Over the Top

Well, my self-proclaimed saviors of true heavy metal are back with an entirely new line-up (almost) and have released an album which is of unquestionable metalness. Seriously, this album is THE metal album. It's totally metal. Really.

This wouldn't be a problem, except they tell you, over and over and OVER again. And that is the main problem with this album: the lyrics. Now most people who know of White Wizzard know that Jon Leon's goal was to make a classic heavy metal album in the vein of Iron Maiden or Dio, and he has accomplished that, but it's so amazingly blatant and shameless that sometimes you can't help but cringe. Just look at the track names: "Over the Top", "Strike of the Viper", "Live Free or Die"; And the themes of the songs aren't any better! Practically all they sing about is alcohol, metal and women, and they always re-use the same words and ideas. But despite all that, there are some better tracks with more creative lyrics (such as "Iron Goddess of Vengeance" or "White Wizzard") that really convey the feeling of classic metal without being too overt. The album would truly have been a classic if they had just stuck to fantasy themes rather than go the Manowar path of lyric writing. But there's a lot more to music than just the lyrics, and that is where this album really shines.

The production on this album is great, there are no real issues with it at all. Although I hate to make more Iron Maiden comparisons, the similarities can't be ignored: the vocals are almost exactly the same. Much like Bruce Dickinson, Wyatt Anderson's voice is very "wide" (if that makes any sense) and commanding, but can also go into a fever-pitched scream when necessary. However great his voice is though, some vocal parts are just inexcusably annoying, such as the "Legions - of hell!" lyric in "Strike of the Viper". The drumming and bass are pretty good, each have their moments, but overall are nothing to really go nuts about. The other big positive point of the music is definitely the guitar work. There are insane solos on practically every song, and usually multiple ones in each. The rhythm and lead guitar combination works extremely well, especially when you have the rhythm guitar pumping away at riffs while the lead is shredding maniacally (it gives the impression of a stolid mother with her zealous toddler running in circles around her).

All in all, this is a very good album and is a must-have for any lover of classic heavy metal (if only to hear the genre's modern pioneers in action). White Wizzard have great musicianship and songwriting, but the lyrics are pretty lame and way too cheesy. My personal favorite tracks are "Out of Control", "White Wizzard" and "Death Race" and I would recommend people listen to those first, just to get eased into the cheesiness of the songs and get a taste of the better material. So, to recap:

Pros - melodic commanding vocals, great guitar work, solid songwriting
Cons - usually silly lyrics, too blatant about being metal

Hail!