Show of hands: How many of you spent way too much money on W.A.S.P. tickets this past Friday? I did! As of now, I’ll be seeing Blackie and the gang in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and both nights in St. Charles (I’ll be the raging 20 something year old longhair with the Saxon Wheels of Steel backpatch). If they add any more dates within a 3 to 5 hour radius, you better believe I’ll be at those as well. I have literally waited over a decade for this tour, so I’ll be taking any opportunity I get to see it. The collective hype surrounding W.A.S.P. this week inspired me to take a deep dive into their catalog. About halfway through the 90s albums, something occurred to me: W.A.S.P. sure knows how to write a power ballad. I’ve always known this (some of the songs on this list are among my favorite W.A.S.P. songs ever), but it hit differently this time around. These aren’t syrupy, sugary, corporately designed ballads designed for mass consumption. These are some of the rawest, most honest, straight from the heart ballads ever written. Blackie Lawless has the soul of an old troubadour. Don’t believe me? This list is proof. Without further ado, here are our Top 10 W.A.S.P. Ballads.
10. “Trail of Tears”
Although the late 90s and early 2000s were a rough time for traditional metal to say the least, Blackie Lawless soldiered onward, consistently touring and recording new music with W.A.S.P. Among these releases was 2002’s Dying for the World, which many consider to be the band’s finest album of this run (depending on who you ask). It’s with a track off this album that we open this list. “Trail of Tears” is a dark, depressing ballad written about the tragic relocation of the same name, in which 60,000 Native Americans were forced from their land. Its visceral lyrics, droning guitars, and tribal rhythms attempt to replicate the pain through music, and does an unsettling job doing so. As the old saying goes, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
9. “Mephisto Waltz / Forever Free”
1988’s The Headless Children marked a dramatic shift for W.A.S.P. After three albums glorifying all things sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, Blackie’s lyrical focus shifted towards social ills and mental struggles. The band’s music evolved as well, at times bordering on progressive. This was largely thanks to the addition of Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali and Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley, who brought Blackie’s vision of a “dream rock n’ roll band” to life. Together, this incarnation of the band created such classics as “The Heretic (The Lost Child)”, “Mean Man”, and our #9, “Forever Free”. This largely acoustic number focuses on the theme of loss and how we cope with it. The moral of the story? Don’t dwell in sorrow over the passing of a loved one. Be happy that you had them in your life, and that they’re now “Forever Free”.
8. “The Gypsy Meets the Boy”
If W.A.S.P.’s The Crimson Idol hadn’t been released in the heart of the grunge era, it would’ve revolutionized hard rock and heavy metal forever, the same way Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime did a few short years earlier. The album chronicles the rise and ultimate fall of fictitious rockstar, Jonathan Steel, with no shortage of twists and turns along the way. In “The Gypsy Meets the Boy”, Jonathan meets with a fortune teller to see what his future holds; this, after essentially signing over his soul to Chainsaw Charlie. Unsurprisingly, the gypsy’s vision foreshadows trouble, but Jonathan doesn’t listen. He just “wants to be the Crimson Idol”. We’ll see how that turns out later in this list.
7. “Hallowed Ground”
I debated adding “Hallowed Ground” to this list. While it starts out delicate and vulnerable, it transforms into a pummeling display of Sabbathian doom metal. However, it maintains that raw, passionate spirit of a ballad throughout, so I don’t think anyone will object to its inclusion on here. “Hallowed Ground” was written by Blackie in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. As I’ve been told by many with recollection of the day (I was only 2 at the time), if you lived through it, it was impossible not to be affected by it someway. For Lawless, a born and bred New Yorker, this hit even harder. Just as “Trail of Tears” pays tribute to all of the victims of that American tragedy, “Hallowed Ground” pays tribute to another. To this day, W.A.S.P. has only performed this song once.
6. “Keep Holding On”
Following in the footsteps of Black Sabbath’s Seventh Star (1986) and Blue Öyster Cult’s Imaginos (1988), W.A.S.P.’s 1995 album, Still Not Black Enough, was supposed to be a solo album. This was dashed when the record label decided it would sell better as “W.A.S.P.” than “Blackie Lawless”, just as the aforementioned albums sold (slightly) better under their monikers than “Tony Iommi” and “Albert Bouchard” respectively. There are no shortage of excellent songs off this unsung classic, including our #6, “Keep Holding On”. As influential as KISS, Alice Cooper, and UFO were on Lawless, I can’t help but think he was equally influenced by the titans of 70s AM radio. “Keep Holding On” boasts the qualities of a lost Carpenters ballad that could’ve been recorded 20+ years earlier: gentle vocals, heart tugging melodies, and an ethereal arrangement. Somewhere in rock n’ roll heaven, Karen Carpenter is singing this on a televised variety hour.
5. “Cries in the Night”
After shocking the country with their 1984 debut, W.A.S.P. struck while the iron was hot with their 1985 sophomore release, The Last Command. While an excellent album in its own right, it largely followed the same template as the debut, even down to the obligatory ballad, which came in the form of “Cries in the Night”. Although “Wild Child” and “Blind in Texas” fared well as singles, I always thought this song was ideal for MTV. The era of the power ballad was well under way. If W.A.S.P. was able to inject their signature brand of dark metal alongside Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” and Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home”, there’s no telling how much bigger they could’ve been.
4. “Breathe”
If “Keep Holding On” was an exercise in Carpenters-esque subtleties, “Breathe” was a nod to the bombastic wall of sound method: originated in the 60s by Phil Spector and expanded upon in the 70s by Jim Steinman. Needless to say, this wasn’t the most popular approach in 1995, but who cares. Blackie Lawless never pandered to the in crowd. Even the industrial tinged K.F.D. (1997) is purely W.A.S.P., as opposed to a Nine Inch Nails worship cash grab, but I digress. “Breathe” is a jaw-droppingly beautiful composition. The fact that this song and “The Torture Never Stops” were written by the same person is just further proof that Lawless deserves induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Talk about range!
3. “Hold On to My Heart”
Remember earlier when I said The Crimson Idol wasn’t gonna end well? Here we are. Lost in a haze of drugs, alcohol, and depression, Jonathan sits alone. He’s achieved fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams, but still lacks what he strived for the most: the approval of his parents. When this doesn’t go over as planned, he begs the listener, “Hold On to My Heart”. It’s easy to misinterpret this as a love song, especially given the lyrical content and passionate delivery. However, it’s actually a desperate plea for help, set to a moving backdrop of acoustic guitars and an orchestral arrangement.
2. “The Idol”
Of all the heart-wrenching moments on The Crimson Idol, perhaps none hit harder than “The Idol”. This nearly 9 minute epic ballad is the moment when Jonathan realizes he has nothing. His manager, Alex Rodman, demands him to “clean up his act”, but not for his own wellbeing. No, Rodman only cares about using Jonathan to further his own personal agenda and pocketbook. When Jonathan does eventually succumb to drugs or suicide (Spoiler alert: The latter is the case here.), he’ll just move on to the next young naïve soul who sells himself to Chainsaw Charlie. Jonathan frantically asks and begs, “Where is the love to shelter me? Give me love, come set me free.”
On a personal note, as somebody who has gone through intense bouts of depression, The Crimson Idol has reminded me time and time again that I’m not alone on this journey. Sure, I’m not a strung out rockstar on the brink of death, but I’ve felt that level of emptiness before. Blackie, if you’re reading this, I thank you for capturing these emotions on tape. You’ve helped exorcise these demons better than any shrink could. If you’d like to have an in depth conversation regarding the development of this masterpiece album and more, I’m all ears. But first, our #1…
- “Sleeping in the Fire”
When I first decided to do a W.A.S.P. themed list, it was going to be a general “Top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs”. Then I realized that list would just be the debut album ranked. Nevertheless, it should come as no surprise that the greatest W.A.S.P. ballad comes from that very album. “Sleeping in the Fire” is more than just the best W.A.S.P. ballad. It’s one of the best heavy metal songs ever written, ballad or otherwise, period. The raw atmosphere, the vocals which alternate from soft to intense, the harmonious hooks, the dark erotic lyrics, and to top it all off, the guitar solo of a lifetime from Chris Holmes. Put all these elements together and you’ve got perfection beyond perfection. After all these years, we still feel what it does and we’re drunk on love. We’re “Sleeping in the Fire”!