While some of heavy metal’s most iconic voices are beginning to step away from the stage, W.A.S.P. mastermind Blackie Lawless has made it clear that he has zero intentions of hanging up his guitar anytime soon.
During a recent appearance on “The AJ & RJ Show,” hosted by AJ Motts and RJ Stone, Blackie talked about recent retirement of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider and was asked about his retirement plans. Acknowledging the physical toll of a lifelong career in rock, the vocalist explained his determination to keep pushing forward.
“Well, naturally, to see any of your peers say that for whatever reason they’re not gonna be able to do it anymore, that’s disturbing for a lot of reasons. I know Dee — I’ve known him for a long time — so it gets my attention, let’s put it that way. And you question your own mortality when you hear about something like that, and I think it’s natural. But for myself, I’ve been really blessed. You can beat me with a bat, and I’ve been able to come back. So I’ve been really fortunate when it comes to that. So, as far as hanging it up or anything like that, somebody’s gonna have to drag me off kicking and screamin,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
For the frontman, the concept of a quiet retirement simply doesn’t align with the fierce internal drive that has fueled him for decades.
“I hear people talk about retiring, and if you’re forced to, that’s one thing, but if you’re not, I’m asking myself, retire for what? You get a watch and go fishing? I don’t get it. I just don’t understand that, because what motivated me to get into this in the first place is what keeps me going now. And that’s no different than it was when I was 16. So I don’t feel any different.”
When the hosts praised the unrelenting energy that W.A.S.P. continues to deliver during their live performances, the singer passionately agreed, outlining the aggressive mindset the band carries into every single gig.
“Oh, man. We’re out there to hurt people. It’s that simple. It’s, like, we ain’t taking no prisoners, man. I don’t wanna ever be in a situation where we can’t deliver the way we need to,” he said.
To illustrate his ultimate career goal, the musician recalled a profound experience he had watching the legendary B.B. King perform late in his life.
“I saw B.B. King about 15 years ago, and I was in the second row right in front of him. I was probably 10, 12 feet away from him. And he was sitting down in a chair. He says, ‘I’m 81 years old, I gotta sit down.’ But I could hear him singing acoustically louder from where I was sitting than when I heard him coming out of the P.A. on the sides. I mean, he was up there roaring like a lion. And I thought to myself, ‘You know what? When I grow up, that’s what I wanna be, is that guy right there.’ So it’s, like, hey, however you gotta get it done, man, do it. But like I said, 81 years old and he, like I said, sounded like a lion roaring. And fortunately for me — like I said, I’ve been really blessed,” Blackie continued.
Reflecting on the legacy of W.A.S.P. and how the band will ultimately be remembered, he offered a deeply analytical perspective on how rock careers are traditionally forged.
“I look at it all kind of like a book. And when you do an album, that’s a chapter, you do a tour, that’s a chapter. And the book is still being written. And this may sound like a canned response to you, but that really is what it is.”
He continued: “They say that a thing can’t be analyzed until it’s over. And because we’re not finished, I don’t think you can analyze it yet. I mean, somebody could certainly look at the phases we’ve been through, and like any other artist, if it doesn’t grow, it dies. So you can see the natural progressions that it makes. For me, though, I would say the real progression happened in the first five years, because with any band, and I don’t care who it is, if they’re gonna last and they’re gonna have a genuine career, and I’m talking about somebody that you know is around 20 years, 30 years, that has a genuine career, almost in every situation their legacy is built in the first five years they’re there, that the public knows about ’em, whether it’s them making records, them touring, whatever it is — it’s done in those first five years. If you think back about all the bands you like, there’s maybe the odd exception here and there, but almost all of them made their bones in those first five years. We are no exception to that. And all the big changes happened in those first five years. You can continue to write and some of the subject matter may change, because we continue to grow, unless we’re in a box. And again, I’m no different when it comes to that, but I would say the majority of a lot of those worldly changes happened [in] those first five years.”
Later this year, W.A.S.P. will embark on their recently announced “1984 To Headless” 2026 U.S. and Canada tour with KK’s Priest. The trek will focus heavily on hits from the band’s foundational first four albums. The run officially kicks off on September 10 in California and concludes on Halloween night, October 31.
