''Battle Maximus'' is the thirteenth studio album by

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

. The album was released on September 17, 2013 through

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distr ...

. The album was the first to feature new guitarist Brent Purgason (of Cannabis Corpse), portraying the new character Pustulus Maximus, the first album to feature bassist Jamison Land, portraying longtime character,

Beefcake the Mighty Beefcake the Mighty is the bassist of the heavy metal band Gwar. He appears as a stout (hence his name) humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. He is usually portrayed wielding either an oversized Gladius sword or a large battle-axe. Background ...

, and the last to feature vocalist Dave Brockie who portrayed

Oderus Urungus David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the b ...

, due to Brockie's death from a heroin overdose on March 23, 2014.

Overview

The album's description reads:

"Battle Maximus" was conceived and recorded over the last year at the bands self-operated Slave Pit Studios, and was mixed by veteran metal producer Glen Robinson and mastered by the matchless Howie Weinberg. It features twelve brand-new tracks of sonic sedition guaranteed to make even the most hardened GWAR fans head explode, merely by looking at the packaging. With songs like "Madness at the Core of Time", "Torture", and "They Swallowed the Sun", the album not only tells the next chapter in the never-ending story of GWAR, but also stands as a tribute to the band's long-time guitar player, the incomparable Flattus Maximus, who left Earth and returned to the cosmos to fulfill his glorious destiny almost two years ago. Rather than attempt to emulate the un-matchable sound of Flattus, who had led the band from the depths of clown-rock to the elite tier of top-notch metal acts with a series of bone-crushing recordings starting with 2000's "Violence Has Arrived", Oderus and company struck out in a bold new direction. Enlisting the aid of Pustulus Maximus, cousin of Flattus, who wrested the right to join forces with GWAR after waging the epic "Battle Maximus", GWAR has created one of their most awe-inspiring albums to date, one that is sure to join the ranks of "Scumdogs of the Universe" and "Lust in Space", as the ultimate expressions of GWAR's contempt for modern society and the hypocrisy and horror of a world gone mad. Get ready, human scum...GWAR is coming...all over your face!"

The album features several guest guitarists on the title track, each under a new Maximus character.

Zach Blair Zach Blair (born December 26, 1974) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Chicago-based punk rock band Rise Against. Before joining Rise Against in early 2007, Blair was a member of melodic hardco ...

, who portrayed

Flattus Maximus Flattus Maximus is the name of a character and former guitarist in the American heavy metal band Gwar. He is known for his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" is indicative of the charact ...

before Cory Smoot, provides additional guitar ono several songs as the character Splattus Maximus. Todd Evans, a former

, also appears as Skookum Maximus.

Track listing

Personnel

* Dave Brockie (

) - lead vocals * Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus) -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Mike Derks ( Balsac the Jaws of Death) - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jamison Land (

) - bass, backing vocals * Brad Roberts (

Jizmak Da Gusha Jizmak Da Gusha is the drummer for the heavy metal band Gwar. Although the costume has undergone many changes since the character was introduced, Jizmak's onstage get-up somewhat resembles a monstrous dog with very large teeth. He is usually see ...

) - drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Bob Gorman (Bonesnapper) - lead vocals on "I, Bonesnapper" *

(Splattus Maximus) - additional guitar on "Intro", "Bloodbath", "Torture", "Raped at Birth", "Battle Maximus", and "Falling" * Todd Evans (Skookum Maximus) - additional guitar on "Battle Maximus", and "Nothing Left Alive" * Ol Drake (Twatticus Maximus) - additional guitar on "Battle Maximus" * Mark Duane Morton (Tyrone Der Teufel) - additional guitar on "Battle Maximus" * Jenna Anderson (Jadis Valkyrja) - additional vocals on "They Swallowed The Sun" and "Carry On" * John Angelo - Producer / Recording Engineer * Glen Robinson - Mix Engineer * Howie Weinberg - Mastering Engineer

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Gwar albums Metal Blade Records albums