Antarctic rock gods GWAR are set to return to the realms of man and reclaim their vice-like grip on the throat of hard-rock humanity after spending the last year-and-a-half working on their follow-up to 2011's Bloody Pit Of Horror. The new recording, Battle Maximus, is GWAR's first full-length studio effort since the loss of their longtime guitar player, Flattus Maximus, and is set to hit the streets on September 17th on Metal Blade Records. The new song, 'Bloodbath', is streaming below, along with more album details.

GWAR have announced the first leg of their massive Madness At The Core Of Time world tour, in support of Battle Maximus. The tour, which features a completely brand-new show full of slavering creatures and deserving victims, is set to kick off October 2nd in Columbus, Ohio and runs through November 17th in Washington, DC. Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 2nd.

Said verbose front-thing Oderus Urungus, "Our loyal slaves have been laboring ceaselessly to create the ultimate GWAR show, and for this they have received nothing but abuse and torment. I know our legions of loyal fans will be delighted to experience a whole new cast of ridiculous characters, all of whom shall meet exceedingly messy ends to the soundtrack of slaughter that our new album shall provide. Get ready world... GWAR is coming!"

GWAR shall be joined by deathcore heavyweights and label-mates WHITECHAPEL, Richmond, VA thrashers IRON REAGAN (featuring MUNICIPAL WASTE singer Tony Foresta) and A BAND OF ORCS (who are actually a band of Orcs).

Overlord Oderus Urungus allowed Whitechapel guitarist Alex Wade to comment on the tour: "We're extremely excited to announce that we will be direct supporting the almighty GWAR this fall. The tour will be hitting some spots we haven't been in a while and we're looking forward to having a blast on tour with them so come out and get GWAR'ed with us!"

Of course Oderus had more to say (when doesn't he?). "Let me make something perfectly clear. DON'T commit suicide if your city/country/collection of mud-huts isn't on the list. We can't play every city in the world in one tour, as much as we would like to. There will be a whole year or more of shows in support of Battle Maximus, so either be patient, or take a fucking road trip!"

Madness At The Core Of Time Tour 2013 dates include:

October

2 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
3 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
4 - Iowa City, IA - Blue Moose Tap House
7 - Saskatoon, SK - Odeon Events Centre
8 - Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall Ballroom
9 - Edmonton, AB - Union Hall
11 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
12 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House
13 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Concert House
14 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
15 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
16 - Chico, CA - Senator Theatre
17 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
18 - West Hollywood, CA - House of Blues
19 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
20 - San Francisco, CA - The Regency Ballroom
22 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theater
24 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
26 - Austin, TX - Emo's (Housecore Horror Film Fest)*
28 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
29 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
30 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
31 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall

November

1 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
2 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
4 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
5 - Ybor City, FL - The Ritz Ybor
7 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
8 - Detroit, MI - Harpo's
9 - Joliet, IL - Mojoes
10 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Intersection
12 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
13 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
14 - Clifton Park, NY - Upstate Concert Hall
15 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
16 - Reading, PA - Reverb
17 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
"This album is both a tribute to Flattus and a telling of the next chapter in the story of GWAR," said Oderus Urungus. "The combo of the brand new album and show should satisfy even the most hardcore Flattus devotee with the fact that GWAR's slay-skills are as supreme as ever, and the band stands poised to embark on our most earth-shattering world tour yet. We have mourned, we have honored, and now it's time to fucking devastate in the name of Flattus and the supreme entity that is GWAR."

Oderus continued: "This is our first record in our brand-new Slave Pit Studios, which Flattus had a lead role in designing, but without him we had no one left to twiddle the buttons, much less play the blazing metal leads and provide the musical direction that rescued GWAR from the depths of clown-band obscurity. I mean, Balsac is no slouch, but Flattus' departure left a huge hole in our band. We had no choice. We had to blow the Horn of Hate..."

The Horn of Hate is an ancient Slave Pit contraption that summons all the Scumdogs in the Universe in the unlikely event that one of them is killed in battle, disintegrated, or becomes a Mormon. As the cosmic tones echoed throughout the universe (which unfortunately sounds like a giant duck-fart), the Maximus tribe answered the call by traveling to Earth to wage the mighty Battle Maximus, a musical trial-by-combat for the right to follow in the footsteps of Flattus. When the dust had settled, but one Scumdog remained standing... the zit-encrusted and undeniably shred-tastic Pustulus Maximus.

"It is a highlight of my corpse-littered life to join my Scumdog brothers and continue the legendary legacy of the Maximus clan," said new GWAR-tarist, Pustulus Maximus. "I am not so happy that Oderus vandalized my space-ship, effectively marooning me on Earth, but fuck it...it's time to ROCK!"

GWAR's Battle Maximus features twelve brand new tracks that not only honor their departed ally, but tells the story of GWAR's latest struggle against what may be their greatest enemy yet...the insidious 'Mr. Perfect', who has travelled through time itself to steal the power of GWAR - the power of immortality, and use this power to mutate the human race into his twisted vision of what the "perfect" human should be. Once again GWAR finds themselves as the only thing standing between the human race and the latest super-powered shithead bent on the destruction of GWAR and the enslavement of their worshippers.

"If anyone is gonna destroy the human race, it's gonna be us...so get ready for the most epic struggle yet. Battle Maximus is destined to further solidify GWAR's place as the masters of Earth and Man, and no time-travelling demonic despot is going to change that, even if we have to kick his ass in every venue from the most puke-smeared club to the most illustrious festival stages worldwide," said Oderus. "The new show is going to feature Mr. Perfect eating his own ass nightly, as well as GWAR torturing the most annoying figures in the world of entertainment, politics, and religion. Prepare yourselves for the most awesome chapter in GWAR's blood-soaked history yet. Hail Flattus!"

Battle Maximus tracklisting:

'Intro'

'Madness At The Core Of Time'

'Bloodbath'

'Nothing Left Alive'

'They Swallowed The Sun'

'Torture'

'Raped At Birth'

'I, Bonesnapper'

'Mr. Perfect'

'Battle Maximus'

'Triumph Of The Pig Children'

'Falling'

'Fly Now'

'Bloodbath':

'Madness At The Core Of Time':

Pre-order the album at this location.