Top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs

Photo” Alexandre Cardoso, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs takes a look at a heavy metal band formed in the early 1980s. The band arrived on the scene in the city of Los Angeles with a sound and image that, at times, was controversial based on some of their song lyrics and stage antics. Nonetheless, they would quickly develop a loyal following based on a consistent release schedule of well-written and tightly produced great-sounding heavy metal albums. The band was led by Blackie Lawless, who has been the only consistent member in a lineup that has changed over twenty times through the years.

The band’s first album was released in 1982, entitled W.A.S.P. Since their debut album, the band released fifteen more studio records, with their latest being issued in 2o118 entitled ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol). The band’s most prominent period was during the 1980s, when hair metal and glam were extremely popular. W.A.S.P. stood out from bands like Motley Crue, Poison, and Def Leppard. They were heavier and a little more progressive than the most popular acts. It’s why many fans have stayed with the band for years.

# 10 – The Great Misconceptions of Me

We open our Top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs with the fantastic track The Great Misconceptions of Me. The song was released on the album The Crimson Idol. The album was the band’s fifth studio record of their remarkable career. The album was released in 1992. The record featured musicians Blackie Lawless on vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboards, Bob Kulick on lead guitar, Doug Aldrich on lead guitar, Frankie Banali, and Stet Howland on drums.

# 9 – The Idol

Continuing with our top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs, we stick with the LP The Crimson Idol for one more track. The song presented below, entitled “The Idol,” stands as the longest track on the album, coming in at over eight minutes long. The song was written by Blackie Lawless. The song “The Idol” was released as the second single from the album. “The Idol” was released in June of 1992. It hit number forty one on the United Kingdom singles charts.

# 8 – Blind In Texas

A classic song from the legendary album The Last Command is at number eight on our fun list. The Last Command is the second and last album to hit Gold status as far as albums sold by the band. It was also the band’s second album release. The album was released issued in 1985.

# 7 – Jack Action

Once again, we hit up the band’s excellent second album entitled The Last Command for the rocking song “Jack Action.” The song “Jack Action,” was written by Steve Riley and Blackie Lawless. The band at the time of the album’s release featured Blackie Lawless on lead vocals, bass guitar, Chris Holmes on lead & rhythm guitars, Randy Piper on lead & rhythm guitars, vocals and Steve Riley on drums and vocals. The album was produced by Spencer Proffer, who had also produced Quiet Riot.

# 6 – The Headless Children

The W.A.S.P. song The Headless Children was released on the W.A.S.P. album entitled The Headless Children. The album remains the band’s highest charting album of their career as it broke into the Billboard Top 50 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts in 1989. It stayed there for over three months. Hands down, this is one of the band’s greatest albums ever released. “The Headless Children” defines a much more mature approach to songwriting from the great Blackie Lawless.

# 5 – The Real Me

Breaking into the top 5 on our Top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs list is another track from the legendary The Headless Children album. “The Real Me” is a smoking cover version of Pete Townshend’s classic song initially released on The Who’s Quadrophenia album. “The Real Me” was released as the second single from the album. The band W.A.S.P. tore it up on this unbelievable cover version.

# 4 – Miss You

Continuing with our list of top 10 W.A.S.P. songs, we present the extraordinary song “Miss You.” This killer recording was released on the album Golgotha. The album stands as one of the band’s most recent releases. Golgotha was issued in 2015. The album featured Blackie Lawless, Doug Blair, Mike Duda, and Michael Dupke. The album was tremendously successful on the charts around the world. It broke into the top 5 of the U.S. Billboard Hot Rock Albums and charted high in Norway, Germany, Finland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

# 3 – Wild Child

In the top spots on our Top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs list, we present some of the band’s most famous and dearly loved songs they have ever released. Wild Child stands as a very heavy fan favorite. The song was released on the band’s second album, The Last Command. The song “Wild Child” was placed as the album’s opening track. It was also released as the second single from the album. The song “Wild Child” was also released as the second single from the album in 1985.

# 2 – Thunderhead

At the number two spot on our 10 W.A.S.P. Songs is another big-time fan favorite called “Thunderhead.” The song “Thunderhead” was released on our favorite W.A.S.P. album, The Headless Children. The song Thunderhead was written by Blackie Lawless and Chris Holmes. It was never released as a single, but to us, it was the best track on the album. Listen to that piano and synthesizer opening; it just gives you chills. This one gets more intense the deeper it goes.

# 1 – Love Machine

At number one on our top 10 W.A.S.P. Songs list is the classic track “Love Machine.” The opening of this song always reminded me a bit of the excitement generated in the Kiss classic “Detroit Rock City.” The song “Love Machine” was released on the album W.A.S.P. The album was released in 1984. It was the band’s debut album.

Professional Sources, research, experience, and citations

Charting information used in the analysis and research of the commercial success of these songs comes from Billboard Magazine Charts

https://www.billboard.com/charts/

The Story Of Classic Rock

Other sources for important factual information include the band’s websites

https://www.waspnation.com/

https://label.napalmrecords.com/w-a-s-p

Further analysis and original thoughts are provided by the writer Brian Kachejian’s experience as a professional musician and music collector for over 50 years and his experience as a New York State certified music and history educator and professional music journalist with the New York Press.