Great Metal Albums of 1985: Wendy O Williams- Kommander of Kaos

Yet another historical conflict between Wikipedia and my memory. According to the site, Wendy O Williams’s album “Kommader of Kaos” was recorded in 1984 and released in early 1986. However, I always thought it came out in 1985 because in the final days of the year, I saw her live along with Motorhead and the Stormtroopers of Death. She appeared between those two bands and was absolutely brilliant! I won’t go into too much detail because you can read it in “Rock and Roll Children.” It would have been an historical night, the Stormtroopers of Death totally blew me away that evening and it was the first time I got to witness stage diving. However, Motorhead came on after Wendy and when they played, Motorhead sounded as good as they were expected to be. However, Lemmy put a dampener on the night by constantly complaining about the sound. I thought they sounded okay. Anyway, it was my first time seeing Motorhead and while I enjoyed their show, I left with the feeling that Lemmy was a bit of an asshole.

No matter which year “Kommander of Kaos” came out, it reminds me of Wendy’s show that particular evening. It’s loud, fast and aggressive. After some dubious sounds at the very beginning, the album explodes into one big metalfest. Wendy’s vocals kill any doubt that women shouldn’t sing thrash, in fact, I think her voice is even better than when she was in the Plasmatics.

After the first two tracks totally beat your eardrums to death, things appear to momentarily slow down with the intro on “Goin’ Wild.” It reminds me a tiny bit of The Plasmatics’ classic, “The Damned.” However, that breather lasts less than a minute before more heavy metal bombards your ears. The guitar solo on the song is phenomenal and while I can’t say for sure, I can’t help thinking that it was during this tune when she carried her guitarist around on her shoulders when I saw her live.

Speaking of live, the track, “Ain’t None of Your Business” is recorded live and I love her dig at what she calls straight people at the beginning of the song as well as her long scream at the end. It’s definitely a top track on the album and it reminds me why I enjoyed her live show so much. Then again, seeing her as 24 year old man, I did love how she first appeared on stage in full biker leather, only to fling a piece of clothing out to the audience after a few songs until near the time she got to the end, she was only in her bra and panties.

Of course, the other tracks also vie for that top spot as well. All of them are great tracks on their own. They are loud and aggressive with some great musicianship to accompany Wendy’s vocals. However, I think “Fight for the Right” pips the others at the post for me. It just has that special I don’t know what. It could very well be that with all the PMRC bullshit that came around in 1985, this song was an anthem for us who opposed their silly campaign against rock music. It has a cool guitar solo as well. Saying that, I do love the chorus of Bad Girl.

I’m a bad girl baby, the baddest bitch around.

Track Listing:

1. Hey Ho (Live to Rock)
2. Pedal to the Metal
3. Goin’ Wild
4. Ain’t None of Your Business
5. Party
6. Jailbait
7. Bad Girl
8. Fight for the Right
9. (Work That Muscle) F*ch that Booty

Wendy O Williams

Wendy O. Williams- vocals

Michael Ray- guitar, backing vocals

Greg Smith- bass, backing vocals

T.C. Oliver- drums

Wes Beech- drums

This concert was just four days before Christmas so for me it was a great early present, even if Lemmy was a bit of an asshole that night. Fortunately, for Lemmy, I would see him again eight months later and he would redeem himself in my eyes. Meanwhile, I got the delights of a great album from Wendy.

Next post: Stormtroopers of Death- Speak English or Die

To downolad Rock and Roll Children, go to: https://tavacountnec.ml/print/free-download-rock-and-roll-children-by-michael-d-lefevre-pdf.html