Blackie Triumphs: W.A.S.P. Chops Up Lucerna
W.A.S.P.: The Ride That Kicked Up Prague! Blackie Lawless and his gang cut up Lucerna!
Friday the 13th? No way! For Prague's Lucerna it was Friday the third of October – and this evening will forever be written in red letters on the calendar of Czech metalheads! The iconic American W.A.S.P. returned to serve us their "Album One Alive World Tour '25". And if you weren't there, we quietly envy everyone who was. It was a ride!
Since the afternoon, the Great Hall was teeming with black T-shirts, leather vests and undisguised impatience. W.A.S.P. without an opening band, starting at 9:00 PM. Clear news – maximum dose of old school! After seven in the evening, the crowd was already streaming in, and even though it looked like a solid turnout in Lucerna (the capacity approaching 2,500 was almost sold out!), we all fit into the gorgeous, ornately decorated hall. A small but important note: security strictly warned before the start – crowsurfing is prohibited, violation = immediate ejection! A clear signal that this night will be wild, but with sense.
Skull, motorbike and Triumph! A few minutes after nine, the lights went out. Screams, applause, that was our greeting for Blackie Lawless and his hellish gang. Fans of the Brno concert 2023, where Blackie sat on a chair due to spinal problems, were certainly pleased: this time he stood behind the microphone the whole time, and with incredible energy! And now the most important thing, the gem: a monumental microphone stand towered in the middle of the stage! A massive skull with a curved spine, skeleton hands gripping the handlebars of a motorbike – this was not just a piece of technology, this was art!
The show kicked off with the anthemic "I Wanna Be Somebody," followed by the uncompromising rollercoaster "L.O.V.E. Machine." The setlist continued with hits like "Hellion" and "On Your Knees," as this night belonged to the album "One Alive," which W.A.S.P. played in its entirety.
Visual Massacre and Acrobatic Performance! During the first songs, the stage was "just" lined with a wall of pictures, but as soon as it opened up in the middle, WOW came! The exposed screen in the middle and smaller screens on the sides of the stage began to spit out video clips for individual songs. Visual support that perfectly highlighted the stage and gave the music another, more profound dimension.
After finishing the songs from the album, the band ritually left, but the lights in the hall turned off and the roar of the fans ("W.A.S.P.! W.A.S.P.!") clearly signaled that we were not at the end of the journey yet. And we weren't!
The encore was cut open by hits like "Forever Free" and "The Headless Children". And then it came. Blackie alone, with just that impressive stand and falling lights, launched into an instrumental introduction to the legendary "Wild Child". The rest of the band joined in and the burst of energy that spread through the hall would have melted even steel! Everyone was singing along!
The finale of the song? Hats off! Blackie, who celebrated his incredible 69th birthday this year, climbed up the skeleton and swung the handlebars! The entire huge skeleton swayed back and forth as if on springs. An almost acrobatic feat that proves that Blackie Lawless is one of the indomitable icons of metal.
The whole setlist ended with the great "Blind in Texas". Verdict: Brutal and honest Ride of the Eighties! The sound in Lucerna was great, the lighting was perfect and the energy that radiated from the band was contagious. The honestly played eighties pleased everyone present. The concert was stomping and sanding without a single mistake.
W.A.S.P. proved that even after decades on the scene, they are a Heavy Metal machine that has lost none of its ferocity. It was fast, but intense. We hope that Blackie and his gang will return to the Czech Republic soon.
If you missed Prague, don't despair! This hellish ride is not over yet. The closest chance to see W.A.S.P. on tour is on October 25, 2025 in Žilina, Slovakia! So see you there!