The Crimson Idol is the fifth studio album by heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released in June 1992 through Capitol Records, their last album for the label. It was the first album by W.A.S.P. since the band's temporary breakup in 1990; this was because vocalist and rhythm guitarist Blackie Lawless had intended to release The Crimson Idol as a solo album, until he decided to release it as a W.A.S.P. album. The album charted within the top 40 in five countries. The Crimson Idol is a rock opera, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel.
A remastered edition was reissued in 1998, containing a bonus disc of B-sides and live material from 1992. In 2018, Napalm Records released a re-recording of the album, along with a DVD of the film that was originally to accompany the album, under the title of ReIdolized (The Soundtrack to The Crimson Idol).
Overview
Taking nearly three years to complete, The Crimson Idol was originally recorded as a Blackie Lawless solo album, but bandleader Lawless bowed to fan pressure and released it under the W.A.S.P. name. A film recorded for the album was also shown in public for the first time, which was played along with the band as they performed their tracks to it in synch. The shows marked the first time that the album has been played from start to finish by the band since its recording. "Mephisto Waltz", the seventh track from The Headless Children (1989), served as the show's opener, followed by "The Titanic Overture", the first track from The Crimson Idol. All shows had a long encore section ranging from 2–6 songs, containing W.A.S.P. classics as well as "Take Me Up" from their 2007 album Dominator.
A re-recorded version of the entire The Crimson Idol album was announced on January 23, 2017. Details and the cover art of the re-recorded album, entitled ReIdolized: The Soundtrack to the Crimson Idol, were released on November 17, 2017. The 2-CD album itself was released on February 2, 2018.
In 2017, W.A.S.P. played the whole album again on tour to mark the 25th anniversary of its release. The tour, dubbed Re-Idolized: The 25th Anniversary of the Crimson Idol, took place from September through November 2017 in Europe. All shows had a short encore, usually about four or five songs, as well as a few of their classics and the title track from their 2015 album Golgotha.
Concept
The story of The Crimson Idol revolves around a teenager named Jonathan.
| rev3 = Rock Hard
| rev3score = 9.5/10
The German magazine Rock Hard declared The Crimson Idol Album of the Month in June 1992 and the reviewer wrote that it maintained the same "power, roughness, melodic fullness and epic breadth" of its predecessors, with songs "not always at the world-class level, but damn close."
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="center"|UK Singles Chart
|align="center"|17
|-
|align="center"|"The Idol"
|align="center"|UK Singles Chart