CD Review: WASP - Dominator

The mere mention of the name WASP to my co-workers is enough to elicit chuckles. Why is this? I don't know, perhaps it goes back to their days as 80's metallers with leatcher outfits and flaming codpieces, perhaps it has to do with the concerts where chunks of raw meat get thrown about. Maybe it's that many have written them off as relics of the past, left to be swallowed by the gaping maw of time. It is true that they do not hold quite as high a place in the land of popular music as they did during their heyday some twenty years ago. However, we should not be so quick to write them off. Blackie Lawless is still one hell of a showman, and the music is still, more often than not, compelling. Their latest album, Dominator, shows the Blackie at the top of his game, and album that proves that WASP is still here to be dealt with.


I do not claim to be a huge fan of WASP, only flirting around the edges of their music for most of their existence. Of course, I was very late getting into music to begin with and was mired in hair metal and grunge for awhile before truly making an attempt to discover all that is out there. I did own a cassette of The Headless Children, which I still believe to be their best album to date. I also saw them live, for the first time, during the Neon God tour, and what a show it was. Blackie sounded great, the show was over the top, and I look forward to seeing them again.

With that out of the way, Dominator is a an album that delivers the metallic goods from start to finish. We get flat out heavy tracks, some middle of the road tracks, and a truly emotional power ballad song that is very moving. 26 years into the life of WASP and they still have a powerful metal/hard rock sound that has managed to remain relevant through all of this time. I cannot think of anyone who sounds quite like they do, even with the revolving lineup they have had over the years.

They don't wait long to draw you in, "Mercy" starts straight up with a nice galloping riff leading into a melodic track that sounds like old school WASP. That gives way to the more hard rock feel of "Long, Long Way To Go," a song that features some great driving drums that do not let up for a minute. Each successive song brings something new to the mix, from the melodic "Take Me Up" to the aggressive politics of "The Burning Man."

The album peaks with "Heaven's Hung in Black," a track that tells of a dying soldier turned away from heaven because there is no more room from all of the casualties. It is epic, tragic, and is delivered with true emotion. The song is followed by a reprise a couple of tracks later, and would have been a great way to close the album out, but Blackie had other ideas. The album closes with the uptempo rock number "Deal with the Devil" which leaves you on a fist pumping note, rather than a decidedly more depressing tone.

Dominator is an album that delivers some great punchy music that will get the blood flowing, but it does offer more than that. On top of the driving drums, the soaring, screaming solos, and Blackie's unmistakable voice, there are lyrics that could actually spur on some thoughts about our world situation. This in combination with Megadeth's United Abominations are two very overtly political albums that while created by staunch Americans, are not afraid to take our government to task for many of the world's ills. This is definitely a strong album that grows stronger with each successive listen.

Bottomline. Don't write of WASP just yet, this is a strong release, well written, and drives right to the heart of the matter. It may not forge any new ground, or directions, but it does give us a band that is focused and determined to write the best music they can, and that is all we can ever really hope for.

Recommended.