THE WIZARDS – Rise Of The Serpent

There’s an interesting blend of Heavy styles on Rise Of The Serpent, the third album from Spain’s The Wizards. The album kicks off with a monster riff right out of the seventies to launch the opening track “Apocalyptic Weapons”, and although that very heavy decade saturates much of the album’s eight tracks, The Wizards use that sonic foundation to ground explorations into other metallic territory. Next up is “Destiny”, which, like “Apocalyptic Weapons” has a Manowar-ish chorus. “Circle Of Time”, the third track, is when the album really starts to get interesting, especially in the extended jam that begins in the middle section, a twisting assault reminiscent of material from the first couple albums from The Sword.

A similar Sword-esque vibe is hit halfway through “Distorted Mirrors”, which opens with a vaguely NWOBHM introspective into before hitting stride. Built around a catchy harmonizing guitar riff and catchy chorus, “Age Of Man” is the lead single from the album, at 3:49 the most economical of the tracks. The well-named “Strings Synchronize” couples a martial drumbeat with climbing tandem guitars; like “Distorted Mirrors” and “Circle Of Time”, the band heads off into an extended jam session at about the three minute mark in one of the best passages on the album. The patterns of the long songs are similarly structured—“Aftermath” takes off at roughly the same point, right around the three minute mark– the variation of the time signatures and riffing keep it interesting. And mini-epic closer “VOID (Visions Of Inner Death)” varies the format, effectively using a slow-build approach to bring Rise Of The Serpent  to a satisfying conclusion.

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