White Wizzard

by Eduardo Rivadavia
White Wizzard were formed in 2007 by vocalist James Paul Luna, guitarist James LaRue, bassist Jon Leon, and drummer Tyler Meahl, and, amid the surrounding din of retro-fitted thrash and glam rock bands crowding around them, chose to tackle the New Wave of British Heavy Metal on their eponymous seven-song EP the following year. Boasting cover art designed by Iron Maiden artist Derek Riggs, the EP drew the attention of Earache Records, which included the track "High Speed GTO" in their Heavy Metal Killers compilation in 2009, then reissued the band's EP under that same title. The label also signed White Wizzard to a deal to release their first full-length, but, save for bassist Leon, this will be recorded by a completely new lineup of Wyatt "Screamin' Demon" Anderson (vocals), Chad Yasuhara (guitar), Erik Kluober (guitar), and Jesse Applehans (drums), as the band's remaining original members all decamped to form a new group called Holy Grail in mid-2009.