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W.A.S.P.

 
Album Review: W.A.S.P.
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W.A.S.P.

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  • Artist: W.A.S.P.
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1984
  • Total Time: 38:21
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

With glam rock making a comeback of sorts in 1984 (Mötley Crüe, Ratt, etc.), another Los Angeles band, W.A.S.P., couldn't have picked a better time to release its self-titled debut. By merging lyrics that dealt with the expected heavy metal themes (sex, Satanism, etc.) alongside Blackie Lawless' rough vocals and Chris Holmes' guitar riffing, the band sounded and looked more menacing than your average L.A. glam band at the time. Add to it a stage show that was gimmick-heavy (Lawless would drink blood from a skull and rip open a pillow, while wearing buttless leather pants and saw blades on his arms), and you had a "can't miss" recipe for controversy and publicity -- resulting in the debut's eventual gold certification. The album contains most of their best-known tracks, such as the raging singles/videos "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "L.O.V.E. Machine," plus the anti-establishment "School Daze," the semi-ballad "Sleeping (In the Fire)," and the angst-filled anthems "The Flame," "Hellion," "On Your Knees," and "Tormentor." [The 1998 CD reissue contains three bonus tracks, including a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black," as well as their overtly sexual early fan fav, "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)."] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
I Wanna Be Somebody (Lyrics) Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:43)
L.O.V.E. Machine Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:51)
The Flame Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:41)
B.A.D. Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:56)
School Daze Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:35)
Hellion Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:39)
Sleeping (In the Fire) Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:55)
On Your Knees Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:48)
Tormentor Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:10)
The Torture Never Stops Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:56)

Credits

Duane Baron (Engineer), Duane Baron (Mixing), Steve Fontano (Engineer), Chris Holmes (Guitar), Chris Holmes (Guitar (Rhythm)), Hanspeter Huber (Assistant Engineer), Blackie Lawless (Guitar (Bass)), Blackie Lawless (Vocals), Blackie Lawless (Producer), Blackie Lawless (Liner Notes), Tony Richards (Drums), Tony Richards (Vocals), Jim Scott (Assistant Engineer), Mike Varney (Producer), W.A.S.P. (Main Performer), Larry Vigon (Design), Hugh Gilmour (Artwork), Hugh Gilmour (Reissue Design), Hugh Gilmour (Photoshop Artist), David Tarling (Pre-Production), Ross Halfin (Photography)
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Wikipedia: W.A.S.P. (album)
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
W.A.S.P.
Studio album by W.A.S.P.
Released August 17, 1984
Recorded 1984
Genre Heavy metal
Length 38:21
Label Capitol Records
Producer Blackie Lawless, Mike Varney
Professional reviews
W.A.S.P. chronology
W.A.S.P.
(1984)		 The Last Command
(1985)
Singles from W.A.S.P.
  1. "I Wanna Be Somebody"
    Released: 1984
  2. "L.O.V.E. Machine"
    Released: 1984
  3. "School Daze"
    Released: 1984

W.A.S.P. is the debut eponymous album by W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984 (see 1984 in music). The album has been known under three different names. The spine of the vinyl release has Winged Assassins printed on it. Cassette releases of the album had the first track of the album, I Wanna Be Somebody printed in bold letters, as was common for albums named after the first track. The album is now usually referred to as W.A.S.P..

The Song "Sleeping (In the Fire)" has been covered by Tiamat, "Hellion" by Children of Bodom, "L.O.V.E. Machine" by Fallen Man in 2007, Lullacry and Fozzy, "I Wanna Be Somebody" by Sentenced, Catamenia, Witchery, and Gates of Ishtar, and "The Torture Never Stops" by death metal supergroup Torture Division[1]. The song "School Daze" has been noted to be an adaption of Alice Cooper's "School's Out."

On its original release, iconic track "Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)" was removed after record company objections. It was released on an independent label in the UK as a single, then re-instated for the 1998 reissue. Songs are written and composed by Lawless, except "Tormentor" by Lawless & Holmes and "The Flame" by Lawless, Holmes & J. Marquez.

Their song "I Wanna Be Somebody" achieved much success that it was ranked #84 on VH1's list of the top 100 hard rock songs.[2]

Contents

Track listing

  • All songs written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.
# Title Lyrics Length
1. "I Wanna Be Somebody"     3:43
2. "L.O.V.E. Machine"     3:51
3. "The Flame"   Lawless, Chris Holmes, J. Marquez 3:41
4. "B.A.D."     3:56
5. "School Daze"     3:35
6. "Hellion"     3:39
7. "Sleeping (In the Fire)"     3:55
8. "On Your Knees"     3:48
9. "Tormentor"   Lawless, Holmes 4:10
10. "The Torture Never Stops"     3:56

1997 CD Reissue [3] Track Listing

# Title Lyrics Length
1. "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)"     3:07
2. "I Wanna Be Somebody"     3:43
3. "L.O.V.E. Machine"     3:51
4. "The Flame"   Lawless, Chris Holmes, J. Marquez 3:41
5. "B.A.D."     3:56
6. "School Daze"     3:35
7. "Hellion"     3:39
8. "Sleeping (In the Fire)"     3:55
9. "On Your Knees"     3:48
10. "Tormentor"   Lawless, Holmes 4:10
11. "The Torture Never Stops"     3:56
12. "Show No Mercy"     3:48
13. "Paint It Black" (The Rolling Stones Cover) Mick Jagger, Keith Richards 3:27

Chart positions

Album

Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200[4] 74

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
U.S.[5] Gold June 4, 1998 500,000

Personnel

  • Blackie Lawless – lead vocals, bass guitar
  • Chris Holmes – lead & rhythm guitars
  • Randy Piper – lead & rhythm guitars, vocals
  • Tony Richards – drums, vocals

Production

  • Produced by Blackie Lawless and Mike Varney
  • Engineered by Duane Baron and Stephen M. Fontano
  • Mixed by Duane Baron
  • Jim Scott and Hanspeter Huber – assistant engineers
  • Pre-production by David Tarling

References

  1. ^ http://www.torturedivision.net/downloadgraphy
  2. ^ http://music.spreadit.org/vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/
  3. ^ http://www.waspnation.com/wasp.html
  4. ^ "W.A.S.P. > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". All Media Guide. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3pftxql5ldke~T3. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
  5. ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 10, 2009)
v • d • e
W.A.S.P.

Blackie Lawless · Doug Blair · Mike Duda · Mike Dupke
 Glenn Soderling · Stet Howland · Tony Richards · Johnny Rod · Frankie Banali · Chris Holmes · Randy Piper · Steve Riley · Darrell Roberts · Don Costa · Rik Fox
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums

First Blood Last Cuts · The Best of the Best: 1984-2000, Vol. 1
Singles
"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" · "I Wanna Be Somebody" · "School Daze" · "Blind in Texas" · "Wild Child" · "95-Nasty" · "Live Animal" · "Scream Until You Like It" · "I Don't Need No Doctor" · "Mean Man" · "The Real Me" · "The Story of Jonathan" · "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)" · "Hold On to My Heart" · "The Idol" · "I Am One" · "Sunset & Babylon" · "Black Forever/Goodbye America"
Videography

Live at the Lyceum · The Sting: Live at the Key Club L.A. · In the Raw

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
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