A Tribute to Oderus Urungus

The metal community experienced a tragic loss this past week. Gwar frontman, David Brockie a.k.a. Oderus Urungus has passed away. This week on “Into the Pit,” we will take a look at Oderus’ legacy with Gwar, and talk about how he changed heavy metal forever.

Gwar is a thrash metal band that takes plenty of influence from hardcore punk. The band is legendary for its outrageousness. The band members all wear monster costumes and have developed fictional personas for themselves. Oderus has been the only constant member throughout all of Gwar’s history, though Balsac the Jaws of Death and Jizmak Da Gusha have also been longtime members of the band.

Beginning in 1984, the band has released 13 albums to date. The band’s most famous record is its second album, Scumdogs of the Universe, which all of its members consider to be the group’s defining masterpiece. Lyrically, Gwar’s music varies, but many records are based on the fictional backgrounds the band members’ have created for their personas.

Gwar fans are commonly known as “bohabs,” named after Father Bohab from the band’s beloved third album, America Must Be Destroyed. Bohab means habitually boring, and is seen in contrast to how Gwar fans typically act.

Gwar has always been known for its live performances. The band members are always dressed in costume and they all embrace Gwar’s fictional background. Oderus was always the spectacle of the show. His personality was infectious and his fantastic sense of humor ensured that all of Gwar’s fans had a great time at their concerts. 

What made Gwar so instantly special was that the band was one of the first metal groups to really mix comedy and heavy metal. Gwar has always been ballsy, too. The band has never been afraid to cross boundaries and be unconventional. Oderus had a powerful vision that he worked hard to achieve with Gwar. 

Gwar’s music has always been ambitiously fun. The group has never been musically innovative, but they have still written great, rambunctious thrash metal songs.  It’s the kind of metal that is just hard not to enjoy. 

To many unfamiliar onlookers, Gwar may seem like a gimmick, but the metal community has never thought of the band that way. The group is a riot and metalheads tend to appreciate the stupidity behind the concept of the band. Gwar is a fun group that has united fans of heavy metal music time and time again. 

Oderus’s spirit has always been the driving force behind Gwar. He will certainly be missed by metalheads everywhere. The band may continue without him, but if they do, they will never be the same. Gwar is Oderus’s baby, and he will always be the most legendary character amongst the group’s collection of lovable monsters.

Metal Producers

When making a heavy metal album, choosing a producer can be a very difficult decision. There are a lot of great audio engineers out there with a multitude of talents. This week on “Into the Pit,” we are going to take a look at ten of the finest heavy metal record producers around today.

1        Kurt Ballou
Converge’s guitarist is one of the most sought after producers for underground heavy metal acts. Ballou is a well-respected musician and he is highly admired for producing some amazing albums through his studio, GodCity. He has produced work for Converge, Isis, High on Fire, Torche, Kvelertak, KEN Mode and Skeletonwitch.

2       Peter Tagtgren
The main man of Hypocrisy is producing some of the most vicious heavy metal records coming out today. In the past, he has produced albums for mostly overseas bands such as Children of Bodom, Immortal, Septicflesh, Celtic Frost, Enslaved and Dimmu Borgir. 

Andy Sneap 
There is no one in the world of heavy metal who doesn’t have immense respect for Andy Sneap. The phenomenal guitarist for Sabat and Hell has produced, mixed and/or mastered awesome records for bands such as Megadeth, Testament, Exodus, Killswitch Engage, Amon Amarth, Accept, Arch Enemy, Soulfly and Napalm Death, among many others.

4        Colin Richardson 
Slipknot, Trivium, Kreator, Machine Head, SikTh, Fear Factory, Carcass and Behemoth are only some of many metal acts that Richardson has worked with. The man has become a legend in the heavy metal community and everyone wants him to produce their record.

5       Misha Mansoor 
Mansoor has produced all of the records for his own band, Periphery, and has also worked with Animals as Leaders, Veil of Maya and Born of Osiris. Mansoor may not have many production credits to his name, but his talents are extraordinary. His style of production is immediately noticeable, and it sounds polished and sharp. If Mansoor agrees to produce your album, it’s bound to be something special.

6       Adam Dutkiewicz 
All hail the king of melodic metalcore. Dutkiewicz is the guitarist for Killswitch Engage and has produced so many popular metalcore records. He has worked with All That Remains, As I Lay Dying, Shadows Fall, Underoath, Every Time I Die and The Devil Wears Prada, just to name a few.

7        Terry Date 
If I had to choose my personal favorite producers from this list they would be Sneap, Tagtgren and Date. Date is just really good at getting the best out of bands. He has worked with groups such as Pantera, White Zombie, Deftones, Slipknot, Bring Me the Horizon, Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins and Metal Church. He also worked with Limp Bizkit, but I try to pretend that didn’t happen.

8        Jens Bogren 
Bogren has produced a lot of my favorite heavy releases that have come out in the last couple of years. He has worked with acts such as Dark Tranquillity, The Ocean, Ihsahn, The Devin Townsend Project, Soilwork, Opeth, Symphony X and Paradise Lost. Bogren has been a major part of creating some great modern metal records, many of which are already starting to become classics. 

9        Jason Suecof 
Suecof became famous for working with Trivium, but has since produced a ton of other awesome metal records. He has worked with bands including Death Angel, Battlecross, The Contortionist, The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel, Job For a Cowboy and Chimaira.

        Logan Mader 
Mader quit Machine Head after putting out two records with the band in order to focus on producing records. Mader has worked with bands such as Five Finger Death Punch, Gojira, Cavalera Conspiracy, Soulfly, Divine Heresy, W.A.S.P. and Devildriver, resulting in some very heavy albums.

Five Actors/Actresses Who Are Also Metalheads

Famous people like heavy metal. It’s true. I have proof! Here are five actors and actresses who you may not know are actually metalheads.

1. Jack Black
It’s fairly common knowledge that Jack Black is a metalhead, but I still had to include him on this list. Black and his goofy pal, Kyle Gas, started a very notorious comedy metal group called Tenacious D. In case you have been living in a bubble, some of Tenacious D’s badass music is down below.

2. Nicholas Cage
Most people don’t know that Cage’s son was the singer of a black metal band called Eyes of Noctum. They aren’t a very good group, but Cage was always very supportive of his son’s musical endeavors. Cage has never talked about being a metalhead in public, but it’s natural to assume that he is one, right? Man, I hope so.

3. Jim Carrey
Who could forget the classic moment when Cannibal Corpse popped up in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective? Most people don’t realize that Carey himself actually organized the band’s appearance in the film. He was a fan and wanted to give the band some exposure. If that’s not super awesome, then I don’t know what is. Mad props go out to Mr. Carrey.

4. Jada Pinkett Smith
Yeah, so around the time that nu metal was cool, Mrs. Smith thought it would be a great idea to start a metal band. Apparently she had been a fan of the genre and felt it was time to declare her taste for it to the world. Her band, Wicked Wisdom, wasn’t very good, but Smith definitely made a decent metal vocalist. She took control of the stage and went on a few tours, where she wasn’t booed off of it. So that’s an achievement, right? Anyways, recently Wicked Wisdom has shown signs of further activity by releasing a new song. My guess is that there is more to come from the band so be on the lookout for a new album or tour or something.

5. Danielle Fishel
I’m going to be honest with you all--this entire post was inspired by the girl who played Topanga on Boy Meets World. Fishel was recently spotted wearing a Lamb of God shirt. That’s right--Lamb of God. That’s a heavy band right there. Pictures also indicate that Fishel is also a Slipknot fan. With all of this evidence, one must conclude that the crush of every boy growing up in the 1990s is indeed a metalhead. How cool is that?