Dominator

You've gotta have a pretty good idea of what we're in for with an album cover like that, right? At this point in time, Blackie Lawless made it pretty clear where he was going musically. He'd already covered the politics, he'd already run the "Crimson Black Enough" ideas that he sanded deep into the ground by overdoing them over and over, and we start to get a taste of religious leanings rather than anti-religious ones. So where does that bring us with Dominator? Well, I suppose there's a new touch to the guitar tones, and some solid enough spots. But really, I found this not to be a game changing comeback, but just a very mild step up from the overblown, filler-loving, recycled content that was the Neon God records. Except now, it's like we've got what worked on Dying For The World done over without a lot of inspiration.

So it should also go without saying that some bad fucking lyrics are in store. Again, this type vengeful, patriotic approach worked in 2002 because of how fresh the sound was and the narrative that the ideas came from. Now it's just a pile of songs about being sad about where things were in 2007, which took away from even the better tracks. "The Burning Man" is a solid example. Sturdy enough song, but horrible lyrics, and I really can't help but feel like W.A.S.P. had done this before, but far better. Then you have ones like the bigger tune "Heaven's Hung In Black," with its awful attempt at suspense and synths to sound historic, but just breathes extreme corniness. Like come on, W.A.S.P. wrote some of the most powerful and beefy ballads in the entire heavy metal genre. What the fuck happened? If any softee here is worth batting for, it's "Take Me Up."

The heavier songs range anywhere from alright to absolutely forgettable. Opener "Mercy" certainly has the energy you're used to from a W.A.S.P. outing by this point, but it's like a solid empty shell. Nothing abstractly stands out, and if anything the themes just make it feel even more generic. The riffing is like a starter kit with writing classic metal tunes, and nothing else. The songwriting feels tired. Moving forward, they conquered what they were going for far better, and I just chalk this up to being caught in a weird transitional phase after having been fresh out of good ideas since Dying For The World. "Heaven's Hung In Black" and its ridiculous reprise are good ideas that needed a fresh inspiration, which we'll find later on. But as for this? Very boring disc that could have easily been skipped.

"Mercy" is the name of the first track, but Blackie Lawless knows no mercy. Welcome to "Dominator", another album by the one-man-show called W.A..P. Yes, the master of his own circus made a few experiments during his career, but here it becomes again quite obvious that this man is caught in his own song patterns. "Mercy" is a good song, no doubt about it. A casual yet effective riff creates a slightly dark atmosphere and it goes without saying that the song boasts with an extremely good flow. Not to mention the strong vocals which are always able to make the difference. However, don't think that there is any new element, any unexpected detail or something like that. Lawless does what he almost always did, no more, no less, and he does it in a good way. Take it or leave it, but don't come to the conclusion that he is challenging himself in any way. The dude rocks within the frontiers of his own comfort zone. However, I tend to take it due to the catchy chorus and the coherent overall picture.

Good news, the opener is not the only strong metal rocker on this album. "The Burning Man" or "Teacher" go in the same direction and in particular "Heaven's Blessed" sounds the alarm. W.A.S.P. prove evidence that they can break out of quite commercial frames and deliver songs with a spiny appearance. Too bad that Lawless sees no sense in making an album with this kind of songs exclusively. His semi-ballads like "Take Me Up" give the listener a more than sufficient portion of schmaltz. I freely admit that the song is not really despicable in terms of melody and atmosphere, they walk on trodden paths and integrate as many stereotypes as possible. As mentioned before, I like the voice of Blackie L., but sometimes his whining and lamenting lacks authenticity. I don't think that millionaires should sing about their broken heart or something like that. Come on, dudes, it's easy to cry as long as you are rich. Nevertheless, Lawless cannot be blamed for delivering shitty numbers here, even though it remains a mystery to me why he offers a reprise instead of another new song - and by the way, why is "Heaven's Hung in Black" introduced by the melody of "When Johnny Is Coming Home Again"?

Every now and then, a faceless number has conquered a place on "Dominator". The second piece is a high-speed number, not in objective terms but compared with the catalogue of the group. Unfortunately, the one-tone-riff fails to push "Long, Long Way to Go" on a high level. Once again, I am not speaking about a throwaway track, but it seems to be written in a loveless manner. The closer, a wannabe-good-times rocker, also does not give me much. On the other hand, the production scores with density, evenness and maturity. And what about Lawless himself? His portion of music is predictable, but predictably solid or even good - and his mentality is reflected by these lines in the booklet: "I love my country, but I'm scared to death of its government. Nothing I have ever written is more true." I am confused, because I could not express it better myself, although I live in another country than Lawless. Maybe this situation was the real reason why he wrote a song called "Mercy". He and me, we have one thing in common: we dominate nothing.

Despite being well known for their days on the sunset strip, W.A.S.P. are one of the best kept secrets in heavy metal. Everyone knows about the flaming codpieces and 3-minute pop metal of their early output, but many are ignorant of the fact that, since 1989's 'The headless children', W.A.S.P. have been issuing a constant string of high-quality, straight-faced - and often quite dark and poignant - heavy metal CDs.

Other than the experimental 'Kill, fuck, die' from 1997 and the throwback 'Helldorado' which followed in 1999, vocalist, songwriter and all-round superstar Blackie Lawless and his various associates have been putting out assured CDs much in the same vein as 'The headless children' for years now, with social and religious commentary replacing the double entendres on the lyrics sheet.

Line-up upheaval in the aftermath of the muddled and contrived 'Neon god' CDs (among the only real misfires the band have made) saw guitarist Darrell Roberts and long-time drum associate Stet Howland leave the set-up. Joining Lawless and bass player Mike Duda – now in his 11th year as a W.A.S.P. member – are drummer Mike Dupke and former touring lead guitarist Doug Blair, now a fully paid-up band member. Why Blair was never hired to perform with W.A.S.P. on record before now will - after hearing the incredible performance he turns in here - always be a mystery to me. His guitar solos are incredible, combining technical perfection with enough rocking swagger to fit the songs like a glove. Nothing he plays ever sounds like a throwaway fret run, but feels as though it was crafted to fit each song perfectly. Blair has spent the last few years playing in the prog band Signal2noise, and it sounds as though he is enjoying himself immensely playing something a little more traditional, but without ever sacrificing his talent in the process.

Like most recent W.A.S.P. releases, the CD is remarkably consistent, and thankfully on this occasion the songs are consistently excellent. There is nothing that could be described as throwaway or misjudged here. Some of the songs – 2 in particular – stand above the rest, but Lawless has crafted 8 (or 9) real winners for his fans with 'Dominator'.

The strongest point of this incredibly balanced CD comes in the middle, starting with "The burning man" - a soaring, venomous number that is dragged along by a quite excellent lead part from Blair while Lawless spits some none-too-subtle lyrics about the U.S. administration. Political agenda aside, this is easily one of the best songs W.A.S.P. have done in quite a while and will hopefully become a staple in the live environment.

Following this is "Heaven's hung in black" - not only the best song on 'Dominator', but also one of the best Lawless has ever written, and the most breathtakingly beautiful power ballad I have heard in some time. An anguished and tender vocal performance from Lawless details a soldier killed on the frontline reaching heaven's gate only find himself being turned away because there is simply no more room. Melodramatic and cheesy sure, but even an unbeliever like myself finds the prospect of a man finding his paradise reduced to nothing more than an overcrowded field hospital a harrowing one.

Despite this, Blair almost steals the show on this song with 2 titanic guitar solos of extraordinary emotion – in particular, the 2nd, which closes the song as the other instruments come to a stuttering halt, is a jaw-dropping composition able to match up to anything ever offered by a previous W.A.S.P. lead player, giving even Bob Kulick's legendary effort on "The idol" a run for its money. The song is briefly reprised as the CDs penultimate track, before the closer, "Deal with the devil" blasts away the cobwebs as it rides in on an age-old Status Quo-esque riff, with Darrell Roberts giving a memorable guest appearances, lashing out a multitude of brash rock 'n' roll solos as the CD crashes to thundering climax.

'Dominator' represents W.A.S.P. back to where they were going with 'Unholy terror' and 'Dying for the world' after the 'Neon god' sidestep, and with Lawless apparently allowing the music to come naturally rather than trying to force a concept CD to match previous efforts, the results are on a different level. Representative of the reborn W.A.S.P. sound and at the same time standing proudly on its own as a timeless heavy metal offering, 'Dominator' is a tremendous piece of work. W.A.S.P. are an institution, and this effort stands proud as one of their best.

(Originally written for http://www.metalcdratings.com/)

Like most people I was more than a little concerned about the quality of W.A.S.P.'s forthcoming release 'Dominator'. Let's face it, Blackie's output since The Crimson Idol has been inconsistent to say the least, and while I still had high hopes for this album I gotta admit I had my doubts about it as well.

Seriously, my doubts have ALL just been fucking laid to rest in a BIG WAY.

Dominator has all the makings of a modern classic. Every track on here kicks massive amounts of ass. Vocal, guitar, and drumming performances are nothing short of superb from start to finish. Production-wise I have no complaints, though production doesn't generally bug me anyway (unless it's REALLY bad, but it ain't on here so who cares?). Lyrically Blackie's has given us something intelligent and thought-provoking, as he has always been capable of doing. Everything fits on here and is rounded and balanced, and that's what I like in a good album.

We open with Mercy, a killer opener reminiscent of Wild Child, all killer, catchy vocal hooks and bitchin' leads. What follows is more of the same; fantastic drumming, fantastic vocals, fantastic guitar-playing, fantastic lyrics, perfectly mixing the serious side of the Crimson Idol with the sense of fun of the s/t. There is not a weak track, not a moment of filler on the whole damn album. Take Me Up is as emotional and stirring as the Idol, the chorus on Teacher is so infectious that I will give you a dollar if you don't find yourself singing it to yourself in the next week, and the riffing on Heaven's Blessed is totally killer.

Heaven's Hung in Black is a titanically epic tune starting with an eerie keyboard rendition of 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' and building into a beautiful and powerful mix of melody and passion stretching over seven minutes, with one of the finest solos I've ever heard to close. Blackie reprises this song on the seventh track, which feels like a very natural closer to the album; leaving us with a profound sense of sobriety and closure. He then hits us harder than a shot of Dallas whisky with a fucking balls-out rocker in the vein of 'Blind In Texas' called 'Deal With The Devil'. This 30ml glass of 80 proof asskickery simply makes you wanna get drunk and bang your fucking head – like any good W.A.S.P. rocker should. One might criticise that it disrupts the dark, sombre note we were left on at the end of the Reprise, but if you approach it as something of a bonus track this ain't much of a problem. Certainly the album would have suffered from disincluding it – it DOES kick ass, after all – and tacking it on the end is definitely the best place to put it without disrupting the flow of the rest of the album.

Conclusion? This a pure fucking W.A.S.P. album; well-deserving of a place in the hallowed halls of the band's first five albums. Anyone who knows me will tell you I have little respect for most metal released after 1992, but 'Dominator' is one of those albums that gives me a certain sense of confidence about the future of heavy metal.

BUY IT.