W.A.S.P. (album)

W.A.S.P. is the debut album by the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984. The album has been known under three different names; the spine of the original European vinyl 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. The album is officially entitled simply W.A.S.P., which it is typically referred to as.

W.A.S.P.
Studio album by W.A.S.P.
Released	August 17, 1984
Recorded	June - July 1984
Studio	Record Plant, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	38:21
Label	Capitol
Producer	Blackie Lawless, Mike Varney
W.A.S.P. chronology
W.A.S.P. (1984) The Last Command (1985)
Singles from W.A.S.P.
"L.O.V.E. Machine" Released: 1984 "I Wanna Be Somebody" Released: August 1984 "Sleeping (In the Fire)" Released: 1984 (promo) "School Daze" Released: November 1984

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	5/10[2]
Metal Crypt	[3]
Rock Hard	9.0/10[4]

Overview

Prior to its original release, the controversial track "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" was deleted from the album. 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", released as the album's first single with accompanying music video, was so popular that VH1 later placed it in their list of the "Top 100 Hard Rock Songs" of all time.[5]

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 Aeternum, "L.O.V.E. Machine" by Fallen Man,[6] 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.[7]

The song "Tormentor" was heard in the films The Dungeonmaster (1984) and TerrorVision (1986).

Track listings

• All songs written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Wanna Be Somebody"		3:43
2.	"L.O.V.E. Machine"		3:51
3.	"The Flame"	Lawless, Chris Holmes, J. Marquez	3:41
4.	"B.A.D."		3:56
5.	"School Daze"		3:35

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Hellion"		3:39
7.	"Sleeping (In the Fire)"		3:55
8.	"On Your Knees"		3:48
9.	"Tormentor"	Lawless, Holmes	4:10
10.	"The Torture Never Stops"		3:56

1998 CD reissue[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)"		3:07
2.	"I Wanna Be Somebody"		3:43
3.	"L.O.V.E. Machine"		3:51
4.	"The Flame"	Lawless, Holmes, Marquez	3:41
5.	"B.A.D."		3:56
6.	"School Daze"		3:35
7.	"Hellion"		3:39
8.	"Sleeping (In the Fire)"		3:55
9.	"On Your Knees"		3:48
10.	"Tormentor"	Lawless, Holmes	4:10
11.	"The Torture Never Stops"		3:56
12.	"Show No Mercy"		3:48
13.	"Paint It Black" (The Rolling Stones Cover)	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	3:27

Personnel

W.A.S.P.

• Blackie Lawless – lead vocals, bass, producer
• Chris Holmes – lead & rhythm guitars
• Randy Piper – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals
• Tony Richards – drums, backing vocals

Production

• Mike Varney – producer
• Duane Baron – engineer, mixing
• Stephen M. Fontano – engineer
• Jim Scott, Hanspeter Huber – assistant engineers
• David Tarling – pre-production

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position 1984 Finnish Albums Chart[9] 6 Swedish Albums Chart[10] 15 UK Albums Chart[11] 51 RPM100 (Canada)[12] 56 Billboard 200 (US)[13] 74

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1984 "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" UK Singles Chart[11] 83 "I Wanna Be Somebody" Finnish Singles Chart[9] 18 New Zealand Singles Chart[14] 30 UK Singles Chart[11] 77 "School Daze" Finnish Singles Chart[9] 14 UK Singles Chart[11] 81

Certifications

Country	Organization	Year	Sales
U.S.	RIAA	1998	Gold (500,000)
Canada	CRIA	1985	Gold (50,000)[15]

References

1. Prato, Greg. "W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P. review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
2. Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 406. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
3. Arroyo, Hermer. "Classic Review: W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P." Metal Crypt. Michel Renaud/The Metal Crypt. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
4. Götz, Kühnemund (1984). "Review Album : W.A.S.P. - I Wanna Be Somebody". Rock Hard (in German). No. 8. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
5. Vh1 Top 100 Hard Rock Songs Archived January 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
6. Fallen Man
7. Torture Division » Downloadgraphy
8. W.A.S.P
9. "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961: W > W.A.S.P." Sisältää hitin / Timo Pennanen. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
10. "W.A.S.P. – I Wanna Be Somebody (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
11. "W.A.S.P. Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
12. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 41, No. 8, October 27, 1984". Library and Archives Canada. October 27, 1984. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
13. "W.A.S.P. Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on January 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
14. "W.A.S.P. – I Wanna Be Somebody (Song)". Charts.org.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
15. "Gold Platinum Database: Search for W.A.S.P." Music Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2019.