W.A.S.P.
The Headless Children

W.A.S.P. are very well-known, so I won’t dwell on things like the meaning of their acronym or their reputation as madmen. Instead, I’d prefer to say that in 1987 they released “Live… In The Raw,” a live album that the critics considered somewhat dull. Then, after a two-year wait, they released "The Headless Children," an album I will now review.

The album opens with "The Heretic", a song that, after a guitar arpeggio intro, starts in typical W.A.S.P. style: powerful guitars and Blackie Lawless's usual intense vocals. However, there are some differences: the compositions have become slightly more complex, and the duration of this track is longer than usual, as it lasts about 7 minutes. The second track is "The Real Me", a cover of The Who. This song shouldn't be considered a pointless filler just because it's a cover and very straightforward. On the contrary! Next is the title track, which opens with dark church choirs followed by a guitar riff covered by strange animal-like sounds. The entire song is dark and malevolent, and at a certain point, a tempo change in a Metallica (the serious ones) style introduces us to the solo and the conclusion of the piece. The fourth track is one of the album's masterpieces: "Thunderhead" begins with a piano and Lawless's voice more delicate than usual. It’s a piece that might leave you amazed at first listen, given that the song's name suggests violence. In fact, after a while, the violence kicks in, and how! The second part is perfect for headbanging with a chorus composed of "Hey Hey Hey" to shout until you lose your voice.

After a masterpiece comes another: "Mean Man" resembles the previous song in the sense that, forgive the unprofessional term, "it's a blast"; indeed, this one also has a chorus to shout at the top of your lungs: "Cause I'm a Mean, Motherfucking Man." Noteworthy is Chris Holmes's solo. "The Neutron Bomber" is a track that doesn’t stray far from the previous ones, while "Mephisto Waltz" is a calm instrumental, lasting about a minute and a half, which introduces the album's ballad: "Forever Free." What to say, this is a very nice song that fortunately deviates from the overly sweet and saccharine standards of the period. "Maneater" resembles, like "The Neutron Bomber", the other tracks on the album, but it has its own personality. We’ve reached the end of the album with "Rebel In The F.D.G." (where the acronym means "Fucking Decadent Generation"), and here I can say there could never have been a better ending: the track is violent, raw, in pure W.A.S.P. style.

In conclusion, it can be said that the album is recommended both for fans of the band and for lovers of classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Certainly, if you like more studied and technical things, it may disappoint you, but you never know.