Legendary Metal Band Loses Guitarist

Legendary metal band Gwar is down a member, as they recently lost guitarist Brent Purgason. More well-known by his stage name Pustulus Maximus, Purgason has been with the band since 2012 and has played on their last three albums: Battle Maximus (2013), The Blood of Gods (2017), and The New Dark Ages (2022). Now. Purgason has announced his exit from the band in a post on Instagram.

“11 years ago I had the privilege of joining the greatest shock rock and roll band in the world. Today, I announce my departure from it,” Purgason wrote. “Playing and performing as Pustulus Maximus has been quite the experience and I’ll be forever grateful for it. I want to extend my utmost appreciation for all the support given to me by the fans over the years. They have been kind, generous and enthusiastic for the band and my character throughout my tenure and I couldn’t ask to ever perform in front of a greater group of people. It has been an honor to spill blood on you.”

“Gwar will continue to have my support. I am leaving on good terms and will still be around to help out some behind the scenes. To what degree, I don’t know yet but our creative lives are still very much tied together. For the fans, I hope you continue to show your love and enthusiasm for the band as I’m sure the future will be filled with more blood and gore,” he continued. “Leaving brings back many memories over the years and the main one that comes to mind is getting the call from Dave Brockie while driving home down Lakeside Avenue. He was screaming through the phone, ‘Dude! You’re in the band!’. It was a great moment to have and It breaks my heart that no one else will ever get that call again. It’s a reminder that this was a very different band when I joined and I was a very different person. People grow and priorities change.”

Purgason added, “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the members of Gwar that invited me in, not only to perform but to become an owner of the band, a friend, and a brother. I am happy I was able to share many stages with you all across the world and have been supported by the hardest working crew in the industry.” He then concluded his post with “a passage” from the song, “A Farewell to Kings” by Rush.