The New Dark Ages, <\/em>GWAR\u2019s 15th<\/sup> studio album and newest record could be the most diverse GWAR record to date. the album\u2019s story involves GWAR, now lost in the Duoverse (\u201clike the multiverse, but it\u2019s a little shittier\u201d), joining forces with a \u201cmurderous maven\u201d known as The Cutter<\/em> and fighting off living monuments and undead soldiers waging a New Civil War. The New Dark Ages <\/em>is the second GWAR album after Brockie’s passing, and the third album with guitarist Pustulus Maximus writing and performing lead guitar duties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking to PAN M 360, from their fortress in Antarctica, Pustulus Maximus tells us a bit about the new GWAR record, the companion graphic novel The Duoverse of Absurdity<\/em>\u2014the importance of fresh blood, and the regression of our species into a new dark age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> How has Pustulus Maximus guitar style evolved since hearing \u201cThe Horn of Hate,\u201d and entering the ranks of GWAR in your debut with the band in Battle Maximus<\/em>? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>Battle Maximus <\/em>was another healing period for the band, when I had joined they had the majority of the material written. I was able to contribute to tracks like: “<\/em>I Bonesnapper,” <\/em>and “Madness at the core of time,” but for the most part, it was kind of there. My initial idea was not to part from the Flattus Maximus style too much at first. Once we were able to do The Blood of Gods, <\/em>there was more freedom; we were able to write that album as a band together. Today\u2019s GWAR has come into its own sound, our newest record The New Dark Ages, <\/em>is a continuation of that, another record we were able to write together\u2014this one really has no outside trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> GWAR is currently embarked on \u201cThe Black Death Rager World Tour.\u201d It\u2019s a very busy time for GWAR to bring the bubonic plague to us mortals. What can you tell us about this upcoming GWAR invasion and what can we mortals expect?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>This spring tour is a great tour and we are showcasing some songs off the new record, but this fall is when we\u2019re going to debut an entirely brand new show, a new storyline encompassing all the themes and ideas touched on The New Dark Ages. <\/em>It\u2019s also going to highlight the companion piece The Duoverse of Absurdity, <\/em>a graphic novel that goes with the new record. This fall is going to be awesome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> Can you talk to us a bit about The Duoverse of Absurdity; <\/em>you\u2019re facing off against vomitous incarnations of yourself. Will the new characters from the album or comic, like The Cutter, make their way into the new live shows? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>I don\u2019t think there are any plans for a character like The Cutter making it onto the stage, the idea for her was pretty broad\u2014<\/em>The Cutter represents taking self-harm and directing it to harm others, which is kind of what GWAR does. We harm everyone else, we don\u2019t harm ourselves. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any mention of that character in the comics but it was fantastic working with Lizzy Hale (Halestorm) on that song. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> I know Pustulus, that you and Lizzy Hale are acquaintances having appeared on podcasts together. What was it like bringing her into the GWAR fold to represent a character in the universe?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>Bringing Lizzy Hale on was great. She\u2019s an amazingly talented human. Her abilities far surpass normal human abilities for sure; she might even be from another world, like us. She was awesome enough to want to do this with us and we definitely appreciate her contributions. She took a very small part of a song and made it huge; we are forever in her debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> GWAR has always been a unique collection of artists and musicians. Merged under one roof in 1984 creating art on their own terms, it\u2019s a collective very much split generationally apart. What is needed to continue such a visceral concept and keep things interesting throughout all these years? Is it the belief, love, and voluntary devotion to this art form that keeps GWAR going?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>Very similar to Nosferatu or Elizabeth Bathory, GWAR continues to thrive on fresh blood. As long as there\u2019s a good supply we’ll always be able to continue. It\u2019s really one of GWAR\u2019s biggest strengths. Not only are we an art ensemble, but the cast and characters continues to increase. By continuing to bring new and young members into the band we can continue forever. Not to mention we are always guided by the guidance of our elders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360: There has been a lot of heartbreak and devastation in the ranks of the GWAR family. Can we talk a bit about pushing through those darker and tumultuous times as a band and how you\u2019ve got through it as a band?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>GWAR is such a monumental force in all our lives; it doesn\u2019t really become an option to quit. It would be like taking something that\u2019s in every part of your being and trying to reinvent yourself into something new without it, it\u2019s simply not an option. GWAR will persevere through any challenge, any tragedy it has to face, as hard as it may be at any time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> Across the 15 tracks on The New Dark Ages, <\/em>there\u2019s an eclectic ability for GWAR to jump between genres while keeping its roots heavy. GWAR has never been a band who\u2019s been afraid of genre constraints, bUT can you talk to us a bit about The New Dark Ages, these songs, and the metal genre of music.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>The New Dark Ages<\/em>, as far as stylistically things are considered, it\u2019s all the same to me: Distorted guitar, offshoots of rock n roll, and heavy metal. You can say it\u2019s an eclectic record, that\u2019s fair, but to me, they’re all branches on the same tree. As far as the themes contained there within, humanity has trapped itself with its own technology. In doing so with the rejection of science and the rejection of knowledge, as a race, humanity has returned to the dark ages. There\u2019s no light at the end of the tunnel. You\u2019re regressing as a planet and as a species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360:<\/strong> Some concepts Bl\u00f6thar the Barbarian expresses in The New Dark Ages<\/em> have to do with lies, liars, and moral ambiguity. Over the course of a few tracks, he expresses how, \u201clies have become contagious,\u201d how \u201cancient lies are recycled,\u201d or GWAR\u2019s hate of \u201cMother Fucking Liars.\u201d How do lies represent The New Dark Ages?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>“Mother Fucking Liar” is a very loaded track. It\u2019s probably the track with the least amount of lyrics but the most serious theme. It\u2019s not only about liars and two-faced political parties, it\u2019s also about humanity’s obsession with cancel culture and not just the black and white view most people have. With cancel culture, you not only shut someone down but you prevent the ability for that person to ever grow by defining a being by a single action. This is fine for us because GWAR doesn\u2019t care about the affair of humans, but we like to point out your flaws and rub your nose in them, which is why that song is important to us. In that respect, it also reflects politicians like Donald Trump and the war on the truth in the media\u2014that you can present someone with evidence and they can flat out deny it, it\u2019s true for both people on the left and right; they\u2019re maniacs on both sides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n PAN M 360: With GWAR\u2019s rich history of killing, dismembering, and maiming people which displease them are there any \u201cMother Fucking Liars,\u201d getting the axe this time around?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brent Purgason (Pustulus Maximus): <\/strong>President Joe Biden is usually the first victim on this tour. He seems to think he can hijack the GWAR show and use it as a platform for political peace. If you are not a member of GWAR and you try to get on stage with us you will quickly be dispatched and your bodily fluids will be on the audience in a celebration of your death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/panm360.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/GWAR_2022-1024x677.jpeg\")