Animal

"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" single cover.

"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" is a song by heavy metal band W.A.S.P. from their debut self-titled album. Written by Blackie Lawless, the song was released as the band's first single. The b side of this single was "Show No Mercy".

History

Recorded in early 1984, the debut single intended for the self-titled album of W.A.S.P. was close to not being released at all after being dropped from the album. Deemed too controversial, Capitol Records did not want to risk the album being banned from major retail chains.

The record company had subsequent plans to release the single only in Europe, in a black plastic bag and with a warning sticker about the explicit lyrics. Capitol backed out at the last minute and the single was shelved until the band was able to strike a one-off publishing deal with the independent label Music For Nations.

The single was finally released in April 1984, complete with the original sleeve and art depicting a codpiece and a circular saw blade.

The song is often performed at W.A.S.P. concerts with an intro similar to the 1984 Lyceum performance, which goes like this:

Any of you metalheads come here tonight...looking for a little bit of pussy?

I thought so, I know how we do it back in America, but there's only one way to do it. I wanna know how many of you metalheads fuck like a beast!

If you fuck like a beast, you're an animal!

Its overtly raunchy and sexual lyrics have since been recognized by the Parents Music Resource Center; it is number 9 on their "Filthy 15" list.

Story behind the lyrics

For a long time, the song contained nothing but two lines from the opening verse: "I've got pictures of naked ladies, lying on their beds".

According to a 1997 article that accompanied a reissue of W.A.S.P's debut album which features this track, the basis of the song, according to an article in Kerrang! Magazine was that Lawless had observed a photo of two lions mating in National Geographic Magazine.

The Kerrang! article was penned by Assistant Editor Dante Bonutto, who had written the magazine's first cover feature on the band, originally published in April 1984.

There is another, slightly contradicting story circulating about the origin and concept of the song, brought forward by Blackie Lawless himself. In the introduction to the song on the live album Sting Lawless states he was inspired to complete the song after watching comedian Sam Kinison perform as an opening act for W.A.S.P at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. In the stand-up routine Kinison was ranting and raving about his (alleged) wife, whom he kept calling a beast because of her apparent sexual appetite. After seeing Kinison's performance Lawless said he put two and two together and completed the song.

Track Listing

• All songs written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.

1. "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)"
2. "Show No Mercy"

1987 reissue bonus tracks

3. "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast) (Live)"
4. "Hellion (Live)"
5. "Mississippi Queen" (Leslie West, Corky Laing)

• The bonus tracks were previously released on the Live...Animal EP.

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Track Listing

• All songs written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.

1. "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)"
2. "Show No Mercy"

1987 reissue bonus tracks

3. "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast) (Live)"
4. "Hellion (Live)"
5. "Mississippi Queen" (Leslie West, Corky Laing)

• The bonus tracks were previously released on the Live...Animal EP.