The Classic Metal Album Reviews:
Title: The Crimson Idol
Artist: WASP
Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: 1992

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Solomon:
    When you've built a reputation based on pissing off parental organizations and shooting pyrotechnics from your crotch, going "serious" may be a tough path to tread. That's exactly what Blackie Lawless did with his conceptual "art" album, The Crimson Idol. I use the word "art" in quotes not to be snide, because Idol is art, but to emphasize the fact that after writing songs about being "Blind In Texas" and "fucking like a beast," this is a departure from what many have come to expect from the pesky L.A. insect known as WASP. The Headless Children, at least, made an attempt at real social commentary, but Idol is the real magnum opus in the Lawless catalogue. So, was this a successful attempt by the man-with-the-buzzsaw-cock to go straight?

    Yes, I believe so. After reading the unaccompanied monologue in the album's liner notes, one can see that Lawless has set up a sad tale that unfortunately has too many parallels in the real world of rock 'n' roll. Drugs, alcohol, women, money, fame, all these are poisons that have felled many a rock soldier, and some fell right into the grave. When you notice Lawless named the main character's father, William, after his own dad, it doesn't take a genius to see how Blackie intended this tale to reflect, in part, his own history as a rock god. The Crimson Idol is successful in relating the story of a damaged soul, one Jonathan Steel, who found temporary salvation in fame, only to run into a wall of meaninglessness. Lawless tells the tale in a smart, logical fashion: a boy grows up alienated from his parents, finds purpose in a lavish lifestyle, but grows disenchanted with it and is left bankrupt in the end, like the biblical Prodigal Son but whose father never came running after his "lost sheep." Jonathon's story comes full circle, where he declares at one point "I just wanna be The Crimson Idol of a million," only to follow it at the end of the record with "I don't wanna be The Crimson Idol of a million." The concept behind Idol is a fairly simple one, and a fallen rock star is not a novel idea, but the plot, characters, and general lyrical organization as conceived by Mr. Lawless is a job well-done.

    The music on Idol is not bad at all, even if a bit unoriginal and redundant. There is a common lyrical/melodic theme that you can hear popping up in several tracks, "The Invisible Boy," "Gypsy," "Arena of Pleasure," "I Am One," etc. At first, this can seem kind of lazy, but I think Lawless was just using this repeated idea to give the album a sense of continuity, like how classical composers make use of a reoccuring theme as a connecting device. I would think this theme is used more than once with the lyrics "Where is the love to shelter me..." and the "crimson idol" speech to help draw attention to the constant feelings of desire and pain the main character feels throughout his ordeal. I won't say all the songs sound the same, but they are based around fairly predictable, cookie-cutter Iron Maiden ideas that could have been written in 1982 as well as 1992 ("Chainsaw Charlie" is a prime example). Hey, what the hell, this is good, driving traditional metal, anyway. By the way, Idol proves Lawless is a better musician and vocalist than most give him credit for. Blackie really delivers with a powerful, gritty, but tuneful wail that is distinctive among his metal peers. There are very decent acoustic passages that grace the album, but the ballad "Hold On To My Heart" is a real gem, an awesome radio-ready piece that shows Lawless can be sensitive as well as psychotic. "The Idol" takes the repeated theme on the album and brings it to full fruition, while tracks like "Arena of Pleasure" and "The Invisible Boy" merge full-throttle drive with big, melodic punch.

    This is a "closet" classic of slick, smart material coming from an unlikely source, but the results are positive.
    4 out of 5

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