Metal Overview: W.A.S.P. (Part 1)

Welcome back to the awesome conclusion of Hair Metal Hysteria fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

When I started this festival, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. June would cover some of the founders of the genre, while July would take a look at a band that brought back the music alongside a healthy dose of humor. August was a little bit tricky, as I knew I wanted to do an overview this month, but I didn’t know who I wanted to cover. There were definitely plenty of groups that I could talk about in August, but after looking through my music collection, I spotted a band that immediately threw out all of the other choices I was thinking about out the window with the bathwater. The band in question......is W.A.S.P.

That’s right, W.A.S.P.! Simultaneously a band that was devoted to the ways of Hair Metal yet also implemented a massive dose of shock rock, the group ruffled feathers with their stage show & sexy/bloody theatrics. The targets of the PMRC in the early 80s, they never once backed down from any Bullshit Justice Warrior that got in their face, and instead continued to be one of the hottest groups of the decade. Give how long they’ve been around and their distinct discography, I’ll be splitting things up into 3 posts to look at each time separately. So without further adieu, here’s part one of my look.....at W.A.S.P.!

W.A.S.P. (1984)

Our story begins sometime in 1982, with a tiny LA band by the name of Circus Circus, who were the predecessor of W.A.S.P.. It featured guitarist Randy Piper, and perhaps one of the most iconic leads in the history of Heavy Metal. A little gentlemen by the name.....of Blackie Lawless!

Blackie Lawless (Interview)

Regardless of what you think of the man now, one cannot deny how talented and surprisingly eloquent his way with words was even back in the early 80s. After discovering that the demos he recorded with his older group were actually really good, he decided that the time was right to get a full-fledged band going, and thus the band known as W.A.S.P. was born! Composed of Blackie on Vocals & Bass, Randy Piper on Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals, Tony Richards on Drums & Backing Vocals, and Rik Fox on Bass. However, Rik didn’t last long in the band, as he left shortly afterwards to join Steeler. His replacement came in the form of Don Costa, but he also left shortly after his arrival, and the real full time replacement was Chris Holmes. Upon finally getting a solid group going, they signed a deal with Capital Records, and on August the 17th in 1984, their debut album was released......alongside some issues (More on that below).

W.A.S.P. has some pretty nice accolades attached to it’s name. It managed to reach no. 74 on the Billboard 200, the 1st single & music video (I Wanna Be Somebody) eventually ranked No. 84 on VH1's list of the "Top 100 Hard Rock Songs" of all time, several songs have been covered by other bands, and the track Tormentor has been featured on the soundtrack of at least 2 movies (The Dungeonmaster in 84 & Terror-Vision in 1986). Pretty neat & impressive if you ask me!

Best Track? There are practically a wealth of hair infused shock on this record, but give the reputation of one track in particular, I think you know what’s the best thing on here!

Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)

Despite being a classic tune, it was never put on the original release. Thanks in part to the actions taken by the PMRC (More on that in a moment), the record company decided to leave it off. It would instead appear on the 1998 re-release, along with every other re-release since then. Regardless of this fact, Animal is a fun & energetic song, lathered in a heavy coat of sleaze. Blackie is definitely on top of his game here, and despite the F bomb featured prominently in the title, it’s actually only ever sung twice. That fact alone is one of the weirdest things I ever learned about Heavy Metal.

Worst Track? The only bad thing about W.A.S.P. doesn’t have to do with the music, but rather the PMRC’s action around the time of this album’s release. Headed by Tipper Gore, the PMRC claimed that they were looking out for my country’s children, but in reality were bored & wanted to appear as if they were doing something important (Spoiler alert.....they weren’t!). Because of their actions, W.A.S.P. was placed on the “Filthy 15” list......although, the band did manage to get a little bit of revenge.

Harder Faster

W.A.S.P.. An incredible way to start off a storied career, and an album that’s still phenomenal after nearly 35 years of existence. If you want your Hair Metal more on the wild side, then W.A.S.P. is for you! Speaking of wild side.....

The Last Command (1985)

What do you do when you release a classic record like W.A.S.P.? You create another classic in the form of The Last Command! Released on November the 9th in 1985, the band’s 2nd release was also the first to showcase their newest drummer, Steve Riley. Formerly of Keel, he replaced Tony Richards at the beginning of the 84/85 tour, and while the sound didn’t change, his addition to the band added a subtle kick to the wildness of the group. The Last Command was also significant in that it was one of the highest charting album of their career. By 1986, it would reach no. 47 on the Billboard 200 & sell over one million copies, the 1st of W.A.S.P.’s to do so. Sadly, it would be the last time that Randy Piper would be heard....but that’s for a little later.

Best Track? Bit of a tie between the fantastic Wild Child, and the more slower paced but still great Cries In The Night. The former song opens up this album, and rightly so! This is the anthem for those who live life more dangerously, or at the very least more chaotically. Strangely enough, for a song that feels so wild, the band never sounds like they’re going to slip up into a jumbled mess, and instead go for a more steady/even pace. Cries In The Night, on the other hand, is slower pace, but compensates by being a more serious & emotional tune. This definitely is the ballad of the album, but it’s not a bad one by any means. This is W.A.S.P., after all.

Wild Child

Cries In The Night

Worst Track? Absolutely nothing! Unlike their self-titled release the year before, W.A.S.P. didn’t have any mud flung at them by the Bullshit Justice Warriors within the PMRC. Maybe it’s because there weren’t any easy targets to pick, or maybe it’s because they fundamentally succeeded in getting what they want with their original “Moral” crusade, but they didn’t bat an eye at The Last Command.

The Last Command. Fantastic from beginning to end, it served as a step to further advance themselves in the world of 80s Heavy Metal. Most definitely recommended. Next album!

Inside The Electric Circus (1986)

For every fantastic masterpiece, there’s always the album that seems to slip up....if only a little bit, and Inside The Electric Circus is that record. Released in October of 1986, the album came out at a time where the band was having some issues. For starters, the PMRC of course, but also there was the fact that Randy Piper was leaving the band. On the one hand, this let Blackie Lawless return to rhythm guitar, and he more than certainly kick ass with it! On the other hand, critics weren’t exactly fond of this album (Though fans were definitely liking this), as it was often called “7th Grader Rock” by some. Ironically, the biggest critic of Inside The Electric Circus was Blackie himself, who called it “A tired record by a tired band”. Personally, this release is just as good as what came before & after it....but it isn’t quite as strong as those albums. At the same time, it reached no. 60 on the billboard 200, and would stay there for 19 weeks.

Best Track? 9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y. was a track that got me to smile. As per usual, when W.A.S.P. gets dirty/nasty......they get dirty/nasty! Equating a gorgeous woman to a brutal earthquake, Blackie & the boys don’t let up with the instrumentation & vocal work. In particular is Lawless’s work on the guitar, as it sounds like he not uncomfortable with the “New” instrument he took up. If anything, he seems to be at home even more so on rhythm guitar, and he would stay there for pretty much the rest of his career. Aside from that, 9.5-N.A.S.T.Y. is a lot of fun, and one you shouldn’t skip.

(Ironically, it was a bad review of 9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y. that convinced Blackie to take some time off and reconsider the direction the band was going in.)

9.5. N.A.S.T.Y.

Worst Track? Despite Blackie being comfortable in his “New” role, something just seems off on this release. I can’t actually put my finger on it, but something is.....off somehow. It’s incredibly difficult to pin down what, and because of this, Inside The Electric Circus lapses, but it’s so insignificant it seems silly to talk about it. Ironically, it was a bad review of 9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y.

Inside The Electric Circus. A step backward, but despite what Blackie said about this release, it’s a babystep backward. I don’t recommend this one as much as everything else in their 80s output, but that doesn’t mean I never recommend it. Next album!

The Headless Children (1989)

By the end of the 80s, W.A.S.P. was going through some issues. Drummers were changed, but the biggest issue of all was the falling out between Blackie Lawless & Chris Holmes. By 1989, Chris wasn’t fond of Blackie taking W.A.S.P. in a more socially conscious direction, and left in August of that year, citing that he wanted to “have fun, you know”. Lawless was particularly caustic with his response to this, saying “some guys want to stay at home and wear aprons”, hinting at Holmes’s relationship with his 2nd wife Lita Ford (Keep this in mind for part 2 in the middle of this month). However, before the band was ablaze, in April of 1989 (The 15th of that month, to be exact), The Headless Children was released. In comparison to their last three albums, this one didn’t have anything sexual on it. Instead, Blackie Lawless took the music in a more socio-political direction, singing about things like Nuclear Warfare, Systemic Oppression , and all other sorts of things that were popular at the time.

Ironically enough, The Headless Children sold poorly upon it’s initial release. Adding onto the irony, it charted on the Billboard 200 at the no. 48, but it would fall off after just 13 weeks. In a recent interview, Blackie stated that The Headless Children eventually became the band’s highest selling album to date, perhaps because of it’s popularity over the decades.

Best Track? Even before I got into the band, I was always a fan of their cover of the iconic The Who song, The Real Me. Keeping the spirit of the original fully in tact, Blackie & the gang put their own spin on things, and gave it a nice Hair Metal/Shock Rock make over. All throughout the song the band is playing at a frenzied pace, and it almost feels like they’ll go off the rails at any moment. Luckily, there’s always some pull from the guitar or drums that keeps things on track, and thus things never collapse into an unpleasant cacophony of noise. Easily a song I play on repeat!

The Real Me

Worst Track? There’s absolutely nothing bad on The Headless Children! Every single song is fantastic, and none of them are skippable. Even the shorter tracks (Of which there are only 1 on the original release, and 3 on the remaster) have punch to them, so it’s silly to skip them as well. My only gripe comes with the nature of this release. Now, I’ve got nothing against a band wanting to make an album that’s more socio-political, and W.A.S.P. are no exception. However, it seems like Blackie went in that direction to get away from the raunchier material off of their first 3 records, and tries to wipe his hands clean of that stuff. This would become especially apparent in his work in the 2000s (More on that later this month), but in 1989 it merely seems like a pitstop more than anything else.

The Headless Children. Maybe a bit different in terms of subject matter, but not different in terms of style. If you weren’t fond of the band more risque material from the 80s, this definitely scratches that itch!

And that was part 1 of my look at W.A.S.P.. An absolute terror among more politically correct/conservative in the 1980s, their unique take on Hair Metal would become legend. However, would the band still continue to be their shocking selves in the 1990s? Would they still be a forced to be reckoned amid a new musical landscape? Tune in next week for part 2 to find out, and until then......stay wild!