Artist: W.A.S.P.
Title: Babylon
Type: Album
Label: Demolition Records

More W.A.S.P. Is it me or do they seem to be pumping out the records these days? It's getting hard to keep up for this one-time MAJOR W.A.S.P. fan. Back when I was a wee lad dipping his toe in the murky metal waters, W.A.S.P. were one of the first bands to truly get this scribe's blood pumping. Their first four records are 80s classics, deftly fusing 'balls-to-the-wall' metal with LA shock-rock sensibilities and main-man Blackie Lawless's undeniable talent for penning some real hooks. A slew of unremarkable releases in the 90s kind of deflated attention (the 'actually pretty good' KFD not withstanding) and in 2009, I've lost track somewhat. This isn't to say that what W.A.S.P. have been doing post-93 or whenever has been bad per-se but that, perhaps due to relentless line-up upheavals, it has simply been rather unremarkable. So, then Babylon appears as if from nowhere, lands in my lap and attempts to rekindle the magic of yore. Well, I guess that's Blackie's plan anyway but proceedings are scuppered almost from the first second. Leaving to one side the excitement-sappingly shite 'chimpanzee with photoshop' artwork and uninspired song titles, opener 'Crazy' kicks off with a riff that is as good as identical to the opening riff of 'Wild Child' (one of W.A.S.P.'s biggest singles from the 80s for those who don't know). It is ridiculous and left me open-mouthed in disbelief. Blackie has always stuck to a fairly rigid template with his song-writing and, 12 albums down the line, there's inevitably going to be an element of self-referencing. This, however, is utterly blatant and it's a bit of a shame as it is one of the stronger tracks on here, metamorphasising into a catchy, driving rock number with a suitably soaring chorus. Performance-wise, it is as professional as one would expect from a band this far into their career - lead guitarist Doug Blair provides an appropriately deft blend of bluesy, characterful shredding while Blackie's voice remains one of the most distinctive in the genre.

Nevertheless, as the album progresses, it's impossible to shrug off the sensation that there's something missing with Babylon. The songs are competent, straightforward and catchy but nothing really stands out. Indeed, it almost feels as if Blackie is simply going through the motions and with each song here, is ticking the various boxes that have constituted the foundation of W.A.S.P's sound throughout the years. We have the 'Wild Child'-styled hard-rocking side of the band in 'Babylon's Burning', the heavier, anthemic metal side with 'Seas of Fire', blues-based rock 'n' roll with 'Promised Land' and a slew of 'Sleeping in the Fire'/'The Idol' styled epic ballads with 'Into the Fire' and 'Godless Run'. They're all perfectly serviceable songs - none of them is in any way 'crap' - they are simply unremarkable, their lack of inspiration betrayed in their tired titles. As a result of this, Babylon has sadly done very little to convince this old-school W.A.S.P. fan that the band are little more than a tribute act to themselves these days. Deep down, I'm still holding out hope that Blackie has something special left in the tank but as I said at the start of the review - 'Babylon' is simply more W.A.S.P. That's it.

http://www.waspnation.com
http://www.myspace.com/wasp

Frank Allain

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