GWAR guitarist Michael Derks who has been with the band from its inception in 1988 has announced he has a rare form of bone marrow cancer as reported by Brooklyn Vegan. The guitarist, who performs as BälSäc the Jaws ‘o Death, shared his story on the blood cancer donor site DKMS. He stated that after the conclusion of this years Warped Tour he felt increasingly fatigued and after a series of tests it was discovered he had myelofibrosis, a disease that causes scarring of the bone marrow and is fatal if left untreated. The treatment of the disease is a round of intense chemotherapy to kill off the bone marrow cells, followed by a bone marrow transplant. Derks went on to say that he has no intention of slowing down his work with GWAR for the time being as he waits to find a suitable bone marrow donor.
GWAR has become known in the metal community for their outrageous stage antics in which each member of the band dresses up in an elaborate alien costume, often performing violent acts on stage and spraying audience members with miscellaneous fluids and brutally murdering politicians on stage. The group have also been a lightning rod for controversy for their grotesque and violent lyrics, particularly this year with the release of an anti-Donald Trump song “El Presidente” in addition to their previous bloody music video for their cover of the AC/DC standard “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” which featured Trump and Hillary Clinton killing each other. That’s not even close to some of the more grotesque thing the band has done in recent memory, as the other year they offered a severed head of Mitt Romney and bloodied Osama Bin Laden skull as part of a Kickstarter campaign.
The group recently released a new album, The Blood of Gods, their first without founding member Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus) who passed away in 2014. The Blood of Gods is the first record with new singer Mike Bishop (Berserker Blöthar), and you can check out mxdwn’s review here.
GWAR are currently on tour with fellow monster-themed metal band Ghoul and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein.
Photo credit Sharon Alagna