Gwar

The knock against Gwar was always that their music was never as important as the costumes, chaos and carnage upon which they built their gore-soaked reputation. Which in retrospect to Gwar's 14-plus-year existence is funny, because it's when they stopped paying attention to the music that things started to suffer (everything since This Toilet Earth), both with their concepts and popularity. But for anyone that has ever been a Gwar slave, the clarion call of blood, guts and giant rubber phalluses is difficult to resist, even for nostalgia's sake, and Gwar's Ultimate Video Gwarchive satisfies that latent bloodlust. Featuring 16 of Gwar's music videos, from early hit "Sick of You" to their latest, "Immortal Corruptor" (although strangely "Black and Huge," their infamous debut is missing) it's a tour of farce from Gwar's prime to their not-so-current state. The videos are hilarious, as basement special effects, rubber costumes and low budget everything dominates, with oldies "Crack In The Egg," "Sick of You" and "Jack The World" holding up well, and the newer "Immortal Corruptor" and "Don't Need A Man" showing that maybe there's still life in this seemingly dead horse. Still, while the videos are worth a chuckle (how many times are you really going to watch a DVD of only videos?), the highlight is a running commentary track featuring Oderus (singer Dave Brockie) and various members of Gwar/Slave Pit explaining, or attempting to, the concepts that went horribly wrong (most of them), the props that got ruined, the misadventures of certain shoots. Still, considering the numerous "movies" and other videos Gwar has released, this seems a little light. Extras: commentary, outtakes, photo gallery, discography. (Metal Blade/Universal)