The Devils Cut

White Wizzard’s 2013 third full-length, The Devil’s Cut (once again released under Earache Records), was a huge improvement over its preceding Flying Tigers flop as well as a major step forward for the Golden State heavy metal revivalists thanks to the inclusion of lead ax men Jake Dreyer and Will Walner, with the addition of a NWOBHM nostalgia evoking front man in Joseph Michael, who competently redeemed Wyatt “Screaming Demon” Anderson’s previous and unpardonable vocal lapses (thankfully, the latter reclaimed himself in spades on the Wizzard’s succeeding and latest installment, Infernal Overdrive, released earlier this month – a propitious turn of events considering his poignant performance on the 2010 debut, Over the Top).

That said, The Devil’s Cut adhered to a much leaner and meaner approach fully in line with the tempestuously shifting band’s late 70s/early 80s melodic and classic metal influences and leanings. All-around, the guitar riffs and solos, as well as Jon Leon’s bass lines and Giovanni Durst’s drum beats, cut straight to the chase without preamble and bombastic meanderings on the short, two-minute instrumental intro, “Forging the Steel” – a most glorious mid tempo and Iron Maiden-ish twin guitar harmony based affair – and opener proper, “Strike the Iron”, a surprisingly enterprising and intelligently construed seven-minute exploration which provides the listener with an auspicious glimpse of what to expect in the future, namely elaborate and progressive song constructs, so prominent on said Infernal Overdrive. This early in the game, however, the newly based line-up played its hand close to the chest as the riffs and battery are unwavering in their tempos i.e. stick to similarly linear and purely rock/trad metal overtones, even as a hectic and jangling bass line at 02:51 steers the track off its incepting path towards exotic fret runs, maniacally Arabesque leads and wild, pell-mell drum fills. At 04:38, a second bridge, highlighted by a fleeting drum ride and helter skelter guitar riff , leads into further harried soloing based on rather unorthodox scale modes as opposed to the usual minor/pentatonic guitar wizardry so prevalent on Over the Top. To wit, “Strike the Iron” is quite an impressive track coming on the heels of Flying Tigers' insipidly wasted second half!

“Kings of the Highway”, for its part, is somewhat of a slick throwback to past auto-route adventures such as the 2010 EP’s “Octane Gypsy” or even Flying Tigers’ non-committal and randy liberator “West L.A. Nights” thanks to its piercingly melodic and scratchy dual guitar harmony, pleasantly plump bass line and sweetly seeking and drawn-out solo/compellingly noodling bass backing. The verses and chorus are also quite gratifying, in a similar feel-good, devil-may-care manner as High Speed GTO (EP) and Over the Top fare. Much of the same can be said about “Lightning in my Hands" as it readily harkens back to metal’s golden age while paralleling its Canadian NWOTHM brethren Axxion, Phantom and Sanktuary, for instance. Again, fluid guitar latticework and Michael’s congenial vocal delivery make this one a winner, not to mention its downright dazzling finger-tapped solo section.

As much as these first four cuts greatly restored my faith in the Los Angelinos I was even more egregiously astonished and pleased by the passionate pseudo-ballad which is “Steal Your Mind”; when listening closely to the cathartic lyrics, one draws the conclusion Jon saw the error of his self-seeking and prideful ways, thus arriving at a freeing realization regarding his future actions and necessary amending of his wrongs (namely, firing competent band mates in order to hog the spotlight). The song commences in a chillaxed, radio-friendly and ballad-like fashion (note its early wistful, classicist lead guitar!) as Michael croons in a soaring David Coverdale-like manner, the clean melodies and languidly gregarious bass line fervently stewing until the lid flies clean off four or so minutes in when the ramped up and enthused vocals parallel Dave Mustaine at his most loose and engaging before Dreyner and Wallner truly break free of their moorings thanks to a sinuously sizzling set of soul-edifying leads which are as groundbreaking, if not more so, than on any previous outings.

At this point, I feel The Devil’s Cut, had it been limited to its first five tracks, would have made a swell EP (barring its atrocious cover art), spiritedly rebounding as it does from past blunders. In other words, Leon and the band’s re-awakening was complete, their mission of redemption duly accomplished. There was no need for them to expunge further! Alas, they should have quit while they were ahead as the remainder of the album pusillanimously falls from grace, hence, my slightly lukewarm score and overall reception. The bass heavy title track means well but chaotically sprawls all over the place, in the process besmirching the album’s gracious rise thus far. “Tornado of Truth” then sounds like a messy albeit jaunty jam between neophytes – its clumsy and tone deaf chorus is nominally ghastly! The ruminating and bass dominated shuffler which is “Storm Chaser” isn’t as bad, but Michael’s uncharacteristically off-key vocals leaves one listless and confused, in the same way they’d feel awkward and embarrassed witnessing some poor sap’s terrible Elvis impersonation or further karaoke calamity. Finally, the 9.5 minute closer, “The Sun Also Rises”, starts off with touchy drums and simplistic fret run blandishments which slowly evolve into cute and wiry soloing as well as a mid-point acceleration/escalating riff and lead pattern. This last is obviously a coy attempt to deviate from the status quo as well as instill a progressive flair to the proceedings; unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for Infernal Overdrive for such experimentation to bear fruit. On this note, any one of these late, back-to-back turgidities could have been sparsely tucked in respective releases as innocuous and harmless filler but here under such cloying and swamped conditions, only serve to detract from the album’s redeeming quality and overall accomplishment.

When all is said and done, I actually prefer The Devil’s Cut to Infernal Overdrive, although in all earnestness, the latter is the better album as it’s much more confidant, solid and well-defined. As implied, The Devil’s Cut would have immensely benefitted from being stripped of its overkill as well as turned into a short and compact EP, especially since it trailed in the wake of the woeful Flying Tigers. In any case, I still consider White Wizzard an important new wave of traditional heavy metal trailblazer alongside Enforcer, Cauldron, Steelwing, Striker, Holy Grail and Monument, not to mention an untold swath of others.