Band:	W.A.S.P.
Album:	The Crimson Idol
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	1992
Guest review by:	DayFly

Disc I
01. Titanic Overture
02. Invisible Boy
03. Arena Of Pleasure
04. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)
05. Gypsy Meets The Boy
06. Doctor Rockter
07. I Am One
08. The Idol
09. Hold On To My Heart
10. The Great Misconceptions Of Me
11. The Story Of Jonathan [limited edition bonus]

Disc II [limited edition]
01. Phantoms In The Mirror
02. The Eulogy
03. When The Levee Breaks [Led Zeppelin cover]
04. The Idol [acoustic version] [live]
05. Hold On To My Heart [acoustic version] [live]
06. I Am The One [Live at Donnington 1992]
07. Wild Child [Live at Donnington 1992]
08. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue) [Live at Donnington 1992]
09. I Wanna Be Somebody [Live at Donnington 1992]
10. The Invisible Boy [Live at Donnington 1992]
11. The Real Me [Live at Donnington 1992]
12. The Great Misconceptions Of Me [Live at Donnington 1992]

Generally regarded to be W.A.S.P.'s finest work, "The Crimson Idol" is a conceptual rock opera by a musician who once celebrated sex, drugs and hedonism like few others out of the L.A. glam scene. "The Crimson Idol" is not merely about style and appearance as often accused, for drama and theatrics belie surprisingly ambitious and unique compositions. A major difference to most metal concept albums, though quite common among operas, rock or no, is the album's use of leitmotifs. For instance, the famous extract "love to shelter me" represents the protagonist's recurring desire for his parent's acceptance. The leitmotifs do not, however, take up more space then necessary as all of the songs, save perhaps for the introducing medley of seIected "Idol" riffs amply named "The Titanic Overture", work quite well on their own.

The lyrics, the quality of which having gone up a lot with "The Headless Children", have become even better. There are references ranging from Edgar Allen Poe (okay, maybe it was just Iron Maiden after all) to Patti Smith and thoughtful metaphors resulting in the band's most powerful imagery yet (the band would outdo themselves in that regard on the underrated "K.F.D"). The individual performances are top notch as well. Session guitarist Bob Kulick makes his guitar weep like few others and the drumming duo Frankie Banali and Stet Howland litter the album with outright crazy and highly interesting tom-based fills.

In between the songs are acoustic interludes that are quite effective at conveying a sense of intimacy, despite the slightly detached story which most people (including me) will not really be able to relate to. Most of the material is not too far removed from the previous album even though there are a lot of keyboard and acoustic guitar passages. "Chainsaw Charlie" is delightfully over the top and rivalled only by the catchy, fist-pumping "I Am One" and the pounding "Arena Of Pleasure". The pace is lessened a bit with three ballads, including the epic title track, easily one of the best ballads ever written. It's atmospheric beginning is tastefully accentuated by a few guitar leads before the actual song, resolving largely on an acoustic chord progression and Lawless' touching vocals, sets in. But Kulick's two solos oozing over with emotion completely steal the show. A stark contrast is the following "Hold On To My Heart". It is a sweet song and the most understated one on the album, though so soft it will likely not appeal to everyone. Finally, the album closes with what was back then Lawless' most ambitious composition, the majestic "The Great Misconceptions Of Me".

With music this dramatic one might be a bit sceptical whether "The Crimson Idol" will indeed satisfy all tastes. It will. The album is so consistent and inspired and there is little else that sounds like it that anybody can risk a try. If it isn't the best heavy metal album of all time, it certainly gets close.