W.A.S.P. (USA)

W.A.S.P. became notorious in the early ’80s for their raunchy and, at times, shocking live shows. Blackie Lawless, the band’s odious frontman, was known to tie semi-naked models to a torture rack, and to also hurl raw meat into the audience. The band’s debut single, titled “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)”, and its cover were equally controversial.

W.A.S.P. signed to Capitol Records and released their debut album on August 17, 1984. The band’s first single “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” was omitted from the album in the United States to prevent it from being banned from major chain stores.

“L.O.V.E. Machine” and “I Wanna Be Somebody” helped the album sell, and set the band up for “Blind in Texas”, a song written by Blackie Lawless in St. Paul, Minnesota. The song was released on their next album, “The Last Command”, on November 9, 1985. “The Last Command” is still W.A.S.P.’s highest charting album, while “Blind in Texas” is perhaps their best known song, more than 20 years later.

W.A.S.P. became a very prominent target of an organization dedicated to opposing music with lyrics deemed violent or overtly sexual in content. This lowered the band’s reputation to such a degree that band members were getting written death threats by the hundreds, and singer Blackie Lawless was shot at twice (though not hit). Interestingly, the publicity this controversy generated ultimately improved album sales. Lawless sued and won the case against the organization (PMRC) for copyright infringement.

In 2009, W.A.S.P. are coming back with the new album, “Babylon”, which is set for release on October 12, 2009. “Babylon” is themed around biblical visions of “The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse”. It’s another metal masterpiece from Blackie Lawless and his team that will satisfy both old and new fans, and will be a worthy follower to their classic albums such as “W.A.S.P.”, “The Last Command”, “The Headless Children”, and “The Crimson Idol”. And now W.A.S.P. take the road for the Beast of Babylon World Tour with their new and time-tested hits.