W.A.S.P. hits the Aztec Theatre on Saturday, September 19 with something they’ve genuinely never done — a full sweep of their first four studio albums played in combination, for the first time in the band’s history. Blackie Lawless has been explicit: “Playing those songs from those first four albums in a combined package like this is something we’ve never attempted before.” That’s not marketing. That’s a band running a set it spent 40-plus years avoiding.
About W.A.S.P.
The tour is called “1984 To Headless” and the title maps the range: the self-titled debut (1984), The Last Command (1985), Inside the Electric Circus (1987), and The Headless Children (1989). The PMRC years. The shock-rock era that got written off in the press and still sold gold. W.A.S.P. was formed in Los Angeles in 1982 with Blackie Lawless — vocalist, bassist, and at this point the sole continuous member — at the center. The band has sold over 12 million records worldwide; their first two albums went RIAA gold. They came back to U.S. touring in 2022 after a long absence, and the shows delivered. This run is the escalation: an elaborate stage production that Lawless says will make the album covers “come alive right before your eyes,” plus material fans “have not heard probably for 39, 40 years.”
Opening the show is KK’s Priest — former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing’s band, fronted by Tim “Ripper” Owens, with A.J. Mills, Tony Newton, and Sean Elg rounding out the lineup. Downing going into the tour: “We will be teaming up together with metal legends W.A.S.P. and with over 40 shows, this is going to be epic.” The support slot here is not filler.
Aztec Theatre
The Aztec Theatre at 104 North St. Mary’s Street in downtown San Antonio holds 1,477. Originally opened in 1926 as a movie palace, it sat dark from 1989 until reopening in 2014 as a Live Nation concert venue. The building has the production capacity for a stage build of this scale — which matters for a show specifically designed around bringing album covers to life.
Tickets
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster. VIP packages include a meet-and-greet with Blackie Lawless, personal photos, autographs, a Q&A session, and access to a traveling W.A.S.P. museum. Show time is 8:00 PM.