Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Wasp

2 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Hard Rock

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Hold On To My Heart - Guitar Tab

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StephLeGratteux Guitar Tab

Sleeping - Guitar Tab

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StephLeGratteux Guitar Tab

Band Overview

W.A.S.P. burst out of the Los Angeles Heavy Metal scene in the early 1980s, quickly becoming one of the most notorious and musically potent acts of the Sunset Strip era. Founded by vocalist and guitarist Blackie Lawless in 1982, the band combined theatrical shock rock with legitimately heavy riffing and melodic songwriting that drew from classic metal, Hard Rock, and even anthemic power ballad territory. For guitarists, W.A.S.P. is a goldmine of crunchy rhythm work, melodic lead playing, and the kind of tight, riff-driven arrangements that defined 1980s metal at its best. The guitar chair in W.A.S.P. has been held by several notable players, but the most iconic tenure belongs to Chris Holmes, whose aggressive, unpolished style gave the band's early records their raw edge. Holmes was a powerhouse rhythm player with a knack for thick, palm-muted power chord progressions and wailing pentatonic leads. Later guitarists like Doug Blair brought a more technically refined approach, incorporating neoclassical phrasing and wider harmonic vocabulary, especially on the band's 1990s and 2000s output. Blackie Lawless himself is an underrated rhythm guitarist who contributed heavily to the band's songwriting and riff construction throughout their career. What makes W.A.S.P. essential for guitarists to study is the range of their catalog. You get everything from straightforward, aggressive metal riffing (think dropped power chords and galloping eighth-note patterns) to surprisingly sophisticated ballad work with arpeggiated clean sections and expressive lead melodies. Songs like "Hold On To My Heart" showcase a melodic, dynamics-focused side that teaches restraint and phrasing, while tracks like "Sleeping" blend heavy rhythms with emotional lead work. The difficulty level sits in an intermediate range for most of their material. The riffs are accessible enough for developing players, but nailing the tone, feel, and vibrato that make the parts come alive takes real attention to detail. If you want to build a solid foundation in 1980s heavy metal guitar technique, W.A.S.P. is an excellent band to learn from.

What Makes Wasp Essential for Guitar Players

Chris Holmes' rhythm style relies heavily on tight palm-muted power chords with an aggressive downpicking attack, very similar in philosophy to early Judas Priest or Iron Maiden rhythm work. Practicing his parts will build serious right-hand stamina and precision.
W.A.S.P.'s ballads, including "Hold On To My Heart," feature clean arpeggiated chord voicings that require smooth transitions between open and barre chord shapes. These sections are perfect for developing finger independence and dynamic control on the fretboard.
Lead work across W.A.S.P.'s catalog leans on the minor pentatonic and natural minor scales with frequent use of expressive string bends (full and half step), wide vibrato, and hammer-on/pull-off legato phrasing. The solos prioritize feel over shred speed.
"Sleeping" features a blend of distorted rhythm sections and melodic lead passages that teach guitarists how to balance aggression with musicality within the same song. Pay attention to how the dynamics shift between verse and chorus riffing.
Doug Blair's later contributions introduced sweep-picked arpeggios and more technically demanding runs, giving advanced players additional challenges to dig into while still staying rooted in the band's melodic metal framework.

Did You Know?

Chris Holmes famously played Jackson and Charvel guitars almost exclusively during his tenure with W.A.S.P., helping popularize the Superstrat design among metal guitarists in the mid-1980s.

Blackie Lawless originally started as a guitarist before becoming the band's frontman, and he tracked many of the rhythm guitar parts on W.A.S.P. studio albums himself, meaning some of the riffs you learn are actually his playing, not the lead guitarist's.

The guitar tone on W.A.S.P.'s self-titled debut (1984) was achieved largely through cranked Marshall amplifiers with minimal effects processing, giving it a raw, in-your-face quality that contrasted with the more polished production of later records.

Doug Blair, who replaced Chris Holmes, is a Berklee College of Music graduate and brought formal music theory knowledge to the band's guitar parts, which is audible in the more sophisticated chord voicings and scale choices on albums like "Kill Fuck Die" and "The Neon God" series.

"Hold On To My Heart" was a top 40 hit that proved W.A.S.P. could write genuine power ballads. The clean guitar tones on that track were a major departure from their usual heavily distorted sound and showed the band's versatility.

Chris Holmes was known for using extremely high gain settings and letting controlled feedback ring out between riffs, a technique that added sustain and atmosphere to the band's heavier tracks.

W.A.S.P. tuned to standard E tuning for the vast majority of their catalog, making their songs straightforward to learn without needing to retune or set up a dedicated guitar.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

W.A.S.P. 1984

The self-titled debut is the best starting point for learning W.A.S.P. guitar parts. Tracks like "I Wanna Be Somebody" and "L.O.V.E. Machine" teach essential 1980s metal rhythm technique: tight palm muting, aggressive downpicking, and simple but effective pentatonic leads. The raw production means every guitar part is easy to hear and transcribe.

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The Headless Children 1989

This album represents W.A.S.P. at their most musically ambitious. The title track and "The Real Me" (a Who cover) feature more complex arrangements, layered guitar harmonies, and dynamic shifts that challenge intermediate players. It is excellent for learning how to build guitar parts that serve a song's emotional arc.

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The Crimson Idol 1992

A concept album with some of the band's best guitar work. "The Invisible Boy" and "Chainsaw Charlie" blend heavy riffing with melodic passages and expressive solos. Bob Kulick contributed guest leads, and the layered guitar arrangements teach how to think about rhythm and lead parts working together in a studio context.

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The Last Command 1985

Features classic Chris Holmes riffing at its finest. "Wild Child" and "Blind in Texas" are built on infectious, mid-tempo power chord progressions that are perfect for developing your sense of groove and timing in a metal context. The solos are flashy but approachable for intermediate players working on their pentatonic vocabulary.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Chris Holmes is most associated with Jackson and Charvel Superstrat-style guitars, particularly custom Jackson models with Floyd Rose tremolo systems and pointy headstocks that became iconic of the 1980s metal look and sound. Blackie Lawless has used various guitars over the years but is often seen with custom instruments. Doug Blair favored Jackson guitars as well, often with locking tremolo setups for dive bombs and flutter effects during solos.

Amp

W.A.S.P.'s guitar tone has been primarily built on Marshall amplifiers, particularly JCM800 and older Plexi-style heads driven hard for natural tube saturation. Chris Holmes ran his Marshalls with the gain pushed high and the mids scooped slightly for that aggressive, cutting 1980s metal tone. Later recordings incorporated more modern high-gain amps, but the Marshall foundation remained central to the W.A.S.P. sound.

Pickups

The guitars in W.A.S.P. typically feature hot-output humbuckers in the bridge position, consistent with the Superstrat metal tradition. Think along the lines of Seymour Duncan JB or similar high-output pickups in the 13-16k ohm range, designed to push a tube amp into heavy saturation while retaining enough clarity for palm-muted chugging and single-note lead lines to cut through.

Effects & Chain

W.A.S.P.'s guitar tone is relatively straightforward in terms of effects. The core sound is guitar straight into a cranked Marshall with minimal pedal intervention. Chris Holmes occasionally used a wah pedal for solos and some chorus or delay for atmospheric sections, but the emphasis was always on amp-driven distortion and raw tone. For the cleaner ballad tones heard on songs like "Hold On To My Heart," a simple chorus effect and the amp's clean channel were the main tools.

Recommended Gear

Amp

Marshall JCM800

Chris Holmes drove Marshall JCM800 heads with high gain and scooped mids to create W.A.S.P.'s signature aggressive 1980s metal tone with natural tube saturation. The cranked Marshall became the foundation of their raw, cutting sound on tracks like 'Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)'.

Pickup

Seymour Duncan JB

The Seymour Duncan JB's hot output in W.A.S.P.'s bridge position pushes the Marshall into heavy saturation while maintaining clarity for palm-muted chugging and cutting lead lines. This high-output humbucker was essential for achieving the band's powerful, articulate metal tone throughout their catalog.

How to Practice Wasp on GuitarZone

Every Wasp song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Hold On To My Heart - Guitar Tab Practice Sleeping - Guitar Tab