The Crimson Idol / The Neon God

Let me preface this by saying that W.A.S.P. is my favorite metal band. It's been that way since I can remember. I have been rejected by my wife when I have asked if we could name our first child "Blackie". However, I can't listen to either The Crimson Idol or either of the The Neon God albums. It is my understanding that a bunch of people think "Crimson" is their best album. I wholeheartedly DISagree.

I suppose it's the thick subject matter....it just doesn't go with W.A.S.P. for me. I like the high energy, in your face albums by W.A.S.P. and find these "concept" albums to be pretentious and snoozefests. For a "serious" W.A.S.P. album, I find "Headless Children" to be perfect.

Does anyone agree? I'd like to hear your thoughts on these albums....

Haven't really heard those, but I really like their first two, especially the debut.

I love THE CRIMSON IDOL but thought NEON GOD was dull as dishwater. When NEON GOD was first announced, I was stoked since I'd liked IDOL so much but when I bought the first disc it basically sounded like warmed up IDOL leftovers.

The NEON GOD saga has a couple of halfway decent tracks here and there but even if you put them all together you probably wouldn't have enough for one good record. My inner cynic suspects that the only reason it was released as a two parter was because Blackie had two albums left on his contract with Sanctuary/Metal-Is, so he hacked those two out just to get the hell out of there.

I haven't heard Neon God but I have Crimson Idol and I really like it. Since I generally don't sit down with a lyrics booklet and "digest" albums anymore, the fact that it's a concept album is more or less lost on me.

I have never heard the 'The Neon God' but I think the 'Crimson Idol' is an excellent album, I do agree that much prefer the 'Headless Children' over the 'Crimson Idol' but I think 'Crimson Idol' is still a great album that holds up very well.

I like the Neon God albums, but I prefer their early albums and their latest albums to it. The only W.A.S.P. I don't really care for at all is "Helldorado".,

ultmetal wrote:

The only W.A.S.P. I don't really care for at all is "Helldorado".,

I would take HELLDORADO over K.F.D. any day of the week.

THE CRIMSON IDOL is one of my fave WASP albums and the NEON GOD albums are not bad, but TCI is far and far better. HELLDORADO has a couple of good songs, and i really hated K.F.D when it came out. Now i like it a little more, but still its my lease fave WASP album. STILL NOT BLACK ENOUGH is great too.

Still Not Black Enough and The Headless Children are probably my faves by WASP. I like TCI a lot but not as much as some and the more I listened to the Neon God albums the more they grew on me.

I never understood the worship Crimson Idol receives. It's not a bad album, just not a great one. The Neon God albums should have been combined into one album consisting of the best songs.There seems to be a bit of filler on both.

my fave WASP outside the first album is KFD. i don't think i've played anything after Helldorado more than once. it doesn't really sound like WASP to me, outside of Blackie's voice.

I actually think Crimson Idol is a tad overrated, it's not bad it just didn't blow me away like it seemed to do for everyone else, crazy as it sounds I actually somewhat prefer Helldorado to CI, though for me K.F.D. is the weak link in they're discography, the industrial Nine Inch Nails-esque sound just didn't fit WASP very well, it was an interesting experiment at best, the only above-average song on that album is "Wicked Love".

Vexer6 wrote:

I actually think Crimson Idol is a tad overrated, it's not bad it just didn't blow me away like it seemed to do for everyone else, crazy as it sounds I actually somewhat prefer Helldorado to CI, though for me K.F.D. is the weak link in they're discography, the industrial Nine Inch Nails-esque sound just didn't fit WASP very well, it was an interesting experiment at best, the only above-average song on that album is "Wicked Love".

I think if the industrial elements were removed from the album you would find (songwriting wise) it is not all that different from any other album from the W.A.S.P. discography

mc666 wrote:

my fave WASP outside the first album is KFD. i don't think i've played anything after Helldorado more than once. it doesn't really sound like WASP to me, outside of Blackie's voice.

Have you heard the latest?

KFD is a personal favorite, as is Helldorado.

manny wrote:

I think if the industrial elements were removed from the album you would find (songwriting wise) it is not all that different from any other album from the W.A.S.P. discography

This is true. I actually like the live versions of K.F.D. songs found on the DOUBLE LIVE ASSASSINS disc better than their studio counterparts. With all the studio trickery stripped off of them, those songs sound much more like "traditional" W.A.S.P. songs.

HELLDORADO seems to get a lot of hate but I never really understood why. It's not a classic by any means, but it's a throwback to the good ol' fashioned young-dumb-and-full-of-c*m W.A.S.P. stuff like "Animal (F**k Like A Beast)" and "Ballcrusher." It was a great relief to hear them playing that kinda stuff again after K.F.D.'s detour into Manson territory.

THE CRIMSON IDOL is okay album. I enjoy revisiting it now and then. NEON GOD I cannot care less for.

The best WASP album is the S/T by a mile!

I like everything from Headless Children to KFD and some of the earlier songs like The Manimal. Crimson Idol is my favourite album. I don´t like the albums after KFD but so far I haven´t heard the last one.

I have a tough time getting through Crimson Idol in one sitting. I usually just go to the songs I like it. Always felt it was too long and drawn out. The Headless Children is far and away my favorite.

The last release is really great. Also think Dominator is very under-rated. And unlike TCI, that one is way too short.

This is my take on it:

The Crimson Idol is definitely a high light in WASP's career but it is far from their best album. I happen to agree that the first 3 albums (and that general format of songs) contains WASP's best collection of songs. Idol is one of those albums that I have to be in the mood for , I guess because it is a rather moody, dark and at times emotional album. But generally when it comes to albums that present a concept from start to finish I need to be in that mindset of listening to the whole thing and getting right into the story.

Having said that, the songs are quite strong on Crimson albeit different sounding from anything WASP released in the 80s. There are some great epic moments on there "The Idol" and "The Great Misconceptions of Me" are both highlights. But much like with Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime, the Crimson Idol is not the first album I reach for when I want to listen to something by WASP - I'll usually choose the first three albums.

As for the Headless Children - that album never really did much for me. In hindsight it was very much a middle of the road album for WASP, it signifies the transition from their earlier days to the darker, dare I say heavier sound they would explore on Crimson Idol and onwards.

After some very hi hoopla I picked up The Crimson Idol and it left me wanting..... It's ok but not something I'd make a desert island disc out of.....

if I were stranded on an island and had to choose a WASP cd... Inside the Electric Circus would be my choice...

but these days you'd most likely be stranded on an island with your ipod , in which case you'll have a shitload of albums on there hahha

I enjoy The Crimson Idol very much. Not my favorite WASP, but very enjoyable. The Neon God is too long when trying to sit through 2 discs worth of music. I get bored.

I don't mind the industrial touches on K.F.D., but I agree that the songs sound just as good, if not better when they're stripped down in a live setting.