Blackie Lawless recently talked about PTSD and death threats after releasing ‘Animal (F*ck Like A Beast).’
“It changed everything about the way we approached writing records,” the singer said in a new interview. “It certainly changed me as a person, made me more of an introvert. I didn’t realize it took me years to understand what had happened that you get a little PTSD.”
He continued, “I mean we had thousands of death threats. We got shot at a couple times. Bomb scares and lots of shows they’d have like… We’d be playing a place like this. They’d have to play a whole room out sweep the room take two hours to get everybody back in and so this was going on on a regular basis.”
‘Animal (F*ck Like a Beast)’ was supposed to be the first song on W.A.S.P.’s debut album in 1984, but it didn’t make it onto the album. However, it was added as a bonus track in the 1998 reissue. Lawless wrote the song.
Capitol Records thought the track was too controversial. They were worried the album might be banned from big stores. At first, the plan was to release the single only in Europe in a black bag with a warning about the lyrics, but the record company canceled that plan.
Eventually, W.A.S.P. made a deal with an independent label called Music For Nations, and the single was finally released in April 1984, featuring original artwork with a codpiece and a circular saw blade.
The PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) added it to the song ‘Filthy Fifteen’ list because of the sexual lyrics. “We haven’t done that song for several years,” Lawless revealed before. “And it’s totally because of my religious faith, and it’s something that I don’t want to do anymore, and I will never play that song again.”
The vocalist added, “What can I do to be a positive influence? So I’m looking at what I’m doing and I’m trying to create the best example that I can. I don’t want 13-year-olds going around singing that song. If that’s something they wanna do later in their life, that’s their business. But, like I said, it’s a question of faith and the religious conviction that I have.”
Still, in 2022, W.A.S.P. played ‘Animal (F**k Like A Beast)’ live for the first time in over 15 years at the start of their 40th-anniversary tour at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada.
