White Wizzard recently released the single “Shooting Star” and is the first to feature new (and 4th) lead singer Peter Ellis. I was so open and excited to hear what White Wizzard had to offer with a new singer and unfortunately, they fell flat, literally. First off, the music is drab and uninspired. It lacks the dynamics and variation that I love about White Wizzard music. The song sounds like it was thrown together in a matter of minutes and it is totally reflected here upon listening. It’s hard for me to believe that this is the same band that gave us “Over The Top.” Wait, it isn’t the same band. Maybe that’s the problem.
Ellis’ vocals on this album are so over exaggerated and his faux British accent every other line literally makes my skin crawl. The song is a tribute to Ronnie James Dio and in all honesty, that sentiment doesn’t save this song. The song uses every cliche of the Dio universe. The chorus goes “You now fly in a brighter sky and your magic will never die. A memory burning in our hearts, a rainbow rising high.” Again, I know that most metal bands aren’t known for their amazing lyrics but these guys can and have done better than this.
I feel like this song was rushed out just to premier the new vocalist but I feel that this single could be the very thing that buries White Wizzard. Its really too bad because I really think Jon Leon is a great songwriter and has done some great stuff. I feel that the constant changing in White Wizzard’s line up changes the dynamics each time making it hard for fans to grasp on to. At this point, you have folks who were fans of the “High Speed GTO” line up with singer James Paul Luna. You have fans of the “Over The Top” line up with singer Wyatt Anderson and even fans of Michael Gremio who briefly stepped in to replace Anderson for their UK Download Festival show. Now you have a fourth singer that your fans have to take in and try and absorb.
I really thought at one time that White Wizzard had a great future and an open road ahead of them but after a series of obstacles and road blocks, it almost seems as if they have hit the end of the road. Maybe they can back it up and reclaim some of that greatness that they lost along the way but if this single is any indication, they have nowhere to really go but down.
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