I remember the first time I saw W.A.S.P. They weren’t just another Sunset Strip band. They were darker, heavier, more dangerous. The sound was definitive. Blackie Lawless owned the stage like a ringmaster from hell and Chris Holmes carried his madness offstage as far as the tabloids would take it. But the bottom line has always been the songs. The fucking songs are there.
Forty years on, holding this reissue in my hands takes me straight back to being ten years old, looking for something heavier than Twisted Sister and nastier than anything else in my collection. This was the answer. This is the W.A.S.P. fan’s W.A.S.P. album. It’s stacked with anthems that defined the band and lit up MTV: “L.O.V.E. Machine,” “On Your Knees,” “I Wanna Be Somebody.” Pure power, pure hooks, pure attitude.
The casual fan might wonder where the insanely controversial “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” is. It wasn’t on the original. Capitol Records folded under Tipper Gore and the PMRC’s “Filthy Fifteen” and pulled it. That infamous list was meant to highlight the most offensive music of the era.
The funny part? It wasn’t just metal bands. Sheena Easton was on there too. As a kid, the Filthy Fifteen was basically my entire playlist, proof that the PMRC didn’t really understand what they were fighting against. “Animal” eventually surfaced on an independent release and cemented itself as an all-time W.A.S.P. anthem. Ridiculous title aside, the chorus is pure earworm.
Fans often debate whether this debut is the band’s best or if the crown belongs to The Crimson Idol. For me it is close. Idol might edge it because of the grand story and the unforgettable live production with the film playing behind the band. That was epic in every sense. But this month the debut gets its chance again.
W.A.S.P. are on tour, playing the record in full for its 40th anniversary. When the tour hits the Eventim Apollo in London on September 28, I will be there. Blackie Lawless will take us back to the moment he and W.A.S.P. exploded onto the scene with a record that still sounds raw, urgent, and alive.
The 40th anniversary vinyl might not come with bells and whistles but it doesn’t need to. It is true to the original. Loud, dark, and dangerous. Still worth every needle drop. Stay tuned.
