W.A.S.P. - The Best of the Best

Dec 21, 2003
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Sudbury, Canada
W.A.S.P. – The Best of the Best
Snapper Music Recordings - 2007
By Adam McAuley

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Having never been well exposed to a full-length discography of this much-lauded classic band, I felt a best-of compilation would give me a good grasp of a lot of their material. This turns out to be one of the better ones I’ve heard, with a nice mix of different styles of material, particularly on the second disc which features a number of serene ballads to balance things out. Their style is one that mixes a traditional vibe similar to Judas Priest circa Defenders of the Faith with a distinctive glam one that is much like what Motley Crue does so well.

Vocalist Blackie Lawless does a reasonably efficient job at carrying out these anthemic tunes, but unfortunately doesn’t quite have the same impact as Halford does, for example, though this is a small flaw. The collection has many standout cuts from 'Sleeping (In the Fire)' with its catchy chorus to the wonderful ballad 'Titanic Overture,' which manages to be enjoyable and grow on you simultaneously. One can sense the longitivity of bands like Priest via the diversity of this collection alone, and this band puts together quite a compelling collection. However, they also make their presence known in immediacy via the undeniably old-school style the disc portrays.

W.A.S.P. can be thus seen as one of my most sadly overlooked band of the classic period, but one that is undeniably worth checking out because of the amount of solid material that can be found on their splendid compilation here. I’m somewhat anxious to check out their full recordings now after hearing these songs, because of the variety of quality material.

Official W.A.S.P. Website
Official Snapper Music Website
 
Never really got too much into WASP, however I did see them at a tiny gig back in March. It was a pretty great show!
 
this, fuck all of these greatest hits cd's. greatest hits aren't meant for real fans.

True, but they are a way for people to discover great bands.

Headless Children, WASP, Last Command, Electric Circus, Still Not Black Enough, Unholy Terror, Dying For The World. That'd be my order of buying, the rest can be bought whenever.
 
Good Album for fans who have never heard the band. I do own this album. I've been a W.A.S.P. fan since 1987. Still am to this day. But this album I don't listen to that much
 
True, but they are a way for people to discover great bands.

Headless Children, WASP, Last Command, Electric Circus, Still Not Black Enough, Unholy Terror, Dying For The World. That'd be my order of buying, the rest can be bought whenever.

i'd change the order a bit:
self titled, headless children, crimson idol, still not black enough, last command. get the rest whenever
 
Nice review mate

A great band who I've neglected over the years. Many fantastic tunes. I've never seen them live either. Shocking!!
 
It's easy to get derailed by all of the cheese and silliness, but the fact remains that WASP is a very strong band with a great songwriter at the helm. They're definitely underrated and should have become far more popular than they did.

Another poster's description of "Defenders" era Priest combined with prime 80s Crue is spot-on and really explains this band well.

All of their records deserve a listen.
 
Personally, my very favourite album that W.A.S.P. put out is "The Headless Children". That album RIPS
I have it all.

The Headless Children and the S/T debut album are MUST haves. The Last Command and Inside The Electric Circus lean more to the commercial side. They're good but not as good. I actually prefer Still Not Black Enough to The Crimson Idol. KFD is one heavy grim industrial metal album. Their two most recent albums, Babylon and Golgotha are very good. Albums to avoid until you are completing the collection are both Neon God albums and Helldorado. Say what you want about Lawless's voice, or lack thereof, but it has an intensity to it and he can really deliver some great angst, color, and shade with his raspy delivery. It works well for a lot of their material. I absolutely love WASP. I grew up on 'em. I think S/T, Last Command and Headless Children are essential. "Mean Man" is a monster tune.