To promote the album, W.A.S.P. toured heavily with mega bands such as Kiss and Iron Maiden, along with others who were touring on their own successful albums such as Dokken, Krokus, Helix, Quiet Riot and Armored Saint. Steve Riley had come into the band on drums to replace Tony Richards, and would make his recording debut with the band on their follow up to that debut album. It was an album that was to be under pressure from the outset. The success of that debut album gave the band plenty of work to do if they were to produce a follow up that could reproduce everything that had worked on the self-titled album. And although there was an air of controversy floating around the band through the intrusion of groups like the PMRC, like their debut album, nothing would matter if the album itself wasn’t bullet proof. In response, W.A.S.P. charged at the masses with their sophomore attack of “The Last Command”.
One of the things about the early W.A.S.P. albums is that for the most part you aren’t coming in for the cohesive and Shakespeare-like qualities of the lyrics. For the most – but not completely – part, they are fun and not to be taken seriously. Blackie and his occasional co-writer Chris Holmes do like to spread some suggestive lyrics around in some of their songs, and perhaps at this point in time, especially for those of us who have aged quite a deal since they discovered this album in the first place, some of the lyrics are a bit childish. But how much fun do you want to have with them? “Blind in Texas” is one song to discuss in this respect. The first single released from the album, the lyrics are quite simply about going to a bar and drinking, well... ‘for free, til I couldn’t see’. Blackie’s tale that namechecks Texas hellholes, of drinking places dry... hell, its a fun track. There’s no brain cells that are required here to enjoy the song and its story. And it is this song that most think about when you name W.A.S.P. And which then marks the band depending on whether you like it or not. Then we have those ‘mainstream’ W.A.S.P. tracks that reference women in all of their shapes and forms, though mainly in the way that you expect. “Ballcrusher” is a great track musically that pushes along after the opening song of the album, telling the tale of a woman that Blackie and Chris seem to know far too well. The chorus might be repetitive towards the end of the song but it drags you in to sing along with each and every time. The album’s opening track “Wild Child” is an anthem to the young and young at heart, but speaks wildly of the protagonist – probably Blackie yes – chasing the girl and trying to win her over from her other love - “a naked heart machine I want your love, when moons arise we’ll just what it does... at midnight”. Deep stuff. But a fabulous song, a great way to start the album, and one that all fans will always sing. And then the bookend track of “Sex Drive” that closes out the album, there’s a bit about the lyrics of that song that are a little bit dodgy the older you get. It’s another collaboration of Blackie and Chris, and lyrically it is a dog’s breakfast, and is the kind of song that the haters and those opposed to the band grabbed a hold of and used as their cross to bear against them. So yes, there are songs here with a dicey lyrical content that made W.A.S.P. a somewhat easy target for those that wanted to pitch a battle against them.
Beyond this, we have the tracks that source their material from other options in the world. The hard rocking “Fistful of Diamonds” simply expresses the desire to be rich and successful, with another great singalong chorus of “A fistful, fistful of diamond, I live for the glory and fame, I want a fistful, fistful of diamonds, The millions are calling my name”. Chris Holmes’s hard riffing and solo through the middle of the song make it worth the journey. And then how about “Jack Action”, which many non-fans believe is about being with a woman, but is actually about Blackie hunting down a killer of his woman. The riff to open the song, that chugs along underneath the verses is an easy sell as another great Chris Holmes contribution to the album. And looking for jack action is not what some groups would have you believe as having a sexual connotation, it is about the protagonist looking for revenge. Another terrific solid track here on this album.
The best songs on the album have a depth about the lyrics and music that once again showcases W.A.S.P. as more than just a shock rock band. “Widowmaker”, the closing song on Side A of the album, is one of the best examples. Blackie’s vocals fall back into a wonderful melodic menacing tone, especially in the chorus where he really exemplifies what he can do as a lead vocalist. Chris’s solo through the middle and to take the track out at the end personifies the far more serious nature of the song and proves again that this is not a band that settles into the same schtick and subject matter through their albums. In the same way that “Sleeping in the Fire” was the song on the debut album that provides the counter point to what everyone thought about what this band could do, so “Widowmaker” does the same thing here on “The Last Command”. “Cries in the Night” speaks from the heart, of Blackie’s own mind games with fame and the emptiness that can come with it. In many ways this is one of several precursors that would formulate the concept rock opera album of “The Crimson Idol” some years later, lyrically at least.
And my word W.A.S.P. can do anthems as well. They have two here that are back-to-back and they are beauties. The title track “The Last Command” remains my favourite song on the album, a call to arms to gets lost in the controversy of some tracks and the relative greatness of others on other albums. Just the opening verse and chorus is enough to send tingles down the spine: “You don't know what's in our hearts, This is our time, we've made our mark, And can you understand we'll fight 'til we fall? But what do you want to do? The time is right for you to stand on your feet and answer the call
Stand up, for the first time, and shout it, woah-oh, The Last Command is heard across the land, Stand up, for the first time, and cry out, woah-oh, Hear the call, we are The Last Command”. God I love that song. The anthemic quality of the track is undeniable, and Blackie stands at the front of the stage chanting his sermon, rallying crowd, and taking them into battle. It is a terrific song, and I am not convinced that Blackie and I share the same values on a personal level, but this song will always get me. This is followed by “Running Wild in the Streets”, which continues this theme and gets the spine straighter and the heartbeat racing more once again: “I'm running to beat hell, Looks like I've got to be the leader, As my forces yell, You can hear 'em, Can't you hear them
(All the way) we'll go the distance
(All the way) stand behind me now
(All the way) no turning back
(All the way) 'cause we are together
I'm standin' proud, We're screaming loud, I'll lead the crowd, Running wild in the streets”.
Both of these songs stand as a true test to the band and its music. Blackie is the leader, and proclaims himself to be so in this song. He is leading the charge, and he is taking the band with him. Along with all of the fans that are gathering behind him. And I was right there along for the ride.
You aren’t coming into these early W.A.S.P. albums for the lyrics, though Blackie eventually became more intense when it came to this part of the artform. The lyrics all through are fun and still fun to sing even for those of us now well entrenched in middle age. The chanting choruses that encourage you to sing along are the winners here, especially when tooling around town in the car. None of it is highbrow stuff but as a teenager it was all fun and games.
Though I was first introduced to W.A.S.P. in the latter stages of high school with the debut album from my heavy metal music dealer, it wasn’t until my first year of university that I truly discovered – and became completely and utterly obsessed – with W.A.S.P. On a trip down to Illawarra Books and Records I discovered the first three W.A.S.P. albums alongside the live album all waiting for me to purchase, which I duly did despite having basically nothing in my bank account. And then I took them home and played them all on my parents' stereo in our lounge room, and haven’t stopped to this very day.
“The Last Command”, perhaps surprisingly, stood out for me from that collection. Perhaps because I already had the debut album on cassette and knew those songs, but the way this album went on its journey really dragged me in. The title track “The Last Command” stood for me as my own anthem for a number of years during this time, the at-times angry and confused teenager trying to find his place in the world, and happy to use this song as my flagbearer. Even today I can put it on and remember how I felt when I would play this over and over again, and how it lifted me up, in the same way as “Department of Youth” and “Youth Gone Wild” used to. “Running Wild in the Streets” used to speak to my youth at the time as well and is still a favourite. Those anthems were to me anthems of my youth, and more important to me than I probably realised at the time. I still almost stand to attention and feel a desire to charge into a fight whenever I hear these songs today.
Looking at this album in 2025 – a year that I could not even conceive of when I first bought this album – it has certain flaws that I have mentioned along the way. One wonders how many of these songs Blackie would now deem to play live in concert. It is an album of its time, it has moments laced with sexual and violent innuendo that raised some issues in its day and in the modern age could be suggested to be childish in a way. But beyond all of that, when I put it on my stereo and turn the volume up to eleven, this is still for me a brilliant album.
I have had the album out again for the past two weeks - on CD as my vinyl copy purchased all those years ago was lost in the flood of 2001. For the most part here, I have been listening to it in ‘critical mode’, looking to gauge a modern day reaction to the album rather than relying on the great memories it provides me with. Which, as we all know, is not the way to listen to music. You put it on, and you either love it or hate it for what it is or what it means to you. So you have heard the critical review of this album up to this point, one that I believe is fair and balanced. Now here is the passionate, memory filled review of this album. I fucking love this album, still. So much of the late 1980’s is tied up to this album and this band. I had a massive man crush on the band – perhaps it was boy crush as I was in my latter teens by then. And this album was a truly important part of that stage of my life. And when I listen to it today, it doesn’t bring back any angsty or depressed feeling that I had during this period, it reminds me of the joy this album gave me, that used to drag me out of these moods and revitalise the real Bill. And I still get that today. And have been over the past two weeks.
I probably don’t love it as much as I did back in my youth (that would be very difficult I suspect), but it still helps me remember how I felt about the album back then. W.A.S.P. was a juggernaut, and this line up of Blackie Lawless, Chris Holmes, Steve Riley and Randy Piper is arguably their greatest, probably my favourite. Maybe kids coming into it today would not find as much in it to enjoy, but with so much emotional baggage tied up in it for me, it is one I will always love. And I will charge through bricks wall if you just play this over the loudspeakers.
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