W.A.S.P. began following the demise of Circus Circus, a Los Angeles-based band featuring Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper. The original lineup of W.A.S.P. was formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 by Lawless, Piper, Rik Fox, and Tony Richards.
The first lineup did not last for long, as Rik Fox was let go and went on to join the band Steeler with vocalist Ron Keel and guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. He was replaced by Don Costa, the bassist in Richards' former band, Dante Fox (which later evolved into Great White). Shortly afterward, Costa also left the band and his position on the bass was filled by Brayden Parker. By the time they recorded their debut album "W.A.S.P.", Lawless had taken over on bass and Chris Holmes had joined on lead guitar. At the same time, guitarist Chris Holmes joined the band.
Shortly after the album's release in 1984, Richards was replaced by former Keel drummer Steve Riley. The group released "The Last Command" in 1985, before Piper left in July 1986. Lawless subsequently switched back to guitar, with Johnny Rod (real name John Tumminello) leaving King Kobra to take over as bassist. "Inside the Electric Circus" followed in October. A live album "Live...In the Raw" was released in 1987. Riley left during the subsequent tour to join L.A. Guns. He was replaced for future shows by a string of temporary substitutes. By early 1988, W.A.S.P. had started working on its fourth studio album with Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali.
The band's popularity peaked in the 1980s, yet they continue to record and tour, making them one of the most enduring of the West Coast heavy metal bands. W.A.S.P. gained notoriety for their shock rock themed image, lyrics and live performances. They have sold over 12 million copies of their albums.
The band was a prominent target in the mid-1980s of the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) led by Tipper Gore, who at the time was wife of then-Senator Al Gore (D-TN), an organization that pushed for warning labels on recorded music. The band immortalized its fight with the PMRC on the song "Harder, Faster" from their 1987 live album, Live...In the Raw.
"I Wanna Be Somebody" was the most successful single from W.A.S.P.'s debut album. and It was ranked at No. 84 in VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs of All Time.
In October 2007, W.A.S.P. embarked on The Crimson Idol Tour, to celebrate that album's 15th anniversary. It is the first time that the album, often regarded to be among the band's finest work, was performed in full from start to finish. The tour kicked off in Greece, in Thessaloniki at the Principal Club Theater on October 26, 2007.
Blackie Lawless remains the only member from the original line-up. They released their most recent album in November 2009, entitled Babylon.
On September 21, 2012, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of their first ever live show by kicking off a world tour at The Forum in London. The set for the tour was split into three sections: songs from the first four albums, a cut-down rendition of the Crimson Idol performance and a final segment for newer material.
The Headless Children
W.A.S.P. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Madness we're under
God of creation are we blind?
Cause some here are slaves
That worship guns that spit thunder
The children that you've made
Have lost the minds
Is bleeding
Cause the children have been
Left along too long
This thing that we've made is fat
And feeds on the hate
Of the millions that it's taught to sing
The song
The headless children
The screams that fill the night
Fill the night fill the night fill the night
Oh the headless children
The madness steals the light
Steals the light steals the light steals the light
Time bombs in the hands of all the wicked warbabies
Light the fuse of temptation and we all burn
Four horsemen sit high up in the saddle
And waiting are ride the bloody trail of no return
Sleeping in the arms of a nightmare and
Wake to find we've been away too long
This Frankenstein of flash
Stitched together back from death
And preying on the souls of everyone
The headless children
The screams that fill the night
Fill the night fill the night fill the night
Oh the headless children
The madness steals the light
Steals the light steals the light steals the light
The song "The Headless Children" by W.A.S.P. is a powerful protest against the war, violence, and corruption that is destroying humanity. The opening lines call out to the father, the God of creation, to save us from the madness that surrounds us. It is a plea for help because many have become slaves to the violence and the guns that spit thunder. The children have lost their minds, and the world has become a monster that is bleeding. The message here is that humanity is failing and is in danger of becoming lost.
The chorus of the song, "The headless children, the screams that fill the night," is a powerful metaphor. It represents the countless victims of war and violence who have lost their lives and their voices. The repeated line "steals the light," refers to how the madness and violence have taken away the hope and light of the world, leaving it in darkness. The song paints a picture of a world that has gone mad, and where the children have become headless, without direction and leadership.
The song is a poignant reminder of the consequences of war and violence on society. It calls for an end to the madness and for humanity to take responsibility for its actions. The message of the song is to bring light to the madness and how it is ruining humanity. The song calls for change, and for people to wake up from their nightmare of violence and realize it's not too late to make a difference.
Line by Line Meaning
Father come save us from this madness we're under
The singer is desperate for divine intervention to save them from the chaos and turmoil they are experiencing.
God of creation are we blind?
The singer questions whether they have failed to see the truth and recognize the magnitude of the problems facing humanity.
Cause some here are slaves that worship guns that spit thunder
The singer criticizes the obsession with weapons and violence that some people have, viewing it as a form of slavery to destructive ideologies.
The children that you've made have lost the minds
The artist laments the fact that younger generations seem to have lost their sense of reason and morality.
This monster that we call the earth is bleeding
The artist sees the state of the planet as a frightening and dangerous situation that requires urgent attention.
Cause the children have been left along too long
The singer blames the neglect of younger generations for their current state of confusion and despair.
This thing that we've made is fat and feeds on the hate of the millions that it's taught to sing the song
The singer condemns the manipulative forces of society that profit from spreading hatred and division among the masses.
The headless children, the screams that fill the night
The artist evokes the image of a terrifying, undead army of children who embody the chaotic and violent state of the world, as their screams echo in the darkness.
Oh the headless children, the madness steals the light
The artist suggests that the current state of affairs has robbed people of their sense of hope and optimism, leaving them lost in the darkness of despair.
Time bombs in the hands of all the wicked warbabies
The artist chastises those who promote violence and conflict to further their own interests, likening them to dangerous and unstable explosives.
Light the fuse of temptation and we all burn
The singer warns that giving in to destructive impulses and desires will ultimately lead to disastrous consequences for everyone involved.
Four horsemen sit high up in the saddle
The artist references the biblical figures of Death, Famine, War, and Pestilence, symbolizing the apocalyptic nature of the current state of the world.
And waiting are ride the bloody trail of no return
The singer suggests that there is no easy way out of the predicament humanity is in, and that a violent and tragic fate awaits those who refuse to change their ways.
Sleeping in the arms of a nightmare and wake to find we've been away too long
The singer describes a state of collective delusion, where people have been lulled into complacency by false dreams and illusions, only to wake up too late to the true dangers that surround them.
This Frankenstein of flash, stitched together back from death and preying on the souls of everyone
The singer sees the current state of the world as a twisted and monstrous creation, cobbled together from various influences and ideologies, and driven by a voracious hunger for power and control over others.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: STEVE EDWARD DUREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mickey Schanz
Actual Timestamps:
1. The Heretic (The Lost Child) - 0:01
2. The Real Me - 7:22
3. The Headless Children - 10:41
4. Thunderhead - 16:28
5. Mean Man - 23:17
6. The Neutron Bomber - 28:05
7. Mephisto Waltz - 32:14
8. Forever Free - 33:40
9. Maneater - 38:49
10. Rebel In The F.D.G. - 43:36
Metalbob011
These fits of depression are torturing me
The lives that I seen won't breath again
A sad child of madness, they'll never be free
Born again to die, the agonies begin
And soldiers keep coming - like warriors they die
But gang land's alive when mothers cry
Cause hate's blind addictions, a killing machine
And it burns on the fuel of shattered lives - lost child, lost child
The seeds of all evil are sown in their minds
And harvest the sad fields of woe
Cause dead boys are martyr
That live on forever
But now it's too late for their souls
Standing on sanities too fragile edge
And worship the "Lord of Flies"
And wade through the slaughter
You've made of the brother
And drown in his blood then when he dies
You see in their eyes
They're the lost child
See in their eyes
You see in their eyes
They're the lost child
See in their eyes
Don't turn out the lights
Cause there's demons in the night
And they prey on the fears in us all
They hide inside and wait
And they shun the light of day
The screams in their dreams fill us all
Children of a night
Such a sad tune they rhyme
The bloody boys that sing a wicked song
And for all of them they're just memories in the wind
Rise and see
It's the down of insanity
Keeper of the gates of fire
And the Heretic has said
You don't have to be afraid
Till I - till I come to get ya
And child in time
On the swords edge you ride
And cast a spell of Heresy
And die in vain
Like a wild dog in chains
And no-one can save
Or set you free
The 80s
I am an addict ..., an addict to this album, the more I listen to it the more I like it.
01 - 00:00 - The Heretic(The Lost Child)
02 - 07:22 - The Real Me
03 - 10:42 - The Headless Children
04 - 16:28 - Thunderhead
05 - 23:17 - Mean Man
06 - 28:05 - The Neutron Bomber
07 - 32:14 - Mephisto Waltz
08 - 33:40 - Forever Free
09 - 38:49 - Maneater
10 - 43:36 - Rebel In The F.D.G.
Jarod Virden
You know an album is good when you still want to listen to it 32 years later and it still sounds fresh and unique. This album should have been a commercial success but for some reason it was not. Still a classic.
John N
Was overshadowed partly by some really good music and some that just had bigger, more mainstream stuff at the time. This is definitely top 10% stuff tho.
John N
Was overshadowed partly by some really good music and some that just had bigger, more mainstream stuff at the time. This is definitely top 10% stuff tho.
Jarod Virden
Agreed. I like this album even more today than when I first bought it the week it came out....and I liked it alot then. I feel like I found a hidden gem that none of my friends knew about. My only criticism is that I could do without satanic overtones of a few songs.
John Hareiel
Sucks cause this is one of the best albums to come out of the 80's, if not The Best! Actually a notch better than even Master Of Puppets in my opinion. Lost Child is a Masterpiece that sums up the entire decade.
Raaka Reiska
Wasn't this after all best selling W.A.S.P album? Some would call that success
Mickey Schanz
Actual Timestamps:
1. The Heretic (The Lost Child) - 0:01
2. The Real Me - 7:22
3. The Headless Children - 10:41
4. Thunderhead - 16:28
5. Mean Man - 23:17
6. The Neutron Bomber - 28:05
7. Mephisto Waltz - 32:14
8. Forever Free - 33:40
9. Maneater - 38:49
10. Rebel In The F.D.G. - 43:36
Metalbob011
These fits of depression are torturing me
The lives that I seen won't breath again
A sad child of madness, they'll never be free
Born again to die, the agonies begin
And soldiers keep coming - like warriors they die
But gang land's alive when mothers cry
Cause hate's blind addictions, a killing machine
And it burns on the fuel of shattered lives - lost child, lost child
The seeds of all evil are sown in their minds
And harvest the sad fields of woe
Cause dead boys are martyr
That live on forever
But now it's too late for their souls
Standing on sanities too fragile edge
And worship the "Lord of Flies"
And wade through the slaughter
You've made of the brother
And drown in his blood then when he dies
You see in their eyes
They're the lost child
See in their eyes
You see in their eyes
They're the lost child
See in their eyes
Don't turn out the lights
Cause there's demons in the night
And they prey on the fears in us all
They hide inside and wait
And they shun the light of day
The screams in their dreams fill us all
Children of a night
Such a sad tune they rhyme
The bloody boys that sing a wicked song
And for all of them they're just memories in the wind
Rise and see
It's the down of insanity
Keeper of the gates of fire
And the Heretic has said
You don't have to be afraid
Till I - till I come to get ya
And child in time
On the swords edge you ride
And cast a spell of Heresy
And die in vain
Like a wild dog in chains
And no-one can save
Or set you free
ENDTYME - Occult Rock
This cover of „Real Me“ got me into The Who. I don‘t think Blackie would be mad at me to do so :-)
Moshlem 666
... 🤘 🇺🇸