W.A.S.P.
Have you found yourself missing and longing for those hook laden Metal sounds that were so prevalent back in the 80's? We'll have I got a cure for your Metal blues and it comes in the form of a certain insect called a wasp. No W.A.S.P. doesn't take their name from any type of yellow Jacket nor any type of hornet. However, this west coast band does inject a type of molten Metal venom that is guaranteed to cure those 80's Metal blues.
W.A.S.P. formed back in 1982 by front man Blackie Lawless in Los Angeles, CA. They are a Melodic Metal outfit that gained their popularity from their shock rock themed look, along with their wild lyrics, and live performances. Even though W.A.S.P. reached the height of their stardom in the 80's, they have continued to produce many albums over the years with a staggering 15 releases to date with over 12 million records sold world wide.
W.A.S.P. was not the kind of band that you would ever invite to play at a church youth-event nor find in a copy of Heaven's Metal Magazine. They were not a christian band by any means but were openly secular using filthy language in their lyrics and singing about things that are dark and wicked to say the least. However, within the past several years, we have found a new W.A.S.P. taking flight, one that now flies by the power of Jesus Christ.
W.A.S.P. formed back in 1982 by front man Blackie Lawless in Los Angeles, CA. They are a Melodic Metal outfit that gained their popularity from their shock rock themed look, along with their wild lyrics, and live performances. Even though W.A.S.P. reached the height of their stardom in the 80's, they have continued to produce many albums over the years with a staggering 15 releases to date with over 12 million records sold world wide.
W.A.S.P. was not the kind of band that you would ever invite to play at a church youth-event nor find in a copy of Heaven's Metal Magazine. They were not a christian band by any means but were openly secular using filthy language in their lyrics and singing about things that are dark and wicked to say the least. However, within the past several years, we have found a new W.A.S.P. taking flight, one that now flies by the power of Jesus Christ.
I found this Exclusive Interview with Blackie Lawless at http://ultimateclassicrock.com:
"What does the title of the new album Golgotha mean to you personally?
That’s a good one. Coming from a perspective of being a born-again Christian, it’s the center of my universe. Without that we have nothing.
In the heavier genres of music many fans don’t always gravitate towards religion or the idea of religion and judge it in a different way.
As it should be because there’s a huge difference between religion and faith and I agree with them whole-heartedly.
Many fans don’t always understand when their favorite musicians find faith. How would you say being a born-again Christian affected the overall creative and recording process of this album?
Certainly, lyrically everything is written from the eyes of my faith, everything is through that filter. You’re also talking about a genre that, in general, is obsessed with the idea of God and/or the Devil. Jazz, pop, there is no other genre that is absolutely obsessed with it as this genre is. The Bible tells us, “The truth has been placed in the hearts of all men.” In other words, people know what the truth is. What I see is people in the search of the truth. They’re all on a journey, the people that are attracted to this genre are people who are really a lot more in tune with it than they think they are.
I’m speaking from a direction where I know what I’m talking about, I was in the church until I was in my late teens and when I left and came to California I went as far away as you could possibly go. I ended up studying the occult for three years. I understand what they’re looking for, they’re looking for the same thing I’m looking for. I’m at a point now where I’m bilingual: I can speak their language. They can’t necessarily speak my language but I can understand where they’re coming from.
When we say religion we kind of use that as a general term and when people have the resistance that they have to it they have every reason to feel that way. That’s part of what drove me away was the indoctrination of men that I received – it’s man’s indoctrination. Now from my perspective, my faith is based on Jesus Christ and the Bible, nothing more, nothing less. I don’t want to hear anybody telling me their ideas or their interpretations or interjections of what they’ve put into the Bible like telling me I can’t eat meat on Friday or I got to go and worship somebody’s old dead bones somewhere. That’s not in my Bible.
There’s a lot of it, every organized religion has it, every organized faith has it. That’s not where I’m coming from. When I left the church and then I studied the occult, I walked around for 20 years and thought I was mad at God. I realized after 20 years I was not mad at God I was mad at man for that indoctrination I received. For me I had to settle this issue once and for all because I am not going to walk around with this anxiety of what’s going to happen to me and where I’m going, I got to know the truth. I got the Bible and I started reading and I thought I was going to disprove this thing once and for all.
Everyone says the Bible is written by men but the Bible says it was men who were directly inspired by God. But I didn’t believe it for a minute. So I start reading and I start discovering and you have 66 books written by 40 different authors spread over three different continents, in three different languages, over a 2,000-year period. Most of the authors did not know each other, had no knowledge of each other but yet I see consistently that they’re not just answering each other’s questions, they’re finishing each other’s sentences. It was mind-boggling, the deeper I got into it and one day it hit me like a shot. I’m reading the living word of a living God. After that I was just scratching the surface then when you get even deeper into it, it’s beyond comprehension.
I cannot say it strongly enough. It is beyond impossible that it could’ve been written by men. I’m a writer and even the writers that I know that I admire – I look at how we write, I know what our limitations are and like I said it’s so far beyond our comprehension."
"What does the title of the new album Golgotha mean to you personally?
That’s a good one. Coming from a perspective of being a born-again Christian, it’s the center of my universe. Without that we have nothing.
In the heavier genres of music many fans don’t always gravitate towards religion or the idea of religion and judge it in a different way.
As it should be because there’s a huge difference between religion and faith and I agree with them whole-heartedly.
Many fans don’t always understand when their favorite musicians find faith. How would you say being a born-again Christian affected the overall creative and recording process of this album?
Certainly, lyrically everything is written from the eyes of my faith, everything is through that filter. You’re also talking about a genre that, in general, is obsessed with the idea of God and/or the Devil. Jazz, pop, there is no other genre that is absolutely obsessed with it as this genre is. The Bible tells us, “The truth has been placed in the hearts of all men.” In other words, people know what the truth is. What I see is people in the search of the truth. They’re all on a journey, the people that are attracted to this genre are people who are really a lot more in tune with it than they think they are.
I’m speaking from a direction where I know what I’m talking about, I was in the church until I was in my late teens and when I left and came to California I went as far away as you could possibly go. I ended up studying the occult for three years. I understand what they’re looking for, they’re looking for the same thing I’m looking for. I’m at a point now where I’m bilingual: I can speak their language. They can’t necessarily speak my language but I can understand where they’re coming from.
When we say religion we kind of use that as a general term and when people have the resistance that they have to it they have every reason to feel that way. That’s part of what drove me away was the indoctrination of men that I received – it’s man’s indoctrination. Now from my perspective, my faith is based on Jesus Christ and the Bible, nothing more, nothing less. I don’t want to hear anybody telling me their ideas or their interpretations or interjections of what they’ve put into the Bible like telling me I can’t eat meat on Friday or I got to go and worship somebody’s old dead bones somewhere. That’s not in my Bible.
There’s a lot of it, every organized religion has it, every organized faith has it. That’s not where I’m coming from. When I left the church and then I studied the occult, I walked around for 20 years and thought I was mad at God. I realized after 20 years I was not mad at God I was mad at man for that indoctrination I received. For me I had to settle this issue once and for all because I am not going to walk around with this anxiety of what’s going to happen to me and where I’m going, I got to know the truth. I got the Bible and I started reading and I thought I was going to disprove this thing once and for all.
Everyone says the Bible is written by men but the Bible says it was men who were directly inspired by God. But I didn’t believe it for a minute. So I start reading and I start discovering and you have 66 books written by 40 different authors spread over three different continents, in three different languages, over a 2,000-year period. Most of the authors did not know each other, had no knowledge of each other but yet I see consistently that they’re not just answering each other’s questions, they’re finishing each other’s sentences. It was mind-boggling, the deeper I got into it and one day it hit me like a shot. I’m reading the living word of a living God. After that I was just scratching the surface then when you get even deeper into it, it’s beyond comprehension.
I cannot say it strongly enough. It is beyond impossible that it could’ve been written by men. I’m a writer and even the writers that I know that I admire – I look at how we write, I know what our limitations are and like I said it’s so far beyond our comprehension."
In 2009, W.A.S.P. released their 14th full-length studio album titled 'Babylon'. This 2009 release proved to be the band's first album released after the conversion of Vocalist Blackie Lawless. This album delivers the Metal goods for those who love their Metal melodic and hook driven. Lawless shows that after 40 yrs he still has what it takes in the Vocal dept. and continues to inspire fans from all over. This was a strong transitional release for the band and it helped to establish them in the christian Metal realm.
The band no longer has dark themed lyrics and are now found singing for the kingdom of Light. We can now see the band's faith coming to fruition and reflecting throughout the album's lyrics as seen here in the following tunes:
The band no longer has dark themed lyrics and are now found singing for the kingdom of Light. We can now see the band's faith coming to fruition and reflecting throughout the album's lyrics as seen here in the following tunes:
"Live To Die Another Day"
Yes I walk through valleys deep
Shadows of death I will fear no thing
I fear no man and no evil speak
No slave to grave and no death to be
Almighty's riding next to me
I know I've, I got the devil to beat
Hellbounds are running close to me
On the trail of my life
I was hellbound but now I'm running free
From Satan's Angels of Light
Resurrect me high
An then rise me up
Reaper leaving my bones
I'm dead asleep until now
You wake me up
Rapture me and I'm gone
"Babylon's Burning"
Babylon's a-burning, Babylon's a-burning
Six hundred 6, 6 and 7 seals
A pale rider and his horses sing
Babylon's a-burning, Babylon's a-burning
Six hundred 6, 6 the rising beast
Bears the mark of Babylon to be
Arising with the beast a sea of men
A bloody moon of red
A whore of Babylon to bleed the seed
And make 'em take the mark upon their heads
"Godless Run"
Long had I gone to be
A slave to my eyes
Lost at that cross to kneel
Amazing grace saved my life
No, I cannot breath no more
No, I cannot breath no more
No, I cannot feel for sure
No,no I cannot breath no more
Oh how long Lord
Did I kneel at the crossroads and run
Oh, bow down now
My king, my God I come
Yes I walk through valleys deep
Shadows of death I will fear no thing
I fear no man and no evil speak
No slave to grave and no death to be
Almighty's riding next to me
I know I've, I got the devil to beat
Hellbounds are running close to me
On the trail of my life
I was hellbound but now I'm running free
From Satan's Angels of Light
Resurrect me high
An then rise me up
Reaper leaving my bones
I'm dead asleep until now
You wake me up
Rapture me and I'm gone
"Babylon's Burning"
Babylon's a-burning, Babylon's a-burning
Six hundred 6, 6 and 7 seals
A pale rider and his horses sing
Babylon's a-burning, Babylon's a-burning
Six hundred 6, 6 the rising beast
Bears the mark of Babylon to be
Arising with the beast a sea of men
A bloody moon of red
A whore of Babylon to bleed the seed
And make 'em take the mark upon their heads
"Godless Run"
Long had I gone to be
A slave to my eyes
Lost at that cross to kneel
Amazing grace saved my life
No, I cannot breath no more
No, I cannot breath no more
No, I cannot feel for sure
No,no I cannot breath no more
Oh how long Lord
Did I kneel at the crossroads and run
Oh, bow down now
My king, my God I come
In 2015 W.A.S.P. released their 15th full-length studio album titled 'Golgotha'. This 2015 release continues in a similar musical style as their 2009 album 'Babylon' yet with even better over-all production.This slab of hot molten Metal finds the band continuing to deliver their 80's inspired melodic Metal.
We find some clues to where the band draws inspiration for this 2015 album in Mathew 27:33,34
"33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull 34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink." Golgotha is the name of the hill where Jesus was crucified for our sins. If you look at the location via google, you will see the image of the skull and understand how the hill got its name.
"33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull 34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink." Golgotha is the name of the hill where Jesus was crucified for our sins. If you look at the location via google, you will see the image of the skull and understand how the hill got its name.
Blackie Lawless sounds better than ever even after so many years. He still has that spark of excitement in his delivery that tells you that he's not finished and now has some new seeds to sow.
Guitars are handled by Doug Blair who has been off and on with the band since (1992, 2001, 2006–present). Blair really stands out on this release when given the opportunity to express himself in the guitar solos.
Mike Duda has been with the band since (1995–present) and handles his position well while laying down the Bass lines for the band.
Mike Dupke has been with the band since (2006–2015) and lights things up with his electrifying skills behind the kit. It should be said that he adds a lot of emotion and excitement to each track.
The lyrics on this 2015 album show a move in the right direction for the band and show a love for our Creator as one can see here:
The lyrics on this 2015 album show a move in the right direction for the band and show a love for our Creator as one can see here:
"Golgotha"
Do you hear the wailing now
Do you hear'em nailing down
To a crown of thorns on
Sorrows born
Heaven's come down for
Sweat like blood comes down
Eclipse a shadow now
The sun is gone and sorrows come
Where it slithers from
Jesus I need you now
Free me I'm lost somehow
Oh, remember me today
I'm a leper left to hang
Oh, yes I need you now
Jesus I need you now
Show me I'm lost somehow
Oh, and show me there's a way from
The cross from where I hang
Oh see me bleed, I need you now
Tell me where I'm going now
Ooh am I lost or found
Are you who they say
Are you who they claim
Oh, remember me
Say a little prayer somehow, ooh
Show me where I'm bound ooh
God I'm falled
The bells are tolling
Just remember me, my name, my name
I'm slowly slipping into
These wings that carry on
My knees are bloody from my crawl
Show me there's a reason
Keep believing you're the one
My knees are buried at your cross
Tell me where I'm going now
Tell me am I going down
Are you who they say you claim
Remember me this night
Breath and hear me now
Ooh bring me alive
Show me all Golgotha's mine
Shadows forever night
Oh is there no hope for me?
Oh, somewhere you'll show for me?
Oh, I'm holding on believing thee's a reason I can find
Oh oh Lord remember me, take me up tonight
Do you hear the wailing now
Do you hear'em nailing down
To a crown of thorns on
Sorrows born
Heaven's come down for
Sweat like blood comes down
Eclipse a shadow now
The sun is gone and sorrows come
Where it slithers from
Jesus I need you now
Free me I'm lost somehow
Oh, remember me today
I'm a leper left to hang
Oh, yes I need you now
Jesus I need you now
Show me I'm lost somehow
Oh, and show me there's a way from
The cross from where I hang
Oh see me bleed, I need you now
Tell me where I'm going now
Ooh am I lost or found
Are you who they say
Are you who they claim
Oh, remember me
Say a little prayer somehow, ooh
Show me where I'm bound ooh
God I'm falled
The bells are tolling
Just remember me, my name, my name
I'm slowly slipping into
These wings that carry on
My knees are bloody from my crawl
Show me there's a reason
Keep believing you're the one
My knees are buried at your cross
Tell me where I'm going now
Tell me am I going down
Are you who they say you claim
Remember me this night
Breath and hear me now
Ooh bring me alive
Show me all Golgotha's mine
Shadows forever night
Oh is there no hope for me?
Oh, somewhere you'll show for me?
Oh, I'm holding on believing thee's a reason I can find
Oh oh Lord remember me, take me up tonight
W.A.S.P. has delivered up some killer Metal offerings on both their 2009-'Babylon' & 2015-'Golgotha' releases. Don't let these pass you by and lets show some support for the band as they are now living for the true light-Jesus Christ. If you are into Melodic Metal that is filled with hooks and a 80's sound that will transport you back to those days when Metal was rich with excitement then pick up your copy of either of these two disc and release the Metal within.
Musicians:
Blackie Lawless-Vocals, Guitarist
Doug Blair-Lead Guitar
Mike Duda-Bass Guitar
Mike Dupke-Drums
Blackie Lawless-Vocals, Guitarist
Doug Blair-Lead Guitar
Mike Duda-Bass Guitar
Mike Dupke-Drums