“Nostalgia is a hell of a drug” my pal Brent Jensen once said and he’s right.
One of those Nostalgia like drugs for myself is the debut album by W.A.S.P. that hit the streets back in 1984.
Blackie Lawless grabbed my attention as 16 year old back then when he grabbed me by the throat and basically had W.A.S.P filling in for me what KISS had moved on from which was the makeup and the theatrics. By ’84 KISS ditched the makeup to give their own career a boost which worked.
Lawless was clever I tell ya. He knew the shock value that Alice Cooper and KISS had provided and decided to go for it and record a 38 minute debut that at times is still pretty damn good and still holds up relatively decent in 2022.
Too be honest I really had no clue I was about to pick this album up until I went to a recent Vinyl Fair and seen this sitting in the bins. I guess it was calling me to grab this one and of course I obliged and did just that. For anyone keeping score this is an original pressing from 1984.
When you drop the needle on this album and the first song “I Wanna Be Somebody” kicks in its all about the anthem track back then right?
Twisted Sister had “We’re Not Gonna Take” It and “I Wanna Rock” while Quiet Riot had the year before (’83) “Metal Health”.
Big rock anthems with catchy choruses and even though this W.A.S.P track didn’t set the world on fire, for the fanbase of this band it is the anthem. Pretty well written track with a decent enough guitar solo.
Blackie you gotta love that raw voice definitely not radio material but he gets the job done on this album.
Pretty good stuff on here even the tacky “L.O.V.E Machine” where drummer Tony Richards lays down a pretty decent groove with Lawless and his bass. Say what you want but damn it that is one catchy chorus.
“The Flame” a song I have not heard since umm 84-85 is another solid winner which shocked me as here we are three tracks in and I can’t believe I’m digging this one as much as I thought I would. This is crazy…
The guitars of Chris Holmes and Randy Piper are good throughout the record as they knew their deal and the solos stay in the confines of the tunes and that is a plus.
“On Your Knees” and “Hellion” are a couple of Side Two ass kickers that I did remember especially “On Your Knees” which is a great one as well.
“Tormentor” was one also that is real heavy as if you need a shot of adrenalin “Tormentor” will fill the void.
Rewinding back to the mid 80s I did buy at the time the followup to this debut which was “The Last Command” and that one to me sounded like a Quiet Riot album as producer Spencer Proffer had a hand in the Quiet Riot albums and “The Last Command” which at the time was step back for Blackie and company. My two cents …
By the time “Inside The Electric Circus” had dropped in 86 I was done but I did return in ’89 when Blackie upped his game with “The Headless Children” especially once I saw the video for The Who cover of “The Real Me”. Actually that one I wouldn’t mind picking up at some point some day …
deKe’s Vinyl Score of W.A.S.P -W.A.S.P…8/10
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