W.A.S.P. (album)

W.A.S.P.
Studio album by W.A.S.P.
Released	August 17, 1984
Recorded	1984
Genre	Heavy metal, shock rock
Length	38:21
Label	Capitol
Producer	Blackie Lawless, Mike Varney
W.A.S.P. chronology
W.A.S.P. (1984) The Last Command (1985)
Singles from W.A.S.P.
"I Wanna Be Somebody" Released: 1984 "L.O.V.E. Machine" Released: 1984 "Sleeping (In The Fire)" Released: 1984 (promotional single) "School Daze" Released: 1984

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
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W.A.S.P. is the debut eponymous album by W.A.S.P., released August 17, 1984 (see 1984 in music). The album has been known under three different names. The spine of the vinyl release has Winged Assassins printed on it. Cassette releases of the album had the first track of the album, I Wanna Be Somebody printed in bold letters, as was common for albums named after the first track. The album is now usually referred to as W.A.S.P..

On its original release, iconic track "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" was removed after record company objections. It was released on an independent label in the UK as a single, then reinstated for the 1998 reissue. Songs are written and composed by Lawless, except "Tormentor" by Lawless & Holmes and "The Flame" by Lawless, Holmes & J. Marquez. The song "School Daze" has been noted to be an adaptation of Alice Cooper's "School’s Out".

Their song "I Wanna Be Somebody" achieved such success that it was ranked No. 84 on VH1's list of the top 100 hard rock songs.

The song "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 in 2007, 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 Dungeonmaster, TerrorVision, and Ghost Warrior.

The Parents Music Resource Center labeled the tune "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" as one of its "Filthy Fifteen", songs that the group found most morally objectionable.

Track listing

Original

• All songs written by Blackie Lawless, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Wanna Be Somebody"		3:43
2.	"L.O.V.E. Machine"		3:51
3.	"The Flame"	Lawless, Chris Holmes, J. Marquez	3:41
4.	"B.A.D."		3:56
5.	"School Daze"		3:35
6.	"Hellion"		3:39
7.	"Sleeping (In the Fire)"		3:55
8.	"On Your Knees"		3:48
9.	"Tormentor"	Lawless, Holmes	4:10
10.	"The Torture Never Stops"		3:56

1997 CD Reissue track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)"		3:07
2.	"I Wanna Be Somebody"		3:43
3.	"L.O.V.E. Machine"		3:51
4.	"The Flame"	Lawless, Holmes, Marquez	3:41
5.	"B.A.D."		3:56
6.	"School Daze"		3:35
7.	"Hellion"		3:39
8.	"Sleeping (In the Fire)"		3:55
9.	"On Your Knees"		3:48
10.	"Tormentor"	Lawless, Holmes	4:10
11.	"The Torture Never Stops"		3:56
12.	"Show No Mercy"		3:48
13.	"Paint It, Black" (The Rolling Stones Cover)	Mick Jagger, Keith Richards	3:27

Chart positions

Album

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	74

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
U.S.	Gold	June 4, 1998	500,000

Personnel

• Blackie Lawless – lead vocals, bass guitar
• Chris Holmes – lead & rhythm guitars
• Randy Piper – lead & rhythm guitars, vocals
• Tony Richards – drums, vocals

Production

• Produced by Blackie Lawless and Mike Varney
• Engineered by Duane Baron and Stephen M. Fontano
• Mixed by Duane Baron
• Jim Scott and Hanspeter Huber – assistant engineers
• Pre-production by David Tarling