W.A.S.P. To Embark On '30 Years Of Thunder' Tour In 2012

29 years ago today on September 21, 1982 W.A.S.P. played its first show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. On September 21, 2012, W.A.S.P. will embark on the "30 Years Of Thunder" anniversary tour starting in the United Kingdom and continuing worldwide!! This world tour will be the biggest spectacle W.A.S.P. has ever created. The two-hour show will consist of three parts: a one-hour set containing songs from the first four albums; a 25-minute shortened version of "The Crimson Idol" complete with the movie accompaniment; and a set of material from the new W.A.S.P. studio album, older material and everything in between. This performance will include multiple video screens, pyrotechnics, and elements from the early W.A.S.P. shows (maybe even an exploding cod piece) and Blackie Lawless' moving microphone stand "Elvis."

W.A.S.P.'s latest album, "Babylon", was released in Europe on October 12, 2009 through Global Music (via Demolition Records) and was made available in the U.S. on November 17, 2009.

When asked by Greece's Rockpages in July if there are any plans for W.A.S.P. to release a new studio album, guitarist/vocalist Blackie Lawless said, "Yeah, we've actually have been building a new studio here at my house and we hope we have it finished by October where we plan to record new material." He added, "I would say that probably the whole [next] record is close to being written already. We were in rehearsal yesterday and we actually worked on some new things Nothing that we are going to play live right now, because it's close to being finished, but we've actually begun the process and it's very exciting!"

Regarding what the theme is behind "Babylon", Blackie said in a January 2010 interview with Sleaze Roxx, "It just happened. I didn't set out to go a certain direction or sound, I didn't pre-determine anything. The only thing that I pre-determine is putting down in song where I am and what I'm thinking right now in my life. That's the truest way to make a record; forget what is on the charts or what is hot in the market place. You can't do that, or at least I don't. I have to make records that reflect where I am today; who I am at this moment will not be who I will be in five years or who I was ten years ago. In my opinion the only way you'll be able to carry an audience as an artist is to get the band to know you. I think for them to know me I have to be intimate with them and that happens with my lyrics. As a writer, I have to be willing to expose myself to them and a lot of people aren't willing to do that. They don't want to know what is going on in the nooks and crannies. You have to be able to crack your skull open and allow people to walk around bare foot in your head to really find out what is going around in there. If you're going to carry that audience for your career, the only way you'll be able to do that if they think they know you and that is through your lyrics."