W.A.S.P. will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut by performing the album in full and in order on their fall 2024 Album ONE Alive tour.
The 39-city tour will kick off Oct. 26 in San Luis Obispo and conclude Dec. 14 in Los Angeles. Death Angel and Unto Others will support W.A.S.P. on all dates, except as noted below. Ticket presales begin on May 29th at 10 a.m. local time, you can get more information at WASPnation.com.
Lawless has reportedly recovered from surgery to treat two herniated discs and a broken vertebra, injuries that forced him to cancel the band’s planned 2023 tour.
Released on Aug. 17, 1984, the gold-selling W.A.S.P. is home to songs such as “I Wanna Be Somebody,” “On Your Knees” and “The Flame.” “It was an angry record made by an angry band,” singer Blackie Lawless declared in a press release announcing the tour. “It was a record that not only reflected the attitude of the band members who made it, but also a record that reflected its time.”
Before the release of W.A.S.P., the Parents Music Resource Center added the song “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” to their “Filthy 15” list of “morally objectionable” songs. As as result Capitol Records pulled the track from the record, although it was returned to its rightful opening spot for a 1998 reissue.
Citing his religious convictions, Lawless removed “Animal” from the group’s set lists in 2006, but brought it back for the band’s 2022 40th anniversary tour. “There’s a part of me that says it’s already out there,” Lawless told Eddie Trunk prior to the tour’s start. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Do I owe it to the fan base to really make this a true retrospect of what we’ve done?”
W.A.S.P. Album ONE Alive Tour Dates
Oct. 26 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater (no opening acts)Oct. 28 – Portland, OR @ Roseland TheaterOct. 29 – Seattle, WA @ Moore TheatreOct. 30 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue TheatreNov. 01 – Calgary, AB The Palace TheatreNov. 02 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting FactoryNov. 03 – Boise, ID @ Knitting FactoryNov. 04 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The DepotNov. 05 – Denver, CO @ Paramount TheatreNov. 07 – Minneapolis, MN @ The FillmoreNov. 08 – St Charles, IL @ The Arcada TheatreNov. 10 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music TheatreNov. 11 – Toronto, ON @ HistoryNov. 13 – Montreal, QC @ MTELUSNov. 14 – Quebec City, QC @ Theatre CapitoleNov. 15 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum TheatreNov. 16 – New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom At Manhattan CenterNov. 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music HallNov. 19 – Cleveland, OH @ The Agora TheaterNov. 20 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AENov. 21 – Stroudsburg, PA @ The Sherman TheaterNov. 22 – Silver Spring, MD @ The FillmoreNov. 23 – Charlotte, NC @ The FillmoreNov. 24 – Orlando, FL @ The Plaza LiveNov. 26 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman AuditoriumNov. 27 – Atlanta, GA @ The EasternNov. 29 – Houston, TX @ House Of BluesNov. 30 – San Antonio, TX @ Aztec TheatreDec. 01 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep EllumDec. 03 – Little Rock, AR @ The HallDec. 04 – Wichita, KS @ The CotillionDec. 06 – Albuquerque, NM @ REVELDec. 07 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee TheatreDec. 09 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto TheatreDec. 10 – San Diego, CA @ House Of BluesDec. 11 – Reno, NV @ Grand Sierra Resort and CasinoDec. 12 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn BowlDec. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield (no Death Angel)Dec. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium (no Death Angel)
Top 20 1984 Heavy Metal and Hard Rock Albums
It was a triumphant year for the genre, but changes loomed on the horizon.
Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
