W.A.S.P. — The Crimson Idol (review)

W.A.S.P. — The Crimson Idol album cover Album · 1992 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
SilentScream213
What is often hailed as one of if not the best W.A.S.P. albums is ironically more so a solo effort by bandleader Blackie that eventually got the W.A.S.P. label slapped on it so it could sell. Sometimes, an album can be a better package if it really is done entirely by one person. Especially in the case of a concept album.

Blackie had a story, he had a few main motifs and he rolled with it all the way through. The result is a strong album that feels heavily cohesive and has no moments of weakness. The music is very catchy, and adds just enough keys and other musical influences to up the “epic rocking” factor without truly dipping into cheese territory, and is actually quite serious musically. The album is surprisingly vulnerable for someone of Blackie’s reputation, as “desiring the love and acceptance of your parents” was not exactly a common theme in heavy music (though it was likely an undertone in a lot of the rebellious themes, no one would flat out admit it).

Aside from that, the story is another tale of a fictional rocker’s rise and fall, which had already been done to death by ’92. The album is consistently very strong, but if the main motifs aren’t working for you, it will get very samey and repetitive. Great listen to follow along the story, flows incredibly well, but the replay factor is quite low.
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