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Interviews : GWAR – “Abbott is gonna die!” (An interview with Oderus Urungus)

By on October 29, 2013

GWAR – Oderus Urungus

Found frozen in Antarctica by a criminal named Sleazy P. Martini are American metal band GWAR. After their first Australian tour in 2010 as a part of the one-off No Sleep Til Festival, GWAR are bringing their filthy, disgusting stage-show back to Australia in 2014, this time as a part of Soundwave Festival, and also with a new album ‘Battle Maximus’.

By the time front-thing Oderus Urungus got around to speaking to Metal Obsession in a recent round of interviews, he was drunk, and talked to us about Soundwave, Tony Abbott, Metallica, children’s books, the Superbowl and much more.

Metal Obsession: Oderus, how’s it going?

Oderus Urungus: I’m fucking good, man. Been doing interviews for a while now, but I wasn’t drunk yet. But now I am! So, fuckin’ yeah, Australia! We love you! I learned a song about Australia, and the Wattle. Do you have a plant called the Wattle? ‘Cause here’s a song about it that I’m going to sing.

This here is the Wattle; it’s the symbol of our land. You can stick it in a bottle; you can hold it in your hand!

I dunno, I saw an episode of Monty Python that had it on there, and I thought I’d sing it to you.

Metal Obsession: [laughs] Very nice! How is your current US tour going?

Oderus Urungus: Oh my God, it’s fucking insane! ‘Battle Maximus’, our new album, is kicking ass. I’m all over every-fucking-thing. You know, all those other fucking rock’n’roll stars are so stupid, or so boring, or so retarded, or so lazy. You know, Oderus is everywhere, from reading obscene children stories, to fucking Superbowl petitions. It’s like, for some fucking reason, Oderus; me, has become one of the premier stakesmen of rock’n’roll and heavy metal in general. I have a considerable amount of hatred for a lot of people, including everyone, and I think it’s kind of funny, ironic and ridiculous that as much as I’ve tried to kill everyone, kill myself and make a mess of everything, people still want to talk to me!

Metal Obsession: Are you looking forward to playing Soundwave Festival in Australia next year?

Oderus Urungus: Oh my God. Are we looking forward to it? Of course we’re looking forward to it! This is going to be so great. We loved doing the No Sleep Til Festival, it was amazing. It was the first time anyone down there had seen GWAR – except for people who travelled to the States to see us – and they were fucking blown away. So we knew that we would be returning, and we knew that when we returned, it would be bigger, badder and better than ever. We absolutely cannot wait to break our latest, filthy, disgusting, horrible show, and also reunite with our good buddy Gor Gor the tyrant lizard, who is still in Australia! He refused to leave; he liked it so much there that he stayed!

So, we couldn’t be any more stoked about it. Infact, I think when the tour is over, there is a good chance that you Australian people will insist on adopting GWAR as your national treasure, and we will build a tunnel that goes from Antarctica to Australia so we can pop in on each other all the time!

Metal Obsession: When you participated in Soundwave’s ‘In the Ring’ online chat, you had several people asking you to cut off Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s head or ears at Soundwave. Have you taken this into consideration?

Oderus Urungus: Well you want me to do it? You want me to cut off his head? ‘Cause I will. His fucking head is gonna roll! His head is gonna roll and his blood is gonna spurt! And with that shock, all of Australia will know that GWAR rules this Earth, and is the greatest motherfucking band in rock’n’roll fucking history! Abbott is gonna die! Then, we’re gonna have another food from your culture, even though he just died. And of course Gor Gor will be there.

You know, we’ve gone out of our way to make this show a presentation that the Australian people can connect to, ‘cause they don’t give a fuck about what’s going on in America, so we just want to relate to their lives. So I have to say yeah, your Prime Minister is gonna get his fucking head chopped off, and it’ll be great. And if anybody fucking tries to stop us, 80,000 motherfucking people, led by GWAR, will fucking defend our rights and chop the fucking head off of anyone we fucking want to.

Metal Obsession: You said before that you were going to build a tunnel from Antarctica to Australia, and it reminded me that Metallica are going to play in Antarctica this December. Are you going to give them a warm welcome?

Oderus Urungus: For sure. Honestly, I know I talk shit about people sometimes. I talk all kinds of shit; I talk bad shit about bands I hate, bands I don’t respect, stupid things that people from bands say, all the fucking time I do it. A lot of people have been expecting me to do the same thing about this Metallica thing, but you know what? I ain’t fuckin’ doing it! Why? Because Metallica fucking rules. I fucking love Metallica. Now I know, a lot of stuff they’ve done – starting with Black Album which I still like – it’s been spotty, we’ve seen films about them going to psychiatrists, and whatever the fuck is going on. But guess what? They’re fucking Metallica. They fucking wrote Master of Puppets. They fucking wrote Creeping Death. They fucking saved metal from fucking hair bands! They can do no wrong. They have my mad respect; they have my mad, mad props.

All I have to say to Metallica is that I open the doors of my country to you. Just be careful; those fucking penguins they show you on TV, those are baby penguins! They don’t show you the 60 foot tall fire-breathing penguins, okay? And also, Metallica, please dress warmly!

Metal Obsession: Are you going to prepare them for this potential penguin attack?

Oderus Urungus: Yeah, that’s basically what I was trying to say. I mean, I invited them to the fortress for a feast. But so far I haven’t heard anything back.

I think, Metallica, I just don’t think that they want to come and visit me. I’m not gonna be offended though, it’s cool. We’ll throw a hell of a party though. If Metallica could just show up to our Antarctic fortress and party with us for a while, it could be fun. I dunno why they wouldn’t come, with all the hookers and blow here! You’re not going to find a lot of blow and hookers anywhere else in Antarctica. I guess they’re going to bring their own!

Metal Obsession: Back to Soundwave; Do you plan on playing any sideshows?

Oderus Urungus: I believe there are a few club sideshows. I vaguely glanced at our…ah… I just saw confusing jumbled letters, and I made no attempt to read what-so-ever. All I know is that we’re going to Australia. I do believe there are a couple of club shows. I don’t know where the hell they are, you guys can figure that one out. I’ll be looking forward to those shows as well, because the more intimate environment for a GWAR show can be a really good one as well. It’s all well and good playing in front of thousands of people, but the blood and spew only goes about 50 yards or so. You can’t soak everyone in blood when there are thousands of people.

So that more intimate kind of feeling – where GWAR’s right in your fucking face and you can’t get away from us – you’re so close to the band. You can actually smell my rotting genitals. I like those shows too.

Metal Obsession: Is there anyone in particular that you’d like to play with for the club shows?

Oderus Urungus: Well, who the fuck is on the line-up? I don’t even know who I’m playing with. Is Down on there?

Metal Obsession: Down are playing Soundwave.

Oderus Urungus: Alright, I’ll take Down. Name another band.

Metal Obsession: Testament.

Oderus Urungus: Ok, I’ll take Down and Testament!

Metal Obsession: That would be a killer show.

Oderus Urungus: It would be. I love both of those bands. Phil Anselmo is a really good friend of GWAR. We played at his Housecore Horror Film Festival in Austin, Texas just a couple of nights ago. It was fucking wickedly amazing. We love Phil, he’s a hardcore motherfucker, and him and Oderus are good buddies! We’re going to do some serious damage. So I hope one of those club shows are with Down, and as far as Testament go, same thing. Love those guys, we go way back with them. My god, what a fucking club show that would be; Down, Testament and GWAR, ugh! Game over motherfuckers!

Metal Obsession: I was actually going to ask about the Housecore Horror Film Festival. Tell me what went down at the festival.

Oderus Urungus: It was fucking great. I was doing interviews all day while preparing for the sold out show, and it was just a fucking bloodbath, probably the best show of the tour. There were so many great bands playing there, everybody hanging out and having a good time. Even Oderus, you know, I even had a good time. I’m usually kind of a party pooper, because I’ll just be in there and I’ll say “Your band sucks, your band sucks, whack, whack, whack, whack! Rats-infest peoples genitals” you know, but I felt like partying that day, because like I said, Phil’s a buddy of ours.

The festival was a great idea. I hope the festival grows every fucking year, and I was very proud and pleased to be a part of it. Hopefully GWAR can return every fucking year and kill that place! It was the best show on the tour, and Austin was a great place to have it in. So, best of luck on that in the future, we’ll see how it works out!

Metal Obsession: Which celebrity or public figure have you had the most enjoyment of torturing over the years?

Oderus Urungus: Well, we’ve killed every single American President; we’ve killed every single Pope, but right now I’m kind of digging the guy we’re killing at our show right now. Justin Bieber, have you heard of him?

Metal Obsession: Unfortunately, yes.

Oderus Urungus: Ah shit, I was thinking that maybe Australia was far enough away from North America that you people have been spared the curse of Justin Bieber, but I see that is not true. We’ve been crucifying the asshole every fucking night, and ripping his genitals out, chopping him in half. He still tries to sing his way out of the fuckin’ thing, but he goes down hard.

Metal Obsession: Is there going to be any more episodes of “Storytime with Oderus Urungus”?

Oderus Urungus: I don’t know, you’d think there would be ‘cause that shit is pretty fuckin’ funny. But I dunno. I don’t fucking know. I don’t decide that shit. I walk into a room and they say “Hey Oderus see that? That’s a camera, and here’s this, you read this” I’m like “I can’t read!” They’re like “You’ve gotta learn how to read!” and I’m like “Ok, I think I know how to read. I’ll do it.” I mean, I read that book in one take.

You know, I could go and read every fuckin’ kids book in the world, and turn every one of those stories into a perverted nightmare that would be absolutely hilarious. It probably should be done, but that might diminish from the hilarity of the original one… Or not. I’m not sure. I’m Oderus, I’m a chaos demon. Shit happens, I roll with it, it blows up or it dies, you know. Or catches on fire, sometimes I fuck it, sometimes I don’t.

Metal Obsession: I’m sure these stories would be heaps better if you re-wrote them into some perverted nightmare.

Oderus Urungus: Yeah, that’s what I thought when I was reading it. Now I’m like “I know this is a children’s book, but kids are a little smarter than this, I think.” But I was really reading to kids, I was trying to reach out to them, and tell them to go to fucking sleep! ‘Cause their parents deserve a little alone time, so they can suck each other’s dicks and stuff. Fucking brats!

Metal Obsession: Do you have any updates on the petition for GWAR to perform at the Superbowl half-time show in 2015?

Oderus Urungus: Everyone in the world and their pets could sign that fuckin’ petition, and the NFL would not let us play. It’s just fuckin’ stupid. So no, there’s no update. If we wanted to play the Superbowl, then we would play the Superbowl. We’d just show up there, and we wouldn’t just play the half-time show, we’d actually play the game, and we’d fuckin’ tear those pussy American football players apart! And then, of course, we would let all those bullshit pop stars play the half-time show, but we wouldn’t let them sing and dance, we’d make them beg for their lives, as we throw them into a pit of starving pigs! Yeah! And we’d throw Beyonce and Jay-Z into a fucking meat grinder, feet fucking first! That’s how GWAR would play the fucking Superbowl! And we would also figure out a way that anybody who was watching it on TV would also die. I don’t know how, but we would figure it out.

Metal Obsession: I believe we’re out of time. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Oderus Urungus: All I have to say is, the No Sleep Til Festival was great, but it was nothing compared to what’s about to happen to Australia. Gor Gor has been running a muk in the country side for years now, we’re gonna be re-uniting with the tyrant lizard, and we’re ready to take the fucking stage at Soundwave Festival in Australia. GWAR is returning, and this time, we might never leave!

GWAR’s new album ‘Battle Maximus’ is out now via Metal Blade / Rocket Distribution
Catch GWAR at Soundwave Festival in February / March

SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY – BRISBANE, RNA SHOWGROUNDS
BUY NOW ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14bris
Event Profile ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14brisbane

SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY – SYDNEY, OLYMPIC PARK
BUY NOW ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14sydn
Event Profile ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14sydney

FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY – MELBOURNE, FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE
BUY NOW ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14melb
Event Profile ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14melbourne

SATURDAY 1 MARCH – ADELAIDE, BONYTHON PARK
BUY NOW ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14adel
Event Profile ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14adelaide

MONDAY 3 MARCH – PERTH, CLAREMONT SHOWGROUND
BUY NOW ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14pert
Event Profile ↪ http://bit.ly/SW14perth

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Patrick has been a dedicated contributor to Metal Obsession since 2011. He believes that you can put Lars Ulrich's face on just about anything. Add Patrick on Facebook.