Released August 17, 1984 Length 38:21 Release date 17 August 1984 | Recorded 1984 Artist W.A.S.P. Label Capitol Records | |
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Producers Blackie Lawless, Mike Varney Genres Heavy metal, Hard rock, Glam metal, Shock rock Similar WASP albums, Heavy metal albums | ||
Wasp wasp full album
W.A.S.P. is the debut album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984. The album has been known under three different names; the spine of the original vinyl release had Winged Assassins printed on it, while early cassette releases of the album had the name of the album's first track, "I Wanna Be Somebody", printed in bold letters on the cover. The album is officially entitled simply W.A.S.P., which it is typically referred to as.
Contents
Overview
Upon its original release, controversial track "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" was deleted from the album. The Parents Music Resource Center had labeled the song as one of its "Filthy 15", songs that the group determined to be morally objectionable. Capitol Records subsequently bowed to pressure and pulled the song. The band released the song on an independent label in the UK as a single in 1984, and it was reinstated on the album's 1998 reissue.
The song "I Wanna Be Somebody", released as the album's first single with accompanying music video, achieved such success that it was ranked No. 84 on VH1's list of the "Top 100 Hard Rock Songs" of all time.
Several of the album's songs have been covered by other bands. "Sleeping (In the Fire)" has been covered by Tiamat and Anders Manga, "Hellion" by Children of Bodom, "L.O.V.E. Machine" by Fallen Man, Lullacry, Fozzy and Alghazanth, "I Wanna Be Somebody" by Sentenced, Catamenia, Witchery, and Gates of Ishtar, and "The Torture Never Stops" by the death metal group Torture Division.
The song "Tormentor" was heard in the films The Dungeonmaster (1984) and TerrorVision (1986).
Original
Personnel
Production
Songs
1I Wanna Be Somebody3:44
2LOVE Machine3:52
3The Flame3:42