W.A.S.P. (album)

W.A.S.P. is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984. The album has been known under three different names; the spine of the original European vinyl release had Winged Assassins printed on it, while early cassette releases of the album had the name of the album's first track, "I Wanna Be Somebody", printed in bold letters on the cover. The album is officially entitled simply W.A.S.P., which it is typically referred to as.

W.A.S.P.
Studio album by
W.A.S.P.
ReleasedAugust 17, 1984
RecordedJune–July 1984
StudioRecord Plant, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length38:14
LabelCapitol
ProducerBlackie Lawless, Mike Varney
W.A.S.P. chronology
W.A.S.P.
(1984)		 The Last Command
(1985)
Singles from W.A.S.P.
  1. "I Wanna Be Somebody"
    Released: August 1984
  2. "School Daze"
    Released: November 1984
  3. "L.O.V.E. Machine"
    Released: 1984 (Japan)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal5/10[3]
Metal Crypt[4]
Rock Hard9.0/10[5]

Overview

Prior to its original release, the controversial track "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" was deleted from the album. The Parents Music Resource Center had labeled the song as one of its "Filthy 15", songs that the group determined to be morally objectionable. Capitol Records subsequently bowed to pressure and pulled the song. The band released it as a single in the UK in 1984 on the indie label Music for Nations, and the single subsequently became a highly sought after item in North America as an import. The song was reinstated on the album with the 1998 reissue.

The song "I Wanna Be Somebody", released as the album's second single with accompanying music video, was so popular that VH1 later placed it in their list of the "Top 100 Hard Rock Songs" of all time.[6] "L.O.V.E. Machine" dates back to Lawless' pre-W.A.S.P. band Circus Circus, who frequently played the song live but never recorded it.[7]

Several of the album's songs have been covered by other bands. "Sleeping (In the Fire)" has been covered by Tiamat and Anders Manga, "Hellion" by Children of Bodom and In Aeternum, "L.O.V.E. Machine" by Fallen Man,[8] Lullacry, Fozzy and Alghazanth, "I Wanna Be Somebody" by Sentenced, Catamenia, Witchery, Avulsed and Gates of Ishtar, and "The Torture Never Stops" by the death metal group Torture Division.[9]

The song "Tormentor" was heard in the films The Dungeonmaster (1984) and TerrorVision (1986).

Track listings

All songs written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Wanna Be Somebody" 3:43
2."L.O.V.E. Machine" 3:51
3."The Flame"Lawless, Chris Holmes, J. Marquez3:41
4."B.A.D." 3:56
5."School Daze" 3:35
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Hellion" 3:39
7."Sleeping (In the Fire)" 3:55
8."On Your Knees" 3:48
9."Tormentor"Lawless, Holmes4:10
10."The Torture Never Stops" 3:56
1998 CD reissue[10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" 3:07
2."I Wanna Be Somebody" 3:43
3."L.O.V.E. Machine" 3:51
4."The Flame"Lawless, Holmes, Marquez3:41
5."B.A.D." 3:56
6."School Daze" 3:35
7."Hellion" 3:39
8."Sleeping (In the Fire)" 3:55
9."On Your Knees" 3:48
10."Tormentor"Lawless, Holmes4:10
11."The Torture Never Stops" 3:56
12."Show No Mercy" 3:48
13."Paint It Black" (The Rolling Stones cover)Mick Jagger, Keith Richards3:27
Total length:48:36

Personnel
W.A.S.P.
Production
  • Mike Varney – producer
  • Duane Baron – engineer, mixing
  • Stephen M. Fontano – engineer
  • Jim Scott, Hanspeter Huber – assistant engineers
  • David Tarling – pre-production

Charts

Album

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[20] Gold 20,000[20]
Japan (RIAJ)[21] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "10 Hair Metal Albums That Don't Suck". Consequence of Sound. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  2. Prato, Greg. "W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P. review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  3. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 406. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  4. Arroyo, Hermer. "Classic Review: W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P." Metal Crypt. Michel Renaud/The Metal Crypt. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  5. Götz, Kühnemund (1984). "Review Album : W.A.S.P. - I Wanna Be Somebody". Rock Hard (in German). No. 8. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  6. Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs Archived January 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Circus Circus Live". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  8. Fallen Man
  9. Torture Division » Downloadgraphy
  10. W.A.S.P
  11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8947". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  12. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  13. "Swedishcharts.com – W.A.S.P. – I Wanna Be Somebody". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  14. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  15. "W.A.S.P. Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  16. "W.A.S.P. Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  17. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961: W > W.A.S.P." Sisältää hitin / Timo Pennanen. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  18. "W.A.S.P. – I Wanna Be Somebody (Song)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P." Music Canada.
  20. "W.A.S.P." (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  21. "Sanctuary Music" (PDF). Billboard. March 8, 1985. p. 103. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  22. "American album certifications – W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P." Recording Industry Association of America.
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