Words & Pictures: Adrian Hextall / (C) MindHex Media
Welcome to the Bloodiest Show on Earth. Hammersmith, London on a Sunday night, September 28th, 2025. I did not expect that! The autumn chill in the air did little to temper the heat inside the famous Eventim Apollo. Packed to the rafters with people who should know better but still get a buzz from the bloke with the razor blade cod-piece, even if it is some forty years on from the explosive release of the band’s debut album. W.A.S.P. has returned to the UK for a final, ferocious celebration of that iconic debut album on the ‘Album ONE Alive!‘ tour. For Blackie Lawless, I imagine the anniversary is proof positive that a forty plus years war waged against censorship, mediocrity, and the passage of time itself has paid off in spades. He has stated that this album was the genesis of everything, the raw, unfiltered statement that launched a career. Performing it in its entirety is a chance to honour that origin story one last time unless we do it again because of demand. I hope for the latter tbh.
However, before the ringmaster of shock rock, the man who inspired Marilyn Manson, took to the stage, a different kind of steel was on offer.
ARMORED SAINT
Often unfairly bundled with the glitzier side of the ’80s LA scene, Armored Saint arrived not as support, but as peers. Theirs is a story of resilience and unwavering dedication to the craft of pure, unadulterated heavy metal. The band’s classic lineup, a near-unbroken unit, features the powerhouse rhythm section of Joey Vera on bass and Gonzo Sandoval on drums, with the formidable twin-guitar attack of Phil Sandoval and Jeff Duncan. Leading the charge is the incomparable John Bush, a vocalist whose journey is woven into the very fabric of metal history.
Bush famously stepped away to front thrash giants Anthrax from 1992 to 2005, a period that produced several acclaimed albums. His return to the Saint, however, sparked a creative renaissance, with subsequent records like ‘Win Hands Down’ and ‘Punching the Sky’ being hailed by critics and fans as some of the finest of their long career.
On stage, they were like a well-oiled machine. “Alright London!” Bush bellows, after a frenetic opening of ‘March Of The Saint’ that saw him bouncing across the stage like a man 30 years his junior. Their sound owes more to the grit of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal than the hairspray of the Sunset Strip, a fact hammered home by the galloping pace and thunderous double-kick of ‘Long Before I Die‘. Their forty-minute set was a masterclass in dynamics. The moody, epic strains of ‘Win Hands Down’ saw Bush prowling the stage, connecting with anyone who caught his eye. The latter half of the set truly packed a punch and made me wish I’d paid more attention when the band first came into existence at the dawn of their career. Tracks like ‘Can U Deliver’, ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants’, and ‘Reign Of Fire’ provided the perfect opportunity for Sandoval and Duncan to showcase their immense talents, their harmonised leads soaring through the Apollo. Armored Saint left the stage having proven they are not a nostalgia act, but a vital, powerful force in modern metal.
SETLIST:
March of the Saint
End of the Attention Span
Long Before I Die
Last Train Home
Left Hook From Right Field
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Win Hands Down
Can U Deliver
Reign of Fire
W.A.S.P.
As The Doors’ haunting “This is the end…” faded, the stage was plunged into darkness. The familiar cheer for Blackie Lawless’s huge, skeletal mic stand, ‘Elvis’, was drowned out by wailing sirens as red searchlights strafe the packed the venue. A pure theatrical spectacle, honed over forty years. Shadowy figures emerged, turning their backs to the crowd before launching into the one-two assault that started it all back in the early 80s.
While this tour celebrates the debut album, there is one ghost missing from the feast: ‘Animal (F**k Like A Beast)‘. The song that made them the prime target of the PMRC and a cause célèbre for artistic freedom was originally intended as the album’s opener but was omitted from the initial US release by the record label. This historical footnote provides the perfect pretext for its absence tonight, allowing the band to present the album as it was first widely known. To be honest, whilst it might be a shock tactic, rock classic, its absence is not truly missed, simply as a result of the calibre of the other tracks on offer throughout the night.
Thus, it is the defiant roar of ‘I Wanna Be Somebody‘ that ignited the venue. The audience, a multi-generational mix of grizzled veterans and new blood (although the former were definitely in the majority), became a single, unified choir. Onstage, Blackie Lawless, the sole remaining founder, was a magnetic force. Flanked by a band of seasoned professionals who are now integral to the W.A.S.P. legacy. Bassist Mike Duda has been his loyal right-hand man since 1995, a constant presence for nearly three decades. Lead guitarist Doug Blair, who first joined in 1992 and returned permanently in 2006, is a virtuoso of stunning technicality. Behind the kit, the formidable Aquiles Priester provided a foundation of thunderous precision.
Blackie admits the promoters insisted on the album-in-full format, which explains why ‘On Your Knees‘ , “our set opener for FORTY YEARS!”, felt strangely placed deep in the set. But when you start the night with ‘L.O.V.E. Machine’, ‘B.A.D.’, and ‘The Flame’, no one cares. This was classic W.A.S.P. Banners dropped to reveal video screens, projecting the MTV driven videos of W.A.S.P. in their ’80s prime.
The absolute highlight of the album for me was ‘Tormentor‘, with it’s sound effects reminding me of the wooden post, chains and torture implements from ‘Hellraiser’. It, like everything else on offer was pure singalong brilliance. And then we got to the album’s closer, ‘The Torture Never Stops‘. The lights went down. That can’t be it, right?
Of course not. Unlike the Doors intro music, it’s not the end. The encore was essentially a second half. Kicking off with a medley rooted in ‘Inside The Electric Circus’ / ‘The Headless Children‘ albums, the band ticked every box. A blistering cover of The Who’s ‘The Real Me‘ sat perfectly alongside my all time favourite ‘Wild Child‘ and the emotionally charged ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor‘, (which is good given the state of the NHS today) before the night culminated in the ultimate W.A.S.P. anthem, ‘Blind in Texas’.
SETLIST:
I Wanna Be Somebody,
L.O.V.E. Machine,
The Flame,
B.A.D.,
School Daze,
Hellion,
Sleeping (In the Fire),
On Your Knees,
Tormentor,
The Torture Never Stops,
Encore:,
The Big Welcome,
Inside the Electric Circus / I Don’t Need No Doctor / Scream Until You Like It,
The Real Me / Forever Free / The Headless Children,
Wild Child,
Blind in Texas,
The evening gave us a polished, powerful set from Armored Saint mixed with the raw, theatrical savagery of W.A.S.P. A great reminder that heavy metal doesn’t need vocals that sound like a sink plunger working overtime. The healthy dose of nostalgia was undeniable, but this was no mere trip down memory lane. This was meaningful and more importantly ‘fun’, proving that forty years on, Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P. can still deliver the bloodiest, and most brilliantly entertaining, show on Earth.
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