Gwar’s Tiny Desk Concert is exactly as surreal as you’d expect

The heavy metal collective — known for their massive prosthetics and raunchy lyrics — were brought to the NPR stage by producer Lars Gotrich.

July 17, 2023

He brought Gwar to NPR. He being Lars Gotrich, producer at NPR music, who according to a tweet posted earlier today has spent the past four years trying to coax the heavy metal collective and self-proclaimed "Scumdogs of the Universe" to the Tiny Desk stage. Today, that dream finally comes to fruition, and it's exactly as surreal as you'd expect it to be.

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Beyond the obvious — massive men in even bigger prosthetics, covered in fake blood — Gwar really threw the audience for a loop by opening with, of all things, a rollicking blues-rock jam called "Sex Cow." From there, they moved into the more standard metal fare of "I'll Be Your Monster," "Ratcatcher," and "Phantom Limb," obviously somewhat toned down so as not to overload the entire PA system. Watch the full concert above.

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Gwar’s Tiny Desk Concert is exactly as surreal as you’d expect