W.A.S.P. - The Headless Children review
Band: | W.A.S.P. |
Album: | The Headless Children |
Style: | Heavy metal |
Release date: | April 1989 |
01. The Heretic (The Lost Child)
02. The Real Me [The Who cover]
03. The Headless Children
04. Thunderhead
05. Mean Man
06. The Neutron Bomber
07. Mephisto Waltz
08. Forever Free
09. Maneater
10. Rebel In The F.D.G.
11. Locomotive Breath [Jethro Tull cover] [reissue bonus]
12. For Whom The Bell Tolls [reissue bonus]
13. Lake Of Fools [reissue bonus]
14. War Cry [reissue bonus]
15. L.O.V.E. Machine [Live at Hammersmith 1989] [reissue bonus]
16. Blind In Texas [Live at Hammersmith 1989] [reissue bonus]
After "Inside The Electric Circus" was dismissed as "7th grader rock" by critics it forced Blackie Lawless to take some time off to rethink the direction of the band; out came a less raunchy, less vulgar and more thought provoking W.A.S.P.
The change the band made to this point was unbelievable; the partying and sexually explicit lyrics that what made people associate them with the glam metal scene of the 80's Sunset Strip were now gone, replaced with deeper, heavier and altogether more thoughtful lyrics. The lyrics were not the only aspect of the band that got heavier and deeper - the music itself got a lot more dynamic. The use of keyboards that were first used on one song on "Inside the Electric Circus" now found their way onto almost every song on this album in some form or another giving the music a jump start that pushed W.A.S.P. into full-blown metal. The guitar work itself doesn't get any more skillful but the compositions become really well put together. Blackie's voice reaches an intensity that had yet to be seen on any W.A.S.P. album to date, especially on songs like "Thunderhead" and "Rebel In the F.D.G." As previously stated, this pushes W.A.S.P. off the rock/metal fence into metal; the guitar riffs are a lot heavier, even the drums become more prominent, absolutely thundering in songs like "Mean Man" and "Neutron Bomber" (which almost has a power metal feel to it).
The few problems with this album are simply the problems that you'll find in almost every album: filler tracks. Luckily the filler tracks on this album are few and are all put closer to the end of the album, so by the time you hit them you won't care because the album to this point has been fully enjoyable. My final problem with this album is almost the same reason I love it: the extreme change. Though the album changes are great, they've left behind pretty much any traces of what the band used to be, which is a little depressing if you're used to albums like "The Last Command" and the self titled debut.
For those of you who dislike W.A.S.P. simply because they're associated with hair metal this might be the album to check out; for the fans of the old W.A.S.P. you'll probably enjoy this but do not expect the same fun-loving W.A.S.P. you're used to, this is the beginning of the highly political W.A.S.P. that exists to this day.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 8 |
Songwriting: | 9 |
Originality: | 8 |
Production: | 9 |
Written by Doc G. | 11.05.2007
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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