Wizard – ‘Metal In My Head’

(Massacre Records)


Wizard’s brash uncompromising Old school heavy metal just doesn’t resonate with me and their latest album, their 12th studio album, ‘Metal In My Head’ is really disappointing.

I wasn’t overly fond of their last opus but with a new guitarist Tommy Hartung and a statement of intent that the band was returning to its roots I thought giving ‘Metal In My Head’ a spin would be a good idea. It wasn’t.


The band’s song writing encompasses a lot of things integral to the genre like thunderous rhythm, galloping beats, sharp metallic guitar riffs designed to get heads a banging and fist pumping bellowing choruses. So, there will be people who disagree with me but I genuinely find this batch of tunes unimpressive.


I’m just not down with the shouty vocals, theirs no melody in them at all, just screeching and shouting. You can sing this style of music and still have that metallic punch with melodious vocal lines, Wizard seem to veer towards more shock and awe rather than melodious ear tickling.


Cheesy lyrics and old school metal are inevitable, they go hand in hand, some can make the cheese taste mild, but by and large the genre engages in a full-blown love affair with a good stilton or stinking bishop level of lyrical bounty. So, saying Wizard have cheesy lyrics will be met with a chorus of “No Shit” but I struggled with the lyrics on this one and if I hear the word Metal once more, I may throw myself through a window!


The song ‘Whirlewolf’ is dedicated to Martjo Brongers of Vortex and Steel Shock, who passed away in 2019. It’s a writing collaboration between Wizard and Gustavo Acosta of Feanor. It is by far the strongest song on the album and the melancholic atmospheric metal ballad is a fitting nod to Martjo.


There is a lot of traditional heavy metal out there for old school fans to head bang too but Wizard just sound subpar to me and don’t impress or intrigue me as much as other similar sounding bands do. I can’t recommend this album to anyone but the most die hard of genre supporters and of course established Wizard fans, which I’m sure they have plenty of, a band doesn’t exist for as long as Wizard have without people who enjoy what they do. I’m just not one of them.


1/10


Essential Track - 'Whirlewolf'


Review by Woody

Track List -

  1. Bring Light Into The Dark

  2. Metal Feast

  3. Metal In My Head

  4. Victory

  5. 30 Years of Metal

  6. We Fight

  7. Whirlewolf

  8. Years Of War

  9. Firesword

  10. Destiny