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W.A.S.P. - Has New Label Home, New Album In August


While last year they revealed that their new album would be called Golgotha, heavy metal veterans W.A.S.P. have now joined forces with Napalm Records for its release. Six years in the making, Golgotha is being released this August and will be the band's 15th studio album. According to the label, the new record will continue down the path that 2007's Dominator and 2009's Babylon started on, both in production style and theme. Are you expecting good things from the new album?

"Golgotha" is Hebrew for place of the skull, and it's the hill where Jesus was crucified.

"W.A.S.P. are excited to announce they have signed an exclusive recording contract with Napalm Records. We chose Napalm for their personal belief and professional commitment to our career. We're looking forward to years of great success together starting with the release of our upcoming album Golgotha", states frontman Blackie Lawless.




Source: napalmrecords.com
Band profile: W.A.S.P.
Posted: 24.03.2015 by BloodTears


Comments

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Comments: 6   Visited by: 48 users
24.03.2015 - 21:44
ManiacBlasphemer
Black Knight
August is just too far away...
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24.03.2015 - 22:05
Lit.
Account deleted
Yes, it is.
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25.03.2015 - 11:38
Andreas

Written by KingDiamondHead on 25.03.2015 at 05:33

Babylon, Golgotha...Blackie Lawless, Dave Mustaine, Alice Cooper have all become born-again Christians. Fine, whatever, but this is not what heavy metal is about. Go sing in your church choir and stop coming up with inferior renditions of the style of music that made you famous. This fool (Lawless) won't perform Animal live any more because of his faith? Eff that! As a fan of classic WASP, which is was some grade-A sleazeball opposite of Christian values brilliance, I can't get excited about this. This band's better days are far behind them. It's not a problem given that their earlier stuff was such underrated wonderfulness, no one should lament how far they've fallen in turning their backs on what metal is all about.

Well, maybe I do not know as good as you do what "metal is all about", but I'll give it a try. I think one of the great aspects of metal is that you can swim against the stream, be shocking and whatnot. And for a long time, the general opinion on metal is that it was "evil", also lyric-wise. But by excluding the Christian faith from metal, you're doing exactly the opposite of this "metal spirit". The sole fact that you are offended (or at least not happy about) by artists making a 180 degree turn in their lyrical themes, means that, in this case, singing about christian values etc. is more metal than anti-christian themes.

So in a way, christian metal (or better: metal with christian lyrical themes) is the purest metal form in existence.
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26.03.2015 - 12:51
bblitz

Written by KingDiamondHead on 26.03.2015 at 06:03

I'm not starting a flame war here. I'd rather hear Blackie Lawless sing his Christian lyrics to the WASP sound much more than I'd ever want to hear Britney Spears or some other crap like that. I'm just saying that there is a loosely structured philosophical underpinning to this music. It stands in opposition. It is a rejection of something. What exactly it is rejecting is obviously up for debate. You seem to think that metal rejects anything that tries to define it. Ok, whatever. Maybe you like Christian metal? Fine, whatever floats your boat. It still doesn't change the fact that Lawless, Mustaine, Cooper and anyone else who got rich and famous off of some of the most hedonistic musical stylings ever previously known are hypocritical fakes and phonies now that they been 'born again'. They lack integrity, that's all I'm saying. How about instead of not performing just 'Animal' but instead not performing any older WASP songs? How are the lyrical themes found in Ballcrusher, Widowmaker, Blind in Texas, Sleeping in the Fire, Wild Child, 95 NASTY, etc (I could go on), compatible with his Christian faith? The answer to that question is simple, they have a brand and that brand is worth money. Brands that were built up on anti-christian lyrical themes. Their god is the almighty dollar and heavy metal music and heavy metal fans have traditionally been all about calling out these kinds of charlatans.

Why haven't you mentioned the greatest traitors in metal music and beyond,Metallica?!! And theirs full of money shithead leader,Lars Ulrich.ha?
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27.03.2015 - 11:43
Andreas

Written by KingDiamondHead on 26.03.2015 at 06:03

I'm not starting a flame war here. I'd rather hear Blackie Lawless sing his Christian lyrics to the WASP sound much more than I'd ever want to hear Britney Spears or some other crap like that. I'm just saying that there is a loosely structured philosophical underpinning to this music. It stands in opposition. It is a rejection of something. What exactly it is rejecting is obviously up for debate. You seem to think that metal rejects anything that tries to define it. Ok, whatever. Maybe you like Christian metal? Fine, whatever floats your boat. It still doesn't change the fact that Lawless, Mustaine, Cooper and anyone else who got rich and famous off of some of the most hedonistic musical stylings ever previously known are hypocritical fakes and phonies now that they been 'born again'. They lack integrity, that's all I'm saying. How about instead of not performing just 'Animal' but instead not performing any older WASP songs? How are the lyrical themes found in Ballcrusher, Widowmaker, Blind in Texas, Sleeping in the Fire, Wild Child, 95 NASTY, etc (I could go on), compatible with his Christian faith? The answer to that question is simple, they have a brand and that brand is worth money. Brands that were built up on anti-christian lyrical themes. Their god is the almighty dollar and heavy metal music and heavy metal fans have traditionally been all about calling out these kinds of charlatans.

Ah OK, I thought you were getting bent out of shape about christian metal in general. Honestly, I hardly know W.A.S.P., but the things you might mention indicate a certain lack of integrity indeed.
Just a few things: if you don't share this christian faith with Lawless, then you can't know for sure which songs are compatible with his faith and which are not. You might have a gut feeling, but you can't know for sure. And the only thing that stays the same with a brand is the owner (at least in this case); it's the owner's decision what to do with his brand. Even if it's build up on anti-christian feelings, I honestly don't see why the owner shouldn't be allowed to make a 180 degree turn based on his (newly found) faith. To me, it's a sign of integrity that Lawless didn't go on with his anti-christianity-crusade after being a born-again christian. But I must admit, it would show more integrity if he started under a new name.
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29.03.2015 - 18:19
ManiacBlasphemer
Black Knight
Written by KingDiamondHead on 28.03.2015 at 10:04

Well, in response to bblitz, Metallica sucks! You'll hear no defense from me on everything after ...And Justice for All. As for Christian metal in general, I'm not much of a fan but if you take a band like Stryper, I've got a lot more respect for them and what they stand for than I do for Lawless and whatever it is he claims to be about. Stryper's music just happens to be unlistenable. Sure, I don't know what's in Blackie's 'heart', nor do I care. Maybe he's a great guy, Though he hasn't changed his stage name of Blackie. Satan is the prince of darkness and Jesus is the light of the world. Which side do you think Steven Duren was picking when he adopted the name of Blackie Lawless?I just feel like a lot of other metalheads that this is supposed to mean something. Like the guy who can't stand Metallica and their cynical approach to their own 'art', if you can call it that. If someone is into Christian metal, then hopefully it isn't like that Christian metal singer who tried to have his wife killed and only sang Christian music to make money. I can't remember what band that was. Sure, everyone needs dough though.


I think you're overreacting a bit. I do agree about the fact that refusing to sing some songs you composed in live concerts just because it does not represent your current values and principles is kinda bullshit (though tbh, I never really liked Animal, especially after I listened to the cover made by Siebenburgen, far superior than the original), but then again it is the choice of the one who composed it if he wishes to sing it or not. Blackie Lawless the musician remained the same, he is still capable of playing his straightforward heavy metal with his all so we well known sound signature. Steven Duren as a person changed. Sure, some of the changes ended up crawling inside his stage personae, in the lyrical department especially. I for one like Blackie's more mid works, The Crimson Idol and Headless Children. I also like the more recent ones, Dominator and Babylon included. In the end it does not really matter to me what message Blackie tries to send (unless it is a concept album) as long as he can musicaly keep up. Not like Megadave who became more of a douche (at least Blackie is not a religious zealot that values everything through his narrow faith and shows it off everytime he has the chance). I would not define his music as being 'christian metal' though as he still takes social and political messages very seriously when writing lyrics. WASP did not become a Stryper wannabe band nor is it intending to be one. And seriously, Alice Cooper is a cool guy, be it his christian or less christian self and he is more of a profesionist in regards to being a musician. On stage, he is the Alice Cooper we all know, outside of it, he is like all of us, just more famous! )

As for metal being born on anti-christian roots, I dare to disagree. Black Sabbath was not an anti-christian band ("After Forever" stands as definity proof). And like a user above said, I think heavy metal is more of a reaction to conformism in all its forms (including religious conformism), a reaction against social, cultural, economical situations, a reaction to conservatism (though, surprisingly, metalheads are very conservative in nature, few of them are open the changes). In the end though everybody sees in metal what he/she wants. I saw in it a form of rejecting christianity until a couple of years ago. Looking back it almost seemed naive and stupid, but that was my rebelious stage. I did not become a born again christian, but I became reconciled with the phenomenom and I accepted that it has its spot in this musical genre, no matter how some zealots try to deny it.
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