Attic

It was with exuberant glee that I opened this new offering from what, in my opinion, is one of the most intriguing bands in existence today. What facinates me about Gwar isn't the fact that they wear enormous, self-made (in their own custom workshop) headgear or that they (thankfully) never seem to change their act.

If you don't know what to expect from a Gwar album, find out before you spend your money. This is not for the weak of heart, easily offended, deeply religious or very impressionable. Gwar has rather successfully carved out its own little pervo- death metal niche in today's music...and probably won't stray far from it. Ragnarök sticks with the typical Gwar formula with, "Crush, Kill, Destroy," "Knife In Yer Guts," and "Whargoul." Some of the tracks are pathetically inane ("Fire In The Loins"), while others verged on near genius (the Hawaii Five-O -ish "Surf Of Syn").

The key to appreciating Gwar is not to take them too seriously. It is quite obvious that the band doesn't take itself too seriously either -- how can you with a stage name like "Oderus Urungus?" True fans of Gwar won't be surprised by much on Ragnarök, but they won't be let down either.

-- Knuckles

This article first ran in The Manitoban, Vol. 83, No. 18 (December 13, 1995). It was my very first record review (there would be only one other) written for the Toban. My inexperience with writing about music bleeds from this article.

I was talking out of my ass for most of this review. I hardly knew anything about Gwar then. Thanks to the All Music Guide, I now know much more about the band. It turns out that this album wasn't like previous Gwar offerings -- it was harder and heavier. Gwar itself changed its act quite regularly, adding and dropping members on almost every album. Alright, I'm the asshole here.