Heavy metal as it's meant to be - A review of White Wizzard's ''Infernal Overdrive''

After numerous line-up changes, White Wizzard is back with its classic line-up which sounds quite strange since the band has only existed for about one decade. I hope the band will stay together this time because Infernal Overdrive offers heavy metal as it's meant to be. Passionate melodic and variable vocals meet crunching classic heavy metal riffs, passionately unchained solos, perfectly audible galloping bass guitar sounds and a thunderous drum sound with each instrument and the vocals being produced perfectly. 

Most importantly, the band sounds passionate, hungry and fresh as if they were newcomers and not already veterans of the heavy metal revival scene. If this album had been released in the early eighties, this band would easily compete with Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the likes. It's clearly the best heavy metal revival band out there these days.

Infernal Overdrive convinces from start to finish. The aptly titled title track recalls Judas Priest's Painkiller but also ventures into more sinister verses on one side and a more uplifting guitar solo on the other side. The song is five minutes long and still feels too short, that's how great this vivid heavy metal ride sounds. White Wizzard doesn't slow down and delivers the goods with one killer after another. ''Critical Mass'' opens with a cool radio play sequence and develops into a quite dark and dystopian monster of epic proportions with musicianship that is so insanely good because it finds the right balance between technical skills and emotional energy. My favorite track is probably the epic ''Voyage of the Wolf Raiders'', a heavy metal ride recalling and improving Iron Maiden's To Tame a Land in the best possible way, that lasts almost ten minutes but doesn't waste one single second. Listening to this album will make you feel at least ten years younger than you are, that's how energizing it is.

Objectively, it's difficult to give a higher rating because White Wizzard quite obviously copies some of its greatest idols and won't win a price for creativity for sure. And yet, that doesn't matter at all on this record that will entertain you from start to finish if you have a passion for heavy metal. Infernal Overdrive is a very serious candidate for greatest heavy metal record of the year already and you should purchase this album, crank up the volume and party like it's 1983 all over again. Who cares about the neighbors? Enjoy the wild ride!

Final rating: 90%