Take a retro trip back into the 1970’s with the new album by The Wizards. Full Moon In Scorpio is everything that was awesome about music back in those days. Sounding like it has been plucked directly from the early days of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, the result is a rollicking ride from start to finish. Bluesy rock licks; cool and lengthy solos; a driving rhythm section accompanying the powerful crunching riffs that abound throughout this great debut for the boys hailing from Spain.
A quality, not quantity offering of eight tracks, the album comes in at 46 minutes long and contains something for everyone. While their press release hints at mirth with drunken and drug addled debauchery, the delivery is deadly serious. It is of high quality, with a very tight sound and is easy to get into. Adivya kicks off this retro ride with a “seventies like” fuzzy riff topped with drum finishes and little harmonic screams. This track is a good pointer to the rest of the album and instills a feeling of nostalgia in me. I am a child of the seventies, though not old enough to appreciate the amazing rock music at that time so I’m making up for it. Calliope (Cosmic Revelations) continues the flavour with flowing licks and a deep fuzzy riff. It is a continuation of the wild ride.
Next up is Odinist, which has a great riff to start off, which is at the tip of my tongue but I can’t quite pick. The riff seems to be right out of the rock and roll hall of fame and continues on throughout the song (It’s Two Minutes to Midnight-Ed.). Stardust has a strong Black Sabbath feel to it both in the dark sounding licks and riffs and is topped off with a solo that just conjures up Tony Iommi. The track also has a finish that is reminiscent of the late, great, Ronnie James Dio.
Leaving the Past Behind is another song with a strong opening, with a riff that sounds so reminiscent of that era. There are some amazing solos here (courtesy of a guest appearance from Ross “The Boss” Friedman formerly of Manowar) which provide a very cool backing to the final lyrics before finishing off the song. Halftones to Eternity is probably what I consider to be the weakest track on the album. But in saying that, it still rates as a three, bordering on four star offering on my list, so it is pretty easy to listen to. Who Are You , Mr Gurdjieff? is one you can easily sing along with. It opens with a building riff that has your toes tapping and you find your head nodding along.
All of which leaves When We Were Gods as the finisher to this most excellent trip back in time. It is one of the two tracks over 7 minutes. This one has a bit of a progressive feel to it, with a slower opening before transforming into another barnstorming rock track. The track finishes off with a long series of licks, solo like in their sound and sung over, accompanied by Deep Purple like keys.
The album was recorded in two weeks at Gaua Studio with Brooklyn based producer, Dean Rispler (current bass player for The Dictators, ex bass player for New York Hardcore veterans Murphy’s Law and The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black). It was engineered by Asier Zubelbu and mixed and mastered by Jesse Cannon (The Cure, Misfits, Dillinger Escape Plan) at Cannon Found Soundation in Union City, New Jersey.
The Wizards are:
- Ian Mason – Vocals
- Fel – Guitar
- Jorge – Guitar
- Eneko – Bass
- Dave – Drums
Full Moon in Scorpio by The Wizards is a delight to listen to and is being released through Fighter Records on May 16. Do yourself a favour and grab a copy, it is worth it.
Leave A Comment