Earlier this year, GWAR announced that their latest album, The New Dark Ages, would come with a companion graphic novel titled GWAR in the Duoverse of Absurdity. But might that graphic novel now spawn off its own companion as well? That’s what The Berserker Blothar suggested while speaking with Robb Flynn on the No F’n Regrets podcast (heard below), and living up to the “absurdity” suggested in the graphic novel title, that companion EP might just be made up of country songs.
In the new graphic novel, the band is being “sucked off into an alternate universe to do battle with their evil twins and the specter of rogue technology,” according to Blothar. He then further explained (as transcribed by Metal Injection), “That [alternate universe] Gwar is a country band. So I’ve been like, thinking about… I’m working on some country tunes just to have. I think it would be funny to do an EP of Gwar doing some country songs. I don’t know what it’s gonna be like, but it’s been fun to mess around with and think about.”
GWAR as a country band? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a metal or hard rock musician has toyed with the idea. Aaron Lewis has carved out a pretty successful career in country when he’s not performing with Staind and Kid Rock has walked that line between rock and country fairly frequently. Plus even heavier acts such as DevilDriver, Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop, Behemoth’s Nergal and more are dipping their toes into country music in recent years.
And it goes both ways with country-leaning acts such as the Zac Brown Band, Jelly Roll and Hardy fully rocking out with heavier material that’s captured the rock audience over the last few years.
But before GWAR go country, they’ll deliver their brand of full-on pummeling and spewing heaviness with The New Dark Ages that’s due on June 3, with cassette and vinyl options to follow on Sept. 16. Pre-orders can be found here. As for GWAR in the Duoverse of Absurdity, you can pre-order that through the Z2 Comics website.