On a warm October night, in a historic building along infamous Granville Street, a
convergence of four bands culminated in a night full of punk, alt metal and goo. I’m of
course referring to the quad lineup of Blood Vulture, Dwarves, Helmet and the almighty
Gwar, riffing and spreading their seed all over downtown Vancouver.
Ripping into the show was cryptic Blood Vulture, the brainchild of Jordan Olds (aka
Gwarsenio Hall from Two Minutes to Late Night metal talk show), a cauldron of death
metal and goth boiled to perfection. Chicago hardcore punk quartet Dwarves followed
up, Blag Dahlia (vocals), HeWhoCannotBeNamed (guitar), Rex Everything (bass,
vocals), The Fresh Prince of Darkness (guitar) and Snupac (drums) raging through the
set in their true vile style.

The ’odd’ band on the bill was Helmet, the NYC assortment that pre-dates Nirvana for
the grungy, chunky arrangement characteristic of alternative metal. Page Hamilton
(lead guitar, vocals), Dan Beeman (guitar, vocals), Dave Case (bass, vocals), and Kyle
Stevenson (drums, vocals) kicked it off with “Holiday” from their 2023 LP release Left
and continued with both classic and new tunes spanning Helmet’s entire 35+ year
career, including “Bad Mood”, “Milquetoast” and “Unsung”. Cited as a significant
influence by a range of heavy hitters in metal and rock, Hamilton’s signature, repetitive,
staccato riffs and weighty down-tune syncopation reverbed off the historic walls inspiring
head banging, air guitaring, and fist pumping.

Gwar then hit the stage in full force for their Return of Gor Gor tour. Blothar the
Berserker (vocals), Bälsäc the Jaws ‘o Death (guitar), Beefcake the Mighty (bass),
Jizmac da Gusha, and newcomer Grodius Maximus (guitar) in their continued quest to
rape and pillage Earth, spewed spunky heavy metal and political swill from start to finish
(pun intended). The goal was obviously to enrage the crowd, calling them out as any
Canadian city other than Vancouver, as they peeled, split, and dismembered various
guests, none of whom were usual suspects (like presidents or celebrities). The return of
the prehistoric Gor Gor to celebrate 40 years of Gwar art and legend hailed a playlist
worthy of their longevity, including “Metal Metal Land”, “Crack in the Egg”, “Womb With
a View”, and fan faves like “Saddam A Go-Go”, “Hail Genocide” and sing-a-long “Fuck
This Place”. To further enrage proud Canadians, the ‘aliens’ waved an American flag as
they rolled into the encore.

Despite my respect for the giant costumes, the dick spew, the mutilation, the abortions,
and the ripping metal music, if you want to be my otherworldly overlords Gwar, leave the
‘merican flag at home!