“The “30 Years of Thunder” World Tour – This promises to be the Greatest W.A.S.P. Show Ever !!!” posts singer Blackie Lawless on his Facebook page yesterday morning before he kicks off the biggest spectacle in W.A.S.P. history. It was 30 years to the day, that W.A.S.P. played the renowned music venue The Troubadour in L.A., and ten years later, the infamous album ‘The Crimson Idol’ was released. But it was tonight that the celebrations began at the HMV Forum in London, where the fun really begins to happen.
To kick off the party was Sheffield based metal band Crimes Of Passion, where if you put Sebastian Bach on stage with Bruce Dickenson’s voice, you would get frontman Dale who produces some of the most powerful and dynamic vocal ranges it literally stunned the audience into a state of awe. The songs were fun and strong, and the beat was fast with the guitars blaring through the speakers over the top. But the most impressive, and one that is usually less noticeable, was the bass player Simon who rippled raucous licks from his five string bass guitar like no other. All together, the crowd loved them and they were all round enjoyable; a perfect support act for a high profile band like W.A.S.P. tonight. 8/10
Then there was a 40 minute break. The crowd were getting drunker and more restless, gearing up for the amazing show tonight was promised to be. After each song stopped playing the crowd roared into life, only to be disappointed when the next song started playing. By 9.20pm, the band was 20 minutes late and the atmosphere was becoming tense. Suddenly, the lights went out and the fog horn flared up, the red lights danced around the stage as the crowd jumped and screamed, yelling out for W.A.S.P. to take to the stage, when there they were, in all their glory, spandex and all.
The first half of the show was unstoppable, with barely a breath between songs as the hits from the first four albums were played. Top tracks such as ‘Wild Child’ and ‘L.O.V.E Machine’ went down a treat, getting the crowd jumping and singing along so loudly you could barely hear the band. Perhaps the highlight of the first half was the track ‘I Wanna Be Somebody’ where the crowd sang along to the infectiously catchy chorus so loudly it could wake the dead.
The use of movies and projectors in the background was a nice idea, showing highlights of live performances and music videos of the band in the 80s, whilst they played their songs live, it was rather emotional to see how far the band have come since the days in which those videos were recorded.
The second half was just as spectacular as the first as the band performed a 25 minute set from ‘The Crimson Idol’ before heading into some new material. After two hours, you simply couldn’t have had enough as the crowd screamed for more. But the show must end eventually. Overall, what a way to celebrate 30 years, and what a party! Make sure you catch them on the rest of this fantastic anniversary tour, you won’t be disappointed. 9/10
Reviewer: Louisa Smith
Photographer: Graham Berry
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