Album Review: GWAR and the Last Drive-In-Stein (Pit Records)

Happy Halloween! Here’s an album that fits the spooky season perfectly. GWAR, icons of shock rock, have teamed up with the legendary horror icon Joe Bob Briggs for something very special. It’s GWAR and the Last Drive-In-Stein, arriving November 13th via Pit Records on vinyl, the album celebrates more than four decades of GWAR and 40 years of Joe Bob Briggs on television as a film critic, commentator, and entertainer.

Side A features GWAR’s live performance from The Last Drive-In’s 2025 Halloween special. Side B features John Brennan and the Bigfeet, The Last Drive-In’s house band, performing songs written for the show’s final two seasons.

A staple of American TV, while The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs isn’t quite as well-known outside of the US, it is fair to say that its creator and host, Joe Bob Briggs is. Putting it simply, every self-respecting horror fan should know who he is. Whereas GWAR are an international name, not just in the rock music world, but within the horror world. They have massive crossover appeal, so them appearing on Briggs’ show and performing original and covers songs in 2025 really wasn’t a surprise.

Side A of the record features six songs from GWAR, with Side B featuring ten tracks from John Brennan and the Bigfeet. Of course, for me, the appeal of this record is the GWAR stuff, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t find enjoyable moments elsewhere.

So, what do we get from GWAR? A couple of gore-splattered, garish and theatrical anthems with the added fun of being performed in front of an audience. Anthems like Fuck this Place from 2017’s The Blood of Gods, and two tracks from 2025’s The Return of Gor Gor, Lot Lizard and Gor-Gor.

The other tracks they perform aren’t GWAR tracks, but tracks associated with The Last Drive-in. Namely Joe Bob Is Back in Town and Drive-In Oath, both of which are given the GWAR tongue-in-cheek treatment here. However, one track that is well worth paying attention to is Splatter Fu. An original punk rock track written specifically for the band by John Brennan and it’s a ton of fun. I even like the demo version that appears later on the record!

I know next to nothing about John Brennan and the Bigfeet, so that side of the record held plenty of intrigue. The result? A set of campy, rockabilly, Southern rock, disco-infused, and horror punk tunes that put a smile on my face. With one of the highlights being the lounge-parody, Joe Bob Is Back in Lounge taken from a Live at Jamboree ’23 set. Another is the singsong silliness of Everyone Loves Halloween, another is We’re Getting the Fire Started, a catchy horror-infused parody of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire, and another is the surprisingly touching You’re the Glue.

More than just one for the fans, GWAR and the Last Drive-In-Stein embodies the fun and cheesy side of Halloween horror.

GWAR and the Last Drive-In-Stein Track Listing:

1. Joe Bob Is Back in Town (Live from The Last Drive In)
2. Fuck This Place (Live from The Last Drive In)
3. Splatter Fu (Live from The Last Drive In)
4. Lot Lizard (Live from The Last Drive In)
5. Gor-Gor (Live from The Last Drive In)
6. Drive-In Oath (Live from The Last Drive In)
7. Joe Bob Is Back in Lounge (Live at Jamboree ’23)
8. Everyone Loves Halloween
9. Beauteous Gluteus Maximus
10. Gettin’ Ripped at the Drive-In
11. The Skybar Jingle
12. Splatter Fu (2023 Demo)
13. Up All Nightmareathon
14. We’re Getting the Fire Started
15. You’re the Glue
16. Thank You, Roger Corman / The Drive-In Oath (Live at Jamboree ’23)

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