A tribute to Oderus Urungus: Scumdogia's greatest intergalactic humanoid barbarian

Orginally published in the HMS column: Blood Is Not Enough, 2014.

In the wee hours of the morning, Dave Brockie AKA Oderus Urungus drew his last breath before passing away. He was found dead in his Richmond home on March 23, 2014. The cause of death was determined to be a heroin overdose according to several sources, and the news of his passing hit hard in the metal community. Dave was a talented performer and musician, serving close to thirty years as the endearing frontman for Gwar. He was considered one of the funniest, smartest, most creative and energetic individuals who set foot on a stage to play metal. He had a penchant for scatological humour, matched only by his lucid wit and it all came together so ghoulishly when he donned the Oderus Urungus persona.

Dave was born in Ottawa, Canada and at the tender age of 21 formed the band first as Death Piggy and then eventually settling upon the name of Gwar. The band leaned heavily upon punk rock as a style in the formative years, but eventually evolved their sound into hard rock and then settled upon metal as their music of choice. They will also be forever known for their comically grotesque costumes, stage antics, and vulgar lyrics, leaving frantic fans wanting more and more.

Their shows were always entertaining as hell and designed as outlandish horror-filled sets with heavy metal blasting away. Sometimes fake blood and pus gushed from the stage, soaking the band and fans alike. Other times they satirized politics and religion, but always played the parts of aliens trapped on the earth. That's all you really needed to know when attending a Gwar concert... and man, the kids ate it up in spades.

Gwar represented several different facets of the metal industry thanks in large part to the graphic and fake-blood-soaked stage shows they were known for. This bit of Grand Guignol certainly had roots in acts like Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson, but also Kiss and to a lesser extent a band like Lordi. They were unique in many ways and you had to give props to a man who dressed up as a monster and terrorized his fans while on the stage.

Now monsters like the one Dave played as Oderus Urungus will always hold a special place in my heart. I've said this many times before, but I love a good monster and in fact grew up worshipping the monsters I saw on TV. There was Karloff as the Frankenstein's monster, and then came King Kong, the blob, Creature from the Black Lagoon and finally Godzilla. Those are just some of the cinematic beasties I became enthralled by, so when I first heard the chaotic sounds of Gwar, I found myself becoming a monster loving kid all over again.

They meant so much to a generation of fans with albums like "Scumdogs of the Universe", "America must be Destroyed" and "The Violence has Arrived" proving how much their music could reach metal obsessed fans. Even as they matured a bit on efforts like "War Party" and "Beyond Hell" they never lost their sense of humour; "Lust in Space" was proof of that. The band could even come up with deliciously evil album titles like "The Bloody Pit of Hell" and "Battle Maximus" all because of Dave's approach to comedy.

Dave even went so far as to adopt longer horns and cheek bones on his trademark monster mask to further enhance the character. Oderus Urungus evolved naturally overtime, becoming more grotesque with exposed flesh on the forehead, enlarging the head to give him a more monstrous look that you wouldn't ever forget.

Guys like Brockie will always be admired for their creative pursuits. He was not just a guy in a suit who just so happened to sing in a band. He was a painter, a gifted satirical lyricist and passionate performer who sang some of the best metal in the last 30 years. And that being said, we at Horror Metal Sounds salute the man with the grotesque look and an abundance of sardonic wit. We wish you well, Oderus Urungus, and know that you have returned to Scumdogia in some shape or form.

This is what the monster kid in me totally marked over and it is now a sad time in my life to learn of Dave Brockie's passing.

Kenneth Gallant, HMS

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