One glance at the album cover for White Wizzard’s debut full-length should be enough to instantly alert you that this is a band screaming for your attention. Demonical, colorful cover art that requires no sticker to proclaim “FOR FANS OF IRON MAIDEN!, a big, bold logo that heavily contrasts with the color pallet, and an extra “Z” unnecessarily thrown into the band’s name for good measure. It all seems a bit – as the album title will inform you - Over the Top. But as bloated as this album appears from the inside, closer inspection within will reward you with a true surprise: A modern heavy metal album that, while not equal in quality with its influences, is the best homage to the days where Eddie reigned supreme that one could possibly hope for, complete with a respectful nod to early power metal (I.E.: Helloween). And whaddaya know – it manages to not sound like a rip-off in the process!

Basically, if you don’t have an appreciation for good classic heavy metal (which shouldn’t be anyone reading this, really), you can just stop reading right now. This is uncompromisingly old-school, epic, and melodic metal that’s full of talented musicians and well-written songs. Over the Top is obvious ‘Maiden worship – not a song goes by where a Steve Harris inspired galloping bass line or a siren-y screech that would make ol’ Brucey swell with pride manages to crop up. There’s excellent lead guitar lines all over the place (The bluesy High Roller is a perfect example of this), and the guitar solos are complex and anything but brief. White Wizzard is a band that knows precisely what they want to do, and they know exactly how they want to do it: Loud and fast, with no regards to any concept of “Modern” metal. For those who thought that they didn’t make ‘em like this anymore, well, this’ll prove you wrong.

Nearly every song on Over the Top is excellent, and each has its own defining component, whether it be the guitar harmonics of Death Race, the Motorhead-style speed metal drive of Out of Control, the alternating doom, heavy and thrash styles of the title track, or the epic quality of Iron Goddess of Vengeance, which is a sure throwback to Maiden epics such as Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In every song you’ll find quirky guitar licks and cheese-tastic lyrics that will assure you that White Wizzard doesn’t take itself seriously in the least. The lyrics are a mix of the “Heavy metal will NEVER die!” attitude of Manowar, the nonsensical “Flying free on wings of burning ice” jargon that’s typical of bands such as Dragonforce, and of course, classic heavy metal-influenced lyrics about fast cars and beautiful women. Hokey? Damn right it is, and that’s exactly the way White Wizzard likes it. The only real downside to Over the Top is the track Live Free or Die; it’s got some great ideas, as all the songs do, but it never really goes anywhere like you expect it to in the beginning.

If you like fantastic vocals (vocalist Wyatt “Screaming Demon” Anderson is truly an excellent vocalist, and his voice seems to have a bit of a Halford-ish edge), excellent and overindulgent guitar solos, powerful (though not really power metal) melodies and good ol’ heavy metal, then there is absolutely nothing you should find to dislike with Over the Top. This is highly recommended – it’s not original in the least, which is why it receives only an 84, but White Wizzard does a far better job of crafting heavy metal than many modern bands, and OtT should make for an excellent listen until the next Iron Maiden album arrives and beyond. As we say here at Metalreviews.com - In Metal We Trust!!