Jimmy Kay and Alan Dixon of The Metal Voice recently spoke to Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. in a multi part series interview.
Photo by Perrin Wolfson
In part 3 Blackie discusses his religious convictions and songs, Friendship with Ex Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley and the use of backing tracks live
Watch part 3 here
When asked if he struggled with your religious convictions and the songs of his past
"No, that's all part of the growth period. Everybody does that. Anybody that really comes to Faith, it's just all part of the growth process. It gives you contrast and I don't mean to go into a Biblical analogy here but you're literally going from the dark to the light but that creates that contrast. And from a writing perspective it really is a kind of a cool thing because it gives you a different way of looking at things. It enables me to get into more in-depth ideas. As a songwriter how many times and how long can you write songs about your girlfriend's red high heel shoes before it starts to get a little mundane. It's nice to have a fresh perspective. "
When asked about his connection with Ace Frehley of Kiss in his early years
"We were just kids, I met him right around the time the band got started. It was just one of those things, more of a meeting of the minds. And you develop a friendship because they're kindred spirits. So it was really no more than that. And we've been able to maintain that friendship for many many years."
Then asked if He and Ace were in the same street gang together "No, let's put it this way. I can remember him and I collecting Coke bottles to cash in for deposits and going and buying .25 cent beers at happy hours. So that gives you an idea how far it goes back."
When asked if he is getting tired people asking him about W.A.S.P. using backing tracks live
"No. The conclusion that I came to was this. Up until about five years ago we did everything. It was literally a four-piece band. What you heard is what you got. And I came to the conclusion that when we did the anniversary tour for the Crimson Idol, we then brought in all that orchestration and I stood in the middle of the room and I listened to that in rehearsal for the first time and it was like an out-of- body experience. I mean it was unbelievable. And I remember thinking I've never heard this sound like this other than the record and I thought this is what I want to do from now on. I want this. I want it to sound exactly like the record. If you listen to a record like 'Live at leeds' The Who. That's a rock band doing a three-piece musical version of Tommy or some of the other earlier songs. It's great for what it is but it doesn't sound like Tommy. What they do now with all the pieces that they take out, those performances sound like the record. So you have to make a decision as an artist what do you want that performance to sound like? Now as a singer, I take a lot of pride in what I do. When you've been given a gift like I've been given most singers I know want to show that thing off and I'm no different. So yeah, that's me singing out there but as far as any other Orchestra tracks or backing vocal tracks, I'm sorry there's just not enough of us on stage to make it sound like that record it's impossible. So again, the artist has to make the decision of what they want to sound like when they go out. And from that first time, like I said I, stood in the middle of the room and I listened to that orchestration, it blew me away and I thought this is what I'm doing from here on out."
When asked about the meaning of half speed on the new W.A.S.P. The 7 Savage Box set
"Well when they do half speed Masters that's what we use to make the Press copies from in the factory. So in other words it is the closest thing to the original recording you're ever going to hear. It's the final product that we make that goes from the multitrack down to what's called a half inch master and it's a pristine copy."
Watch Part 2 here
Watch Part 1 here
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W.A.S.P. announce 'The 7 Savage: 1984-1992' deluxe 8LP boxset from their 'Capitol Years', with studio album half-speed mastering, LP of bonus tracks, 60 page book, posters and numbered certificate. The 7 Savage: 1984-1992 will be released Friday 27th October 2023 on Madfish and is strictly limited to 2000 copies worldwide.
To order the box set: https://madfish.lnk.to/WASP_The_7_Savage
Currently on break from the 40 Years Live World Tour and sounding better than ever, W.A.S.P. is one of the most consistent and reliable forces in rock music - unstoppable and unassailable, like a heavy metal juggernaut sent back in time from along- distant galaxy. Frontman Blackie Lawless is undoubtedly one of rock’s everlasting figures – someone’s whose attitude and vision changed the musical landscape around him, in the process bearing fruit to some of the biggest anthems of their time.
W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless comments, "It’s great to see this collection of records be re-released with this detail. For the original recordings to have a new light shown on them with expanded notes and additional photography is special for me, and will be for all those that hold these albums in a special place in their hearts and times in their lives."
Their first five studio albums (W.A.S.P., The Last Command, Inside the Electric Circus, The Headless Children & The Crimson Idol) contributed enough on their own for W.A.S.P. to be considered one of the greatest rock bands of all-time. Those LPs are all presented in this set, mastered half-speed at Air Studios, London for a superior, sharper, more direct and engaging sound.
Packaged within a deluxe red leatherette effect double slipcase, 'The 7 Savage: 1984-1992' is completed on vinyl with two more LPs: 1987’s Live… in the Raw and new compilation Bonus Tracks & B-Sides featuring the controversial breakthrough anthem ‘Animal (F**k Like a Beast)’.
Compiled with the full cooperation of Blackie Lawless, the box set also includes a 60-page book with exclusive and rare pictures from legendary metal photographers (including Ross Halfin, Tony Mottram, David Plastik and Paul Natkin), along with extensive liner notes from Amit Sharma (Kerrang!, Planet Rock). Also included is an exclusive Blackie Lawless poster, plus an individually numbered circular saw shaped certificate.
DISC 1 - W.A.S.P. (Half-speed Master
A.1. I Wanna Be Somebody [03:44]
A.2. L.O.V.E. Machine [03:52]
A.3. The Flame [03:42]A.4. B.A.D. [03:57]
A.5. School Daze [03:35]
B.1. Hellion [03:39]
B.2. Sleeping (In The Fire) [03:56]
B.3. On Your Knees [03:49]
B.4. Tormentor [04:11]
B.5. The Torture Never Stops [03:56]
DISC 2 The Last Command (Half-speed Master)
A.1. Wild Child [05:12]
A.2. Ballcrusher [03:28]
A.3. Fistful Of Diamonds [04:14]
A.4. Jack Action [04:17]
A.5. Widowmaker [05:18]
B.1. Blind In Texas [04:21]
B.2. Cries In The Night [03:42]
B.3. The Last Command [04:11]
B.4. Running Wild In The Streets [03:30]
B.5. Sex Drive [03:12]
DISC 3 Inside the Electric Circus (Half-speed Master)
A.1. The Big Welcome [01:22]
A.2. Inside The Electric Circus [03:33]
A.3. I Don`t Need No Doctor [03:26]A.4. 9.5. - N.A.S.T.Y. [04:48]
A.5. Restless Gypsy [04:59]A.6. Shoot From The Hip [04:38]
B.1. I`m Alive [04:22]
B.2. Easy Living [03:12]
B.3. Sweet Cheetah [05:16]
B.4. Mantronic [04:10]
B.5. King Of Sodom And Gomorrah [03:50]
B.6. The Rock Rolls On [03:52]
DISC 4 The Headless Children (Half-speed Master)
A.1. The Heretic (The Lost Child) [07:23]
A.2. The Real Me [03:20]
A.3. The Headless Children [05:46]
A.4. Thunderhead [06:50]
B.1. Mean Man [04:48]
B.2. The Neutron Bomber [04:10]
B.3. Mephisto Waltz [01:28]
B.4. Forever Free [05:09]
B.5. Maneater [04:47]
B.6. Rebel In The F.D.G. [05:08]
DISC 5 The Crimson Idol (Half-speed Master)
A.1. The Titanic Overture [03:31]
A.2. The Invisible Boy [05:13]
A.3. Arena Of Pleasure [04:15]
A.4. Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue) [08:43]
B.1. The Gypsy Meets The Boy [04:15]
B.2. Doctor Rockter [03:54]
B.3. I Am One [05:24]
DISC 6 The Crimson Idol (Half-speed Master)
C.1. The Idol [08:40]
C.2. Hold On To My Heart [04:22]
C.3. The Great Misconceptions Of Me [09:44]
D.1. The Story Of Jonathan (Prologue To The Crimson Idol)[16:35]
D.2. Phantoms In The Mirror [04:36]
D.3. The Eulogy [04:16]
DISC 7 Live... in the Raw
A.1. Inside The Electric Circus (live) [04:31]
A.2. I Don`t Need No Doctor (live) [03:40]
A.3. L.O.V.E. Machine (live) [04:27]
A.4. Wild Child (live) [06:02]
A.5. 9.5. - N.A.S.T.Y. (live) [05:11]
A.6. Sleeping (In The Fire) (live) [05:27]
B.1. The Manimal (live) [04:44]
B.2. I Wanna Be Somebody (live) [06:43]
B.3. Harder Faster (live) [07:19]
B.4. Blind In Texas (live) [05:41]
B.5. Scream Until You Like It (Theme from Ghoulies II) [03:25]
DISC 8 Bonus Tracks & B-sides
A.1. Animal (F**k Like A Beast) [03:07]
A.2. Show No Mercy [03:48]
A.3. Paint It Black [03:28]
A.4. Savage [03:33]
A.5. Mississippi Queen [03:22]
A.6. Flesh And Fire [04:38]
A.7. D.B. Blues [03:25]
B.1. Locomotive Breath [03:00]
B.2. For Whom The Bell Tolls [03:48]
B.3. Lake Of Fools [05:33]
B.4. War Cry [05:33]
B.5. When The Levee Breaks [07:06]
To order the box set: https://madfish.lnk.to/WASP_The_7_Savage
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