On March 22, 2014, GWAR front-man David Brockie, better known as Oderus Urungus, was found dead in his Virginia home due to an accidental overdose on heroin. Upon hearing of his passing, Lamb of God singer Randall Blythe stated, “When someone dies, a lot of the time people will say “Oh, he was a unique person, really one of a kind, a true original”- most of these people no idea of what they are talking about- they obviously had never met Dave. Dave TRULY WAS ONE OF A KIND – I can’t think of ANYONE even remotely like him. That’s VERY HARD TO SAY.” At the annual GWAR-B-Q in Richmond, Va this Friday, Blythe was able to share his views on Oderus Urungus once again as the band paid tribute to its former lead singer in the only acceptable fashion – a Viking funeral.
The band originally said goodbye to Brockie in a private April Fool’s Day ceremony. Afterwards, however, friends realized that Brockie’s alter-ego, Oderus Urungus, had yet to receive a fitting tribute. That’s when the band launched the plan to send Urungus off in a blaze of glory at this year’s GWAR-B-Q.
And, much like last time, the band chose Lamb of God front-man Randall Blythe to deliver Urungus’s funeral oration, who rightfully pointed out that “Dave is the only motherf**ker I know who has to get put away twice. He’s too big for one f**king funeral.” Blythe shared his words with GWAR fans in an Instagram post shortly following the ceremony:
Tonight we sent Oderus home in a fitting manner at the public memorial for Dave Brockie. A blazing Viking ship with Oderus laid out in it, the cuttlefish pointing proudly straight up. Watching my friend Dave’s costume go up in flames in front of a thousand fans was so much more intense for me than the private memorial for friends & family we had April Fool’s Day. I spoke at both of them, as GWAR asked me to, & both times as I spoke I was sad. But watching his alter-ego burn tore me up way more than the first memorial, maybe because there was Dave, the human who was my friend who just “left us”- I never saw his body- & then there was Oderus, who was something entirely else. To watch his stage gear burn was like watching part of my life literally go up in flames. I was sobbing my eyes out as I took this photo. It was just a super-intense moment. Very beautiful, but overwhelming. Fly free, Oderus- you are missed.
According to the band, GWAR is composed of intergalactic warriors who have made it their mission to destroy any living thing that comes across their path. Unfortunately, the warriors were relegated to waste away on the worst planet in the universe, Earth, because of their rebellious acts and unnecessary violence. Oderus Urungus, the leader of said group of warriors, was constructed 43 billion years ago on the planet Scumdogia after all of his moldy, scattered body-parts were brought back together. Urungus’s defining characteristics were his sword, called Unt Lick, and a cuttlefish over his groin.
After Brockie’s death at the young age of 50, GWAR decided to set-up the David Brockie Fund to help assist aspiring artists who have dedicated their lives to the propagation of music and the arts around the world.
Image via YouTube