By Andrew Bansal
Los Angeles-based traditional metal band White Wizzard have had quite a unique year, wherein the first half was amazing and the second half completely fell apart. They started off 2013 with the solidification of perhaps the best five-piece lineup they’ve ever had, with vocalist Joseph Michael and guitarists Will Wallner and Jake Dreyer joining forces with bassist/founding member/principal songwriter Jon Leon and longtime drummer Giovanni Durst. The quintet delivered a studio album called ‘The Devils Cut’ via Earache/Century Media Records in the middle of the year, easily the best set of tunes White Wizzard has released in its career and hands down one of the finest albums of 2013, and looked all set to take the momentum on the road. But during their European headline tour, major internal drama unfolded and the band broke into pieces with Jon Leon once again left as the lone ranger. Despite of all the lineup changes and personality clashes he’s had to face ever since he formed White Wizzard in 2007, Leon never gave up at any point and he doesn’t look like he’s giving up now. He always has been and will be a great songwriter, as is clearly evident from his work on ‘The Devils Cut’, which when perceived objectively is a truly fantastic slab of unadulterated heavy metal. With ‘Forging The Steel’ and ‘Strike The Iron’, the album gets off to an amazing start and with every tune, it brings pure enjoyment to the old-school metalhead. Frontman Joseph Michael does complete justice to every vocal line placed in front of him, and the duo of Will Wallner and Jake Dreyer lay down some exemplary guitar work to go with the seasoned rhythm section of Jon Leon and Gio Durst. The fact that this lineup broke apart is, in all honesty, one of the biggest musical tragedies of the year, but until Jon Leon plots his next move, fans of White Wizzard and traditional heavy metal have ‘The Devils Cut’ to savor for its undeniable brilliance.
Track Listing:
1. Forging The Steel
2. Strike The Iron
3. Kings Of The Highway
4. Lightning In My Hands
5. Steal Your Mind
6. The Devils Cut
7. Torpedo Of Truth
8. Storm Chaser
9. The Sun Also Rises
Duration: 50.2 minutes
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The countdown so far …
#50. Nails – Abandon All Life
#49. American Sharks – Self-Titled
#48. Hatebreed – The Divinity Of Purpose
#47. Helen Money – Arriving Angels
#46. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – Mind Control
#45. Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen
#44. Church Of Misery – Thy Kingdom Scum
#43. Wolvserpent – Perigaea Antahkarana
#42. Djinn And Miskatonic – Forever In The Realm
#41. Czar – No One Is Alone If No One Is Alive
#40. Against The Grain – Surrounded By Snakes
#39. Nekrofilth – Devil’s Breath
#38. Kylesa – Ultraviolet
#37. The Devil’s Blood – III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars
#36. Kadavar – Abra Kadavar
#35. Purson – The Circle And The Blue Door
#34. Carousel – Jeweler’s Daughter
#33. Kvelertak – Meir
#32. SpiralArms – Freedom
#31. Satan – Life Sentence
#30. Exhumed – Necrocracy
#29. Havok – Unnatural Selection
#28. Mothership – Self-Titled
#27. UDO – Steelhammer
#26. Ramming Speed – Doomed To Destroy, Destined To Die
#25. Revocation – Self-Titled
#24. Gorguts – Colored Sands
#23. Kobra And The Lotus – Self-Titled
#22. Toxic Holocaust – Chemistry Of Consciousness
#21. Saxon – Sacrifice
#20. Noctum – Final Sacrifice
#19. Intronaut – Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)
#18. Scale The Summit – The Migration
#17. Warbringer – IV: Empires Collapse
#16. Scorpion Child – Self-Titled
#15. Motörhead – Aftershock
#14. Holy Grail – Ride The Void
#13. Red Fang – Whales And Leeches
#12. Soilwork – The Living Infinite
#11. ASG – Blood Drive
#10. The Ocean – Pelagial
#9: Anciients – Heart Of Oak
#8. Cauldron – Tomorrow’s Lost
#7. Enforcer – Death By Fire
#6. Skeletonwitch – Serpents Unleashed
#5. Valient Thorr – Our Own Masters
#4. White Wizzard – The Devils Cut
Check out #3 here.