W.A.S.P. - Headless Children (CD)

All Music Guide

With 1988's The Headless Children, W.A.S.P. attempted to be taken as serious artists (for the most part). And while singer/guitarist/leader Blackie Lawless expressed excitement about the band's current line-up which included longtime guitarist Chris Holmes, bassist Johnny Rod, Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali, and Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley - the complete group never toured. With the band concentrating more on the music than the gimmicks (the group was pictured sans ghoulish make-up and costumes), The Headless Children remains W.A.S.P.'s most accomplished work. The album's best known tracks remains their cover of The Who's Quadrophenia anthem "The Real Me" and the rocking "Mean Man" (an autobiographical tale about guitarist Holmes), while a pair of epics - "The Heretic" the title track, and perhaps W.A.S.P.'s best ballad, "Forever Free," were also standouts. While longtime fans may prefer the gross-out heavy metal of their early albums (W.A.S.P. and The Last Command), The Head...less Children is their best constructed album. The '98 CD reissue contained 6 added bonus tracks - amongst them a cover of Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath" and live versions of "L.O.V.E. Machine" and "Blind In Texas." - Greg Prato, All Music Guide Read more Less