Blackie Lawless thinks their new albums now compete with their past work.
In a recent chat with George Dionne of KNAC.COM, the W.A.S.P. frontman said the band has been working on new music but faced setbacks due to his back injury and surgeries. They recorded and demoed a lot, but he feels the new material isn’t as consistent as their 2015 album ‘Golgotha.’ According to the singer, the new record must be even better to be well-received:
“Today, a band like us, it’s all about your legacy, because we’re not making records anymore to sell records. I mean, those days are gone. But what we do, or what any artist does when they make a new record now, they are competing against their past.”
Lawless continued:
“So your new album effectively becomes your opening act, and it’s an opening act that’s going up against songs that the audience has heard and romanced in their heads for decades. That’s stiff competition. So when something new comes out, for it to even be remotely considered good, in all honesty, it has to be better than the original stuff, and that’s no joke.”
Lawless’ Previous Words On The New Album
The rocker discussed their upcoming album again earlier this month in an interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station. Blackie wanted to make a heavy rock album, but his writing became more serious. He discussed what inspired the new record:
“Well, when we got ready to start this record a couple years ago, my mindset was I wanted to do a heavy, nasty, stinky rock and roll record. And that’s where my heart was at. But when I started to write, that’s not what was coming out.”
He also wants it to be different than ‘Golgotha’:
“I wanna do something that’s a little lighter, like I said, a little nastier, stinkier old-time rock and roll, but as hard as I was trying to force it in that direction, that’s not what was happening. Now, when we get done with this tour and the European tour next year, then it’ll be time to start looking at that again in earnest. So who knows where we’ll come out of it again? To give you an honest answer, I’d need a crystal ball right now to tell you that, ’cause I don’t know.”
In 2024, W.A.S.P. will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their first album by playing it in full for the first time in 40 years. They’ll do this on their fall 2024 North American tour called ‘Album ONE Alive,’ with support from Death Angel and Unto Others.
You can listen to the rest of his interview below.