W.A.S.P.
W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982. They emerged from the early 1980s Los Angeles heavy metal scene. The band's popularity peaked that decade, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock-themed image, lyrics and live performances. They are estimated to have sold over twelve million records worldwide, with their first two albums, W.A.S.P. (1984) and The Last Command (1985), being certified as gold by the RIAA.
W.A.S.P. was a prominent target in the mid-1980s of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), an organization that pushed for warning labels on recorded music. The band immortalized its fight with the PMRC on the song "Harder, Faster" from their 1987 live album, Live... in the Raw. Their most well-known songs include "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)", "I Wanna Be Somebody", "L.O.V.E. Machine", "Wild Child", "Blind in Texas", "Forever Free", "The Headless Children", "Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue)" and "The Idol", as well as their cover versions of Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor" and The Who's "The Real Me". The band's most recent album, Golgotha, was released in 2015 and they have reportedly been working on new material.
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W.A.S.P. Re-Idolized - The Crimson Idol
In 1992 W.A.S.P. released The Crimson Idol. It's the story of Jonathan Aaron Steele, an abused child looking for love. Discovering music years later, he rises to international superstardom. Later followed by a catastrophic fall. 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the original release, which is st...