Search - Wasp :: Unholy Terror

In the vein of The Headless Children

bottleHeD | 05/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Excellent WASP

Richard L. Edwards | Cedar Park, Texas United States | 03/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Make no mistake, this is right up there with The Headless Children and Crimson. Blackie went back to basics and it shows. From Let it roar to Charisma, it rocks. Much better than Helldorado and the worst WASP to date, KFD."

Who Slayed Baby Jane

MRT | 12/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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.

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