The new GWAR album, The Return of Gor-Gor, is a multimedia offering, combining the band’s shock rock new recordings, some live versions and a 32-page comic.
The album and comic refer to the band’s long-lost T-Rex.
The seven songs on the album are made up of three brand new tracks and four live tracks that were recorded on tour in 2024.
The Great Circus Train Disaster opens with a laugh that will shock you if you weren’t expecting it, before the standard ‘come one, come all’ circus call. As the track itself kicks in, I get a Rob Zombie-style vibe with rapid vocal deliveries, hard rock riffs and pulsating drums. It’s catchy with lyrics like “the show must go, the show must go, the show must go on” and a good opener, with a sick riff towards the end. I love the addition of the celebratory claps at the end of the track.
Lot Lizard is a funky track. It has some funky bass lines and cool guitar twangs.
Tyrant King’s drums are solid and relentless, adding an extra level to the intensity.
Now I’ve never seen GWAR live and haven’t really listened to them before, so the live songs really intrigued me. And even more when Crack in the Egg opens with cheering and asking where the band can get crack before launching into ‘some old-fashioned GWAR mother fuckers.’
I have to say I like the live sound a lot. The bass really stands out. It’s also got a sick riff.
America Must Be Destroyed is a riff-monster live.
Having not really listened to GWAR before, I didn’t know what to expect from The Return of Gor-Gor but I was impressed. Getting the chance to hear some of the newest music as well as the live versions of some of the band’s older tracks, it’s really nice to see the development and appreciate both eras of GWAR.
I also love the inclusion of the stage talk, it gives the impression that a GWAR live show is a fun show, with a patriotic rant about politics as Stars and Stripes plays in the background, for The Founding Fathers. The whole section is absolutely hilarious, just like a circus show.
