Essential WASP Songs

10. "Forever Free" (The Headless Children)
This a solid ballad from WASP and I feel like it served as a precursor to the following album's style, The Crimson Idol.


9. "Into The Fire" (Babylon)
WASP's recent albums don't do as much for me as the 'classic' albums, such as the self-titled and The Headless Children. This one, from 2009's Babylon, stands up alongside those classic songs in my mind.

8. "The Headless Children" (The Headless Children)
The Headless Children seems like some kind of tribute to Black Sabbath's song "Children of the Grave" while also throwing in some bad ass organ sounds lifted from Deep Purple. It's like a throwback to 70's metal while also speaking to the current political climate of the late 1980's.... yet it eerily sounds even more relevant than ever in today's society.

7. "L.O.V.E. Machine" (WASP)
This is just as catchy as any of those sunset strip hair/glam bands. "L.O.-V.E. all I need's my love machine" can't really beat that for an 80's anthem.

6. "I Wanna Be Somebody" (WASP) 
I was first introduced to WASP by my buddy Brent in 2013 and shortly after I was constantly hearing this song on XM's "Hair Nation" channel. I've never subscribed to XM radio but while working at the body shop, I would instantly turn a rental car's radio to channel 39 if it was equipped with satellite radio. So I guess I've somehow linked WASP to vacuuming out dirty cars.


5. "The Flame" (WASP)
I feel like I could've included the entire first album from WASP here; even considered just making it one entire number just so I could squeeze as many songs here as possible.

4. "Hold On To My Heart" (The Crimson Idol)
Seems like quite a few bands will attempt a concept album when they've exhausted all of their possible ideas or maybe the feel the need to re-energize their 'sound'. I'm not too knowledgable on WASP and won't claim to be, but this sounds like more of the latter, in that maybe WASP were trying to expand their sound. This is a pretty solid ballad, which seems to always be the case with me, as I prefer when metal bands go "soft." (Metallica "The Unforgiven", Megadeth "Promises", Black Sabbath "Changes", as a few examples.)

3. "Ballcrusher" (The Last Command)
"I say AC, she says DC, the damn bitch is just too bizarre" Yeah, you don't need a woman like that in your life and this girl must've really crushed Blackie's balls.

2. "The Great Misconceptions Of Me" (The Crimson Idol)
 As heavy and as vulgar as this band was, Blackie could write some damn good songs. It starts out as a ballad, similar to "Hold On To My Heart", but then kicks into high gear.

1. "Wild Child" (The Last Command)
I have no idea why this song is not an enduring rock n roll staple. It has everything you'd want in a heavy metal song, including a pretty cool bridge with jungle noises and screams. I guess the reputation of the band didn't really give them much more than a cult following.