|
|
|
|
| Buy this album |
Blackie Lawless has come a long way since he roamed the New York streets with Ace Frehley. Even though W.A.S.P. have left their most successful years behind them a long time ago there are hordes of fans all over the world who eagerly await every new album. I can honestly say that I haven't really enjoyed the last couple of releases from W.A.S.P. that much and I wasn't really hoping for too much when I listened to their new album for the first time either. W.A.S.P. and other similar hard rock acts are very similar to regular pop artists in the way they live and fall with their front figure. Blackie has always been a great showman and even though he has toned down his image significantly with increasing age he is still an incredible singer.
Even though most of the early releases from the band had at least one great hit song such as "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "Wild Child" but the overall musical quality, Blackie's vocal performance aside, has often been a bit uneven. "Dominator" starts off at once in a classic W.A.S.P. manner with "Mercy", one of the strongest tracks on the album and it should quickly become yet another favorite for old fans of the band. It becomes clear to me right away that Blackie is finally back for real again! Even though I usually listen to metal all day long I honestly can say that I have never considered myself a fan of rock music which I actually find boring in general. Hell, I like Busta Rhymes and Michael Jackson a lot more than most rock bands of today. There needs to be something out of the ordinary for me to get excited about it and with W.A.S.P. it has always been Blackie's chilling voice and the occasional haunting melodies.
Now, what about the rest of the album? Well, most of the songs follow the same concept as the opener, the kind of song structures we are used to hearing. What separates "Dominator" from almost every single W.A.S.P. release in the past is consistency and it is definitely one of their best albums ever with not one single weak track. Despite this there is one more song that sticks out clearly from the rest namely the seven minute epic "Heaven's Hung In Black". 199 out of 200 hard rock ballads (power metal ballads included) are exceptionally boring and nothing more than a wish to appeal to the band's female fans instead of doing something you're actually good at. Here is where Blackie and W.A.S.P. show their real strength and this is one of those rare songs that send chills down your spine while listening to it. An eerie keyboard intro, Blackie's cutting edge vocals more emotional than you've ever heard them before and a fine solo make this one of the band's best songs ever. I wouldn't even mind an album full of ballads from him, rather the opposite.
To be able to release an album of this caliber more than 25 years into your career is impressive indeed and I can only hope that Metallica can repair their disastrous "St. Anger" episode as well. If you simply fancy good music no matter what the genre is, buy this one right away. This is real art from a true artist.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Mercy |
| 2. Burn |
| 3. Take Me Up |
| 4. Heaven's Blessed |
| 5. Heaven's Hung In Black |
| 6. Long Long Way To Go |
| 7. Teacher |
| 8. Heaven's Hung In Black (Reprise) |
| 9. Fortunate Son |
: 43.23
| Buy other W.A.S.P. albums |
