SilentScream213 What is often hailed as one of if not the best W.A.S.P. albums is ironically more so a solo effort by bandleader Blackie that eventually got the W.A.S.P. label slapped on it so it could sell. Sometimes, an album can be a better package if it really is done entirely by one person. Especially in the case of a concept album.

Blackie had a story, he had a few main motifs and he rolled with it all the way through. The result is a strong album that feels heavily cohesive and has no moments of weakness. The music is very catchy, and adds just enough keys and other musical influences to up the “epic rocking” factor without truly dipping into cheese territory, and is actually quite serious musically. The album is surprisingly vulnerable for someone of Blackie’s reputation, as “desiring the love and acceptance of your parents” was not exactly a common theme in heavy music (though it was likely an undertone in a lot of the rebellious themes, no one would flat out admit it).

Aside from that, the story is another tale of a fictional rocker’s rise and fall, which had already been done to death by ’92. The album is consistently very strong, but if the main motifs aren’t working for you, it will get very samey and repetitive. Great listen to follow along the story, flows incredibly well, but the replay factor is quite low.

Warthur Blackie Lawless and crew were clearly listening to Pink Floyd's The Wall a lot when cooking up The Crimson Idol - at least, if it isn't a loving homage to Roger Waters' "oh, woe is me, I'm rich and successful and popular" rock opera, then it's either a rip-off or a huge, huge coincidence. Dealing with more serious subject matter like drug addiction and the failure of your rock star lifestyle to make you feel happy and contented prompts them to lose some of the brash, sleazy rawness of their earlier work, but it's a decent enough stab at the subject matter which, unlike the Wall, doesn't outstay its welcome.

Losimba When this album was published, I read a review in the German edition of the Metal Hammer which rated it down because the author compared The Crimson Idol with Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche which was in his opinion THE reference for every concept album. I disagreed then, and I still do. Back in 1992 my reference for every concept album was Misplaced Childhood by Marillion, though it is not Heavy Metal. Now I have given up the habit to compare concept albums to other ones, simply because it is rarely possible. There are not many concept albums which share the topic or style, though bands in the progressive genres certainly publish more of them. Accordingly, The Crimson Idol has a completely different topic than Operation: Mindcrime, and I can't recall another concept album about music business and the pitfalls for the artists.

Musically, The Crimson Idol is a really good album. There is no song I could rate as crap, while there are several I consider excellent. The style is dominated by the usual W.A.S.P.-like highspeed, but there are some surprisingly slow passages and even an acoustic ballad in The Idol. Another positive feature for me is the relative lack of extreme vulgarities that are so typical of W.A.S.P. and the main reason why I'm not too fond of this band.

My favourite songs are Chainsaw Charlie with it's stylish chainsaw intro, the already mentioned The Idol and the final The Great Misconception Of Me, another rather slow song with a lot of lyrical depth. There are other concept (and normal) albums I still prefer over The Crimson Idol, but it is the best W.A.S.P. album by a large margin. To be honest, it is the only album of this band I like. 4 stars.