This is Gwar

I consider myself to be a casual Gwar fan.  As a kid, I simply regarded them as a regular on Beavis & Butthead.  It never occurred to me that they wrote actual songs and released actual albums.  The music itself didn't skim my neurological sensors until 2001's Violence Has Arrived, a meaty millstone for the band.  They decided to get serious.  And heavy.  The end result is seriously heavy, and their subsequent sets maintained a stabbing, discriminatory level of advanced musicianship.  That's just one facet of the Gwar universe, though.  The others are explored in This is Gwar, an exhaustive documentary hosted by horror streaming service Shudder.

I knew the basics, but this film dissects Gwar's inception in blood-streaked detail.  The project was torn between the punk/hardcore scene and the humbling, opprobrious world of independent filmmaking.  It's a small miracle that the band we know as Gwar shot past those early years of enterprising struggle.  When they focused on jamming, they meted out sterling, first-rate boneshakers (I'm mainly referring to 1990's Scumdogs of the Universe and 1991's America Must Be Destroyed; the latter is a personal favorite).  Am I the only loser who enjoys 1994's This Toilet Earth?  It's a fun record full of punk pyrotechnics and the kind of bonehead riffs that appeal to my inner Beavis.

Musically, Gwar wasn't exactly innovative, but they managed to siphon fandom from all walks of life.  This doc proves it by featuring interviews with "Weird" Al Yankovic, Randy Blythe (Lamb of God), and Thomas Lennon (The State, Reno! 911).  It goes without saying that there are plenty of segments where humor spills over into the running story arc.  Surprisingly, there are just as many moments of genuine emotion.  Tearful, lachrymose recollections of both Cory Smoot and Dave Brockie take up most of the third act.  It's a bummer, man.  Disregarding death, the film ends on a defiant note, which is surely how Oderus would have wanted it.

I'll be honest.  I haven't checked out the latest Gwar offerings, so maybe I should recuse myself from any position of judgment.  I did, however, order a copy of Skulhedface on VHS.  It will kick my ass.  In summation, you don't need to be a Gwar junkie to appreciate This is Gwar.  Hell, it might prompt you to become a fan.  I'd recommend starting with Violence Has Arrived, as it served as the soundtrack to my initiation.  If it sounds like I joined a cult, it's because I...well, I joined a cult.