Thank you Blackie Lawless. Thank you for not going away, taking an extended leave of absence or selling out. There are too many 1980’s Heavy Metal Bands that did just those things, now they are scrambling to make their triumphant comeback or best album ever. Some are doing just that, only Blackie Lawless does not belong to that club. The Heavy Metal membership card that Blackie Lawless holds says two words… for life. Why shouldn’t it say just that? The true fans of Heavy Metal and/or W.A.S.P. are in it for life. While the 1990’s ushered in the Grunge genre and scores of pretentious bands (being mistakenly labeled) Heavy Metal, all the while lining up at Hollywood’s red carpet gala’s for accolades, W.A.S.P. was too busy making real Heavy Metal albums of integrity. The politically correct mainstream press was not a necessity for W.A.S.P.’s survival then, it certainly is not now. There is no return of or part ll theme happening with W.A.S.P., just a band that is a Heavy Metal mainstay, due to the perseverance and creativity of Blackie Lawless. To take a quote from Blackie Lawless, (as stated in the liner notes from Babylon)… If it is not the truth, it will not stand.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be writing a series of reviews on the new W.A.S.P. studio album, Babylon. Concentrating on individual songs, musical elements and lyrics from Babylon makes for a more enlightening Metal experience for me, hopefully visitors to Metal Odyssey will agree. When an album of Heavy Metal has such a powerful impact on me, as does Babylon, a generalized review is about as fulfilling as a stale beer sitting in the hot sun. Could I have predicted Babylon would have impacted me in such a fantastic way? Of course not, yet the surprise is more expected than unexpected.
Crazy is the opening song on Babylon. The weight of the world always seems to be put on the opening track of any album. The first song sets the table for the remainder of the album, good or bad, this all important track can either be the demise or exclamation point for the songs that follow. With Crazy, this song kicks and extends it’s Heavy Metal tentacles like a giant sea squid on a caffeine rush. Crazy is the prelude to nine Heavy Metal songs of substance, this song alone foretells that W.A.S.P. connects in 2009. Blackie Lawless borrowed some of his Old School Heavy Metal and fused it with a more mature presentation, both with lyrics and tempo. Sure, Crazy is a fast moving song, only it’s the streamlined sound of it’s speed that makes it so appreciable. The consistency of Heavy Metal muscle is what I have come to expect from W.A.S.P., Crazy illuminates and flexes it from the opening note. My best Metal buddy Scott cued me into the comparison of Crazy to Wild Child, from the 1985 W.A.S.P. classic, The Last Command. (This was well before I owned a copy of Babylon, Scott was a lucky one who nailed Babylon on it’s import release date of October 13th). The opening guitar intro to both Crazy and Wild Child are very similar, still not a mirror image note for note.
The vocals of Blackie Lawless during Crazy extends maturity, not a voice that needs a stretcher… Blackie Lawless is not fooling anyone or pulling any high tech tricks. Doug Blair on lead guitar sounds like a rising star that Ozzy Osbourne would have plucked out of the bushel to call his own, decades ago. Instead, Blackie Lawless has a guitarist that doesn’t just play… emotion is emanated from the guitar of Doug Blair. Listening to the guitar solo on Crazy reminds me as to why I love Heavy Metal in the first place. Crazy is as commercially viable as any song from the storied Heavy Metal history of W.A.S.P., (only it has never been about accessibility with this band)… thank God for that. This is absolutely not an accusation that Blackie Lawless has set out to make a hit single, rather it is a Heavy Metal song that is so melodically driven that it is awe inspiring.
Lyrics, as with music itself, is art. One persons interpretation of a songs lyrics will differ far and wide against another’s. My interpretation of the lyrics for Crazy is – don’t fall in love with anyone or anything that cannot love you back. The symbolic person or thing that won’t accept love in Crazy sends a deep message of steering clear from personal hurt. Human emotion is a very volatile subject and Blackie Lawless has penned some intriguing lyrics with this song. You cannot draw love from drugs, alcohol or hate. These are things that will make anyone look crazy for loving. Inanimate objects are never going to love anyone. A tremendous Heavy Metal song is Crazy, this is the one song I have listened to the most from Babylon thus far… isn’t that crazy?
W.A.S.P. has me burning up with an extreme Heavy Metal fever. Their new studio album, Babylon, is the total Old School Heavy Metal package. I am so excited about this new W.A.S.P. album, I need to calm down. Alright, if you have never purchased a W.A.S.P. album in your life and you are into Metal, do the right thing and buy Babylon. Veteran W.A.S.P. fans should understand why I am pumped up about Babylon… it is the quintessential Heavy Metal album for 2009. Am I saying it is the best Heavy Metal album of 2009? I am sure leaning in that direction for certain. Remember, this is Heavy Metal, no strings attached. Blackie Lawless has proven once again he is not about to back down, cow tow or change for anyone. Blackie Lawless has my total Metal support and praise for his convictions, which he so eloquently states within the liner notes of Babylon.
I will always believe, that it is extremely hard to cover a song of this magnitude, without tripping up somewhere along the way. Nothing beats a Hard Rock Classic, especially one from Deep Purple. David Coverdale will forever have the notoriety of originally vocalizing Burn with Deep Purple. David Coverdale’s vocal signature on the original version of Burn, plus his historical importance to Heavy Metal is immeasurable, in my most honest Metal opinion. Fast forward to 2009 and Burn is resurrected from the archives of Hard Rock history, thanks to W.A.S.P.. Blackie Lawless maintains the signature keyboards of Burn, reestablishing the importance this instrument has within this song. Doug Blair on lead guitar, cements himself as an asset, to the Heavy Metal identity that is W.A.S.P., on this amazing cover song. Burn returns and rises like a flaming phoenix, with Blackie Lawless unleashing this song’s power and exposing it’s grandeur for all Heavy Metal time.
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