REVIEW: WHITE WIZZARD - Flying Tigers

 

WHITE WIZZARD - Flying Tigers

Earache Records

You know, White Wizzard has this thing where they seem to roll out a new singer with almost every official release. “Flying Tigers” is no different, and honestly, it gets a bit confusing keeping track! So, just to clear things up: while Michael Gremio was indeed hanging around the band in 2010, even doing some live shows, the guy who actually laid down the vocals for “Flying Tigers” back in 2011 was Wyatt "The Screamin' Demon" Anderson. He apparently jetted off pretty soon after the album was done, but here's a fun fact – he actually came back later for “Infernal Overdrive”. But even with all that revolving door stuff, I really felt like they finally hit the nail on the head with Anderson's voice on this record.

His voice? Man, it's got this amazing range and a real warmth to it. It actually injects this cool U.S. metal vibe right into White Wizzard's usual NWOBHM sound. And get this – on a few tracks, the way he sings totally reminded me of Lizzy Borden, which adds this awesome, almost theatrical layer to the whole thing.

Now, as for the music itself, it's kind of a mixed bag. You've got some absolute gems like the punchy "Fight to the Death”, the catchy "West L.A. Nights” and "Night Stalker”, which seriously sounds like something Riot would have cooked up – super cool! "Fall of Atlantis" is another solid one. But then, you run into some tracks that just feel... well, a bit "meh," or even plain boring. "Demons and Diamonds" is the big culprit here; it's over nine minutes long, and honestly, it just drags and repeats itself. Plus, the album starts off with a bang, but as you get closer to the end, it just loses steam.

You can tell that “Flying Tigers” was White Wizzard trying to shake things up and throw some new elements into their sound. They've definitely got the talent, but it's hit-or-miss with how well those new ideas land. Sometimes they totally nail it, and other times, it just doesn't quite click. Still, their potential is huge, and I'm pretty confident they'll figure out how to make those new ideas shine even brighter on future albums.

Nick Parastatidis