GWAR, Municipal Waste and Ghoul Bring the ‘War Party’ to New Jersey

You can never truly understand a band until you've seen them live. A metal show is an event when bands can turn it up to 11, grace you with their presence and thrive off the energy of the crowd while exposing you to the most raw example of why they've dedicated their existence to music. Now multiply that by 10 and you've stumbled upon the live experience known as GWAR.

This tour featuring GWAR, Municipal Waste and Ghoul boasts one of the best lineups of the year and is a must see for any fan of light-hearted yet punishing thrash.

Ghoul left the crowd slain with their unique brand of thrash and death metal, which they've dubbed "Splatterthrash." The band showcased a very GWAR-like show, mixing in costumes and monster battles while a voodoo witch doctor drenched the crowd in blood. Ghoul even brought comedy to their performance, taking time between songs to deliver hilarious banter such as, "America! Your empire is crumbling! Your Presidential election is a farce and your public school system sucks!

Richmond, Va., thrashers Municipal Waste gave the New Jersey crowd a reason to rip their faces off with song after song of party thrash. Municipal Waste and their music possesses a very unique character, and thus extracts a very unique energy from the crowd. The packed Starland Ballroom crowd gave it all for Municipal Waste, shouting along with favorites such as 'Sadistic Magician,' 'Unleash the Bastards' and 'Born to Party,' while never-ending circle pits and jaw-breaking moshing filled the venue.

The mass of white shirts waiting in the pit for GWAR signaled perfectly what was to come. As soon as the monsters from outer space took the stage, the crowd immediately surged forward for the honor of getting covered in blood and guts. With rabid fans beating the hell out of each other and a never-ending tsunami of crowd-surfers filling the venue, the atmosphere was perfect for a true GWAR experience. Due to the passing of Cory "Flattus Maximus" Smoot late last year, GWAR unleashed tracks such as 'Saddam A Go-Go,' 'Bring Back the Bomb,' and 'Sick of You' as a four-piece. Although the normally huge sound of GWAR was a bit less intense with only one guitarist, the band successfully blazed through their set, which contained many Smoot-era GWAR cuts.

In a rare moment of seriousness from GWAR, the band closed with a heartwarming (yes, heartwarming) rendition of 'The Road Behind,' before ceremoniously placing Smoot's spotlit guitar onstage as Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' blanketed the venue.

Stay tuned for Loudwire's exclusive video interviews with both Municipal Waste drummer Dave Witte and GWAR front-thing Oderus Urungus.