Album
The Headless Children
The Headless Children is the fourth studio album by W.A.S.P., released in March 1989 on Capitol Records. It arrived after Inside the Electric Circus in 1986 and became the band's best-performing record in America, reaching No. 48 on the Billboard 200 and staying on that chart for 13 weeks.
It also marks the end of a chapter. This was the last W.A.S.P. album before the band split in 1990, and they returned two years later with The Crimson Idol in 1992. For anyone tracing how the group moved from their early shock-metal reputation towards something more ambitious, this heavy metal and hard rock record is the hinge between those two phases, and the place to start.
The Headless Children on Riffology
riffology.co →
The Headless Children: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 48:36Tracklist
- 1The Heretic (The Lost Child)Chris Holmes and Blackie Lawless7:16
- 2The Real MePete Townshend3:22
- 3The Headless ChildrenBlackie Lawless5:48
- 4ThunderheadBlackie Lawless6:45
- 5Mean ManBlackie Lawless4:50
- 6The Neutron BomberBlackie Lawless4:04
- 7Mephisto WaltzBlackie Lawless1:27
- 8Forever FreeBlackie Lawless5:09
- 9ManeaterBlackie Lawless4:46
- 10Rebel in the F.D.G.Blackie Lawless5:09
- Produced by
- Blackie Lawless
- Mixed by
- Mikey Davis
- Engineered by
- Duane Baron, Alex Woltman, Mikey Davis
- Labels
- Capitol Records, Capitol
- Length
- 48:36
Line-up
- Diana Fennell · vocals · guest
- Lita Ford · vocals · guest
- Frankie Banali · drums (drum set) · guest
- Chris Holmes · acoustic guitar, electric guitar · guest
- Johnny Rod · bass guitar · guest
- Blackie Lawless · lead vocals · guest
Singles
- “Mean Man” · February 1989
- “The Real Me” · May 1989
- “Forever Free” · 28 August 1989
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1989 | 8 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1989 | 48 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1989 | 13 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1989 | 18 |
| Austrian Albums · 1989 | 19 |
| Swiss Albums · 1989 | 19 |
| German Albums · 1989 | 22 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1989 | 55 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1989 | 76 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom · 1989 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
53.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.2k
ListenBrainz listeners
41k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
4.6k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 21 March
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Full discography →
W.A.S.P.
1984
The Last Command
1985
Inside the Electric Circus
1986
Animal (F**k Like A Beast) / Live... Animal
1987
Live... In the Raw
1987
The Crimson Idol
1992
First Blood... Last Cuts
1993
Still Not Black Enough
1995
Kill Fuck Die
1997
Double Live Assassins
1998
Helldorado
1999
The Sting: Live at the Key Club, L.A.
2000
Unholy Terror
2001
Dying for the World
2002
The Neon God, Part 1: The Rise
2004
The Neon God, Part 2: The Demise
2004
Dominator
2007
Babylon
2009
Golgotha
2015
Reidolized: The Soundtrack to The Crimson Idol
2018
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1989-03-21 vs 1989-04-03 (musicbrainz), 1989-04-15 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 3 April 1989 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 March 1989 | |
| Wikidata | 15 April 1989 | |
| US release | 3 April 1989 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1989 | earliest UK or European date |
19 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | GB | Capitol Records | 0077774894210 | other |
| 1989 | US | Capitol Records | 077774894241 | other |
| 1989 | XE | Capitol Records | 077774894210 | other |
| 1989 | XE | Capitol Records | 077774894227 | other |
| 1989 | XE | Capitol Records | other | |
| 1989 | XE | Capitol Records | 0077774894227 | other |
| 1989 | GB | Capitol Records | 0077774894210 | other |
| 1989 | FR | Capitol Records | 077774894210 | other |
| 3 April 1989 | US | Capitol Records | 077774894210 | original |
| 15 April 1989 | US | — | other | |
| 3 May 1989 | JP | Capitol Records | 4988006627222 | other |
| 1998 | JP | Victor | other | |
| 1998 | US | Original Masters | 636551550925 | other |
| 20 April 1998 | GB | — | other | |
| 2003 | GB | — | other | |
| 20 October 2003 | GB | Snapper Music | 636551613422 | other |
| 2004 | RU | Союз | 4601250325071 | other |
| 2011 | — | Madfish | 636551597425 | other |
| 13 April 2018 | GB | Madfish | 636551711920 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1423x1423, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1423×1423 | upscaled: minor: best source 1423x1423, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |