W.A.S.P. release The Crimson Idol

The Crimson Idol was the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., originally released by Capitol Records in 1992 (1993 in the United States). The album is a concept album, telling the story of the rise and fall of a fictional rock star named Jonathan Steel.

The album took nearly three years to complete, and was originally recorded as a Blackie Lawless solo album, but Lawless bowed to fan pressure and released it under the W.A.S.P. moniker.

The Crimson Idol World Tour unusually took place 15 years after the release of the album to mark its 15th anniversary, starting on October 26, 2007 in the Principal Club Theater, Thessaloniki in Greece. It also marked the first time that the film recorded for The Crimson Idol was ever shown in public. This was played along with the band as they performed their tracks in synch with the film. This show marked the only time that the album has ever been played from start to finish by the band since recording the album. The show also featured "Mephisto Waltz" the seventh track from the 1989 album The Headless Children as the intro to the show before playing the first track of The Crimson Idol, "The Titanic Overture". All shows had a long encore section ranging from 2-6 songs, containing classics and "Take Me Up" from the new album Dominator.