Inside the Electric Circus

Inside the Electric Circus is the third album on which W.A.S.P. deftly binds its rough heavy-metal feel and the decadent image of a dangerous “circus” show to big choruses. Blackie Lawless’s voice is provocative and imposing as ever, while Chris Holmes’s guitar sharply cuts the songs’ gaps. It develops the direction of the first two albums into a more theatrical, showy one. The momentum of the title track “Inside the Electric Circus,” pouring in from the opener “The Big Welcome,” the intense drive of “9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y.” and the momentum of “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” a bold cover of a Ray Charles song, well convey the band’s overwhelming live feel, while cuts like “Restless Gypsy” and “Shoot from the Hip” also shine. Its appeal is that a sure songwriting that never misses a catchy hook breathes behind the extreme, decadent expression. The band’s side as an entertainer is strongly put forward. Letting you fully savor early W.A.S.P.’s dangerous, showy appeal, it is a momentum-filled record — Holmes’s guitar shining.