White Wizzard - 'High Speed GTO'

Fun-loving, hook-filled metal inspired by the genre’s classic era. For every step they take forward, however, they take two steps back with their excessive emphasis on harmless pop-inclined music.

If you’re haven’t had a slip of the finger leading you to the somewhat interesting trad metal/southern rock hybrid White Wizard, you’ll find info about Earache Records’ new artist White Wizzard (two Z’s, not one), whose debut High Speed GTO is nothing but fun-loving, fist-pumping metal that shamelessly reflects the sound of the early eighties.

Throughout, White Wizzard marries the powerfully emotional qualities of heavy metal with the hook-focused emphasis of pop. At his worst, their singer (erm, The Screaming Demon) sounds a little too much like Avenged Sevenfold’s annoying M. Shadows; but to his credit, he predominantly leads the way with a likable mid-ranged voice that might earn them the affection of some contemporary music fans who would otherwise be turned off by the banshee-like wailing typical of most traditional metal vocalists.

Unlike an old school obsessed band like Slough Feg that leans more toward filth, lore and mystery, White Wizzard has more in common with the boozin’ partiers in Widow in terms of music, vibe and production. But White Wizzard is somehow too clean, good natured and PG-13. Now, Van Halen didn’t seem to be exceptionally dangerous, yet they had a much more unrestrained (or, ahem, “unchained”) spirit that’s arguably requisite for metal bands.

At the end of the day, and setting aside over-analysis and measurement of the band against the canon of heavy metal, the music is just…alright. At least it’s a better alternative to contemporary rock radio for longtime metalheads, in addition to being a positive sign that old school heavy metal worship is starting to boil up from the cauldron.

Considering that this EP is being released two years after it was recorded, around the same time the band was born, it will be interesting to see how the band has developed when their full-length is released.