The frontman of cult metal band Gwar, Dave Brockie (stage name: Oderus Urungus), has been found dead in his apartment. According to Virginia newspaper Style Weekly, a member of the Richmond Police Department confirmed that the 50-year-old musician was found dead in his home between 3 pm and 7 pm by his roommate on Sunday.

"Dave was one of the funniest, smartest, most creative and energetic persons I've known," former Gwar bassist Mike Bishop says. "He was brash sometimes, always crass, irreverent, he was hilarious in every way. But he was also deeply intelligent and interested in life, history, politics and art. A great frontman, a great painter, writer, he was also a hell of a bass guitarist. I loved him. He was capable of great empathy and had a real sense of justice."

Gwar formed in 1986 in Richmond, Virginia. They became infamous for their ridiculous sci-fi costumes, controversial lyrics and graphic live shows – often Gwar would spray fake blood or spunk onto an audience, dismember an effigy of Jesus, or fill the stage with snapping turtles.

Brockie was the founding member of Gwar and a totem for the band's concepts and ideas. He told Style Weekly two years ago: "We're just a bunch of guys with warped senses of humor spit balling the most evil ideas that we could think of, to hold up a twisted mirror to the culture."  They released their thirteenth album, Battle Maximus, in 2013.

Watch Gwar horrify Jerry Springer below: