Helldorado

Remastered reissue of 1998 album packaged in a miniature LP sleeve. Snapper Classics. 2004.

W.A.S.P.'s aging shock rockers reveal a little of their version of nostalgia on this album, but it's doubtful you'll get teary-eyed. Helldorado is an attempt to recapture the attitude and rawness that this cheesiest of metal bands started from in the 1980s, back to the period of their original demo tapes. Against a firestorm of basic three-chord metal, frontman Blackie Lawless continues to spit out bits of larynx as he muses on the eternal verities, from Saturday-night cockfights to faceless blowjobs ("Don't Cry (Just Suck)") and snorting coke. Framing the package is a series of goth-swathed broodings on self-destruction and hell that sound tame when shorn of the sicko theatricality of W.A.S.P.'s live stage shows. Certainly the return of guitarist Chris Holmes to the nest has livened up the spirits of the band, though. Sometimes there's even a change of key between songs. You won't be drowning out too many arty details by cranking this one up, especially Lawless's anthemic "Dirty Balls." --Tom May