Smuggled Sounds: W.A.S.P. - Still Not Black Enough

Wasp001 The band, formed in Los Angeles, California, initially consisted of Blackie Lawless, Rik Fox, Randy Piper and Tony Richards. The band became famous for its raunchy and at times shocking live shows; Lawless was known to tie semi-naked models to a torture rack and hurl raw meat into the audience. The band's debut single, entitled Animal (Fuck Like A Beast), was equally controversial.

The first lineup didn't last for long, as Rik Fox left the band to join (then unknown) vocalist Ron Keel & guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen in the band Steeler. He was replaced by Don Costa. Shortly afterwards, Don Costa also left the band and his position on the bass was filled by Lawless. At the same time, guitarist Chris Holmes joined the band.

WASP004 Chris Holmes left in August 1989, stating that he wanted to 'have fun, you know,' to which Lawless responded with a caustic remark about the fact that 'some guys want to stay at home and wear aprons,' hinting at the nature of Chris Holmes' relationship with his newly acquired wife Lita Ford. The band effectively disbanded a few months later with Blackie Lawless embarking on a solo career. Lawless was originally slated to play T-1000 in the Terminator 2: Judgment Day movie, but was later replaced by Robert Patrick after Arnold Schwarzenegger deemed Lawless 'too tall'. Blackie commenced work on a solo project, but under pressure from both promoters and fans had to release it as a W.A.S.P. album. Ironically, many critics feel that this album, The Crimson Idol, has been the best W.A.S.P. output so far.

Wasp003 The follow up to The Crimson Idol was Still Not Black Enough, a collection of dark introspective tunes that extended the Crimson Idol mythology (but this time, without Lawless 'hiding behind' Jonathan Steele, as he stated in the liner notes) as well as included cover songs as 'bonus tracks'. The initial European edition included a different track listing from the American and a subsequent American re-issue featured yet a different track listing. No version to date includes all the various tracks on one disc.