W.A.S.P. have been on the road across North America, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut album. Initially, Death Angel were slotted as the tour support, but following “unforeseen circumstances” the group were replaced by Armored Saint, who joined W.A.S.P. on their previous North American run. The groups are approaching the end of the tour, dubbed Album ONE Alive, as they hit the Ryman Auditorium in the heart of Nashville, TN.
W.A.S.P – Armored Saint
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville – 26 November 2024
Words And Photography: Shannon Wilk
The Ryman Auditorium is quite historic, opening its doors in 1892 as a church. Over 100 years later, the building still stands in the city’s downtown as a music venue where countless legendary acts have graced the stage.
The room still features church pews as seating. Never would I have guessed I would watch W.A.S.P. perform while sitting atop a church pew.
W.A.S.P
The stage goes dark, and a medley of classic W.A.S.P. tunes begin to play over the PA. Strings of lights illuminate the stage as the four members take their respective positions.
The band’s current incarnation features founding member Blackie Lawless, bassist Mike Duda, lead guitarist Doug Blair – both of whom have spent about two decades with the group, and drummer Aquiles Priester.
Each guy stands atop a platform as they rip through the opening tune, I Wanna Be Somebody. “Hello Nashville, how the hell are ya?” Lawless shouts and kicks into L.O.V.E. Machine.
The band’s axe wielders move around the stage, switching sides and gritting their teeth at the crowd in true Heavy Metal fashion. Blackie holds his spot behind his skeleton microphone stand, swinging around and hanging from it every so often.
The first W.A.S.P single, Animal (Fuck Like A Beast), was intended to also be the opening track of their debut album. History shows that Capitol Records bowed to PMRC pressure and deleted the song from the album before release.
For this tour, their set does not open with that song, as the 1998 reissue album does, but the group does not even perform that song. In fact, Blackie Lawless has stated it was a conscious decision he made due to his “religious faith.”
The setlist included the majority of W.A.S.P.’s self-titled debut album, leaving out Animal (Fuck Like A Beast), Show No Mercy and Paint It Black. The group also curated a badass encore, beginning with a medley of Inside The Electric Circus, I Don’t Need No Doctor and Scream Until You Like It.
W.A.S.P also performed their version of The Who’s The Real Me, a mashup of Forever Free and The Headless Children, closing out the night with fan favourites Wild Child and Blind In Texas. 
After his back surgery earlier this year, frontman Blackie Lawless appears to have a revived energy and presence on stage, moving around better than he has in years.
The entire band brought a stellar rock show with layered backing vocals, heavy guitar and double kick drum, all classically ’80s. Lawless belts out those songs just like the record.
W.A.S.P. are continuing to rock venues around the country for a couple more weeks, hitting the Southwest and West Coast regions of the U.S.
Armored Saint
After mingling in the lobby with familiar faces from the budding Nashville rock scene, I entered the auditorium as Armored Saint began the night. Back in 2022, when the group was on tour with W.A.S.P., I saw them perform with Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys on vocals as frontman John Bush was ill for several dates.
This time around Armored Saint showed out with their classic lineup as well as longtime guitarist Jeff Duncan. As they reached the halfway point of their opening set, Bush mentioned a young person in the front row who was singing every word, which inspired him to change the setlist for the night.
Where they would usually play Aftermath, the band opted to play a deep cut, Book Of Blood. Performing their most notable track, Can U Deliver, Bush makes his way out into the crowd, joining fans in the audience singing as he stands on the church pew.
