𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…
August 1, 1992 — W.A.S.P. released their fifth full-length album, The Crimson Idol via Capital Records (Parlophone in the U.K.). (Apple Music or Spotify)
It was the first album by W.A.S.P. since the band's temporary breakup in 1990; this was because vocalist and bassist Blackie Lawless had intended to release The Crimson Idol as a solo album, until he decided to release it as a W.A.S.P. album.
The album charted within the top 40 in five countries.
The Crimson Idol is a rock opera, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel.
Background:
Taking nearly three years to complete, The Crimson Idol was originally recorded as a Blackie Lawless solo album, but bandleader Lawless bowed to fan pressure and released it under the W.A.S.P. name.
(𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝚍𝚘𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚞𝚙, ‘𝟿𝟸-’𝟿𝟹; 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚁𝚘𝚍, 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚘𝚞𝚐 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚛)
The album's tour, named The Crimson Idol Tour to promote the album took place in Europe and Japan in 1992-93. The tour did not reach North America.
(𝙳𝚘𝚞𝚐 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍)
(𝙳𝚘𝚞𝚐 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚛, 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚁𝚘𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜; 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝚍𝚘𝚕 𝙹𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚛, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟸)
(𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚁𝚘𝚌𝚔, 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚔, 𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟸 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝚍𝚘𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚛)
In an unusual turn, a tour took place fifteen years after its release to mark the albums fifteenth anniversary, commencing on October 26, 2007 at the Principal Club Theater in Thessaloniki, Greece.
A film recorded for the album was also shown in public for the first time, which was played along with the band as they performed their tracks to it in synch. The shows marked the first time that the album has been played from start to finish by the band since its recording.
Mephisto Waltz, the seventh track from The Headless Children (1989), served as the show's opener, followed by The Titanic Overture, the first track from The Crimson Idol. All shows had a long encore section ranging from 2–6 songs, containing W.A.S.P. classics as well as Take Me Up from their 2007 album Dominator.
A re-recorded version of the entire The Crimson Idol album was announced on January 23, 2017. Details and the cover art of the re-recorded album, entitled ReIdolized: The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol, were released on November 17, 2017.
The 2-CD album itself was released on February 2, 2018.
In 2017, W.A.S.P. played the whole album again on tour to mark the 25th anniversary of its release. The tour, dubbed Re-Idolized: The 25th Anniversary of the Crimson Idol, took place from September through November 2017 in Europe. All shows had a short encore, usually about four or five songs, as well as a few of their classics and the title track from their 2015 album Golgotha.
The Crimson Idol’s Concept:
The story of The Crimson Idol revolves around a teenager named Jonathan. He is the son of William and Elizabeth Steel, and brother of Michael Steel. Michael is the favored son of his parents, and Jonathan is a complete failure in their eyes.
After Michael is killed in a car accident by a drunk driver, Jonathan runs away from home and starts to wander the streets, becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol.
While walking past a music store, he sees a guitar and desires to become a rock star. He breaks the display window with a bottle of booze, thus beginning his journey into acclaimed excess.
Jonathan plays the stolen crimson-colored guitar as often as he can in order to obtain money to record an album. He then meets a man named "Chainsaw" Charlie, the president of a major record label. Charlie promises to make Jonathan a star, and introduces him to Alex Rodman, who will become his manager. Jonathan goes on to achieve his ambition of becoming a rock star, but finds out that life is not as glamorous as it seems. Despite now having fame and fortune, he still longs for the one thing he always wanted, that being the love and acceptance of his parents.
One night before a concert, Jonathan calls his parents in an attempt to reconcile their differences and heal the emotional wounds between them. According to the story, "𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗"; the last four were "𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚗". Realizing that he will never be accepted by his parents, Jonathan decides to commit suicide. During the aforementioned concert, he removes the strings from his guitar, shapes them into a noose and hangs himself.
The overall concept is explained in the 1998 bonus track, The Story of Jonathan (Prologue to the Crimson Idol).
Cast of Characters:
• Jonathan Aaron Steel
• Michael Steel, Jonathan's late brother
• Elizabeth Steel, Jonathan's mother
• William "Red" Steel, Jonathan's father
• The Mirror
• "Chainsaw" Charlie
• Alex Rodman
• The Gypsy
• Doctor Rockter
• The King of Mercy
Capital Records & Parlophone Records released four singles to promote the album:
Released in March 1992, Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue) was the first single to promote the album. Many versions were released, with different b-sides, depending on the region of release.
The second single to promote the album was The Idol, which was released on May 25, 1992.
The single for I Am One was released in October 1992.
The final single released in Europe via Parlophone Records in 1992 for Hold on to My Heart.
Music videos were also made for the songs Hold on to My Heart (Watch video) and The Idol (Watch video).
Critical Reception:
The German magazine Rock Hard declared The Crimson Idol Album of the Month in June 1992 and the reviewer wrote that it maintained the same "𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛, 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚌 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚌 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚝𝚑" of its predecessors, with songs "𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍-𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎."
In a modern review for AllMusic Greg Prato described The Crimson Idol as "𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚋𝚞𝚖" and indicated The Invisible Boy, Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue) and I Am One as highlights.
In his review for The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal, Martin Popoff called The Crimson Idol an "𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚋𝚞𝚖 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝", lacking "𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜" of making it "𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍".
Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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