Wizard
...Of Wariwulfs and Bluotvarwes
2011
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Seriously, what is up with 2011 and ridiculously-hard-to-spell album titles? First there was Sons Of Seasons’ “Magnisphyricon” and now there’s Wizard’s “…Of Wariwulfs and Bluotvarwes” (I deserve a medal for typing this). What will the next Edguy-album be called? “The Vicissitudes of Phosphoric Resuscitation”? For the sake of my own sanity, I’m going to refer to this album as “…Of Waterfalls and Boomerangs”, alright?
So far for the bad news, because despite its title, “…Of Waterfalls and Boomerangs” provides deliciously uncomplicated heavy/power metal, in the vein of other Teutonic acts like Paragon and Iron Savior. Vicious like a pack of wolves, Wizard rips you to shreds with their fast-paced rhythms until you howl alongside them with the epically catchy choruses. The onslaught loses some momentum towards the end, but by then the Germans have already offered you more infectious material than a container full of used drug needles ever could.
Make no mistake: you’ve heard this stuff before, and maybe even better. But fans of the genre should lap this up, and it’s so tremendously fun, that it really doesn’t matter anyway. There comes a point where you can’t fault a band for not being original, because it is obvious they have no intention to be. Some musicians like the challenge of pushing themselves to the limit, others settle for the comfort of being good at what they do. Wizard clearly falls into that second category. The result may or may not be to your liking, but in either case the responsibility is yours, not the band’s. So you’re either in the pack of wariwulfs and bluotvarwes or you’re out, Wizard can only offer you a place.
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Arno Callens' rating: 7.0 out of 10