The Tragic Death Of David Brockie From Gwar
David Brockie was best known by the name and outrageous, delightfully horrifying appearance of his alter ego, Oderus Urungus, frontman for the notorious horror metal band Gwar. Starting in 1984, Gwar thrilled fans with their over the top costumes, lyrics, and stage shows. According to their website's "Mythos" page, they originated in outer space as "intergalactic f***-ups" who fight "the massive battle between GWAR and the forces of all that is uptight and wrong with the world."
Brockie was an original founder of Gwar and his Oderus Urungus character was the only one to survive the many incarnations of Gwar until his untimely death in 2014. According to Blabbermouth, Brockie's roommates found him unconscious at his home the night of March 23. They called the authorities, who pronounced Brockie dead; he was just 50 years old. The Associated Press later released the news that an autopsy revealed he had died of an accidental heroin overdose. Brockie was not the first member of Gwar to die at a young age; in 2011, the rest of the band found 34-year-old guitarist Cory Smoot, aka Flattus Maximus, dead on their tour bus. The cause of his death was later determined to be a heart attack "brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease," per Billboard.
'I learned many things from Dave...'
As the news of Brockie's death became public knowledge, tributes rolled in from those who had known him best. His former Gwar bandmate Mike Bishop said, "Dave was one of the funniest, smartest, most creative and energetic persons I've known," according to Blabbermouth. Lamb of God's Randy Blythe said Brockie "Truly was one of a kind. I can't think of anyone even remotely like him" and joked, "I learned many things from Dave, many of which I am eternally grateful for, and some of which I am deeply ashamed of."
The remaining members of Gwar honored Brockie with a "viking funeral" at the annual Gwar-B-Q gathering, at which his Oderus Ungurus costume was "laid out on a boat filled with offerings, launched into the water and set on fire with a flaming arrow," per Rolling Stone. In 2019, Gwar unveiled a large memorial headstone in Hollywood Cemetery of Richmond, Virginia, the band's home state, announcing, "It's been a long time coming, but we finally have a place to remember Dave Brockie," reported radio station Alt102. Brockie is also remembered via the band's Dave Brockie Foundation, "a charity fund with the mission of promoting the advancement of music, images, letters and performances in the arts," according to Rolling Stone.