Dive Into The Wild, Twisted And Surprisingly Cultured World Of GWAR

Enlarge this image toggle caption Raina Douris/WXPN Raina Douris/WXPN

Playlist "Canon in D Major" (Music Lab Collective)

"Immortal Corrupter"

"Womb With a View"

"Tune From Da Moon"

"Salaminizer"

"Maggots"

"Biledriver"

"Sick of You"

Maybe you know the band GWAR. Maybe the name rings a bell. But if you're not familiar, they are a heavy metal band that's been around since the '80s and famous for theatrical and over-the-top, fake-blood-filled live shows and elaborate, gory costumes. But if you ask the members of GWAR, they are Intergalactic Space Marauders, claiming to have come to our planet to subjugate the human race through music and uh, cocaine!

Enlarge this image toggle caption Kimberly Junod/WXPN Kimberly Junod/WXPN

It's not just some cheap gimmick to sell records — there's a lot more going on than you might think.

"This isn't Slipknot where somebody else makes those masks. It's not KISS where somebody else makes the costumes," bassist-vocalist Michael Bishop, better known as Blothar, explains. "You've got a group of artists that are in the band. It's focused on the visual art."

Today, on our Sense Of Place series in Richmond, Va., we dive into the wild, twisted and maybe surprisingly intellectual world of GWAR.