Great Metal Albums of 1989: W.A.S.P.- The Headless Children
Critics and wannabee critics have called “The Headless Children” album from WASP, their second best album, the debut being the top one. I definitely wouldn’t disagree with the claim about the debut and I don’t disagree with the claim about “The Headless Children.” What I like about this album is that the band wasn’t afraid to go in some different directions, while at the same time, sticking to the formula which had got them to this point.
The first piece of evidence that WASP was exploring new territories is the opener, “The Heretic (The Lost Child),” where it starts as a traditional WASP song but it becomes a seven minute long progressive metal jam. Credit where due, they pull it off nicely. While not seven minutes long, following a cover of The Who’s “The Real Me,” which they do justice on, is an even more progressive sounding title track, which brings me to the next piece of evidence. They don’t just sing about sex and getting drunk on the “The Headless Children,” they explore more political issues and the headless children WASP are referring to on the track are Hitler, Stalin, the KKK, Ayatollah Khomeini, Mussolini, Charles Manson and other colourful characters from the dark parts of history. Well done to the band here.
“Thunderhead” starts off with some more progressive sounding licks but goes more into a traditional WASP song. It’s still a good metal tune with some really good shredding from Chris Holmes. My third piece of evidence is on “Forever Free.” On my post about the debut album, I questioned whether or not Blackie’s vocals were suited to power ballads. I don’t know if he had voice coaching or his voice just matured like the rest of the album but he does a good job on the vocals front on this one. Of course the acoustic and electric guitars play a definitive part as well. It’s a nice little power ballad, so kudos here.
Going back to the progressive argument, there is a nice little acoustic instrumental called “Mephisto Waltz.” If I’m honest, I think the title is the main reason why I like the track. For those who don’t know, in the computer game, “Diablo,” the title villain’s older brother is called Mephisto and while you don’t see him in the first game, you have to defeat him in the second to move onto the fourth level. That’s my weird mind for you. Maybe the makers of “Diablo” should have included this little number in the game.
One point I missed is that this album features Quiet Riot’s Frankie Banali on the drums. If you want traditional WASP songs, then the remainder of the album is your best bet. “Mean Man,” “The Neutron Bomber” and “Maneater” tick all the boxes of what people came to expect from them. All are all cool metal tunes and Chris delivers another great shred on “The Neutron Bomber.” Therefore, you get a lot of great things in one ten song album.
Track Listing:
- The Heretic (The Lost Child)
- The Real Me
- The Headless Children
- Thunderhead
- Mean Man
- The Neutron Bomber
- Mephisto Waltz
- Forever Free
- Maneater
- Rebel in the F.D.G.
Blackie Lawless- lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Chris Holmes- lead guitar
Johnny Rod- bass, backing vocals
Additional Musicians:
Frankie Banali- drums
Ken Hensley- keyboards
Diana Fennell, Lita Ford, Mark Humphrey, Jimi Image, Minka Kelly, Thomas Nellen, Cathi Page, Mike Solan, Kevin Wallace, Melba Wallace, Ron Wallace- backing vocals
In spite of the success of “The Headless Children,” WASP would temporarily break up after the tour for the album, although they would come back a few years later. But that’s a story for another time so I say just enjoy “The Headless Children.”
Next post: Kingdom Come- In Your Face
To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com
To sign the petition to give Bruce Dickinson a knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson
This entry was posted on June 7, 2024 at 12:44 pm and is filed under 1980s, Heavy Metal, Heavy Metal and the 1980s, Music, Rock, Uncategorized, video games with tags Americans, Classic Rock, hard rock, Heavy Metal, Heavy Rock, Inside the Electric Circus, power ballads, progressive metal, Quiet Riot, The 1980s, The Headless Children, The Who, videos, WASP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
4 Responses to “Great Metal Albums of 1989: W.A.S.P.- The Headless Children”
Leave a comment Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
June 7, 2024 at 1:47 pm
I think this their peak. Some people prefer Crimson Idol, but not me. Too many soundalike songs and carbon-copy drum fills on Crimson. It doesn’t get heavier or more serious than Thunderhead!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 7, 2024 at 11:10 pm
I prefer this one too and you’re right about Thunderhead.
LikeLike
June 8, 2024 at 2:08 pm
A very nice album from them, they really did a good job of both showing new direction and also keeping core elements of their sound, like you said. And happy birthday!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 9, 2024 at 12:35 pm
Thank you and I had a nice one, especially with the new Judas Priest CD.
LikeLike