Flying Tigers

Californian traditional heavy metal outfit White Wizzard proved with their strong debut that they had the ability and talent to perhaps be one of the brightest groups of the recent wave of similar acts emerging over the last few years. They had a set of very skilled musicians and a talented vocalist but were seriously lacking in the originality department. Their music was caught in the grey area between being a throwback band and a serious metal band. This album brings a plate of originality to the table, but sadly, it suffers from a serious lack of inspiration. This is not a terrible album, it only fails at everything it tries to accomplish.

The biggest stumbling block that the band ran into for their sophomore effort was the loss of their guitar player. Upon first listen, the guitar player for Over the Top wasn't anything special. But now that he is gone, there is a huge hole in the sound this band is going for. The reason why is that instead of simply hiring a new guitar player, bassist Jon Leon took it upon himself to play all of the guitar parts. While Jon Leon is a fantastic bass player, his guitar abilities leave a lot missing. His soloing is very below average, and it is glaringly obvious that he was not to ever meant to play lead. While I admire his efforts, his performance is sub-par. Even his bass playing has fallen in quality for this record. It is a safe conclusion to say his hands were full in trying to write and play all of the string parts for the album.

The problem with this record isn't just the lacking guitar playing. The writing is seriously uninspired. Most of the riffs and chord progressions used for each song rely on two or maybe three different chords to propel them along. The result is a set of riffs that fail to make the songs anything special. One of the best things about Over the Top was the presence of fantastic and complicated lead breaks that were in the vein of Iron Maiden. Gone are those satisfying leads (even if they were a bit simplistic) and gone are all of the more complicated song sections. Half of the music on this album is pretty much totally stripped down to just a few riffs per song and maybe an underwhelming solo.

The other half of the music on this album though... the other half is even worse. There is a point in which a band tries desperately something that they are not. In turn their efforts fall violently on their face in a rather conspicuous manner. This band does just that, with the new found slivers of originality present on this album comes a set of songs that are horrific failures. After the decent and somewhat enjoyable "Night Stalker" finishes, in comes the absolutely painfully atrocious "Fall Of Atlantis". Besides the only awesome chorus on the album, this song is a frightful mess of wanna-be progressive metal riffing and out-of-place vocals that make this a vile "Dream Theater gone horribly wrong" effort that comes across as an absolute mess. This isn't the only track suffering in such a manner either.

Basically, after "Night Stalker" ends, the album not just severely declines in quality, it figuratively falls off of a cliff. The only two tracks out of these six (yes, six!) that bring anything potent or worthwhile to the table is an overlong wanna-be epic in "Demons and Diamonds", and a overall enjoyable Iron Maiden inspired "Blood on the Pyramids". The rest of these at the end are all corrupted by self indulgence and a severe lack of direction. They all feature awfully awkward guitar playing and aimless vocals that fail to fit the music in the slightest. It's a shame too, because the best guitar solo on the album is hidden in the album closer. Overall, this last half could've and should have been dropped. There is almost a tangible wall in between the first half of this and the second half of this. The fact that this album clocks in at almost an hour doesn't help one bit either.

The musicianship on Flying Tigers is not bad, but a definite step down from the debut. This is a real shame because White Wizzard showed that they could play with the best. Jon Leon has completely lost his drive for this album, and the results are extremely underwhelming. His bass playing is a little above average but it has no room to stretch its legs due to the weak song structures. When the songs do pick up (in a vile and annoying way) all of the bass lines sound like attempts to play another "To Tame A Land". The bass work was a real treat to listen to on Over the Top, but here it is quite the disappointment. I already mentioned Jon's guitar playing on the album, and it is above average for a rhythm player, but he really should have picked somebody up for the leads.

Wyatt "Screaming Demon" Anderson (how much do ya wanna bet he picked that dumbass moniker for himself?) brings another worthy performance to the table, and when compared to the other metal vocalists ruling the market nowadays, this guy is golden. His great performance on Over the Top does indeed trump this album though. I think the production on his voice is to blame, because they sound a bit dry on this recording. Either way, Wyatt Anderson gets the job done. He gives the band a recognizable and original voice that is a definite plus to the band. It's a shame he doesn't have a better band to work with, and he would eventually depart from White Wizzard.

The strongest performance belongs to the drummer. There was nothing wrong with the previous percussionist at all, but this Giovanni Durst (despite the unfortunate coincidence of surnames) is a fantastic drummer. He is a huge improvement to the band and he helps make the bland first half of the album a little more interesting. He gives the band a very strong backbone to work with and when the music gets a bit hairy on the second half of the album, he brings adept and creative drumming to the songs. He has my favorite performance on this album hands down.

As a whole, this album falls apart. There are a few tracks here that are worthy and enjoyable, such as "Fight to the Death" and "Flying Tigers", which are both awesome tracks. I wish the whole album could be on the standard that these two set, it would make this a way better album. If you were a huge fan of Over the Top, you might enjoy this. If you've never heard White Wizzard or are snooping around the NWOTHM trying to find the best bands, ignore this and move on. Apparently Jon Leon would learn his lesson and hire two guitar players for the next album. Flying Tigers proves that Jon Leon isn't the all-knowing heavy metal badass that he thinks he is. This record isn't atrocious, but it is a definite flop; don't bother with this one.