Published on Jul 20, 1999
By the time 1989 rolled around, Blackie Lawless was fed up. He
was tired of the toll his war with the PMRC had taken on him, and
he was tired of the commercial direction that people were trying to
push his band, W.A.S.P. (You could hear in the music that fatigue
was setting in;
Inside The Electric Circus was a disappointment, and
Live… In The Raw, while a good album, was admittedly a
stop-gap measure.)
Lawless, lead guitarist Chris Holmes and bassist Johnny Rod
turned their attentions toward the one thing that had to remain a
constant: the music. The end result was
The Headless Children, an album that was a major step back
in the right direction for W.A.S.P. – and, surprisingly, the album
that gave the band their highest charting single. Even now at 10
years old, the album has lost none of its power, and is a joy to
behold – made even better by the inclusion of bonus material.
Following the departure of drummer Steve Riley, W.A.S.P. looked
to regroup after some well-deserved time off. Recruiting Quiet Riot
drummer Frankie Banali and keyboardist Ken Hensley, Lawless went
out to do something that he hadn’t done since
The Last Command – write songs that focused on the music and
its quality.
With the temporary adjustment of W.A.S.P.’s lineup, they gained
two things they might not have achieved had the band stayed a
quartet. First, Banali’s drum work seemed to give the material an
extra kick into overdrive at the right times. (I don’t want to say
“when the material needed it,” ’cause that would imply the
songwriting was weak – something it definitely wasn’t on
The Headless Children.) Second, W.A.S.P. almost seems to toy
with some progressive riffs, especially at the end of the title
track. It’s an interesting experiment for the band to try – and is
one I kind of wish they had continued doing.
The Headless Children is best noted for two songs. First,
“Mean Man,” an almost autobiographical look at the stage personas
the band had. (Having had the privilege of interviewing Lawless, I
can honestly say he’s anything but what this song describes.) The
other track, “Forever Free,” is a surprising dip into a – egads! –
softer side of W.A.S.P., one that dares to embrace the melody of
the music without turning up the distortion pedals to 11. It’s a
gutsy move – and one that works well.
The 10 basic tracks that made up the original release of
The Headless Children are incredible enough on their own.
Songs like “The Heretic (The Lost Child)”, “Thunderhead,” “The
Neutron Bomber” and their cover of The Who’s “The Real Me” all
reflect some of the band’s best work, erasing any doubt one might
have had after
Inside The Electric Circus. It’s almost – but not quite – as
good as
The Last Command – but I admit I’m a bit biased, since
The Last Command remains one of my all-time favorite
records.
But if the basic album isn’t enough for you, the re-issue piles
on an additional six songs, all of which were b-sides. Lawless’s
take on Jethro Tull’s “Locomotive Breath” is interesting, and is
not bad at all (though I’ll always be partial to the original).
After hearing tracks like “For Whom The Bell Tolls” (not the
Metallica version) and “Lake Of Fools,” I had to wonder why these
songs didn’t make the original cut for the album.
The two live tracks, though, are a bit hit-or-miss. “L.O.V.E.
Machine” is great, though it sounds like Lawless’s voice was
beginning to weaken during this song. The other one, “Blind In
Texas,” makes mistake number one by coming into the song on the
third verse. The other mistake is bringing an audience member up
and having him attempt to sing “I’m blind in Texas.” Lawless hit it
on the head when he said the kid’s first effort was “terrible”;
sorry, but there are some moments in a band’s career that can
remain locked in the vaults, and this was one of them.
The re-issue of
The Headless Children has enough toys on it to make everyone
who has a battered copy run out and pick up a shiny new one. If
you’re one of the uninitiated who haven’t experienced this album,
then pick it up, strap on the headphones, and don’t make any plans
for about 75 minutes. It all leads in to what would become
Lawless’s major project,
The Crimson Idol – but we’ll talk about that one soon
enough.