There are loads of 80's bands still touring and playing their music all over the world, and a lot of them actually sound pretty good if you catch them on the right night. Some of them even record new material occasionally, but most of the time, the new stuff just doesn't hit the mark, falling way short of the standard they set all those years ago. With all due respect, playing all of the hits from their glory days is always the safest bet for most of these aging veterans. And now, with a full-on hair band renaissance in place and growing by leaps and bounds, a plethora of new bands are sprouting up everywhere, looking to recreate the vibe of the greatest era in recorded music history. Fans of the classic 80's sound have plenty to choose from these days. There are a few of the classic bands that are still putting out great music, sounding as if they've discovered the Fountain of Youth, and to me, W.A.S.P. is at the top of that list. Blackie Lawless and company have continued to astound for more than three decades, and with their brand new masterpiece, "Golgotha", they prove that they aren't slowing down anytime soon. W.A.S.P. isn't just another 80's band that has to resort to playing classics to make a living, as I can honestly say that every record they have released, I've like as much, or better, than the previous record, and I absolutely love the old stuff.

I'm going to do this review a little different than normal. I'm not going to go into a track-by-track breakdown, because if you're a W.A.S.P. fan, you're going to check out this record anyway and will love what you hear. If you're new to W.A.S.P., all I can say is this; if you're a fan of great hard rock, buy this album!! I'm going to say some things I've wanted Mr. Lawless to hear from me for a long time.

By absorbing life like a bullet while living the "rock n roll dream" for 30 plus years, Lawless draws on a wealth of personal experience as the source of his songwriting prowess. And it's these experiences that have prepared this talented storyteller for a lifelong run at this ever challenging profession and along the way, has made him, in my opinion, one of the most influential seasoned rock icons of the 80's hard rock generation.

On "Golgotha", W.A.S.P.'s 15^th studio album, Lawless is the only original member of the band in the current lineup, and it's easy to see that he is, and always was, the dynamic that set this band apart. Don't get me wrong, he has a talented band behind him, with Mike Duda on bass, Doug Blair on lead guitar, and Mike Dupke on drums (left the band just prior to the release), but to be able to carry that iconic sound through 15 albums, says something about the level of genius this guy possesses. Playing a brand of "Shock Rock" back in the 80's, W.A.S.P. was an easy target for the PMRC and the censorship movement, but as the albums kept coming and the musical maturation keep evolving, the opposition slowly faded. For the release of "Golgotha", the band has put more time and emotion into this release than any album in the their extensive catalog, opening their souls and offering raw feelings like never before. If you've liked what you've heard from these guys in the past, this release will justify your passionate interest in this band. Following in the same musical vein as the 2007 release, "Dominator", and the 2009 release, "Babylon", this record possesses some of the best songwriting to ever grace a W.A.S.P. album. I have followed this band from the beginning and without a doubt, they have never sounded more complete than they do on "Golgotha". This is easily one of my favorite releases of 2015.

Most legendary musicians would prefer to sit back quietly and fade into retirement, touring here and there, playing their anthems to the masses. Not W.A.S.P. As long as the great music keeps flowing, there is certainly no reason to start thinking in those terms just yet. Blackie Lawless has proven that superior talent will always endure and that the hollow successes of the current "cookie-cutter", one-album Rock-Stars are short lived and will eventually evaporate, giving way to real musicians. So while Father Time struggles to reign in one of the founders of the 80's metal movement, Lawless has no intentions on tapering off this stellar career and ride off into the golden years at the moment. "Golgotha" more than proves that and I can't wait for the next great W.A.S.P. album.
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