{"id":31947,"date":"2013-09-17T21:23:20","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T02:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=31947"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:37:52","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:37:52","slug":"white-wizzard-the-devils-cut-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/white-wizzard-the-devils-cut-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"White Wizzard | The Devil\u2019s Cut<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"WhiteCalifornia-based traditional heavy metal warriors White Wizzard are back with a new album this year. The Devil\u2019s Cut<\/em> is the band\u2019s third full-length album, and as with nearly all of their previous releases it features an almost totally new lineup. Founding bassist Jon Leon is of course on board, as is drummer Giovanni Gurst (who appeared on 2011\u2019s Flying Tigers<\/em>). They are joined by guitarists Jake Dreyer and Will Wallner and vocalist Joseph Michael.<\/p>\n

White Wizzard\u2019s essential sound is built on the classic heavy metal of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Dio, and that doesn\u2019t change at all here. What has changed \u2013 and for the better \u2013 is that the band sounds much tighter and more focused this time around. Not that Flying Tigers<\/em> or Over the Top<\/em> weren\u2019t enjoyable, but The Devil\u2019s Cut<\/em> is the album that comes closest to the spirit of the High Speed GTO<\/em> EP while showing real growth and polish. The songs are ridiculously catchy and melodic, the guitar work is just flashy enough to be a lot of fun, and the rhythms are tight as always. The vocals are what really stand out though. Joseph Michael is a relative newcomer, but he has a fantastic range and power, and a great presence live as well.<\/p>\n

The Devil\u2019s Cut<\/em> is a fairly brief album at just nine tracks (and one an instrumental intro), but it packs a big punch. \u201cStrike the Iron\u201d and \u201cKings of the Highway\u201d are just fantastic heavy metal anthems, and start the album off right. \u201cSteal Your Mind\u201d kind of kills the momentum midway through, but the title track, and \u201cTorpedo of Truth\u201d (which is way more fun than its ridiculous lyrics would lead you to believe) put things back on track for the powerful \u201cStorm Chaser\u201d and \u201cThe Sun Also Rises\u201d to end things on an epic note.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a stretch to call The Devil\u2019s Cut<\/em> the best White Wizzard full-length album to date. The band got everything right here, and the result is an album any fan of traditional heavy metal \u2013 whether old school bands like Maiden, Priest, Accept and Dio or more recent bands like Widow, Icarus Witch, Cauldron and yes Holy Grail \u2013 ought to love. Here\u2019s hoping this lineup sticks around. It will be great to see what they come up with next.<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal, Traditional Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJon Leon (b) (v)
\nGiovanni Durst (d)
\nJake Dreyer (g)
\nWill Wallner (g)
\nJoseph Michael (v)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tForging the Steel
\n2.\tStrike the Iron
\n3.\tKings of the Highway
\n4.\tLightning In My Hands
\n5.\tSteal Your Mind
\n6.\tThe Devil\u2019s Cut
\n7.\tTorpedo of Truth
\n8.\tStorm Chaser
\n9.\tThe Sun Also Rises<\/p>\n

Label: Earache Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.whitewizzardofficial.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.75\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — California-based traditional heavy metal warriors White Wizzard are back with a new album this year. The Devil\u2019s Cut is the band\u2019s third full-length album, and as with […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2491,3605,280],"class_list":{"0":"post-31947","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-heavy-metal","9":"tag-traditional-metal","10":"tag-white-wizzard"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}