GWAR front-thing Oderus Urungus hinted before that he would reveal who the new member of GWAR would be after the band's GWAR-B-Q. Well, the GWAR-B-Q came and went last weekend and now new information has surfaced on the next member of the Scumdogs of the Universe. The band lost their longtime guitarist, Cory Smoot, aka Flattus Maximus after he passed away last year due to a heart condition, but there is apparently more than one Maximus.
Oderus Urungus alter-ego Dave Brockie appeared on "What The Fontaine?!" radio show on WRIR 97.3 FM, and announced the new member of the group:
"Everyone knows we lost Cory last year and it's been a rough time, but we have been forging onwards, we've been writing new songs, and we're in the middle of writing a really awesome new album. And part of the whole process was finding a new guitar player and I'm really happy [to say that] Brent Purgason, who plays in Antietam 1862 and Cannabis Corpse now plays in this little band called GWAR. He was a really good friend of Cory's and he's just a perfect fit. He actually got the job about a month ago and he's been in the Slave Pit five days a week. We've been working really hard on the new album. . . His [character] name is 'Pustulous Maximus.'"
So that's the guitarist who will be playing the character, but what about the character, Pustulous Maximus. How is he related to the departed Flattus? Well, Brockie elaborated:
"What happened was when Flattus went back to the stars, all the different members of the Maximus tribe came to earth, because, you see, every member of the Maximus tribe shreds on guitar. So they all laid tracks for the new GWAR album. And what we're doing with that is we're getting a bunch of friends of ours who knew Cory, artists we know, local artists, big-time artists, to all kind of do a 'Scumdog' version of themselves and lay down tracks on the new album. So we have all these guest guitar players, all members of the Maximus clan. But, when they all went back to their home planets, one of them stole Pustulous's spaceship. So Pustulous was trapped on earth and he had no choice but to join GWAR permanently."
He continued, "Now Pustulous is angry. He has really bad acne, and it hurts, and the only way to make it not hurt so bad is to play guitar. But also, he's deaf, and so he yells at everyone all the time, 'cause his acne hurts, but when we talk back to him and try to say, 'Hey, we know some stuff that you can rub on your acne to have it not hurt so bad,' he can't hear us, so he thinks everyone is ignoring him, so he gets even more mad."
This falls in line with rumors I've been hearing that GWAR has enlisted an all-star team of guitarists to make guest appearances on the album as characters of the Maximus clan. While I will not reveal the names I've heard that were tentatively lined up, it will be massive. The band is hoping to have their new album complete by 2013, and Pustulous will make his GWAR debut on the band's upcoming Fall tour with Devildriver.
Earlier today on Twitter, Oderus Urungus elaborated on the new member in character, writing:
I don't know who the hell Brockie thinks he is running his mouth about our new Scumdog but I can tell you this…it's all lies! Pustulus Maximus? Covered in acne? No, no. He is the most repulsive of the entire Maximus clan. Blue face. Bad acne. NASTY. Shreds though. It is true that we have had members of the Maximus clan here in our studio, laying tracks on the new album…the Maximus clan is vast, Infecticus, Bubonis, Fartacus, and yes, even Pustulus Maximus were here, laying down killer riffs for our new album. And I suppose it is true that I might not be as "up" on the current members as I would like to be. It took two years to learn Jizmaks name! But I can't believe these respected metal sites, known for the quality of their journalism and their unswerving personal ethic would take the words of a lowly GWAR slave on a local RADIO show as the truth, without even consulting me! Even if everything was true! Our new Scumdog will debut on the "Fate or Chaos" tour.
I'm excited to see GWAR back at 5, and hear what the Scumdogs have in store for us!
