Ten of the Strangest Bands Ever

gwar5We have all heard a song or a band that has made us scratch our heads and ask did I really just hear or see that? Most of the time your answer will be yes because there are many strange and weird bands out there. We have complied a list of what we believe are among the strangest. If we missed any of your favorites, please let us know in the comments. Be warned, strange often means NSFW and offensive.

10. Macabre

Macabre is an extreme metal band from the USA. They have never had a line-up change. A blend thrash metal, death metal, and grindcore (sometimes with nursery rhymes and folk melodies) to form their own unique style dubbed murder metal. Lyrically, they have a strong focus on serial killers, mass murderers and a touch of sick gore humor.

9. The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black

Fronted by Kembra Pfahler, TVHKB is a cult glam-punk band. The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black are known for the often sexual nature of their shows. Very strange live performances and lyrics are also included.

8. Butthole Surfers

The Butthole Surfers are an American rock band from Texas. The Butthole Surfers are best known for their crazy and sometimes disturbing live shows, black humor, a sound that incorporates elements of punk rock, psychedelia, heavy metal, noise rock, and electronica, as well as their use of sound manipulation and tape editing. A weird band whos great nonetheless!

7. Oysterhead

Oysterhead is the side project of such rock legends as Les Claypool(of Primus), Trey Anastasio(of Phish), and drummer Stewart Copeland(The Police). The style and sound of the band is a collaborative eclectic mix of the bass-oriented funk metal music of Claypool, Anastasio’s jam band music and the Lebanese-influenced beats of Copeland. The result is different than any of their previous independent works. They released only one album, Grand Pecking Order, but it was strange(yet amazing) nonetheless

6. Fantomas

While having heavy roots in heavy metal, Fantomas music touches on many different musical genres, making liberal use of experimentalism and noise. Fantomas music is also known for its absurd and strange offbeat sense of humor. Fantomas is the brainchild of Mr. Bungle lead singer Mike Patton. Check it out

5. Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention

Zappa was an American composer, guitarist, singer and satirist. In his 35-year musical career, Zappa proved to be one of the most prolific musician-composers of his era, releasing over 75 albums during his lifetime, almost all of which consisted of original compositions. While his music was well accepted it was also very strange nonetheless.

His work spanned virtually every contemporary musical genre including avant-garde, rock, doo-wop, jazz, jazz fusion and contemporary classical, and was often noted for its blend of high art, rock opera, absurdity, scatological humor, and for its hilariously caustic social satire

4. GWAR

GWAR is an American metal band that is known for their strange horror themed costumes dirty, filthy lyrics, and elaborate stage shows. These graphic stage performances consist of humorous re-enactments of political and moral taboo themes. The costumes cover very little, with the rest of their bodies accentuated with makeup. They further their production in concert by spraying their audiences with imitation fluids.

3. Matmos

In their recordings and live performances from 1995, Matmos have used the sounds of: amplified crayfish nerve tissue, the pages of bibles turning, a bowed five string banjo, slowed down whistles and kisses, water hitting copper plates, the runout groove of a vinyl record, a $5.00 electric guitar, liposuction surgery, cameras and VCRs, chin implant surgery, contact microphones on human hair, violins, rat cages, tanks of helium, violas, human skulls, cellos, peck horns, tubas, cards shuffling, field recordings of conversations in hot tubs, frequency response tests for defective hearing aids, a steel guitar recorded in a sewer, etc…

2. Anal Cunt(AC)

They are often referred to by their initials A.C. Their musical catalog consists almost entirely (barring the overwrought satirical Picnic of Love album and a number of cover songs) of ridiculously offensive material. The band has often been criticized for its popularity being based solely on their controversial song titles and lyrics rather than any musical ability, and is often mentioned when a debate is being made against the grindcore genre of music. One ongoing dispute is how much Anal Cunt actually believes in what they say on their albums.

Videos probably NSFW

1. Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle were known for their distinctive musical traits, often cycling through several musical genres within the course of a single song. Many of their songs had an unconventional structure and utilized a wide array of instruments and samples. Live shows often featured members dressing up and an array of cover songs. An ongoing feud with Red Hot Chili Peppers front man Anthony Kiedis escalated in the late 1990s, with Kiedis removing Mr. Bungle from a number of large music festivals in Europe and Australasia.

Even though they were signed to a major record label, the band never experienced significant commercial success during its lifetime and only released one music video. Nevertheless, Mr. Bungle achieved worldwide popularity due to a large cult following.