As one of the most charismatic and prominent figures in heavy metal, Blackie Lawless never fails to command attention—whether he’s leading W.A.S.P. on stage or sharing his unfiltered thoughts off it. With W.A.S.P. set to headline Rockwave Festival 2025 on July 14th at Terra Vibe Park in Athens, Greece, Myth of Rock set out on a mission: to speak with Blackie himself about this much-anticipated live performance—and much more. Mission accomplished! We had the privilege of sitting down with Blackie Lawless for an exclusive and in-depth interview that covers everything from the band’s upcoming show to his personal views and musical legacy. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our honor to welcome the one and only Blackie Lawless!
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
Hello, Mr. Lawless! How are you?
I am good, thank you!
How is the tour going until now?
It has been terrific, since we have done all North America and then we did South America after that, we did few shows in Europe a month ago, but we are going to be in Europe for the rest of the year. So, everything is going great.
There have passed more than forty years since the release of W.A.S.P.’s legendary debut album. How are you feeling about that?
Well, when you first make a record, you have no idea how it is going to be received. You don’t know if the audience is going to like it, you really don’t know, until the audience gives you its feelings about it. The ability to release a new album forty years later is pretty incredible, for any band. So, we feel very, very fortunate to be able to do this now. When we first started and made our very first tour, one of the first questions I heard during the first European tour – and I hear this question every day, all the journalists would ask me “how long do you think the band will last? Do you think you will be here in five years?”. And I would tell them, “… hey, listen, I don’t know if I am going to be here in five weeks!! Just let me enjoy this for the moment! Will you?”. What I realized was that every new band gets that question, but I didn’t realize that at the time. I look back to all these first years later and I understand it was pretty incredible; it was a wonderful ride!
What is the driving force behind W.A.S.P. What keeps you still alive?
Passion! That was the thing back then, and it is the same now. And you know, it is the same with the fans – people ask me, “Why is the fan base so big as it is?”, and I answer, “Because of the passion! The passion for the music! The songs speak to people”. And the passion it took to make that record in the first place, I still feel it strong today as I did back then! It doesn’t feel any different now.
How much different were things for metal music back in the 80s, compared to our days?
Certainly, it is different, because bands don’t make records the way they used to. Because Napster destroyed music as we know it. And that is sad, because the new generation of people that are listening to music don’t appreciate music the same. Music for them is like oxygen, they don’t have to pay for it, therefore, music has no value. When we were growing up and were all younger, when we wanted to listen to a record, we had to save our money, and when we would go to a record store, we wanted to buy ten records, but we could afford only one! You had to make that agonizing decision, which record you were going to buy!? You would decide, you would take that album home and you would hold the album cover in your hands and study and read every word!! You would memorize everything that was on it!! The current generation doesn’t understand that. And I feel really sorry for them, because they are never going to know the excitement and the joy that we used to feel, when we would get new records and really be able to enjoy them and let them become a part of our lives. There is a whole generation that will never understand that and I feel really really bad for them. That’s the biggest way that not just metal but all music has changed.
Which were the first albums that you bought and the first bands that you listened to, when you were younger, trying to learn music and form a band?
My mom was the one, who had always music around the house. She had Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard albums, so I grew up will all those artists and bands. And for myself, the first real band, when I was eight years old, was The Beatles and then later it would be Steppenwolf … And for me Steppenwolf was maybe the first metal band and certainly, “Born To Be Wild”, that was the anthem, that was the first time we listened to the expression “heavy metal”! Those bands for me were huge and they would set me in to the direction that I ended up to.
W.A.S.P. was one of the most notorious and controversial bands of the 80s. How did you decide to adopt all these shock rock characteristics?
We always like the idea of doing a show. And honestly, we were doing that show to entertain ourselves. Because we liked it. And then, over the years, it started to change. But early on, we learnt that, unfortunately, people listen with their eyes and not their ears, sometimes. And as we started to grow and matured, we wanted to put the emphasis more on our music. In the early days, that show was outrageous and we were doing that, because we liked it. Like I said, we were doing that to entertain ourselves.
There was a lot of censorship in the 80s. Would you say that now it’s better, as far freedom of speech and censorship are concerned?
It’s exactly the same! Freedom is the most important thing for any person. Look what is going on right now in Ukraine- the censorship that’s been going on in the internet for several years, where people decide what their truth is. They don’t want you to know the real truth, they want you to know their truth! That’s censorship! Actually, it is worse today, compared to what we experienced in the 80s. People have to be very, very careful about what they look at, what they listen to, what they read, to find the truth. So, it is bad as it was in the 80s, sometimes it’s worse now.
W.A.S.P. had always references to sex and love. How important do you believe are sex and love for every human?
Well, if you have ten people in a room and you ask them that question, you will get ten different answers (laughs)! That’s up to the individual. In all the albums I have made, I don’t tell to the people what to think! Actually, it is the opposite – in all our albums, I tell people to think for themselves! That’s the most important thing, to come up with their own ideas, with their opinion. And if I have done that in my career, then I have been successful. Because I think is the most important thing, to get people to think! That is what music is about, music should stimulate thought, all art should stimulate thought. That’s what I am trying to do.
What do you think about religion?
I am a born-again believer, that’s really important to me. I grew up in the church, over the years I got away from it, but I reached a point in my life that I missed it. So, that’s why I came back to it. For me it is everything. But that is something that the people shall find by themselves.
Mr. Lawless, do you believe that musicians should be involved in politics?
That’s up to the individual. Because musicians are people like everybody else. That’s an individual thing and I would leave that … what I don’t like is when I see musicians, who are trying to preach! Or any entertainer, trying to preach to an audience. You can have your opinion like everybody else, and if you want to say it, say it! You start becoming an activist, but people who buy your records, they are not interested in your opinions, they are interested in your music! Like I said, any entertainer has the right to say what he/she feels, but to make it a cause, and go on and on and on about it, I don’t agree with that!
Many famous musicians have said that rock music is dead. What do you think about it?
Well, they have been saying that since the 1950s (laughs)! I was listening to an interview the other day, with John Lennon, who was saying that when The Beatles started playing in Germany in the early ‘60s, before the world knew who they were, the club owners in Hamburg were trying to convince them to play a different kind of music, because they said that rock is dead and that nobody wanted to listen to rock anymore! The Beatles didn’t believe that and stayed with what they believed. So, we have been hearing this for 70 years that rock is dead. It seems to me that when the fans will go to the Rockwave Festival, they are going to see that rock music is pretty much alive!
What do you remember from your previous times in Greece?
The fans are incredibly passionate there! And the band feeds off of that! We feel it and we give it back to the fans. I would say that the biggest memory is the passion of the fans.
What should we expect from W.A.S.P. in Rockwave Festival 2025?
We are going to be loud, we are going to be nasty, we are going to hurt people! I am sure the fans will love it!
What about new music from W.A.S.P.?
We started working new music, when Covid-19 hit. And then we started touring again! So, there was a lot of touring, we’ve been really, really busy. So, we haven’t had the chance to finish any of that yet. We will eventually finish it, but I just don’t know when.
What do you think about the use of internet and AI in music?
I think that we don’t have enough information yet, to really know how it is going to affect music, how it is going to affect anything. Everyone is saying right now that they are afraid of it, I think it’s like any other scientific discovery or invention that people are fearful to begin with, but if it’s can be used for a good thing, then all will be good. It is going to be one of these things that people should decide how to use it.
I didn’t ask you about your health!
Yes, I had three surgeries on my back, and I did a year of rehab and working at a gym and stuff. I feel really good, I am back to normal, everything is great.
Mr. Lawless, please send your message to the Greek fans!
We are going to be there in a few weeks, and I have to say … we love Greece!
Thank you very much for the interview!
Thank you, Dimitris!
