Back in the eighties, W.A.S.P. was a band that gave many parents nightmares. They were blood drinking, raw meat throwing, cod piece wearing metal heathens and endured the wrath of the infamous Parent’s Music Resource Center in an epic battle over censorship. They were also talented musicians who gave us fantastic melodic metal anthems like “I Wanna Be Somebody” and “Blind In Texas.” The W.A.S.P. of today is a different “Animal” so to speak with frontman Blackie Lawless the sole remaining original member. Now a born again Christian, Blackie’s wild ways are behind him but musically he can still rock with the best of them. “Golgotha” is the latest release from W.A.S.P., their 15th studio album and their first since 2009’s “Babylon.”
Lawless has put together a stellar group of musicians with Mike Dupke on drums, Mike Duda on bass, and the ridiculously talented Doug Blair on guitar. The record starts off strong with a classic W.A.S.P. anthemic tune in “Scream” followed by the “Last Runaway” which is more melodic pop rock with a killer hook and chorus. “Shotgun” is another contagious tune followed by the epic ballad “Miss You.” Clocking in at just under 8 minutes, “Miss You” is everything a power ballad should be with emotional vocals from Blackie and outrageous guitar work from Blair. In fact, I would put this song up against any metal ballad ever. It’s that good. “Slaves of the New World Order” is not to be missed with stellar work by Mike Dupke on drums and once again Blair hits it out of the park with his guitar solo. The album closes with the title track and it is a killer tune although at first listen it is a bit odd to hear Lawless singing the praises of Jesus but it works because he is holding true to what he believes and it definitely comes across emotionally. It should be noted that Lawless sounds better than ever. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever sound better vocally on an album. The songwriting overall is just superb and once more Doug Blair is just amazing.
If you haven’t heard W.A.S.P. since their heyday, you owe it to yourself to give “Golgotha” a listen. I was more than surprised, I was blown away. It’s melodic metal at its best with great hooks and outstanding metal guitar. What more could you ask for?
