Review: White Wizzard's "The Devil's Cut"

Over the past half-decade, there has been a movement within the Heavy Metal community inspired by a lot of the metalcore and screamo bands popular today.

Well, negatively inspired, anyway.

Quite frankly, a lot of metalheads don't like a lot of angsty Screamo and Metalcore bands (even if there are some pretty goods ones in the mix like Shadows Fall). In response, there's been a growing movement among some metalheads inspired by a lot of the early-80s pre-glam and Thrash metal scenes, particularly the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal might not be much of a genre-changing movement yet, but some bands like Enforcer, Holy Grail and Cauldron are becoming very popular.

One of the leaders of this movement is LA-based White Wizzard. Emerging from LA with their self-titled EP and single "High Speed GTO", the band, led by bassist Jon Leon, are easily one of the best bands of this movement. Their 2010 album "Over the Top" introduced me to them and the movement while I was at my college radio station WIDB. I loved every single minute of it.

However, because Jon Leon has a reputation for being very demanding, the band has gone through several line-up changes over the years. Naturally, they've become the butt of a few jokes because of their inability to keep a stable line-up. Part of this is why I was so disappointed with their 2011 sophomore effort "Flying Tigers". It didn't have the same punch as "Over the Top", the lack of excellent solos and exceptional songs doomed the album from the beginning.

In 2012, however, they settled on what may be a stable line-up of vocalist Joseph Michael (who also happens to be Ronnie James Dio's cousin!), guitarist Will Walner and Jake Dreyer as well as Leon and drummer Giovanni Durst, who'd been with the band since "Over the Top". With all that background info out of the way, it's time to review "The Devil's Cut".

White Wizzard's sound is very Iron Maiden-esque, especially at the beginning track, "Forging the Steel". You'd think you'd purchased an Iron Maiden album listening to it for the first time before it leads into the blazingly fast "Strike the Iron". The first time I heard it, I thanked the Metal Gods for this. It's fast, energetic and it kicks your ass the way Metal's supposed to.

The album itself is varied. The second track "Kings of the Highway" is a Judas Priest-esque ode to freedom on the open highway, and more of a mid-paced track. All of the tracks vary between high-speed cookers and mid-paced tracks. This variation works well and prevents the album from getting dull. However, since I like my Metal just like my auto racing--fast and loud--my favorite tracks are the fast ones.

Since this is only their second release with a full line-up (Over the Top had two guitar tracks but one guitarist, the other was Jon Leon), the band really shines here. Guitarists Jake Dreyer and Will Walner weave a complex and melodic twin guitar attack right out of an Iron Maiden album. Their soloing also compliments each other and as the Wizz promised, the solos are straight-up shred fests that more than make up for the disappointment that is "Flying Tigers". And as usual, Giovanni Durst lays down the beat, varying between a monster and a simple drum beat. It's this variation that makes him one of the better current drummers in metal. As for Joseph Michael, he's not the same as the vocalist on the Wizz's last two albums, but he's solid and is more than capable of hitting the high notes.

The lyrical content here is a little more down-to-earth than the previous two, which included fantasy songs like "Iron Goddess of Vengeance" and the Starman mini-concept album on "Flying Tigers". While there are lyrics that are fantasy-inspired, they're purely metaphorical rather than direct. However, Leon's typical freedom-loving lyrics are in full display here. "Strike the Iron" is basically a 6:46-long pep speech, as are most of  the songs here. This isn't angsty metal here. Of course, there's also plenty of songs about METAL on here. Hey, they're inspired by '80s metal, are you surprised?

As for the band's playing, these guys are tight. It seems as if, barring another ego-driven meltdown, Jon Leon has found the line-up that sticks together for the Wizz. All the right buttons and notes are hit on this album. As mentioned previously, Dreyer and Wallner are fantastic, and they could potentially be the next David Murray-Adrian Smith or about as close as they can get. I feel that the Wizz might finally be hitting their stride. "The Devil's Cut" may not be perfect, but I feel it is certainly one of the best metal releases this year. Time will tell if The Wizz are selling out arenas and big concert halls like they should be.

Score: 8.5/10

Wasn't There a Lockout?

Hockey season is over!

In a way, I'm actually happy to say that because there almost wasn't a season. At the same time, I'm gutted because it was such a fun year, especially for my beloved Blackhawks! They were clearly the best team in the entire NHL, going 21-0-3 to start the season. That's 24 games without a regulation loss! Half the fucking season, for Pete's sake! It was only fitting my beloved Hawks would be the ones that lifted the Stanley Cup in the end.

It's how they did it, however, that was difficult.

After an easy first-round series against the Mini-sod-ia Wild, the Hawks had to come back from 3-1--games, not goals--to beat the hated Red Wings, then beat a tough LA Kings team in the Conference Finals (speaking of which, I got to go to game 2 of that series. It was awesome!) to face off against the Boston Bruins, who were on a roll and an emotional high.

Oh, dear, was this series exhausting.

I think the only thing anyone could expect from this series was to expect the unexpected and the inevitable boo-birds that would come out as soon as Gary Bettman showed up (the fact that he did after not helping his cause one bit is just as surprising as this entire series). We were treated (or tortured) to a triple-overtime game 1 where the Hawks showed their penchant for coming back after being down two blasted goals.

Unfortunately, that was only game 1. Game two saw the Bruins come back from down a goal to steal home ice from the Hawks. Things looked even worse when they lost game 3 in Bah-stin behind an energized Causeway crowd. All of a sudden, the media was declaring the Hawks dead and--wait, didn't we go through this before?

Ah, yes, remember that 3-1 comeback? Well, Coach Quenneville got a little desperate and put Toews, Kane and Bickell on the first line. After being held scoreless by the Bruins defense, the line exploded for a total of 6 goals in the final three games. It didn't have to be so fucking hard, though! Game 4 was another hard-fought see-saw battle with the B's matching the Hawks' goals again and again until it went into ANOTHER OVERTIME tied at four.

And that was when Mr. Overtime, Brent Seabrook, struck again, giving the Hawks a 6-5 series lead.

After a (relatively) easy game 5 victory where Kaner scored 2 goals, it was on to game 6 with a desperate Bruins team and crowd, and two injured superstars.

The Bruins got the first goal on an open-netter by David Kelly. However, the Hawks stormed back and tied it on the last second of a Bruins power play on behalf of Captain Serious. Then the Bruins went ahead again, with Milan Lucic beating Crawford with less than 8 minutes to go.

At that point, I guess the players had all resigned themselves to a game 7... sort of.

With less than 2 minutes to go, the Hawks pulled Crawford for the extra attacker. It was a true desperation move and the Hawks went for it. The puck went into the corner off to Boston goalie Tuuka Rask's right. Even with the extra attacker, it looked like the Bruins were gonna win the game and send it to game 7--BICKELL!!!!

The Hawks had life! Bryan Bickell, who'd stepped up his game in the playoffs, scored after stuffing Rask's net. Now it looked like things were going into overtime and--holy shit, BOLLAND!? AGAIN!? It's 2-1 Hawks! Just 17 (game) seconds after scoring the equalizer, the Hawks scored the go-ahead! You honestly cannot script this shit, people!

The Hawks killed the final 57 seconds to win Lord Stanley's Cup for the second time. Now LET'S PARTY AND DO IT AGAIN!!!!

A Must-Win for US Soccer

Last Friday Jamaica delivered a blow to the US men's soccer team giving them 2-1 loss in Kingston, Jamaica. Tonight, the US will be playing in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd in their unofficial home of Columbus Crew Stadium in Ohio. The US has never lost here in qualifying, and they'll need the support to beat the feisty Jamaicans. The US will have to defend better after the disaster in Kingston on Friday. Luckily, defenders Steve Cherundolo and Carlos Bocanegra, both of whom are very solid and vital members of the team, should be on the field for the match tonight. And with the anniversary of 9/11, the threat of elimination and the wiles of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the US should have the motivation and the players to beat the Reggae Boyz and keep their 2014 World Cup qualifying hopes alive. It's not time to panic yet, but it is a good idea to be concerned. I still have confidence they'll win tonight, though.

White Sox need to get their act together

I'm going to take a break today from the potentially divisive political posts and focus on something else: Sports. My beloved Chicago White Sox have been surprising everyone this year, especially since they were expected to finish in last place in the AL Central. However, they've been leading since May. But they've been struggling since the beginning of August and have only won 3 of their last 10 lately. That's not how a Division leader should be playing, but thankfully, the Tigers have been playing just as bad. It's a wonder the Sox even have the AL Central lead, especially when they keep losing to Kansas City!

Yesterday the White Sox had multiple chances to win the game, but couldn't, and they guy they had at the plate (Onyedo, I think) swung at pitches that were so obviously bad that I think he was desperate. That's not how a team should be playing at this point in the season. The Tigers are coming up, and the White Sox have played just as poorly against them as they have the Royals. They need to win some games or else this season will be over. I just hope that Robin Ventura has something up his sleeve. He's surprised me many times this season, so he might just do that.

USTR Ron Kirk must be removed from his position

USTR Ron Kirk has got to be the worst bureaucrat in a city filled with bad bureaucrats. He has been hiding the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal in the Pacific region that could have incredibly far-reaching consequences, from the public and from Congress despite calls for him to relent and release them. I have no idea if his orders are from President Obama, but if not, then I'm calling on legal action to have him removed from office, particularly from Congress or the courts. This behavior and the way the TPP has been negotiated and its potential consequences means he is not fit for the job.

Hollywood needs to get its act together

I, like a lot of young liberals, have a love-hate relationship with the entertainment industry. Sure, it helps with free speech issues and getting Democratic politicians elected, but the problem starts when they try to legislate things they can't control, like the Internet, as we saw with SOPA. The problem is, Hollywood is trying to legislate a problem (copyright infringement) but attempting to do so stifles Internet freedom. Also, the secrecy surrounding these attempts at legislating through laws and trade agreements means the public has no input on something that could affect them. This has got to stop. Hollywood has to get its act together and stop trying to legislate the Internet. It's not going to work. All it does is cause problems for normal people who can't hire expensive lobbyists. Just STOP. We've had it. SOPA was one thing, but Hollywood lobbyists are still trying. Part of what I hate about this is that it makes me seem like a conspiracy theorist, which I'm not. I think they're stupid. But unless Hollywood stops trying to legislate the Internet and makes it easier to watch content online, normal people are going to look (rightfully) paranoid.

Mitt Romney should not be President

When he made a birther joke last Friday in Michigan, any pretense that Mitt Romney is a "serious" Presidential candidate where thrown out the window like a bag of bricks. Romney has shown so much disrespect for his opponent, race-baiting and outright lying about President Obama's record that I don't think Romney belongs anywhere near the White House, not even on a tour. His attitude shows he feels entitled to the White House, even though voters (appropriately) don't trust him and his refusal to release his tax returns just smacks of secrecy and privilege. He acts like the average voter is below him. The antics of his fellow Republicans also shows they shouldn't be running a country club, much less the government of the most powerful country on Earth. Fact of the matter is, they have to lose. Their extremism is revolting and were it not for the fact that so many people agree with them, the dirty money and their attempts at voter suppression, they'd be looking at a landslide loss in this year's elections.