WASP Rock City, Nottingham Feb 7th Rating 4/5
Days Later, its still hard to believe what WASP have done in the name of "entertainment". The "woman" raped and left for dead by Blackie Lawless might have been a robot, but the lingering detail of this savage simulation was gruesome beyond belief. The celebration of sexual violence is unacceptable in ANY medium.
WASP, if you're still reading , were the kings of '80s shock rock. They were the Marylin Manson of their day. And it's that fact that has brought them back from retirement for tonight's sell-out show.
On paper, it should merely have am entertainingly nostalgic display of dumb heavy metal. But there's one problem: WASP sound incredible. Unlike many of today's shambling stars, this old firm play with frightening ferocity and more hunger than you'd imagine possible.
Blackie Lawless and Chris Holmes stand like 10-foot tall demons trussed in rubber and plastic. That the two of them can still make "L.O.VE Machine" and "I wanna be somebody" sound deadly is bordering on the impressive.
Lawless, despite his lack of taste, has a shrewd business mind and is an expert studio man. Its too soon to say whether the Marylin Manson crowd will go for this, they're undoubtedly the target audience.
Face it - no one does ludicrous better.
Most rocking moment: Just look at them, for feck's sake!
Least Rocking Moment: The rape scene - not big, not clever.
Best Onstage Quote: I'm gonna divide this audience right down the
middle..."-blah blah blah
Verdict: Heads down- see you at the end!
Also from same magazine:
Shock rockers "rape" and "kill" onstage.
WASP, the rejuvenated '80s shock rock crew, have thrown down the gauntlet
to Marylin Mansun with their horrific new stage show, where they simulate
the rape of a woman dressed as a nun and decapitate a fake pig.
WASP mainman Blackie Lawless tells Kerrang!; " Our stage show is a lot more disgusting than Marylin Mansun's. Now we've taken the whole thing a step further."
The outrageous new show has just had its UK debut at Nottingham Rock City, where it received an ecstatic response from the sold-out venue.
"What we've done is update our stage set for the late '90s, making it more extreme than ever," claims Lawless. "The climax of the show comes when I winch this pig up on a chain and then its head off! We've had some complaints from animal rights groups about this, but its proving really popular with the kids".
The Nottingham gig marked the return to WASP of guitarist Chris Holmes after a six year absence and Blackie is happy to working with him again. "It's a real buzz having Chris back in the band. And his angry vibe has brought WASP back to life."
WASP release new album "KFD" through Raw Power/Castle on march 21. The title song will be released as a one track, limited edition CD single on February 24th.
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