White Wizzard – Marathon of Dreams

 

Throughout all of the adversity and breakups that White Wizzard has seen, Jon Leon remains the constant. Amazingly, each reincarnation of the band is seemingly stronger than the last. This can be attributed in part to Jon’s continuing development of his songwriting, and his increasing ability to find killer musicians. White Wizzard’s current form is almost a solo project at this point; Jon has teamed up with drummer Devin Lebsack, but Jon now does the vocals. As you might imagine, then, the vocals are one of the few changes on the band’s new single: “Marathon of Dreams”. Jon’s range is nowhere near as spectacular as the previous vocalists of the band, but he is no slouch either. He’s able to hit the notes he needs to, and his voice will definitely grow on you after a few listens. Fans of vocalists like Jason Decay (Cauldron) will certainly appreciate his style.

The next area of change on “Marathon of Dreams” is in the production. My first few listens to this song were on bandcamp, and honestly, the production was quite poor. After buying the track on iTunes, however, I’m not sure if it’s actually a much higher quality version of the song, or if I’m used to the sound now, but it’s actually pretty good. The bass is still pretty much in the forefront of things, but that’s to be expected with White Wizzard. It certainly doesn’t sound as polished as “The Devil’s Cut” was; however, it’s by no means unprofessional sounding. If the production doesn’t work for you at first, give it a few more listens on decent speakers and it should grow on you. The drums are huge, and that comes through clearly during the intro drum solo. The guitars are pretty standard sounding, but they get the job done.

By far the best part of “Marathon of Dreams” is the song itself. This is among Jon’s best written songs; only outdone by a couple of the band’s more epic tracks (“The Sun Also Rises” and “Iron Goddess of Vengeance” come to mind). The classic harmonized guitars everybody loves are back, alongside plenty of catchy vocal lines. This track throws a bit of a curveball at you in that the drums really get going at certain points. The use of double bass shows White Wizzard reaching speeds they’ve rarely gotten to before, and this additional energy really suits the band. Regardless of your thoughts on Jon’s vocals or the production, it’s hard to deny the power of this track, and things are only looking up (again!) for White Wizzard at this point.

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Final Rating

4.6/5 or 92%. 

Written by Scott 

White Wizzard - The Devil's Cut

Throughout the recent uprising of young, new bands playing traditional heavy metal, there still has not been a record as great as White Wizzard’s first full-length, “Over The Top”. That album perfectly represented everything that made heavy metal great. It had brilliantly catchy guitar and vocal melodies, simplistic, yet enjoy riffs, and wicked imagery. White Wizzard’s next record, “Flying Tigers” was a bit of a different beast in that the first half of the album was similar to the debut, but the second side of the record aimed for a more progressive, mature approach to songwriting. On their newest album, “The Devil’s Cut”, White Wizzard has effectively gone back to their original sound, with a couple of influences thrown from the stranger side of “Flying Tigers”.

The one-two punch of “Forging The Steel” and “Strike The Iron” that kick off this record is easily the most energetic sounding combo of any album this year. “Forging The Steel” opens with the band paying tribute to Iron Maiden, with heavy galloping, a strong bass guitar presence, and melodic leads. Even more impressive is “Strike The Iron”. This track epitomizes what the role of guitar solos should be in heavy metal. There is a never-ending supply of shredding on this song. Just when you think there can’t possibly be another solo, guitarists Will Wallner and Jake Dreyer show up again to let you know they can play faster than you. Jammed between these wicked shredders are the powerful vocals of Joseph Michael. I was personally a huge fan of White Wizzard’s old singer, Wyatt Anderson, but Joseph Michael has done a more than respectable job in bringing a new voice to the band. He can do all of the wicked screams that you want to hear, and he can sing appropriately in any other situation the band finds themselves in. "Strike The Iron" also features a couple of unique guitar melodies that would not have been out of place on "Flying Tigers", and help to differentiate the band a bit from their followers.

Aside from the first two tracks, there are some great moments on “The Devil’s Cut”. “Torpedo of Truth” is a return to the simple, upbeat and catchy choruses that dominated the first album.  “Kings of the Highway” and “Storm Chaser” both display a more laid-back sensibility. Those songs are the kind of tunes that you can put on anywhere and everybody should be able to enjoy, regardless of their personal music tastes. The closing track, “The Sun Also Rises” is beyond epic, not unlike “Iron Goddess of Vengeance” from the debut record. Much like at the end of an Iron Maiden album from the 80’s, when this song nears its end, you really feel like you’ve gone through a wicked journey with the band. A couple of the tracks on “The Devil’s Cut” don’t have much staying power (“Lightning In My Hands” and “Steal Your Mind” are my least favourites), but it doesn’t mean they don’t rock when they are playing. It is really more of a testament to the strength of the other seven songs that these two tracks aren’t as memorable as the rest. 

“The Devil’s Cut” is a great return to form for White Wizzard. While I don’t think “Flying Tigers” was bad, it did get a bit off track by the end. By contrast, this new record is high quality throughout, and there’s nothing on this album that is bad or boring. This is one of those albums that if you can’t enjoy, you probably don’t like heavy metal very much.  

Be sure to check out and like White Wizzard on Facebook!

Highlights

"Strike The Iron"

"Torpedo of Truth"

"Storm Chaser"

Final Rating

4.4/5 or 88%. 

Written by Scott