Two years after the kick-ass “Dominator” album, the successful “The Crimson Idol Tour” and even more touring within 2009, mainman Blackie Lawless and his gang return with another great piece of work entitled “Babylon”. The original press release mentioned that the album is themed around biblical visions of “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, featured on the cover of the CD, and one can detect some sort of connection among the songs, however we are not really talking about a concept album here. “Babylon” consists of 9 tracks, including 2 covers, altogether running for 43 something minutes.

The album kicks off with “Crazy”, which is also the first single of the album, with a catchy, typical W.A.S.P. riff, that you will definitely find familiar, and a groove that will easily remind you of the band’s early days. Actually, you will notice that throughout the whole album and not just in the beginning. “Live To Die Another Day” is taking us even deeper lyric-wise to the message that Blackie is trying to send over about the ‘critical’ situation of our world, a message that literally unveils in “Babylon’s Burning”, the anthem of this album from all aspects. Guitarist Doug Blair has definitely done a great job here and you can easily tell it from his inspiring solo. Deep Purple classic “Burn” is the first cover that appears on the album, which was originally planned to be included in “Dominator” but finally turned up in “Babylon”. Blackie and all the guys in the band have totally made the song their “own” and, I dare to say, it is probably one of the best “Burn” covers ever.  The slower/mid tempo “Into The fire” gives you the chills from the very first bass line, “Thunder Red” and even more the “Seas Of Fire” take you higher again and make you thinking at the same time, while emotions totally overflow in all-Blackie ballad “Godless Run”, where Blackie has penned some of the album’s best lyrics. For the end, Blackie reserved the all positive and hopeful atmosphere covering Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land”. 

Driving riffs and solos, catchy choruses, howling vocals, lyrics full of messages, as always, and of course the incomparable W.A.S.P.  rock ‘n’ roll metal feeling, they are all here composing the band’s fourteenth album, “Babylon”, a classic album presented through a modern view. Fans will definitely grab “Babylon” and get addicted, curious listeners will be more than pleased to discover it, while the so self-called ‘not interested’ could try to listen to “Babylon” along with the classic “The Last Command” simply to value what a real, inspiring, inexhaustible and loyal musician Steven Edward Duren aka Blackie Lawless is.