With the ferocious opening track of their self-titled 1984 debut album, here is Los Angeles shock rock band W.A.S.P. performing “I Wanna Be Somebody.” Despite the band’s later forays into mainstream hair-metal and bogged-down concept albums, this record stands as one of my top ten all-time metal albums.

Watch the official video for “I Wanna Be Somebody” here below.

When I was growing up in rural Indiana in the early 80″²s, there was very limited access to heavy music. These were the days before MTV blew up with the whole hair metal, Headbangers Ball phenomenon. But on Sunday nights, there was a two-hour radio show that came from WOXY, the radio station of Miami University of Ohio, just across the state line in Oxford, Ohio. It was called Massive Metal for the Masses and I would wait all week for it to air. It was through this show that I was introduced to bands like Venom, Bathory, WASP, Michael Schenker Group, Slayer, and countless others. This Monday weekly column is my tip of the hat to that show. I call it Massive Metal Monday. Every week, I will pay tribute to defining moments by the artists that laid the groundwork for heavy metal to become the worldwide cultural bond for all of us metalheads.

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