Blackie Lawless seems so honest, like it or not. You may call him an asshole, you may praise all of his works, you may think whatever you like regarding him and his overall atitude, but...when it comes to W.A.S.P., eyes/ears are open wide and any news/rumour coming up simply cannot be neglected. And that's a good point on whether W.A.S.P. has succeeded or not in - at least - bearing something identifiable. 23 years and so on...
W.A.S.P. had enough issues trying to find a new 'home'. Falling apart at the seams with the SPV deal, Demolition Records now releases a highly-anticipated album, by all means. Lineup changes again, enough of criticism 'bout last W.A.S.P. play-here-cancel-there itinerary, enough of concern regarding Blackie's health and lots of chattin' where the mainman would head to now. The shock Rock/Metal days are long gone - even MADONNA can shock mainstream fans now - and the weapon of Blackie Lawless turned - finally - to be the fear of artistic thought. A new clan of dedicated W.A.S.P. fans, raised via the bombastic darkness of albums like Unholy Terror, Dying For The World or The Neon God saga, seem pretty hungry for whatever 51-year-old Steven Duren has in mind to encode to music/lyrics. On the other side, old-school fans react rather confusingly to what Blackie has to recall at any time. I Wanna Be Somebody mixed with Maneater and Kill Fuck Die on first basis serves as the painkiller to mind tranquillity. Mr Lawless will not leave you alone. Even if Dominator is not destined - again - to be a 'classic' Metal album.
The album is short in time; really short. In respect, it is loud; too loud. Loud production - too dark at times with 'faded' guitars, but who can protest Blackie would command fro something else post-1999 - and loud vocals. A call in anger, belief of renaissance, Blackie's voice stands strong in time. A sure 'plus', he orders, he expresses, he fears, he cries out. A post-9/11 manifest - guess he learnt his D.F.T.W. lesson well enough - with an allegoric 'strong man against weak woman' concept would be ideal enough for simple but ample grooves and chords. I would award the band for fair distribution of the track listing in the CD, since the first five tracks do make a better impression than the rest. I would not award, too, the fuzzy cover with its poor colouring. But when it comes to music...
Mercy kicks-off like thunder. Rolling like a 'classic', you know Blackie's back to make you bleed. You've listened to the song theme before, the bridge seems familiar and the story goes on. Yes, whoever envies Blackie can (again) claim the man's using the same recipe here by recycling post-1992 themes and chords. On the other side, W.A.S.P. tunes circa 1992-2007 have this little something willing you to forget bout this 'repeat' thing-ie and focus on each song itself. And so it goes: Long, Long Way To Go rolls on in its maniac double- drumming speed while the down-tempo manner of Take Me Up will definitely do what Charisma did some years ago.
The Burning Man sees a typical but kick-ass 'new' W.A.S.P. lead dominating the song and can as well be voted as the most traditional song off the album. Heaven's Hung In Black can easily refer to singing. It 'll remind you again of a couple of other W.A.S.P. tunes but what the heck...Fine leads by Doug Blair and the orgasm in the end of the tune is imminent. By reprising it two tracks later, you feel the temperance again. Heaven's Blessed is rather average. If you can count on Blackie's vocals, that's fine.
Else, on to Teacher's anger and fury. Mike Duda steps in front and - forgetting/forgiving a possible 'where-have-I-heard-this-before?' reaction - let yourself feel comfortable with the non-political correctness of W.A.S.P., a usual case...As for Deal With The Devil, please welcome the perfect filler for Dominator. 100% irrelevant to the 'gloom' of the rest of the album, just act as you never listened to it.
Dominator ends up being rather predictable. But, no one seems to care enough to throw it away. Surrounded by a trio of good musicians, Blackie Lawless (again) exposes his inner world; a world collecting pieces from the past, present and future. Hence, drawbacks for any other artist would get 100's of excuse for W.A.S.P., if you know what I mean. Dominator lacks crucial elements pushing it to a get it! rank, but as far as I'm concerned - Blackie does not need this. W.A.S.P. fans will buy the album anyway. The rest?