Earlier this year, Gwar frontman Dave Brockie passed away at the age of 50 due to a heroin overdose. After Brockie was treated to a proper funeral, his Gwar character Oderus Urungus was remembered with a viking funeral that saw his Gwar costume burned in a boat.
Over the weekend, the fifth annual Gwar B-Q celebration took place in Richmond, Virginia. The costume of Gwar's Oderus Urungus was placed in a boat, then shot with a flaming arrow as a crowd looked on.
Lamb of God's Randy Blythe offered a eulogy at the event. Later, he shared the above photo on Instagram and offered the following statement [via Pitchfork]:
Tonight we sent Oderus home in a fitting manner at the public memorial for Dave Brockie. A blazing Viking ship with Oderus laid out in it, the cuttlefish pointing proudly straight up. Watching my friend Dave's costume go up in flames in front of a thousand fans was so much more intense for me than the private memorial for friends & family we had April Fool's Day. I spoke at both of them, as GWAR asked me to, & both times as I spoke I was sad.
But watching his alter-ego burn tore me up way more than the first memorial, maybe because there was Dave, the human who was my friend who just "left us"—I never saw his body—& then there was Oderus, who was something entirely else. To watch his stage gear burn was like watching part of my life literally go up in flames. I was sobbing my eyes out as I took this photo. It was just a super-intense moment. Very beautiful, but overwhelming. Fly free, Oderus—you are missed.
Watch footage of the ceremony below, courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Over the weekend, the fifth annual Gwar B-Q celebration took place in Richmond, Virginia. The costume of Gwar's Oderus Urungus was placed in a boat, then shot with a flaming arrow as a crowd looked on.
Lamb of God's Randy Blythe offered a eulogy at the event. Later, he shared the above photo on Instagram and offered the following statement [via Pitchfork]:
Tonight we sent Oderus home in a fitting manner at the public memorial for Dave Brockie. A blazing Viking ship with Oderus laid out in it, the cuttlefish pointing proudly straight up. Watching my friend Dave's costume go up in flames in front of a thousand fans was so much more intense for me than the private memorial for friends & family we had April Fool's Day. I spoke at both of them, as GWAR asked me to, & both times as I spoke I was sad.
But watching his alter-ego burn tore me up way more than the first memorial, maybe because there was Dave, the human who was my friend who just "left us"—I never saw his body—& then there was Oderus, who was something entirely else. To watch his stage gear burn was like watching part of my life literally go up in flames. I was sobbing my eyes out as I took this photo. It was just a super-intense moment. Very beautiful, but overwhelming. Fly free, Oderus—you are missed.
Watch footage of the ceremony below, courtesy of Rolling Stone.