W.A.S.P.: Unholy Terror (HEAVY METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Every artist has to face up to his balance sheet at one time or another, and W.A.S.P. is no exception. While 1992's "The Crimson Idol" was unanimously regarded as one of the concept albums of the decade, the follow-up wasn't always to everyone's taste. Some enjoyed the short-lived "Still Not Black Enough", loved the experimentation of "KFD" and found "Helldorado" a pleasant return to their roots, while others were rather disappointed by W.A.S.P.'s evolution since this legendary album.

"Unholy Terror" contains all the ingredients that made the great hours of the band led by Blackie Lawless. 'Let It Roar', 'Hate To Love Me' and 'Loco-Motive Man' come in with a bang, faithful to the W.A.S.P. codes of enormous anthemic potential, raging guitars and, above all, Blackie's voice at its best, roaring and magnetic. 'Who Slayed Baby Jane' and 'Raven Heart' deserve the same compliments, and prove very convincing in their genre.

We were also expecting W.A.S.P. to excel in another of their favourite genres: ballads. Here again, there's no disappointment on the horizon: 'Evermore' is a very good composition in pure heroic power ballad style, taking on some of the accents of the American South, as did 'Forever Free' in its time, with the same success. Blackie even manages to surprise us with an instrumental ballad, something he has never done before. Euphoria' spins out its 3-minute sweetness with talent, proof if proof were needed of the extent of the composer's gifts.

All this would have been enough to establish a consensus among the majority of fans, but W.A.S.P. has always been allergic to this notion, so it's almost natural that three anthology tracks appear. Firstly, the mini-concept 'Unholy Terror'/'Charisma', opening with 2 minutes of magnetic narration, then taking on its full dimension in a mid-tempo magnified by hypnotic guitars. Finally, the ultimate death rattle comes on 'Wasted White Boys', with its Dantesque rhythm, anthemic chorus and immense solo. A solo so big that it can be compared to the rampage of 'Freebird', pushing the boundaries of exaltation and hysteria for over 3 minutes.

If you loved the 80's and 90's, rejoice, the great W.A.S.P. federator is back! For those of you who haven't heard of them, it's time to discover this mythical band, who, in their 20-year career, have delivered some of the best albums on the heavy metal scene. This new album is further proof of that. - Official website

W.A.S.P.

UNHOLY TERROR

SANCTUARY

HEAVY METAL