W.A.S.P. — Animal (F**k Like a Beast) (review)

W.A.S.P. — Animal (F**k Like a Beast) album cover Single · 1984 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" is a single release by US heavy metal act W.A.S.P.. It was released through Music for Nations in April 1984. The single features the A-side title track, and the B-side track "Show No Mercy". "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" was originally intended to be included on the band´s self-titled debut full-length studio album, but Capital Records pulled the track from the final album release, as they feared that the explicit sexual content of the lyrics would get the album banned from some of the major US retail chains. Instead W.A.S.P. opted to release "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" as a single, but Capital Records didn´t dare to release that in the US either, so the single ended up being a UK only release through Music for Nations and "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" wasn´t available in the studio version in the US until it was included on the reissue of W.A.S.P. debut album in 1998.

Listening to "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" with the ears of today, it´s a bit hard to imagine why it was considered such a controversial track (the PMRC continuesly used the track, when they were rallying against explicit lyrics in rock music), but granted the lyrics are pretty explicit if you are sensitive to images of naked women and hard sex. The music itself is hard rocking heavy metal, but very catchy and melodic. "Show No Mercy" (which is not a Slayer cover) is one of the band´s more harder edged and dark heavy metal tracks. A pretty great B-side.

The material is well produced, well composed, and well played, and as a single release "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" is quite successful to my ears, but I doubt that it would have received as much attention as it did, if the lyrics for the title track hadn´t been as provocative as they are. A good publicity stunt, or maybe just the circumstances of the situation elevated the release to something a bit more interesting than it really was/is. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
LOL :-)
siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Well, he could change the lyrics to PRAY LIKE A BEAST lol
Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
And apparently Blackie Lawless doesn't want to play it any more, because of his Christian beliefs.
siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Yeah, THIS was the extreme metal of the day :) Remember that the prudish censors were going after John Denver and Frank Zappa as well. It was a GREAT publicity stunt that keeps this little EP in the limelight decades later but basically its just the same catchy sleezy classic metal that WASP was pumping out all throughout the early years. I love it myself. Great review!

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