The Chariot and Gwar

Though they share a penchant for intense performances, the Chariot and Gwar hail from opposite ends of the spectacle spectrum. With its dizzying lighting effects, apoplectic rhythms and hyperactive signature shifts, the Chariot in concert can be as disorienting as a pitch-black haunted house with mirror mazes and four-story slides. Gwar’s current stage show, unveiled on this summer’s Sounds of the Underground tour (the Chariot shared that bill, too), involves the gory assassinations of George W. Bush and the “Nazi Pope” as well as the projectile spewing of icky liquids. The Chariot’s Christian fanbase might be wary of Gwar’s enthusiastic lyrical endorsement of sexual depravity and violence, but folks will be heartened to learn that the group’s latest concept album, Beyond Hell, sees it battling Satan — albeit for “ultimate badass” status.