W.A.S.P.'s BLACKIE LAWLESS Recalls Funny Tour Story Involving Late METALLICA Bassist CLIFF BURTON

During a "VIP Experience" question-and-answer session before one of W.A.S.P.'s concerts on the band's ongoing U.S. tour, frontman Blackie Lawless spoke about his memories of playing with METALLICA on January 30, 1985 at Sherwood Country Club in Indianapolis, Indiana. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We had gotten there late. We had a long drive the night before. Nobody got soundchecks that day. We were scrambling to try to make it happen. So we were flip-flopping [with METALLICA] every night [on that tour] — one night they'd close, one night we'd close — and this happened to be one of the nights we were closing. The dressing rooms were all downstairs, and it was like a maze down there; I mean, nobody knew where they were. Usually you get in early in the afternoon, and everybody gets kind of a feel for what's going on, signs are posted with arrows going this way and that way, what's where. I'm in there shaving and I hear METALLICA's intro start. And I'm looking up in the mirror and I'm shaving; I've got the razor at my throat. The door flies open behind me. There's Cliff [Burton, METALLICA bassist] standing there with his bass on. Now, their intro was playing. And Cliff's standing there. He goes, 'Blackie, Blackie, how do I get to the stage? How do I get to the stage?' I didn't know. I hadn't been up there yet. And I looked in the mirror. He was behind me. And I said, 'Cliff, honestly, I don't know.' And he goes, 'Oh, fuck you, Blackie.' He thinks I'm busting his chops. Two minutes goes by. I'm still down there shaving. They are already into the first song, and I hear the bass finally come in."

W.A.S.P. recently embarked on its first U.S. tour in a decade. The trek coincides with the band's 40th anniversary and includes support from ARMORED SAINT and MICHAEL SCHENKER on select shows.

W.A.S.P.'s first live performance since December 2019 took place on July 23 at Skansen in Stockholm, Sweden. A week later (July 30),W.A.S.P. also played at Skogsröjet festival in Rejmyre, Sweden.

W.A.S.P. recently postponed its European 40th-anniversary tour, originally scheduled for spring of 2022, until the spring of 2023. The new dates will take place in March, April and May of 2023. All tickets previously purchased for the 2022 tour will be valid at the rescheduled 2023 shows.

Lawless has led W.A.S.P. as its lead vocalist and primary songwriter since its beginning. His unique brand of visual, social and political comment took the group to worldwide heights and sold millions of records alongside a legacy of sold-out shows across the globe for four decades. He is joined in W.A.S.P.'s current lineup by bassist Mike Duda and guitarist Doug Blair, whose tenures in the band span 26 and 18 years respectively, along with drummer extraordinaire Aquiles Priester.