With a queue that looks like it possibly stretches into a different time zone, anyone who thought LA legends W.A.S.P. would struggle to attract decent-sized crowds these days is very much mistaken. With a tour postponed due to the Covid pandemic three years ago, Blackie Lawless and co land on English shores once again, the natives turning out in full force to celebrate. And where better in the West Midlands to play than KK’s Steel Mill, the venue owned by former Judas Priest axeman KK Downing?
A seasonably cold night in the Bay Area was heated up considerably by old-school, razor-sharp American Heavy Metal riffs on this late November night. All the usual suspects were out in their finest vintage shirts bought on ebay and secondhand spikes and leather as W.A.S.P. made their long-awaited return to North America on their 40th Anniversary tour. The crowd was extra-hopped up (pun intended) from the second I got on line outside the venue. Clearly, people were pre-gaming at nearby watering hole spots like Tommy’s Joynt, The Cinch Saloon, or Harper and Rye.
It’s hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since power metal supergroup Demons and Wizards released their last album. A collaborative effort between Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian and Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth, the two frontmen finally found the time amid their busy schedules to work together once again, returning to the project so widely anticipated by their legion of devoted fans. Continue reading