{"id":13164,"date":"2014-06-04T01:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-06-04T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southeastofheaven.com\/?p=13164"},"modified":"2022-01-06T19:42:18","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T00:42:18","slug":"the-album-by-album-challenge-w-a-s-p-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=13164","title":{"rendered":"The Album by Album Challenge: W.A.S.P (Part II)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Welcome to Part II of the W.A.S.P Album by Album Challenge. This time around we\u2019ll pick up with 1999\u2019s Helldorado, make our way through the two part conceptual epic of 2004\u2019s Neon God Part 1 &amp; 2, and all else in between and thereafter. How did these albums stack up? Did the Brainfart survive this challenge? Did he tap out screaming at any point? Stay tuned and read on to see what happens in this conclusion of the W.A.S.P Album by Album Challenge.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Helldorado<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> May 18, 1999<br \/>\n<strong>The Good<\/strong>: Helldorado, Damnations Angels, High on the Flames, Cocaine Cowboys, Cant Die Tonight,<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Dont Cry (Just Suck), Dirty Balls (harder faster), Saturday Night Cockfight, Hot Rods To Hell (Helldorado Reprise)<\/p>\n<p>Wow, talk about a complete 180. Blackie must have got all that industrial techno bullshit out of his system because with Helldorado is the polar opposite side of the spectrum. The opening title track caught me off guard so much that I had to replay it again just wrap my head around it. It\u2019s almost as if Blackie piled everyone into the time traveling Delorean and took us back to 1987 and made a record that should\u2019ve been the Inside the Electric Circus album.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SVkleYRhdeQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>With Helldorado, Blackie really backpeddled by about 12 years and like I said, this album very would could\u2019ve and probably should\u2019ve been the Inside the Electric Circus album. The songs on this album are decent and while there isn\u2019t really a bad song on this album, none of them particularly stand out as outstanding. The lyrics aren\u2019t nearly as juvenile as the Electric Circus stuff but the vibe of the playing and the songs themselves just remind of a lost album. Matter of fact, if someone told me this was a lost W.A.S.P session from the 80\u2019s I would\u2019ve believed it. This album was enjoyable for the most part but really forgettable. I doubt I\u2019ll be revisiting this one.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Unholy Terror<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> April 3, 2001<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong> Let it Roar, Hate to Love Me, Loco-Motive Man, Euphoria, Raven Heart, Evermore, Wasted White Boys<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Who Slayed Baby Jane,<\/p>\n<p>Score another for Blackie Lawless. What a great fucking album that I never once laid ears on. Unholy Terror is yet another unearthed gem that I had no idea would be this fucking great. \u201cLet It Roar\u201d kicked things off into high gear and right away I was all excited. By the time we got to \u201cLoco-Motive Man\u201d I figured that Unholy Terror was EXACTLY the album that should\u2019ve been made right before The Headless Children. The delivery on this album is old school with a fresh, new energy to it and the songs are just top fucking notch. \u201cEuphoria\u201d is an amazing instrumental that reminds me a lot of a Black Sabbath\u2019s \u201cPlanet Caravan\u201d and \u201cEvermore\u201d is a six minute epic that I felt completely engaged by and connected with. The album closer \u201cWasted White Boys\u201d, of all songs, was the highlight of the album for me. I was so blown away by the energy and vibe of this song and that closing guitar solo is just absolutely facemeltingly amazing. I would\u2019ve never known it based on the corny song title once again teaching me to never judge a book by its cover.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ATN56QgxbUs\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Unholy Terror is a lost W.A.S.P classic that I can\u2019t believe never got the attention that it so deserved. If you are even the most casual of W.A.S.P fans I feel like you will love this album. Matter of fact, I think it would be fun to play the debut, this one, and then The Headless Children back to back just to see how that sounds. This was a really great surprise for me and so much so that I played the album twice. Yeah, it\u2019s that fucking good. Do yourself a favor and get on this one.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dying for the World<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> June 11, 2002<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong> Shadow Man, My Wicked Heart, Black Bone Torso, Hell for Eternity, Hallowed Ground, Revengence, Trail of Tears, Stone Cold Killers, Rubber Man<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once again I find myself listening to another lost classic W.A.S.P album. It\u2019s beyond me how these albums didn\u2019t sit higher up on the pedestal of heavy metal. Dying for the World is such a solid album but at this point this album could\u2019ve been any other good W.A.S.P album. I don\u2019t mean this as a bad thing but there is very little that sets this album aside from Unholy Terror. It\u2019s almost as if those two albums could\u2019ve been a double album coming out at the same time. Maybe at this point Blackie was writing in a formula or something but again, this isn\u2019t a necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it\u2019s also that Unholy Terror was such a good album that I kind of expected to hear another album of equal quality. Maybe it\u2019s also that Blackie\u2019s predictability is unpredictable. Does that make sense? Ok, maybe not.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MsIJKBVy4HQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Dying for the World didn\u2019t have a bad song in the bunch but damn were there some stand out tracks. \u201cShadow Man\u201d is such a strong song and it made me realize that, much like Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P albums tend to open with superbly strong track that sets the bar high for the rest of the album. \u201cBlack Bone Torso\u201d is probably one of the most unique tracks I\u2019ve heard W.A.S.P do and I loved that it served somewhat as a prelude to \u201cHell for Eternity\u201d which is also an outstanding track. \u201cHallowed Ground\u201d reminded me of a cross between \u201cSleeping in the Fire\u201d from the debut and something that could\u2019ve been on The Crimson Idol. \u201cStone Cold Killers\u201d turned out to be a highlight for me and was a song that got a few repeat listens to me. Blackie\u2019s vocals never cease to blow my mind and why he\u2019s always left off the list of best metal singers is beyond me. Dying for the World is another really good W.A.S.P album that while lacking a bit of identity still manages to turn out some spectacular material.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Neon God: Part 1 \u2013 The Rise<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> April 6, 2004<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent: <\/strong>Overture, Why Am I Here, Wishing Well, Sister Sadie (And The Black Habits), Why am I Nothing?, Asylum 9, The Red Room Of The Rising Sun, What Ill Never Find, Someone To Love, X.T.C. Riders, Me The Devil, The Running Man, The Raging Storm<\/p>\n<p>So here he goes again. I don\u2019t know what Blackie\u2019s thing with making concept albums are. I mean, wasn\u2019t one enough? It\u2019s almost like this guy listens to way too much Who and wants to be the metal equivalent of Pete Townsend. Blackie Townsend? Pete Lawless? Whatever it is. I\u2019ll be honest, the album as a whole really isn\u2019t bad at all but it\u2019s like he\u2019s trying so fucking hard to tie together some kind of story about a rock god and his rise that the songs just don\u2019t seem to have any kind of real catch or click to it. It all just sounds really contrived.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LCWlMCPw-Zo\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>As usual, the songs are really well played and Blackie sings his ass off but the songs just didn\u2019t do anything for me. I tried to really listen to each song on its own and, again, while they didn\u2019t suck they did very little for me because they just sounded so forced to try and tell a story. The songs had so much potential for greatness but they all just felt so forced and disjointed. Don\u2019t tell me a story Blackie, just rock my fucking face off. If you really want to tell me a story, do it on a song by song basis as opposed to an entire fucking album.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Neon God: Part 2 \u2013 The Demise<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> September 28, 2004<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> The Raging Storm, Never Say Die, Resurrector, The Demise, Clockwork Mary, Tear Down the Walls, Come Back to Black, All My Life, Destiny&#8217;s to Come, The Last Redemption<\/p>\n<p>Ok, so I can\u2019t say anything much differently than the review of the first part of this \u201cepic saga.\u201d All I can say is that once again, Mr. Lawless just tried too fucking hard. I\u2019m still not quite sure what the story was that he was trying to get across. Maybe this is some kind autobiographical work but I just feel like it\u2019s played out and time to stop this crap. Stop making two part concept albums about some kind of self-indulgent concept\/story. Matter fact, just knowing that this was the 2nd part of this long, drawn out story made it nearly impossible for me to make it through it but I did.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"420\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W9CXDsdrsd4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Much like with Part 1, the songs are well played and the music fucking rules. There was so much potential for greatness with these songs but it just wasn\u2019t there. By the time the 13 minute epic \u201cThe Last Redemption\u201d was over I was thanking a the Neon God himself that it was all over. I mean, I love W.A.S.P but do we really need a 13 minute W.A.S.P song? The answer is hell no we don\u2019t. There\u2019s two more albums to go and I can only hope that they will lift me out of this conceptual black hole and kick my ass like it needs to be kicked.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dominator<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date: April 16, 2007<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Good:<\/strong> Take Me Up, The Burning Man, Heaven\u2019s Hung in Black, Heaven&#8217;s Hung in Black (Reprise), Deal with the Devil<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Mercy, Long, Long Way to Go, The Burning Man, Heavens Blessed, Teacher,<\/p>\n<p>Right out of the gates Dominator just didn\u2019t sit right with me. That raw, naturally heavy sound of the classic WASP production was gone and replaced by a very modern and digital sounding production. The overall sonic sound of this album was just lifeless and flat and as boring as the songs themselves. It\u2019s funny how Blackie was able to not write any bad songs for this album but just make a bunch of songs that were drab, mediocre, and just meh. Is the mighty Mr. Lawless running out of ideas?<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xKOQFNMjmM4\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>The first two songs on the album just sounded so drab and forced but leave it to Blackie to once again come up with a slow burn kinda balladesque type song with \u201cTake Me Up.\u201d That song was outstanding and very well could\u2019ve been on \u201cHeadless Children\u201d or something. I really enjoyed that one quite a bit. \u201cHeaven\u2019s Hung in Black\u201d was another really great example of Blackie flexing his ability to write really beautiful slow, dark, brooding metal songs. In some ways I wish he would maybe do a full album of material like this because it seems that over the years he\u2019s perfected this kind of material. \u201cDeal with the Devil\u201d closed out this album with a bang and was really the most enjoyable \u201cupbeat\u201d song on this album. I\u2019d love to take those slow songs and add them to a playlist of my own favorite WASP slow tunes.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n<p><strong>Babylon<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> Release Date:<\/strong> October 13, 2009<br \/>\n<strong>The Good:<\/strong> Crazy, Babylon\u2019s Burning, Burn, Into the Fire, Thunder Red, Seas Of Fire, Godless Run, Promised Land<br \/>\n<strong>The Bad:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> The Indifferent:<\/strong> Live to Die Another Day,<\/p>\n<p>This is the last studio release from W.A.S.P and here comes Blackie once again to prove me wrong. Just when I thought he was out of ideas and making flat sounding albums, here he comes and puts out a powerful, in your face album like Babylon. I love the fact that maybe Blackie took a listen to Dominator and said, \u201cWe need to get back to that original sound of production.\u201d This time around the album is bombastic, warm, and has that classic WASP tone to it.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ktQfK3Jo-zk\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrazy\u201d was a great way to open the album and reminded me of something we could\u2019ve heard on The Last Command. \u201cLive to Die Another Day\u201d was a bit on the lame side but then BAM! \u201cBabylon\u2019s Burning\u201d comes along and proves to be one of Blackie\u2019s greatest all time moments. That song is so fucking good that I had to listen to it again before moving forward. Staying with the trend of nailing the living fuck out of cover songs, Blackie and Co. dove right into the Deep Purple classic \u201cBurn\u201d and closed with the Chuck Berry classic \u201cPromised Land\u201d and nailed the fuck out of both of them. \u201cInto the Fire\u201d is another signature slow tune that once again kicked my ass and in all honesty, the rest of the album was a fucking blast to listen to. Blackie Lawless proved me wrong once again. This guy is far from out of ideas. His ideas may not always be the best ones and he may not always nail it. Babylon had me feeling pumped to be a WASP fan and already has me looking forward to what he has up his sleeve for the future.<\/p>\n<p>=============================================<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Part II of the W.A.S.P Album by Album Challenge. This time around we\u2019ll pick up with 1999\u2019s Helldorado, make our way through the two part conceptual epic of 2004\u2019s Neon God Part 1 &amp; 2, and all else in between and thereafter. How did these albums stack up? Did the Brainfart survive this challenge? Did he tap out screaming at any point? Stay tuned and read on to see what happens in this conclusion of the W.A.S.P Album [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[711,277],"tags":[863],"class_list":["post-13164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-by-album-challenge","category-music-news","tag-w-a-s-p"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19536,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13164\/revisions\/19536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}