Over the Top

This album is another retro metal and hard rock record influenced by the music of the late seventies and early eighties that should please to young and old people and can permanently play on any rock and roll party, as soundtrack between two hard rock bands during a concert or festival or simply in your car when you hit the open road for summer time. White Wizzard are a really cool band. The vocals are melodic, slightly high pitched and very catchy. The guitar solos are melodic and have all necessary genre trademarks. The bass supports the guitars very well. The drumming is energizing and fits to the ensemble. This is a good alternative to your worn out record from Cloven Hoof, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Marseille and so on. This band is surely a great live act, too.

Even though there's nothing wrong with this band, the four or five guys that recently lived many confusing line-up changes add nothing new to the genre and are just another retro metal band. This is a sad thing as they have the talent to do much better and maybe they'll one day find their very own style even if it's difficult to add something new the heavy metal genre nowadays. After some optimism in the beginning, the album gets worn out quite fast and has no true highlight besides the opening anthem and energizing title track "Over The Top" that also has a great video clip. The album goes nowhere and the lack of inspiration is underlined by the useless two cover versions in the end of the record that sound actually quite close to the originals.

Technically, this band has a lot of talent and I still like to listen to this record for special occasions. It's a great feel good record that has the capacity to put a smile on your face after all and let you have a trip to the past. Sometimes, one doesn’t need to always be progressive, experimental and avant-garde and this kind of down to earth record is healthy dose to our ears from time to time even if some originality and constancy is missing on here.

That's why my final rating is still quite positive even if the hype for this band is after all not justified. I hope these guys will carry on, get some stability in their line-up and evolve their skills and sounds. It's definitely already better than Vanderbuyst, Airbourne and all the other hard rock and heavy metal copycats out there.