” the album’s closer, is one of the band’s best. It marries their revitalized battle lust with their sophomoric sensibilities perfectly.

7“The Private Pain of Techno Destructo”

Carnival of Chaos (1997)

If GWAR has parents, they are Dave Brockie and Hunter Jackson. Brockie represented the music (his punk band, Death Piggy, would eventually form into GWAR), and Jackson was the art (hisScumdogs of the Universestudent movie birthed the barbarians we know today). The two forces were never fully separated, asBrockie was an accomplished artistand Hunter—often taking on the role of GWAR’s enemy—would appear on stage to cause havoc and occasionally perform a song.

If GWAR has parents, they are Dave Brockie and Hunter Jackson.

Jackson would perform as various villains: Edna P. Granbo of the Morality Squad, the religiously oppressive Cardinal Syn, and the devious Dr. Mr. Professor Skulhedface. However, Jackson is best known in GWAR lore for his role as Techno Destructo.Carnival of Chaosgives the character the spotlight.

6“Je M’Appelle J. Cousteau”

Hell-O (1988)

WhenGWAR first began, it was a joke. Dave Brockie’s punk band, Death Piggy, would dress in costumes from Hunter Jackson’s space barbarian student movie,Scumdogs of the Universe.Performing as GWARGHHH, Death Piggy would essentially open for themselves. But audiences started to prefer GWARGHHH over Death Piggy. So, a decision was made, a name was shortened, and GWAR was born. In 1988, they released their debut LP,Hell-O.

Hell-O’s sound is more crossover punk than metal. It’s raw and unpolished; the band was initially disappointed with how it sounded. But, even at its roughest, it shows the band’s potential. “Je M’Appelle J. Cousteau” is about the titular Cousteau being secretly an underwater kingpin with a horde of followers. It showcases Brockie’s talents as a vocalist (it’s one of the first appearances of Oderus’s trademark wail). It also showsGWAR’s ability to weave sex, violence, and stupidity into a successful song.Thisearly album in the heavy metal band’s discography is essential listening.

5“Saddam a Go-Go”

This Toilet Earth (1994)

GWAR’sThis Toilet Earthresulted in two of the band’s most significant pop culture moments. First off, the song “Jack the World” was used in theBeavis and Butt-Headvideo game for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game’s plot involves Beavis and Butt-Head recovering pieces of their GWAR tickets in time for them to attend the show. Secondly, the video for “Saddam A Go-Go” was featured in 1995’sEmpire Records. It’s playing when the character Mark (Ethan Embry) hallucinates that he’s actually on stage with GWAR, about to join the band. It doesn’t go so well.

“Saddam A Go-Go” captures GWAR’s sense of humor and geopolitical sensibilities. The band celebrates their fellow monster, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, with a number infused with a vibrant horn section.This Toilet Earthand “Saddam a Go-Go” were poised for commercial success, but a clash with their distributor, Warner Bros., over the song “B.D.F.” led to another setback for our beloved Scumdogs.

4"Gor-Gor"

America Must Be Destroyed (1992)

GWAR’s third album,America Must Be Destroyed, almost won them a Grammy—sorta. GWAR’s correspondingPhallus In Wonderlandvideo takes Dave Brockie’s 1990 arrest on obscenity charges (over his “Cuttlefish of Cthulhu” codpiece) to the extreme. GWAR battles the Morality Squad, seemingly based on the Parents Music Resource Center, rescues the captured Cuttlefish, and enjoys their victory before a giant dinosaur threatens all existence.

The climax of “Phallus In Wonderland"is “Gor-Gor,” the song named after the dinosaur. It’s a great slice ofgenre-defining pure metal. It’s acrowd favorite because it means the band’s giant tyrannosaurus is about to appear. As for the Grammy,Phallus In Wonderlandwas nominated for Best Long Form Video at the 1993 ceremony. It lost to Annie Lennox’sDIVA.

3"Maggots”

Scumdogs of the Universe (1990)

GWAR will tell you thattheir best album isScumdogs of the Universe. Their album marked the first appearance of Mike “Balsac the Jaws of Death” Derks on guitar and Brad “Jizmak Da Gusha” Roberts on drums, joining Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus), Michael Bishop (Beefcake the Mighty), and Dewey Rowell (Flattus Maximus) in what’sconsidered the band’s classic lineup. Along with Danielle Stampe (Slymenstra Hymen), Chuck Varga (Sexecutioner), and Don Drakulich (Sleazy P. Martini), the album showcases the sound and sensibilities that would define GWAR for the rest of their career.

Picking the best song fromScumdogsis hard. “Cool Place to Park” features Bishop singing, a role he would take permanently after Dave Brockie’s death in 2014. “Slaughterama” is Sleazy P. Martini’s first song Don recorded as that character (a fan favorite). It’s likely “Maggots.” Not only did Brockie sing a verse from it when he featured on Strapping Young Lad’s “Far Beyond Metal,” but thesong remains in GWAR’s set to this day.

2"Fly Now"

Battle Maximus (2013)

In 2011, Cory Smoot, who had portrayed the character of Flattus Maximus since 2002, died in his sleep while on a GWAR tour bus. The cause of death was coronary artery thrombosis, caused by his pre-existing coronary artery disease. It was thefirst time an active member of GWAR had died, resulting in the band retiring the Flattus character (GWAR would also retire Oderus Urungus following Dave Brockie’s death in 2014).

The first album following Smoot’s death,Battle Maximus,was in tribute to him and the Flattus character. “Fly Now” peeks behind the foam latex masks, showing a band still dealing with the loss.While Oderus delivers a soliloquy to Flattus, it’s Dave mourning his friend. “Rushing through the cosmos / See his soul unfurl,” he sings. “But his dreams of glory / They can never die.” At the song’s end, Brockie as Oderus sings, “Fly now / Flattus, be free.”

1"Sick of You"

GWAR is the result of being at odds with the world. Hunter Jackson and some of his fellow art students at Virginia Commonwealth University were told they were wrong for liking comic books and sci-fi movies. Dave Brockie was told his band sucked for not taking punk seriously. GWAR played metal but made fun of the self-righteous attitudes and over-the-top imagery found in even thebest metal albums. GWAR is a band of creativeswho never fit in and never really wanted to.

So, it’s fitting that their best song, coming from their best album, is directed at the rest of the world. “Sick of You” sees the band rattle off its utter contempt for everything. It’s simplistic, bordering on childish, with Brockie (and Michael Bishop in latter years) singing how they’re just “so sick of you / The things you said and all the things you do.” It’sa feeling that GWAR fans, outcasts themselves, can relate to and are happy to sing at the world.