W.A.S.P. – DUBLIN ACADEMY, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16TH.

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Oran

With a career spanning for just over 33 years, W.A.S.P. returned to Ireland to headline Dublin’s Academy ahead of the release of “Golgotha”, their first studio album in six years and we were there to capture every drop of the bands arsenal. Find out all about it.

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Blackie Lawless is in fighting form tonight, as he and his band members run through a set list which draws from the bands rich catalogue of classics. Having been out of the studio for a considerable amount of time, W.A.S.P seem to be confidently laying down the foundations to the release of their forthcoming album Golgotha, which is due for release on October 9th via Napalm Records.

Appearing on stage to rapturous applause, Blackie Lawless stands with his back to the Academy dressed in his trademark tasstle boots and skin tight Lycra pants. Opening with stone cold classic On Your Knees and leading into Inside The Electric Circus, is a promising start that injects a shot of adrenalin into the now packed venue. The W.A.S.P back catalogue carries some weight and is soaked in glorious classics, which led me to wonder how they deliberated over the set-list for tonight’s show.

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As the crowd bellows the chorus for Inside The Electric Circus, my question is answered immediately, as they begin to skim through a medley of some of their most iconic tracks. Like a student on the fist day of school, it’s almost hard to keep up with the breakneck speed in which the band dodge between, The Who’s cover of The Real Me, which comes crashing through the house PA, before switching into L.O.V.E Machine. The floor of the Academy are lapping up every second of it and nothing, but a sweaty, swirling tribe of misfits who hang on every lyric that comes from Blackie’s lungs.

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A brief introduction by the man himself follows, as he regales that infamous show in Dublin’s SFX back in 1986, when he nearly lost his “family jewels”, due to a mishap with a cod piece, loaded with pyrotechnics. Apart from his brief but humorous story, the band get back down to business with Last Runway, which is taken from the yet to be released album and sounds every bit as promising as the bands previous classics.

Taken from the last studio album, Babylon, the instant brain takeover that is Crazy, hits the crowd like a herd of bison, as the opening riff blossoms into the fast paced gallop and the first crowd surfers reach for the sky, much to the frustration of the pit security, who try desperately to grab them. Blackie’s vocals sound crystal clear, as he effortlessly reaches the high pitches throughout the show.

Although the sound is fantastic tonight and the set-list is proving to be littered with classics, there is a sense of impatience from the band who just rush through the motions all the while putting on a stellar show. Hellion and I Don’t Need No Doctor, keep the venue security on their toes, before we are treated to the title track from the forthcoming album Golgotha, which again, goes down smoothly with the receptive venue capacity.

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As the band leave the stage to thunderous applause, we are brought back to the Crimson Idol, with the fist pumping Chainsaw Charlie (Murder in The New Morgue), before a second encore of, Wild Child and I Wanna Be Somebody.

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Overall, a glorious evening of classic W.A.S.P. anthems, delivered by the nearly 60 year old Blackie Lawless, who can still give a lesson in how it’s done to any band, half his age. My only stipulation, was that the duration of the show was simply not long enough, but, I guess that’s the down side of having too many kick-ass tunes!

4/5

SET-LIST, DUBLIN ACADEMY, SEPTEMBER 16TH 2016

1. ON YOUR KNEES

2. INSIDE THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS

3. THE REAL ME

4. L.O.V.E MACHINE

5. LAST RUNAWAY

6. CRAZY

7. ARENA OF PLEASURE

8. MISS YOU

9. HELLION

10. I DON’T NEED NO DOCTOR