GWAR, Bloodlet and Cattle Decapitation
October 25th 2002 The Northgate Music Theatre, Seattle WA

It’s been around 8 months since GWAR came to town so they were definitely due to make another appearance. This was the first metal show at the Northgate Music Theatre, an old (and large) movie theater converted to a concert hall. The place holds a maximum capacity of 2400 people and I’d say around 1900 showed up to get wet with Oderus and his crew.

Cattle Decapitation opened up with a 40 minute set that went very unappreciated by the majority of the audience, eliciting lots of booing and cries of “You suck!” and “We want GWAR!”. The sentiment was understandable considering that GWAR is at the most extreme end of the music spectrum for the hordes of nu-metal kiddies that were in attendance. I for one really enjoyed their set and was in no hurry for it to come to an end. The 4 piece played an impressive high-energy set of death grind with little between song chatter, a good thing as that would have just shortened the number of songs played and given the crowd more chances to heckle them. Vocalist Travis Ryan did a great job as frontman and the drummer kept pace with the best of them. The rest of the band did a great job but It seemed the guitar was often lost behind the bass. This was a very solid performance that could have only be improved by the addition of a second guitarist.

Bloodlet was the next band to perform. I guess these guys have been around for some time and have a number of releases under their belts. Having never heard this band before I was curious as to what they sounded like and what sort of a live show they put on. The first song was pretty heavy and decently paced but then everything after that sounded pretty much the same to me, slow and very repetitious for the most part with way too much droning clean vocals. If you’re into that sort of stuff this would probably be a good band to see but if not steer clear.

Next up, straight from Antarctica, were the mighty monsters of metal, GWAR. As usual they pulled out all the stops doing what makes them one of the best live bands ever. All of their old standards like The Wheel and Gor-Gor were there to wreak havoc and maim unsuspecting human beings and the bile cannon they introduced on the previous tour ensured everyone within fifty feet of the stage got at least a little bit of GWAR juices on them. Among the noted luminaries that were slaughtered this time were Mike Tyson, George W. Bush, and Saddam Hussein. This tour was named “The Bitch is Back” and for good reason, it marked the return of the goddess of GWAR Slymenstrua Hymen. She did her little fire show and entertained everyone by removing Oderus’ penis and doinjg battle with savage beasts. The last tour was great but the female touch provided by “The Bitch” (and the blood she spat on everyone in the first few rows) made this one even better. If you have never seen GWAR do yourself a favor and be sure not to miss them the next time they come to town, it’s an experience like no other!


Partial set list:
Battle Lust
Salamanizer
Gor Gor
I Saw Yg
Vlad the Impaler
Saddam a Go-Go
Abyss of Woe
Immortal Corruptor
Apes of Wrath
GWAR Theme
Happy Death Day
So Fucking What
Back to Iraq
Love Surgery
Sick of You