778. W.A.S.P. / W.A.S.P. 1984. 5/5

W.A.S.P. was a band I quickly became infatuated with when I first discovered them, and this album had a lot to do with that. To start with, I couldn't even tell you why I fell in love with them and their early albums. I was a bit of a late comer. In mid-1986, one of the TV channels in Australia aired on it's overnight music video program over two weekend nights all heavy metal videos - an unheard of event. Having watched and recorded the majority of those two nights, I came to discover a lot of bands that it may have taken me years to find out about. On those nights I got my first look and listen to songs such as "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "L.O.V.E. Machine", and something clicked in me, and I knew I had to have this band and their music. Sure they had that glam L.A. look in their videos, and showed off some of their stage antics in those early videos, but none of that was what drew me to them. It was the music, and the energy of their songs that sucked me in and made me a fan.

I still remember the day I first got this on vinyl, at one of my favourite second hand record haunts. I remember getting home and putting it on my parents stereo for the first time, the crackling of needle on vinyl, before those drums came hammering out of the speakers at 200 decibels, launching into "I Wanna Be Somebody" for the first time. Time to get that Blackie Lawless head wobble on while playing air-bass! Then it faded in to more drums starting us off into "L.O.V.E. Machine", along with another great chorus to sing along to. Two terrific songs to start the album off on the right note. i was hooked.
I guess you wouldn't rate "The Flame", "B.A.D." and "School Daze" as memorable, brilliant songs. But you also wouldn't class them as poor songs either. They all still enjoy the same flow on from the opening tracks, and meld their way into the style that the album is generating. However... bloody hell...  I still love "Hellion". This is just a sensational song, so full of energy and passion, it explodes through any lay time you may have begun and sweeps you back into the heart of the album.
The biggest surprise on the album is still the magnificent "Sleeping (in the Fire)". Here is a song that shouldn't work. It's ballad-esque, moving somewhat slightly left of centre of the rest of the album... and yet... it just works brilliantly. It soars along with Blackie's great emoting vocals and Chris's electrifying guitar solo. If it hadn't been done well it could have been a laughing stock, something that sucked away the excellence of the album to this point. But as it turns out, it only enhances it, and not only showcases the ability of this band to diversify but to stay true to their core music direction.
This is followed by the fired up "On Your Knees", another of those great high energy songs that blazes through the stereo, enticing you to sing along as it drives along. The album concludes with "Tormentor" and "The Torture Never Stops", both of which are good songs that I like a lot, but they don't quite come up to the quality that has preceded them.

The success of this album is driven by many factors. The brilliant sing-along choruses for a start, they are terrifically written in order to bring the fans into the songs. The excellent driving drumwork from Tony Richards, which I think is completely underrated - it doesn't just complement the songs here, it actually enhances them and helps to bring them to life. The magnificent twin guitar attack of Chris Holmes and Randy Piper, playing off each other and creating a ripping guitar album. And of course Blackie Lawless, whose crazy energetic vocal performance tops off all of these factors to bring home a scintillating first release.
When I finally got the remastered CD version of the album in the late 1990's, they had restored "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" to the position that it was supposed to take on the album, that of lead off song. When distributors and record companies pretty much refused to release the album with that track on it, it was removed. Though I have always loved the album with "I Wanna Be Somebody" kicking it all off, I really do think it is improved with the addition of "Animal" back at the front.

For their first five albums, up until the first 'break-up" of the band, W.A.S.P. was one of my all time favourite bands. Their sound and songs dominated the end of my teenage years, and this album still resonates with me more than 30 years after its release.

Rating:  All night, you damn the hurt and pain, and drink the devils rain, it's screaming out your name.  5/5

Listen to full album here