The Last Command (album)

The Last Command
Studio album by W.A.S.P.
Released	October 25, 1985 [1]
Studio	Pasha Music House, Hollywood, California
Genre	Heavy metal [2]
Length	41:19
Label	Capitol
Producer	Spencer 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
"Blind in Texas" Released: October 1985 "Wild Child" Released: May 1986

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	7/10 [4]
Kerrang!	[5]
The Metal Crypt	[2]
Rock Hard	6.5/10 [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]

Background

Following the departure of Tony Richards, Steve Riley joined the band beginning with this album. The band also brought in Spencer Proffer—known for his work with Quiet Riot—as the producer. In addition, Carlos Cavazo and Chuck Wright, who were members of Quiet Riot at the time, contributed backing vocals to the track "Running Wild in the Streets."

In Japan, Toshiba EMI released not only the standard edition but also a limited edition (S33-1001) that included a poster, booklet, stickers, and a decorative band logo.

After the tour supporting this album, Randy Piper left the band, and Blackie Lawless subsequently switched his role from bassist to guitarist.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Blackie Lawless, except where indicated.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wild Child"	Lawless, Chris Holmes	5:12
2.	"Ballcrusher"	Lawless, Holmes	3:27
3.	"Fistful of Diamonds"		4:13
4.	"Jack Action"	Steve Riley, Lawless	4:16
5.	"Widowmaker"		5:17

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(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 Proffer	3:30
10.	"Sex Drive"	Lawless, Holmes	3:12
Total length:			41:19

1997 Digital Re-master bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Mississippi Queen" (Mountain cover)	Leslie West, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea	3:21
12.	"Savage"	Lawless, Holmes, Randy Piper	3:32
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.

• Blackie Lawless – lead vocals, bass guitar
• Chris Holmes – lead & rhythm guitars
• Randy Piper – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals
• Steve Riley – drums, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Carlos Cavazo, Chuck Wright – Backing vocals on "Running Wild in the Streets"

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

Chart (1985–1986) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [8] 51 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [9] 86 Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [10] 4 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 63 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [12] 14 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [13] 15 UK Albums (OCC) [14] 48 US Billboard 200 [15] 49

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1985 "Blind in Texas" Finnish Singles Chart [16] 6 UK Singles Chart [17] 77 1986 "Wild Child" UK Singles Chart [17] 71

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. "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America .
2. 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. "W.A.S.P. Official Charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 16, 2019.
18. "Canadian album certifications – The Last Command". Music Canada.
19. "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.

External links

• The Last Command at Discogs (list of releases)