W.A.S.P.'s 2nd album The Last Command released in 1985. This album is oddly (well really not oddly) hands down W.A.S.P.'s biggest radio album. The Music Video for the song Wild Child was my introduction to the the band.
The Line up on W.A.S.P.'s 2nd album is Blackie Lawless: Lead Singer and Bass, Chris Holmes: Lead Guitar, Randy Piper: Lead & Rhythm Guitar, and Steve Riley: Drums. This is the first album to have Steve Riley on Drums (Original Drummer Tony Richards was gone shortly after the band Released their first album).
I remember seeing the video for the first time around 2004 or 2005 on VH1 Classic. For the longest time that was the only song I knew of W.A.S.P.'s and I really didn't think much of them. The video is lame, and makes the band look like idiots.
The band is playing in the desert, if it can be called Playing, every time the Camera goes by Randy Piper Randy runs his hands through his hair, and Steve Riley looks like he hardly knows how to play the drums, and Blackie is well being the front man and putting on a show, and hardly plucks any strings on his Bass in the video. The only Member who looks like they know how to play in the video is Chris Holmes.
When the video don't show the band playing in the desert it's showing Blackie Lawless riding his Motorcycle while some weird chick keeps popping up. It's a very bad music video and really makes the band look like fools.
Now anyway back to the album. The Last Command which the big songs from the album (Big meaning they got radio play) Wild Child, and Blind in Texas (which also had a music video that had a cameo by ZZ Top in it) and for radio hits that's about it along with music videos.
Now given I own most of W.A.S.P.'s 13 studio albums, this album I have mixed feelings on. It is not a very good W.A.S.P. album. W.A.S.P.'s first album was a Kick Ass, Loud Mean Metal Album. The first album was a very different sound which W.A.S.P. went back to and is the True W.A.S.P. sound and style. The first album had so many kicking songs, From I Wanna Be Somebody, L.O.V.E. Machine, Hellion, Tormentor, and of course the infamous Animal F*ck Like a Beast.
The Last Command is a much more tame album and is way to soft and nice for this bands sound. It's got slow drums (not thundering drums). If I wanted to take an easy way out I could blame the lack of sound on the new drummer Steve Riley (who really did the whole tour for the first album), given his drumming style never fit W.A.S.P. and he sucked playing the drums on the next W.A.S.P. album, but the drums are not the only thing out of place on this album.
The album has next to no Bass Lines, and the songs sound as if only Chris was doing Guitar work, But Randy is still doing the Back Up Vocals right behind Blackie's lead Vocals. It's a much too tame album sound wise.
It don't stop there though, lyrically my god Blackie these lyrics are like only half realized lyrics compared to what you normally write. Songs like Widow Maker make me scratch my head and say WTF is this supposed to be about? That's not the type of thoughts that are normally provoked in W.A.S.P. lyrics.
Then there is Fistful of Diamond I have no doubt Blackie wrote it right after cashing his Massive Signing Bonus for signing with Capital Records. It's rather lyrically simple.
The Last Command is a Raise Your Fist rally around Anthem for Metal. A good Song and one of the best in my opinion on this album.
Cries in the Night is a great song, that at one time had been a different song that Blackie wrote when he was in another band. I think Blackie came back to the idea and meaning behind this song and It turned into something different and far greater and more complete in the meaning behind it on the 1992 album Crimson Idol. I think it became The Idol Regaurdless Cries is completely different than the song the Idol in terms of Lyrics and Music, It's one of the better songs on The Last Command.
Then there is the sound Jack Action which Blackie had a Co-Writer on which was Steven Riley. My God where did this song come from it's like a half finished story song about some dude looking to Hunt Down someone named Jack Action for taking his woman or killing her or something.
Blind in Texas is about getting shit faced in Texas and Wild Child is about some chick cheating on her husband with a bad boy (maybe some one in the band?).
Sex Drive and Running Wild in the Streets have a more Heavy sound typical of a W.A.S.P. album but that makes them feel out of place on this album, and I wonder if they were not left overs that didn't get on the first album.
The other song IS Ball Crusher and this is a Very Great W.A.S.P. Song it has the feel of this album but yet has enough of the old original sound too not feel out of place or like a left over like Sex Drive and Running Wild in the Streets. Ball Crusher also has the greatest lyrics on the album.
Now given this album is a VERY Tame album it's the most radio friendly W.A.S.P. album out there but that's the big problem here this album is too friendly compared to any other W.A.S.P. album.
Is it a bad album no, it's not even the worst W.A.S.P. album but it is not a GREAT album. Both Blackie and Chris are known to be Perfectionists, so how did this happen?
I think the main reason this album is so Tame is the band had just done their first world tour came back and they were wore out when making this album and the Record Company had someone take advantage of that by Producing and Mixing the album, the person who produced and mixed it was the same person who did Quite Riots Metal Health oh boy we're getting down to the core of the problem now boys. Yep I'd bet that the Record Company wanted to try and get the chart success of the Quiet Riot album on a W.A.S.P. album and QR's sound is just way too Tame compared to W.A.S.P.
I sure the only reason I give a shit about this album is it was my introduction to W.A.S.P.! If you ash me W.A.S.P.'s '97 album Kill, Fuck, Die or KFD is their worst album, it's shitty, and the '99 album Helldorado was a bit off. It's hard to pick my Favorite W.A.S.P. album when all of their stuff is fairly consistent except the 3 albums I listed.
I think Blackie saw what happened afterwords because every album since The Last Command he's done all the Producing and Mixing himself.
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