If there ever was any doubt that W.A.S.P. was back in top form,
\ntheir latest disc
\nHelldorado<\/i> should kill it faster than swatting a fly with a
\nmachine gun.<\/p>\n
Coming off of the emotional purge that was
\nK.F.D.<\/i> and rediscovering the joys of metal’s form of “roots
\nrock” on
\nDouble Live Assassins<\/i>, Blackie Lawless and crew return to
\nthe eardrum-splitting, ass-kicking style of metal that first put
\nthe band on the map with
\nW.A.S.P.<\/i> and
\nThe Last Command<\/i>. As impressed as I had been with W.A.S.P.’s
\nlast two releases, the quality of the songwriting and performances
\non
\nHelldorado<\/i> shocked even me.<\/p>\n
While this album could easily have been the follow-up to
\nThe Last Command<\/i> – Lawless doesn’t sound like he’s aged a
\nday – don’t you dare call this album “retro”. Vocalist\/guitarist
\nLawless, lead guitarist Chris Holmes, bassist Mike Duda and drummer
\nStet Howland take the bull by the… well, if not the horns, then
\nanother part of its anatomy, and do a Texas two-step on the nervous
\nsystem of the listener. I dare you to not keep a smile on your face
\nwhile listening to this album.<\/p>\n
The opening interlude “Drive By” might make the listener think
\nthey’re in for another dose of the industrial-flavored metal that
\nmade up the bulk of
\nK.F.D.<\/i> – but Lawless and crew quickly show they’re out to
\nplay rock for rock’s sake on the title track. Holmes’s guitar
\nplaying could easily be some of the best of his career on this
\nsong, proving what an important part he plays in W.A.S.P. Lawless’s
\nlayered vocals shine as always – quite possibly this was one of the
\nmost ignored factors of this band throughout their career.<\/p>\n
Just when you think you have time to come up for air, W.A.S.P.
\nsends another audio barrage at you – and it never felt better.
\nTracks like “Cocaine Cowboys,” “Can’t Die Tonight” and “Damnation
\nAngels” all are some of W.A.S.P.’s best work, and easily belong up
\non the shelf with such classics from their career as “Blind In
\nTexas” and “I Wanna Be Somebody”.<\/p>\n
One track that has gotten a lot of pre-release commentary is
\n“Dirty Balls,” especially when it has been compared in its style to
\n“Blind In Texas”. I would dispute that, and would say it’s more in
\nthe style of similar tracks like “Sex Drive” and “Ballcrusher”.
\nHowever you compare it, it still is a decent track, and one that is
\nsure to get Tipper Gore’s Maidenforms in a bunch.<\/p>\n
There are only two minor complaints I have with
\nHelldorado<\/i>. First, Duda still needs to be brought up in the
\nmix – I often had a hard time hearing his bass parts – and there
\nare times that Lawless should have mixed his vocals up higher,
\nespecially on “Saturday Night Cockfight”. Second, I really wish
\nthis album had been longer. With only nine real songs on it – one
\nof which, “Hot Rods To Hell,” is a reprise of “Helldorado” – it
\nalmost seems anti-climactic when the disc spins down, leaving the
\nlistener saying, “That’s IT?!?” Granted, Lawless might not have
\nwanted to wear out his welcome by putting subpar material on this
\nalbum, but I can’t help it, I’m greedy when it comes to W.A.S.P.’s
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
\nHelldorado<\/i> is the album that W.A.S.P. fans – especially
\nthose who consider
\nThe Last Command<\/i> and their debut album to be the high-water
\nmarks for the band – have been patiently waiting for. Pick up the
\ndisc, slap it in the player, and take a big drink – your patience
\nhas finally been rewarded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27551,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5899],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38926","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-w-a-s-p","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38926"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38926"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}