The Last Command (album)

The Last Command
Studio album by
W.A.S.P.
ReleasedOctober 25, 1985[1]
StudioPasha Music House, Hollywood, California
GenreHeavy metal[2]
Length41:19
LabelCapitol
ProducerSpencer Proffer
W.A.S.P. chronology
W.A.S.P.
(1984) 		The Last Command
(1985) 		Inside the Electric Circus
(1986)
Singles from The Last Command
  1. "Blind in Texas"
    Released: October 1985
  2. "Wild Child"
    Released: May 1986
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal7/10[4]
Kerrang![5]
The Metal Crypt[2]
Rock Hard6.5/10[6]

The Last Command is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released on October 25, 1985. The album was produced by Spencer Proffer, who was perhaps best known for producing the six-time Platinum selling album Metal Health by Quiet Riot in 1983.

The song "Running Wild in the Streets" was originally written by Proffer and demoed by Spectre General a.k.a. Kick Axe and Black Sabbath with Ron Keel before release on this album. "Sex Drive" was originally written by Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper's previous band Sister. "Cries in the Night" is based on a song called "Mr. Cool", released on a 1976 single by the Killer Kane Band where Blackie was a member at the time.

The Last Command is the first W.A.S.P. album to feature the work of drummer Steve Riley and the last album to feature founding member Randy Piper on guitar. The album reached No. 49 on the Billboard 200 album chart in early 1986.[7] It was certified gold by the RIAA on June 4, 1998.[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Blackie Lawless, except where indicated

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wild Child"Lawless, Chris Holmes5:12
2."Ballcrusher"Lawless, Holmes3:27
3."Fistful of Diamonds" 4:13
4."Jack Action"Steve Riley, Lawless4:16
5."Widowmaker" 5:17
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Blind in Texas" 4:21
7."Cries in the Night" 3:41
8."The Last Command" 4:10
9."Running Wild in the Streets"Lawless, Spencer Proffer3:30
10."Sex Drive"Lawless, Holmes3:12
Total length:41:19
1997 Digital Re-master bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Mississippi Queen" (Mountain cover)Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea3:21
12."Savage"Lawless, Holmes, Randy Piper3:32
13."On Your Knees" (Live at the Lyceum Ballroom, October 1984) 4:38
14."Hellion" (Live at the Lyceum Ballroom, October 1984) 4:45
15."Sleeping (In the Fire)" (Live at the Lyceum Ballroom, October 1984) 5:44
16."Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)" (Live at the Lyceum Ballroom, October 1984) 4:37
17."I Wanna Be Somebody" (Live at the Lyceum Ballroom, October 1984) 5:54

Personnel

W.A.S.P.
Additional musicians
Production
  • Spencer Proffer – producer, engineer
  • Suzanna DuBarry – producer assistant
  • Hanspeter Huber – engineer
  • Alex Woltman, Kevin Arnst – assistant engineers
  • Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc, Hollywood
  • Mark Weiss – photography

Charts

Album

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Gold 50,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] Gold 20,000[19]
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ a b Arroyo, Hermer. "Review: W.A.S.P. - The Last Command". The Metal Crypt. Michel Renaud/The Metal Crypt. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Prato, Greg. "W.A.S.P. - The Last Command review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  4. ^ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 407. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  5. ^ Dickson, Dave (November 1, 1985). "Commando Fade". Kerrang!. No. 106. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 20.
  6. ^ Deese, Uwe (1985). "Review Album : W.A.S.P. - The Last Command". Rock Hard (in German). No. 14. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "W.A.S.P. Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on January 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  8. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0610". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  10. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – W.A.S.P. – The Last Command" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – W.A.S.P. – The Last Command". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – W.A.S.P. – The Last Command". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  15. ^ "W.A.S.P. Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961: W > W.A.S.P." Sisältää hitin / Timo Pennanen. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "W.A.S.P. Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  18. ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Last Command". Music Canada.
  19. ^ a b "W.A.S.P" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  20. ^ "American album certifications – W.A.S.P – The Last Command". Recording Industry Association of America.