One of the heavier bands to come out of the early-'80s L.A. metal scene, W.A.S.P. quickly rose to national infamy thanks to their shock rock image, lyrics, and live concerts. Unfortunately, once the novelty and scandal began to wear off, the band found it difficult to expand, or even maintain, their audience by relying only on their music.

Leader Blackie Lawless (bass/vocals) was already a rock & roll veteran when he relocated to the West Coast and founded W.A.S.P. with guitarists Chris Holmes and Randy Piper and drummer Tony Richards. The band soon established a reputation as a ferocious live act, thanks in large part to Lawless' habits of tying a semi-naked model to a torture rack and throwing raw meat into the audience. And with the release of their self-explanatory independent EP, Animal (Fuck Like a Beast), W.A.S.P. became impossible to ignore.

They signed to Capitol Records, and with songs like "I Wanna Be Somebody" (an absolute anthem to blind ambition) and "L.O.V.E. Machine" leading the way, their self-titled 1984 debut was an instant success. W.A.S.P. took their horror show on the road, and their momentum continued to build with the following year's The Last Command, which featured new drummer Steven Riley and the band's biggest hit, "Blind in Texas." Later that year, the band gained even more prominence as one of the biggest targets of Tipper Gore and the P.M.R.C. (Parents' Music Resource Center), a group of Washington housewives leading a crusade against violent, sexist song lyrics. Though the incident (which included Senate hearings on the issue with guest speakers as disparate as Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider from Twisted Sister) would cause more publicity than actual results, it served to make W.A.S.P. a household name — for good and for worse.

Ironically, the band toned down their act for 1986's Inside the Electric Circus, a lackluster, repetitive album which saw Lawless switch to guitar (replacing the departed Piper) and the hiring of bassist Johnny Rod. The blood and guts were largely gone (as were the good songs), and despite releasing a strong live album entitled Live...In the Raw the following year, the band's popularity began to plummet. The all-time low arrived with the release of Penelope Spheeris' heavy metal "rockumentary," The Decline of Western Civilization 2: The Metal Years. An expose about the L.A. metal scene, the film's most dramatic and depressing sequence showed an inebriated Chris Holmes drinking himself into a stupor in full stage gear while lying on a float in his mom's swimming pool. In a movie filled with debauchery and decadence, this scene was by far the scariest.

1989's Headless Children (featuring ex-Quiet Riot sticksman Frankie Banali) was a return to form, but it couldn't revert the band's slump and W.A.S.P. disbanded soon after. Lawless eventually returned as a one-man show for 1993's The Crimson Idol, an ambitious rock opera/concept album billed as Blackie Lawless & W.A.S.P. Resurrecting the band's old shock rock antics, but alas, not fame and fortune, the album flopped, and the following year's greatest-hits set, First Blood...Last Cuts, seemed like their last chapter. But the resilient Lawless returned once again, luring guitarist Chris Holmes back into the fold and recruiting bassist Mike Duda and drummer Stet Howland for 1996's Still Not Black Enough. This lineup has continued to tour and record for a number of independent labels, with their albums including 1997's K.F.D., 1999's Helldorado, and 2001's Unholy Terror. 

 

CURRENT LINE-UP:

Blackie Lawless (Steven Duren) (1982-) - Vocals / Guitars / Bass (New York Dolls, Sister)
Darrell Roberts - Guitars (2001-) (Tuff, Alcoholica, Snaggletooth)
Mike Duda - Bass (1997-) (Arcade, Killing Machine, Jack Frost)
Stet Howland - Drums (1995-2001) (2004-) (Temple of Brutality, Killing Machine, MVP, Belladonna, Impellitteri)

 

FORMER MEMBERS:

Rik Fox - Bass (1982) (Steeler, Sin, Lust)
Don Costa - Bass (1982) (Ozzy Osbourne, M-80)
Johnny Rod - Bass (1986-1989, 1992) (King Kobra)

Chris Holmes - Guitars (1982-1989, 1995-2001) (Psycho Squad, Animal, Sister)
Randy Piper - Guitars (1982-1986) (Sister, Animal)

Frank Banali - Drums (1989-1995),(2001-2004) (Quiet Riot, Heavy Bones, Masi)
Steve Riley - Drums (1984-1987) (Keel, L.A. Guns)
Tony Richards - Drums (1982-1984) (Animal)
Gary Holland - Drums (1982)

GUEST MUSICANS:
Valentina - Vocals on "Unholy Terror"
Bob Kulick - Guitars (1989-1995) (live performer and guest on "The Crimson Idol" and "Still Not Black Enough")
Roy "Roy Z." Ramirez - Guitars on "Unholy Terror" (Bruce Dickinson, Halford, Driver, Rob Rock)
Doug Blair - Guitars (1992-1993) (on tour 1992)
Mark Josephson - Violin (on "Still Not Black Enough")
Ken Hensley - Keyboards (1989) (Uriah Heep, Metalium)

Animal (Fuck Like A Beast) (EP 1983)

1.)Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)

2.)Show No Mercy

3.)Animal (Fuck Like A Beast) (Live)

4.)Hellion (Live)

5.)Mississippi Queen (Live)

W.A.S.P. (1984)

1.)Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)

2.)I Wanna Be Somebody

3.)L.O.V.E. Machine

4.)The Flame

5.)B.A.D.

6.)School Daze

7.)Hellion

8.)Sleeping In The Fire

9.)On Your Knees

10.)Tormentor

11.)The Torture Never Stops

12.)Show No Mercy

13.)Paint It, Black

Note: Track 1, 12, and 13 are bonus tracks added to the re-master. On the vinyl LP release it has We Are Sexual Perverts engraved near the label. Paint It, Black is a Rolling Stones cover. Original name of the album was Winged Assassins.

The Last Command (1985)

1.)Wild Child

2.)Ballchrusher

3.)Fistful Of Diamonds

4.)Jack Action

5.)The Widowmaker

6.)Blind In Texas

7.)Cries In The Night

8.)The Last Command

9.)Running Wild In The Streets

10.)Sex Drive

11.)Mississippi Queen (3:21)

12.)Savage (3:33)

13.)On Your Knees (live) (4:38)

14.)Hellion (live) (4:44)

15.)Sleeping (In the Fire) (live) (5:44)

16.)Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) (live) (4:37)

17.)I Wanna Be Somebody (live) (5:54)

Note: Tracks 11-17 are bonus tracks on the re-master.

Inside The Electric Circus (1986)

1.)The Big Welcome

2.)Inside The Electric Circus

3.)I Don't Need No Doctor

4.)9-5 Nasty

5.)Restless Gypsy

6.)Shoot From The Hip

7.)I'm Alive

8.)Easy Living

9.)Sweet Cheetah

10.)Mantronic

11.)King Of Sodom And Gomorrah

12.)The Rock Rolls On

13.)Flesh And Fire

Live...In The Raw (Live 1987)

1.)Inside The Electric Circus

2.)I Don't Need No Doctor

3.)L.O.V.E. Machine

4.)Wild Child

5.)9-5 Nasty

6.)Sleeping (In The Fire)

7.)The Manimal

8.)I Wanna Be Somebody

9.)Harder Faster

10.)Blind In Texas

11.)Scream Until You Like It

12.)Shoot From The Hip

13.)Widowmaker

14.)Sex Drive

15.)Sleep In The Fire

Note: Tracks 12-15 are bonus tracks. The Manimal and Harder Faster were written specifically for this album. Scream Until You Like It is the theme song from Ghoulies II.

The Headless Children (1989)

1.)The Heretic (The Lost Child)

2.)The Real Me

3.)The Headless Children

4.)Thunderhead

5.)Mean Man

6.)The Neutron Bomber

7.)Mephisto Waltz

8.)Forever Free

9.)Maneater

10.)Rebel In The F.D.G.

11.)Locamotive Breath

12.)For Whom The Bell Tolls

13.)Lake Of Fools

14.)War Cry

15.)L.O.V.E. Machine (Live)

16.)Blind In Texas (Live)

Note: Tracks 11-16 are bonus tracks on the re-master. Tracks 15 &16 were recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London 1989.

The Crimson Idol (1992)

Disc 1:

1.)The Titanic Overture

2.)The Invisible Boy

3.)Arena Of Pleasure

4.)Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Moegue)

5.)The Gypsy Meets The Boy

6.)Doctor Rocktor

7.)I Am One

8.)The Idol

9.)Hold On To My Heart

10.)The Great Misconceptions Of Me

11.)The Story Of Jonathan (Prologue to the Crimson Idol)

Disc 2:

1.)Phantoms In The Mirror

2.)The Eulogy

3.)When The Levee Breaks

4.)The Idol (Live Acoustic)

5.)Hold On To My Heart (Live Acoustic)

6.)I Am One (Live)

7.)Wild Child (Live)

8.)Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue) (Live)

9.)I Wanna Be Somebody (Live)

10.)The Invisible Boy (Live)

11.)The Real Me (Live)

12.)The Great Misconceptions Of Me (Live)

Note: All live tracks recorded at Castle Donnington in 1992. This is the track listing for the remastered version.

Still Not Black Enough (1993)

1.)Still Not Black Enough

2.)Someone To Love

3.)Black Forever

4.)Scared To Death

5.)Goodbye America

6.)Keep Holding On

7.)Rock And Roll To Death

8.)Breathe

9.)I Can't

10.)No Way Out Of Here

Kill, Fuck, Die (1997)

1.)Kill Fuck Die

2.)Take The Addiction

3.)My Tortured Eyes

4.)Killahead

5.)Kill Your Pretty Face

6.)Fetus

7.)Little Death

8.)U

9.)Wicked Love

10.)The Horror

Double Live Assassins (Live 1998)

Disc 1:

1.)The Medley: On Your Knees/I Don't Need No Doctor/Hellion/Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)

2.)Wild Child

3.)Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)

4.)L.O.V.E. Machine

5.)Killahead

6.)I Wanna Be Somebody

7.)U

8.)The Real Me

9.)Kill Your Pretty Face

10.)The Horror

Disc 2:

1.)Blind In Texas

2.)The Headless Children

3.)The Idol

4.)The Crimson Idol Medley: Titanic Overture/The Invisible Boy/I Am The One/The Great Mis Conception Of Me

5.)Little Death

6.)Mean Man

7.)Rock And Roll To Death

Helldorado (1999)

1.)Driveby

2.)Helldorado

3.)Don't Cry (Just Suck)

4.)Damnation Angels

5.)Dirty Balls

6.)High On The Flames

7.)Cocaine Cowboys

8.)Can't Die Tonight

9.)Saturday Night Cockfight

10.)Hot Rods To Hell

11.)Helldorado (Reprise)

Best Of The Best (Compilation 2000)

1.)Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

2.)Animal (Fuck Like A Beast)

3.)I Wanna Be Somebody

4.)L.O.V.E. Machine

5.)On Your Knees

6.)Show No Mercy

7.)Blind In Texas

8.)Wild Child

9.)Sex Drive

10.)9-5 Nasty

11.)Mean Man

12.)Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)

13.)Unreal

14.)Helldorado

15.)Dirty Balls

Note: Tracks 1 and 13 are exclusive to this CD, with the exception of the Saturday Night's Alright for fighting single

The Sting (Live 2000)

1.)Helldorado

2.)Electric Circus

3.)Chainsaw Charlie

4.)Wild Child

5.)L.O.V.E. Machine

6.)Animal

7.)Sleeping In The Fire

8.)Damnation Angels

9.)Dirty Balls

10.)The Real Me

11.)I Wanna Be Somebody

12.)Blind In Texas

Unholy Terror (2001)

1.)Let It Roar

2.)Hate To Love Me

3.)Locomotive Man

4.)Unholy Terror

5.)Charisma

6.)Who Slayed Baby Jane

7.)Euphoria

8.)Raven Heart

9.)Wasted White Boys

Dying For The World (2002)

1.)Shadow Man

2.)My Wicked Heart

3.)Black Bone Torso

4.)Hell For Eternity

5.)Hallowed Ground

6.)Revengeance

7.)Trail Of Tears

8.)Stone Cold Killer

9.)Rubber Man

The Neon God Part 1: The Rise (2004)

1.)Overture

2.)Why Am I Here

3.)Wishing Well

4.)The Rise

5.)Sister Sadie (And The Black Habits)

6.)(Why Am) I Nothing

7.)Asylum # 9

8.)Someone To Love Me (All I Need)

9.)The Red Room Of The Rising Sun

10.)What I'll Never Find

11.)X.T.C. Riders

12.)Me And The Devil

13.)The Running Man

14.)The Raging Storm

The Neon God Part 2: The Demise (2004)

1.)Never Say Die

2.)Resurrector

3.)The Demise

4.)Clockwork Mary

5.)Tear Down The Walls

6.)Come Back To Black

7.)All My Life

8.)Destinies To Come (Neon Dion)

9.)The Last Redemption

Dominator (2007)

1.)Mercy

2.)Long, Long Way From Home

3.)Take Me Up

4.)Burning Man

5.)Heaven's Hung In Black

6.)Heaven's Blessed

7.)Teacher

8.)Heaven's Hung In Black (Reprise)

9.)Deal With The Devil

I Wanna Be Somebody (Single 1984)

1.)I Wanna Be Somebody

2.)Tormentor

L.O.V.E. Machine (Single 1984)

1.)L.O.V.E. Machine

2.)Paint It, Black

NO COVER ART

Sleeping In The Fire (Single 1985)

1.)Sleeping In The Fire

Note: Double A-Side single, features both songs on the same size. No cover art, came in black slip case.

School Daze (Single 1985)

1.)School Daze

2.)Paint It, Black

NO COVER ART

Cries In The Night (1985)

1.)Cries In The Night

Note: Double A-side single. Vinyl came in a black slip case.

Blind In Texas (Single 1985)

1.)Blind In Texas

2.)Savage

Wild Child (Single 1985)

1.)Wild Child

2.)L.O.V.E. Machine/Mississipi Queen (Live)

I Don't Need No Doctor (Single 1986)

1.)I Don't Need No Doctor

2.)Widowmaker (Live)

3.)Sex Drive (Live)

9-5 Nasty (Single 1986)

1.)9-5 Nasty

2.)Easy Living

3.)Flesh And Fire

Scream Until You Like It (Single 1987)

1.)Scream Until You Like It

2.)Shoot From The Hip (Live)

3.)Sleeping (In The Fire)

Mean Man (Single 1989)

1.)Mean Man

2.)Locomotive Breath

3.)For Whom The Bell Tolls

The Real Me (Single 1989)

1.)The Real Me

2.)Lake Of Fools

3.)War Cry

Forever Free (Single 1989)

1.)Forever Free

2.)L.O.V.E. Machine (Live)

3.)Blind In Texas (Live)

Chainsaw Charlie (Single 1992)

1.)Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue) (Sawn Off Version)

2.)Phantoms In The Mirror

3.)The Story Of Jonathan (Part 1)

The Idol (Single 1992)

1.)The Idol

2.)The Eulogy

3.)The Story Of Jonathan (Part 2)

Hold On To My Heart (Single 1992)

1.)Hold On To My Heart

2.)When The Levee Breaks

3.)The Idol (Live Acoustic)

4.)Hold On To My Heart (Live Acoustic)

I Am One (Single 1992)

1.)I Am One

2.)The Invisible Boy (Live)

3.)The Real Me (Live)

4.)The Great Misconceptions Of Me (Live)

Black Forever/Goodbye America (Single 1993)

1.)Black Forever

2.)Goodbye America

3.)Skin Walker

4.)One Tribe

Only on some versions

3.)Long Way To The Top

4.)Whole Lotta Rosie

Only on some versions.

Note: There were 3 different versions of this single issued. One with 2 tracks, and two others that had two of the four other tracks apiece.

Kill Fuck Die (Single 1997)

1.)Kill Fuck Die

Note: Limited to 3333 copies.

NO COVER ART AVAILABLE

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting (Single 2000)

1.)Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

2.)Unreal

Note: Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting is an Elton John cover