W.A.S.P.
Golgotha

It’s been 6 years since the last release from W.A.S.P., the much-debated Babylon. Why do I say debated? Well, because, as some might know, Blackie Lawless, the leader of this great heavy metal band that in the '80s was known for his excesses, his band of perverts, sexual innuendos and even more in the lyrics (Animal, On Your Knees, Ballcrusher, Shoot from the Hip), has now converted to Christianity. Strange, you might say. Well, I said the same thing, and right after I thought “The next albums won’t be much.” Wrong. Because Babylon, even if penalized by two covers that could have been left out and continuous nods to the past in terms of musicality, sounded damn good. After 6 years, then, one might think: At almost 60 years old, is Mr. Lawless still able to make a good heavy metal record? The answer, of course, is yes. The new W.A.S.P. album opens with “Scream,” a track accompanied by a nice lyric video, but which already from the initial riff copies a little from the legendary Wild Child. Details, anyway, because it’s now known that W.A.S.P. often recycle themselves in their songs, maybe not excessively, but just a little, and I admit this as a big fan of theirs. However, the song flows pleasantly, Blair’s solo is truly excellent, demonstrating all his skill in this album. Blackie’s voice doesn’t back down an inch, gritty and calm when needed. It continues with “Last Runaway,” which seems to come straight out of the '80s, energetic and fantastic as it is, with a beautiful break in the middle of the song to test Mike Duda’s skill, which he doesn’t fail at all, this is a great piece too. “Shotgun,” on the other hand, while having great energy, doesn’t “take off,” it remains stable throughout its duration, even though it doesn’t have great musical peaks. It’s time for the ballad, so “Miss You” starts off great, which according to Blackie himself, was initially meant to be part of the album “The Crimson Idol,” as the protagonist Jonathan’s testament dedicated to his brother who died in a car accident. The piece opens with only an acoustic guitar, light, and with Blackie just whispering the words, but with extreme sweetness. Surely one of W.A.S.P.’s most beautiful ballads, along with “The Idol.” It continues with “Fallen Under,” a nice song that stands at the same level as “Shotgun,” except for a very nice break in the middle of the song preceding the solo. Follows “Slaves of the New World Order,” an excellent song that could be classified as the best on the album, angry and energetic as it is, both musically and textually. Beautiful solos by Blair that fit perfectly with the style of the song, and a great performance behind the skins by Mike Dupke. “Eyes of my Maker” opens with a light arpeggio and continues with an excellent vocal performance by Blackie, and the usual break in the middle of the song. Overall, a good piece, but I put it at the same levels as “Fallen Under.” With “Hero of the World,” however, there is a slight change, it’s a song that, in my opinion, is more “cheerful,” with a very convincing text and with two breaks before and after the solo, even if it’s not certainly the best track on the album. We’re almost at the end, with the title track that is fully dedicated to Christ, with a Blackie who invokes him asking for forgiveness. The atmosphere of the song is certainly charged with emotion, you can almost feel Blackie's pain in asking for divine forgiveness. Just over halfway through the song, there is space for a fantastic solo of over 3 minutes by Blair, and in these cases, everyone quiet, because it’s truly fantastic. Also reprised live, the song will prove to be a real force that I recommend everyone to see. And so this “Golgotha” closes, yet another effort by W.A.S.P., excellently achieved for me. Many people will say that by now they have grown old and become boring, they recycle themselves, but these, dear readers, are nonsense. Recycled? Yes, but not excessively. Old and boring? I challenge you to attend one of their concerts, and not leave with hair standing on end and goosebumps. Golgotha sounds damn good, and perhaps this is precisely the strong point of W.A.S.P., sounding good regardless of others’ judgments, indeed perhaps this is the judgment Blackie has for others.