The Headless Children

Overview

The Headless Children showcases a new level of maturity from the band compared to their previous three albums, which had stereotypically lewd "rock and roll" lyrics. Politics and social issues are now a theme throughout the album. The cover art, based on "Gateway to Stalingrad", a cartoon by Daniel R. Fitzpatrick, depicts a string of historical figures including Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Benito Mussolini, Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Al Capone and the Ku Klux Klan, with an image of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald shown prominently in the foreground. Later editions of the album have replaced, among others, Ayatollah Khomeini with additional KKK members.

The Headless Children was the first W.A.S.P. album to feature ex-Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali and the last studio album to feature Holmes for nearly a decade until he rejoined the band in late 1997 to record Kill Fuck Die.

"The Real Me" is one of two songs the band covered and released as part of the Headless Children release, (the other being "Locomotive Breath", by Jethro Tull, which was the b-side). "The Real Me" however was the only song of the two to make the album. The song was written by Pete Townshend of The Who's and is from their classic rock opera album, "Quadrophenia"

"Mean Man", written by lead singer/bassist Blackie Lawless, is about guitarist Chris Holmes' wild lifestyle and is dedicated to him; ironically Holmes left the band shortly after the album's release, though he did return 10 years later.

Lawless stated in an interview shortly after the release of the album, that "The Neutron Bomber", is about Ronald Reagan and the power he and America had over the world, with such a large nuclear arsenal. The song despite most likely being written during his Presidency, was however released a few months after his retirement and the election of George Bush Sr.

"Forever Free" is a ballad typical of the time in the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal genre, which is supposedly a homage to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird".

According to the liner notes, the "F.D.G." in "Rebel in the F.D.G." stands for "Fucking Decadent Generation".

Critical reception

Greg Prato at AllMusic gave The Headless Children 4.5 stars out of five, calling it W.A.S.P.'s "most accomplished work" and their "best constructed album". He also noted "The Real Me", "Mean Man", "The Heretic", "Forever Free" and the title track as highlights.

Track listing

All tracks written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.

^† – On the 1998 reissue, "The Heretic (The Lost Child)" has been edited to remove a small portion of a guitar riff in order to fit all the bonus material on the same CD.

Personnel

Blackie Lawless – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, production

Chris Holmes – lead guitar

Johnny Rod – bass, background vocals

Additional musicians

Ken Hensley – keyboard

Frankie Banali – drums, percussion

Diana Fennell – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Lita Ford – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Mark Humphreys – background vocals

Jimi Image – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Minka Kelly – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Thomas Nellen – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Cathi Paige – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Mike Solan – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Kevin Wallace – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Melba Wallace – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Ron Wallace – backing vocals on "Thunderhead"

Technical team

Mikey Davis – engineering, mixing

Tom Nellen – engineering assistance

Rhonda Schoen – editing engineering

Steve Hall – mastering

George Marino – mastering