W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol (1992) CD-Rip

This has got to be one of the greatest albums ever known to mankind. What can I say about this beast? Its practically the kind of stuff you would want to tag along as long as you live. It combines elements of both hard hitting heavy metal and contemporary rock opera, more like what Meatloaf did back in his prime but heavier and thrashier by a good 10x. You thought Operation Mindcrime is the best metal concept album ever? This beats the shit out of it any given day. Blackie continues to impress further and further. This man’s a metal machine.

What we have here is a wonderfully crafted album brilliantly capturing the life of an aspiring rock musician called Jonathan and how his taste of superstar success eventually gets him to take his own life. Born a not so perfect son to a family, he runs away from home and eventually gets into bad company. One fine day he decides to make more money by pursuing his love for rock music and soon become a star. Getting all the leisures of life, he now feels the urge to get his family love back, which he eventually doesn’t and thus ends up giving up his own life.

Each track flows one after the other so smoothly, it feels like one gigantic track over an hour in length. The well executed acoustic solo in “The Titanic Overture” is used throughout the album to give it the feel and the atmosphere. Hard hitters include the catchy “The Invisible Boy”, the epic “Chainsaw Charlie” , the punchy “Arena Of Pleasure”, the anthemic “I Am One” and the insanity driven “Doctor Rockter”. Although there are a few slower ones found in here, they are not your conventional rock ballads. These may well be called the ultimate heavy metal ballads. “The Idol” and “Hold On To My Heart” are an absolute treat to listen to and give this album a meaningful balance.

The finisher “The Great Misconceptions Of Me” is the monster around. Clocking at almost ten minutes in length, this tells the story of Jonathan from start to finish basically doing the job of what one may refer to as a Wren and Martin influenced summary writing. In my words, this could be called a Heavy Metal Summary. The riffs and the slow acoustic breakdowns in between give this track a genuine touch altogether.

My suggestion is very simple. If you are a sucker for a catchy concept and traditional metal and would like to taste the unique combo of both, then this is just what you should look for, the next time you go record shopping. You aint gonna be wasting any so called precious dimes on this. Its worth a fortune. Highly recommended to all long running W.A.S.P fans and also those who would like a little deviation from the same old conventional metal sound. This is the true heights of imagination.