Black Lawless on "Animal" and his faith...

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"Animal (smurf Like A Beast)" was clearly the filthiest of the PMRC's "Filthy Fifteen" list, and while it certainly caused a stir at the time, W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless now regrets it, especially as he has renewed his religious faith.

"Words are the most powerful things we possess," stressed Lawless as he talked to Bryan Reesman of Bryanreesman.com. "They shape our very lives and determine who and what we are. Some may find it remarkable, but I was born again when I was 11 years old. I was very active in my church until I was 18, and when I left the church, I went about as far away as a person could go when I then studied the occult for three years. I wrote that song a couple of years after I stopped that study. I went for 20 more years before I returned to my Christian faith, which is where I am now. That song was put into my life for a reason. I was talking to Alice Cooper, who is also born again, earlier this year, and we both feel the same about our early work. Although a lot of the music we did early on was as diametrically opposed to the way we had been brought up, a lot of the early songs we did were laced with those Christian valves. He and I were talking and said, all we need now is Marilyn Manson and we could start a band. The world would never believe it! I said all that to say this: I renounce, denounce and pronounce that I will never play that song ['Animal'] live again. Actually, I've not played it live for several years."

To read the entire Blackie Lawless interview visit http://www.bryanreesman.com/blog/2010/09/21/blackie-lawless-renounces-his-past-sins/.

http://www.sleazeroxx.com/news10/0922was.shtml

what a shame!

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I said all that to say this: I renounce, denounce and pronounce that I will never play that song ['Animal'] live again. Actually, I've not played it live for several years."

That's weak. It's just a song. You wrote it, played it and it brought you noteriety. Own up to it.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

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I said all that to say this: I renounce, denounce and pronounce that I will never play that song ['Animal'] live again. Actually, I've not played it live for several years."

That's weak. It's just a song. You wrote it, played it and it brought you noteriety. Own up to it.

If he feels like he can't play that song anymore then who are we to judge him? A lot of us regret stuff we've done in the past and do not want to re-live it. Now if he were to feel the way he does and play that song anyways, then that would be something to criticize.

Me. I'm here to judge him.

Right on, Blackie!

He and Alive don't need MM to form a band though..... Bring in Dave Mustaine instead

MetalGuy71 wrote:

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I said all that to say this: I renounce, denounce and pronounce that I will never play that song ['Animal'] live again. Actually, I've not played it live for several years."

That's weak. It's just a song. You wrote it, played it and it brought you noteriety. Own up to it.

Isn't that what he did? He said he wrote the song and then said he regrets it and won't play it anymore. Is he supposed to keep playing it out of some weird double-think mentality?

No, I'm saying he should continue to play it live, regardless of his current beliefs.

sheets wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

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I said all that to say this: I renounce, denounce and pronounce that I will never play that song ['Animal'] live again. Actually, I've not played it live for several years."

That's weak. It's just a song. You wrote it, played it and it brought you noteriety. Own up to it.

Isn't that what he did? He said he wrote the song and then said he regrets it and won't play it anymore. Is he supposed to keep playing it out of some weird double-think mentality?

yes

Well, that is just stupid, manny and MG71. He doesn't owe anyone anything.

I'd love to hear what he and Alice could put together.

He owes me. I bought the albums. I bought a ticket to his show (which got cancelled, btw). I became aware of the band due to that song and dammit, if I went to see them live in 2010 (which is unlikely), I'd want to hear it.

It makes as much sense if The Who dropped 'My Generation' from the set-list because of the line "I hope I die before I get old" just because they're now old. Or the Stones making a statement "Well, we've pretty much got all the satisfaction we need at this age, so we're dropping that song from our set-list."

I really dont see any difference between this and when artists wont play songs they made earlier in their careers and dont consider them 'good enough'. If he chooses not to play it, thats a choice. If you dont want to go his shows because he is not playing that song - thats a choice.

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If he chooses not to play it, thats a choice. If you dont want to go his shows because he is not playing that song - thats a choice.

I agree with this.

kmorg wrote:

Well, that is just stupid, manny and MG71. He doesn't owe anyone anything.

I don't really believe an artist owes me or anyone else anything, and I do respect his faith, which is a good thing since I share the same faith as he does. As a fan I view this song as a signature song of this group and when I was a kid I checked the band simply on the basis of this song, so if I went saw them live I would be disappointed if the song was excluded from the set list.

He could change it to, "I F WITH the Beast".

I respect Blackie for this stance... when giving in and playing the song against his better judgement would be the EASY thing to do. And BTW, Blackie doesn't owe ANYONE ANYTHING.

Waylon wrote:

And BTW, Blackie doesn't owe ANYONE ANYTHING.

I think he still owes Tipper Gore and the Blue-Haired Connecticans and debt of appreciation and gratitude.

I guess if he doesn't wanna play the song anymore, it's his call...

Though I must say that whenI saw W.A.S.P. in 1992, when Blackie was going thru his I-Wanna-Be-A-Serious-Artiste-Like-My-Hero-Pete-Townshend "Crimson Idol" period, he didn't play "Animal" at that gig either, and people (myself included) were kinda honked off.

I've seen W.A.S.P. 3x over the years and have never heard them perform that song.

I've heard him ply it, and I've heard him exclude it. Didn't miss it one bit when he didn't play it, as his whole catalogue is so brilliant!

I personally don't care whether he plays it or not but if you really love the song I can understand disappointment in him not playing it anymore. That said, he doesn't have to play what he doesn't want to play. There's still plenty of good W.A.S.P. songs to fill a satisfying set list.

If someone's entire inclination to go see W.A.S.P. play hinges on this one song, well that's just silly, I think. He's been saying publicly for years the song will not be performed anymore so it's not like he's being shady about it anyway.

For anyone that still wants to hear it live there's a couple of live albums you can pick from.

Well I guess bands will just have to cover it then. That's one of his best songs.

I know how he feels though. There is a lot I have regret doing musically.

Lurideath wrote:

I know how he feels though. There is a lot I have regret doing musically.

That polka death rapcore with ukelele project you did has to be up at the top

I saw W.A.S.P. many many moons ago and they played it then. We were all jazzed during the set hoping it would get played (at that point I had never even heard the song just knew about it through it's notoriety) so it was quite the thrill.

If it's no longer in the setlist,that's his call and I respect his decision. It is a shame though.It is a great song.