Customer Reviews

Unholy Terror

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...and he's not happy, which is good news for all W.A.S.P. maniacs worldwide. Unlike the "fun" previous album ("Helldorado") or the industrial mess of "K.F.D" (metal bands should not attempt to do industrial. One would think Rob Halford's lame "Two" project would've proved this) this album harkens back in sound to the days of 'The Last Command' (particularly "Widowmaker" from that disc) and 'The Headless Children' albums, and the content is angry...particularly at religion.

The buzzsaw vocals and razor wit of the Black One are here in full force and ever-so-refreshing to fans of the band's earlier efforts. This may not the BEST W.A.S.P. album (I seriously doubt anything will be able to match up to 'Headless' or the incredible 'Crimson Idol')...but it's certainly ONE of their best.

I've been listening to WASP when their first album came out in my senior year of high school (Yeah, I'm 35 and still listening). Anyway, I've listened to every album that has come out, and ever since Crimson Idol, they've been hit (Helldorado), or miss (KFD - yuck), or eh (Greatest Hits).

However, this album is the most solid album that Blackie has put out in many a year. It reminds me a lot of the 80's metal that I grew up with as a kid, except it's not 80's metal, if that makes any sense. As one of the other reviews says, it's a good, fresh sound.

As an old time WASP fan, I can't recommend this one more! Plus, for the old timers, there's a 'sequel' to the old Forever Free tune. :)

I've listened to WASP since their heyday. Let's be honest, the first two records were typical fare at the time, albeit with a slightly harder edge than most. Not exactly genius, if you know what I mean. 'Inside the Electric Circus' was garbage and still is. WASP were a band you didn't take too seriously - a bit of a laugh really. But, hey, it was fun at the time. Then along came 'The Headless Children' and all of a sudden the joking was over - that was one serious record. 'The Crimson Idol' followed in a similar style and you couldn't quietly snigger at WASP anymore. Here was a band that had evolved and matured into something imbued with far more gravitas, smarts and musical creativity than previously seen. The future looked bright indeed.....

Oddly enough I kind of fell out of synch with WASP around then and only recently reacquainted myself with them when I picked up a copy of 'Double Live Assassins' which was well worth the investment. So now skip forward to 2001 and we have 'Unholy Terror' to take stock of........and the verdict is a resounding thumbs up.

I can't compare it to 'Helldorado', 'Still Not Black Enough' or 'KFD' as I have heard none of them, but to my ears 'Unholy Terror' sounds like the best parts of 'Headless..' mixed with the raw energy of the debut album of so many years ago.

The whole thing sounds hyper-energised. The songs are awesome and each stands on its own merits. In some ways it feels like a successor to 'Headless..', so similar is the vibe at times. I won't bore you with details of individual songs - suffice it to say there's plenty of variety on offer and one or two surprises also, though nothing out of character!

Basically, if you're a fan of 'Headless..' or '..Idol' you will not be disappointed with this release. I recommend you check it out.

Okay so we all know what WASP can deliver on a good day..and I'm happy to say this is one of them! This disc has its feet planted firmly in WASP back catalogue territory, but if it ain't broke why keep trying to fix it? After a couple of discs (KFD and Helldorado) that tried a little too hard to rejuvinate/reinvent the band style wise, this one relies on what has always been most important at the end of the day even in WASP's own shock rock world, a necessary ingredient, the mighty song! The ten songs on offer here have ample light and shade, so its a more interesting journey than "Helldorado" ever managed to be. We have the powerful "Let It Roar" opening things with a good sonic kick to the senses. Kinda a hybrid of the best moments of "Headless" and "Electric Circus" a real chest beater and a clear message from Blackie and the boyz that they mean business no messing. Song two "Hate To Love Me" is the owner of a great chorus and reminded me of "Jack Action" with the benefits of great drumming courtesy of Frankie Banali. Try getting this one out of your head once its in there! "Loco-man" is sheer class, intelligent but still great to scream along to, much like a "Wild Child" or "Widow Maker" stylistically. The pairing of "Unholy Terror" and "Charisma" is effective and shows that WASP can also offer depth in lyrical and musical concepts, I love this stuff in the correct dosage and I think they get it just right here, not allowing the whole album to be conceptualised in my opinion was a wise choice. This hope is confirmed by the next cab off the rank in "Who Slayed Bay Jane" winner of the best chorus award this time round, with interesting tempo and key changes too, making this another winner. Instrumental "Euphoria" is okay, and I think we can allow a bit of ego at this stage of the day in Blackie's career, and this seems to be just that. "Raven Heart" is a tuneful barnstormer, listen for the classic hammond organ work in there (seems uncredited on this opus), and I think this one is the albums true gems, I love it. "Evermore" is credited as the sister song to "Forever Free" and is very nice if a little too lengthy. If you have had the privilege to hear "Thank You" from Led Zepp II you'll get the idea what we have here, perhaps our second place getter, but its early daze! "Wasted White Boys" falls a little steeply off the high sides of the rest of this great CD but still deserves warrant! So I'm happy to report that my money was well spent once again with this purchase!

If you missed W.A.S.P.'s old 80's style, get your hands on this CD -- now. It will satisfy your nostalgia and you'll have the urge to listen again and again.

Unholy Terror is yet another return to form by a metal band that knows what it's doing out there. Blackie Lawless' songwriting differentiates the band from the masses by tackling issues that most artists would be scared to talk about, and yet, the music doesn't suffer from it.

The production is superb, the sound is crisp, and Blackie's voice seems to age very well.

I was a kid when W.A.S.P. released its first album. Unholy Terror makes me feel like a kid again.

Wasp has released an excellent provocative masterpiece with the new Unholy Terror album. This CD has so much to offer and after listening to it over 100 times I think I can make an accurate review of this album.

Let it roar - sounds to me like a first album song (IWBS) *** Love to Hate Me - sounds like it is off of Last Command *** Locomotive Man - sounds like Chainsaw Charlie - Crimson Idol *** Unholy Terror - KFD type background music -pre to Charisma *** Charisma - I would say a bit of SNBE / Headless *** Who Slayed Baby Jane - This is definitely Headless *** Euphoria - Does not sound like anything - Very cool though - SW style *** Raven Heart - SNBE *** Evermore - Headless ballad follow up to Forever Free *** Wasted White Boys - Helldorado - Simple yet great solo at end ***

You see by this that they have in my opinion touched all the different WASP styles over the years and that makes this one of the most complete WASP albums to date. Every song is good on this disk and makes the complete listening experience an exciting journey. Much is made of simplistic Helldorado or the brutal KFD. This album takes us back to SNBE and seems to be the obvious follow up to that record. I hope WASP stay in this direction as this recording adds an excellent, complex and intriguing layered approach to Heavy Metal in the 21st century. Blackie's lyrics have never been better!! If this disk came out in 1988-1992 it could have sold millions. Oh well the masses are sheep.... Rock on Blackie!!!!

In 1989, WASP released "The Headless Children", an album that frontman and vocalist Blackie Lawless used as a vehicle to spew venom upon the prevailing social hypocrisy of that time. It became an instant fan favourite. Now, more than a decade later, Lawless returns in the same mould, with WASP's "Unholy Terror". And boy, does the album speak out or what. For all of his recklessness and rebellious attitude, Lawless is not an anarchist, as he was and is often made out to be. His strong beliefs on religion and society's misgivings are more than evident on this album.

The album opens with "Let It Roar", a kickass number with some real heavy riffs by long time WASP guitarist Chris Holmes. Though the drums seem kinda hollow, this song is a definite concert favourite. Blackie's vocals are as raw as ever, and the man seems to show no signs of age affecting him. "Hate To Love Me" is WASP's idea of a love song, and Blackie sure a hell has no concept of sugary sweet love. Heh. Blackie is his usual irreverent self.

"Loco-motive Man" is the first social stab on the album. This isn't about any train driver, but, in Blackie's own words, "it's about an individual on a ride that's out of control". Lawless apparently is talking about all the shoot-outs in American schools, but this song could be about just any psycho out there.

The album's central theme is explored in two songs. "Unholy Terror" is kinda marred by its low guitar tones, but Blackie's vocals are mesmerizing. It leads into "Charisma", a song that speaks about the effects that the powerful few have on the believing millions. There are extensive notes in the inner sleeves that lend an insight into what these songs are all about.

The rest of the album has a lot of diversity, with vintage WASP carnage on tracks like "Who Slayed Baby Jane" and "Raven Heart", a real inspired instrumental "Euphoria" and the final "Wasted White Boys". The only real disappointment is "Evermore", which was to be included as a reprise to 'Forever Free" on the Headless album. It was not developed at that time, and in my opinion, should have been left so.

Blackie has produced this album himself, and has done a pretty good job of it. However the production is not without blemishes. The most glaring problem on the album is that the drums have been recorded very poorly, and end up sounding very hollow and disjointed a lot of the times. Though it isn't evident all the time, it does prove to be distracting on a couple of tracks. Also, there isn't much of a song writing collaboration with guitarist Chris Holmes. This tends to make certain parts of the album sound similar at times.

All in all, this album shows that WASP still haven't lost it after all these years, a fact that is more relevant coming in the wake of "Helldorado", which wasn't exactly a critical or commercial success. This is a great album to have, in fact, a must-buy for WASP fans. And if you're not, than its high time you became one. You won't regret it.

Blackie himself said this album was a lot like 'The Headless Children'. Only instead of his political views, Blackie attacks organized religion. He explains some of the songs he's written that pertain to this like 'Unholy Terror' and 'Charisma'. Blackie also may be the first to have written and released a song pertaining to the Columbine slayings in the song 'Loco-Motive Man'. He also adds that Evermore is the best instrumental he's ever written, I prefer 'The Mesphito Waltz' from 'Headless'.

The songs are in step with W.A.S.P.'s musical style following Headless. The arena choruses and anthems are similar to the Crimson Idol and Helldorado vein. Be sure to check out the intro to 'Raven Heart'. It sounds a lot like Alice Cooper's 'School's Out' riff, only it's five times as fast. I'll never say I don't like a W.A.S.P. album. I grew up with Blackie in junior high and high school. After 'Live...in the Raw', W.A.S.P. did change their musical style, but I stuck with them, even though the simple, three chord songs gave way to more complex melodies. W.A.S.P. did mature over the years and Blackie grew as a song-writer. I may have a biased opinion, but those familiar with W.A.S.P.'s newer style will not be surprised. It's a strong album, and Blackie does send a message that is worthy of merit and should be taken seriously. Of course a tune off this CD will never make it to the radio waves, so SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

This is the best WASP Cd I've heard since the epic "Headless Children". It's very similar, yet fresh, and a very fun listen. Lawless is great, and all the songs truly reflect all that WASP is about....and have been since the 80's.

If you like early WASP, and have been waiting for another great release from them, look no further.....THIS IS IT!!!

Unholy Terror is the ninth studio album from W.A.S.P and what an album it is. Many of the songs deal with religion but as Blackie stresses in the album notes it is not an attack on religion. There's not a single bad song on Unholy Terror with highlights including "Let It Roar", "Charisma", and "Who Slayed Baby Jane". But without doubt the stand out track is "Evermore". While being slower than most of the other tracks "Evermore" benefits from a superb effort by Blackie on vocals and an unbelievably good chorus.