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W.A.S.P. — W.A.S.P.

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟  𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…



August 17, 1984 — W.A.S.P. released their self-titled debut album via Capital Records. (Listen)



The album has been known under three different names; the spine of the original European vinyl release and French cassette release had Winged Assassins printed on it...



...while early cassette releases of the album had the name of the album's first track, I Wanna Be Somebody, printed in bold letters on the cover.


(𝙸𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎)

 

The album is officially entitled simply W.A.S.P., which it is typically referred to as.



Prior to its original release, the controversial track Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) was deleted from the album.


(𝚃𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚘𝚛𝚎, 𝚌𝚘-𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚎 𝙲𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟻)

 

The Parents Music Resource Center had labeled the song as one of its "Filthy 15", songs that the group (not the public) determined to be morally objectionable. Capitol Records subsequently bowed to pressure and pulled the song.



The band released it as a single in the UK in 1984 on the indie label Music for Nations, and the single subsequently became a highly sought after item in North America as an import.



The song was reinstated on the album with the 1998 reissue.



The song I Wanna Be Somebody was released as the album's first single with an accompanying music video (Watch video).



It was so popular that VH1 later placed it in their list of the Top 100 Hard Rock Songs of all time.



The album (single) was recorded at the Record Plant and was produced by Blackie Lawless and Mike Varney (Shrapnel Records fame).



The single was released on 12” vinyl, 7” vinyl, and 12” picture disc. It features the song Tormentor as the singles B-side. Tormentor on this pressing is an alternate version taken from the 1984 movie Ragewar: The Challenges of Excalibrate and Digital Knights (retitled "The Dungeonmaster").



The origin of the W.A.S.P. classic I Wanna Be Somebody is from watching a Barney Miller episode. Blackie Lawless explains;

"𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠, 𝚁𝚘𝚗 𝙶𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜, 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝙳𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚗 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚜, 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 “𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚍𝚐𝚎”, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏. 𝚂𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎, 𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜, “𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚜, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚐𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝!” “𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐?” 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗. “𝙽𝚘𝚠!” 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜, “𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝙸 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝙱𝚎 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢!!!” “𝙷𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐.”

I Wanna Be Somebody was ranked at No. 84 in VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.



The single for I Wanna Be Somebody peaked at No. 77 on the UK singles chart.



The song was included in Loudwire’s 11 HEAVIEST HAIR METAL SONGS by Eduardo Rivadavia, who stated;

“𝙼𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚎 𝙻𝚊𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜’ 𝚆.𝙰.𝚂.𝙿. 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 ‘𝟽𝟶𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 ‘𝟾𝟶𝚜 𝙷𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝚛𝚊𝚠 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚗-𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚂&𝙼, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝙰𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕 (𝙵**𝚔 𝙻𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝), 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙱𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝙱𝚞𝚝, 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚆.𝙰.𝚂.𝙿. 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚋𝚞𝚖’𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛, 𝙸 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝙱𝚎 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢.”

The song School Daze was released as a single.



It features a cover of the Rolling Stone's song Paint It Black as the b-side.



L.O.V.E. Machine was also released as a 12" super single in Japan.



This song based on a song of the same name played by Blackie in his previous band Sister (with Nikki Sixx).



This single also includes the cover of The Rolling Stones' Paint It Black.



A promotional version of Sleeping (In the Fire) was released on 12" vinyl.



Several of the album's songs have been covered by other bands.


Sleeping (In the Fire) has been covered by Tiamat and Anders Manga, Hellion by Children Of Bodom and In Aeturnum, L.O.V.E. Machine by Fallen Man, Lullacry, Fozzy and Alghazanth, I Wanna Be Somebody by Sentenced, Catamenia, Witchery, Avulsed and Gates of Ishtar, and The Torture Never Stops by the Death Metal group Torture Division.



The song "Tormentor" was also heard in the film TerrorVision (1986).



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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