Helldorado

Helldorado is a work on which W.A.S.P., turning from the experimental industrial direction of the previous Kill Fuck Die, returns to more straight-ahead, earthy heavy rock and roll, using thick guitar riffs, heavy beats and Blackie Lawless’s dramatic singing. Rather than proceeding to overly complex construction, it foregrounds each song’s clear hooks and a somehow uneasy mood. A record whose appeal is a back-to-origin, simple power. An earthy, wild rock-and-roll feel and W.A.S.P.’s dark, grandiose staging mix exquisitely, giving the whole work a distinctive venom and dangerous appeal. Led by the title track “Helldorado,” the songs powerfully sound both weight and a kind of playfulness at once. Lawless’s guitar and singing drive roughly. Its appeal lies in powerfully pursuing the pleasure of straight, tough rock and roll rather than chasing complexity or deep concept. A record that steered toward a more accessible direction from the experimental, heavy style of the previous work. On which the band’s tough, wild side as a rock-and-roll band strongly appears, it is a powerful record full of straight appeal.