White Wizzard - Original Lineup Reunites

This was just announced by Jarvis Leatherby and the Frost and Fire Fest.  Hard to believe this is happening!

"It's no secret that great festivals are all about reuniting great bands.
In our quest to be one of the great festivals, we are pleased to welcome White Wizard to party! Reuniting for this exclusive one time performance, Jon Leon, James Paul Luna, James Larue, and Tyler Meahl will conjure the spirits of the original White Wizzard lineup to perform their classic debut High Speed GTO.

This lineup only played a handful of shows and hasn't been seen together in over eight years. Let us rejoice in their return even if only for a magical moment at this year's Frost and Fire.
Below are some sentiments from the band members regarding this special occasion.

"I have been working with James J Larue again on a lot of new WW material I have written for a few months now. He has directed and created our new video and laid down some incredible leads already. I have been doing vocals out of necessity and we have kept things pretty low key. I have about 10 songs written and we continue to record in studio as of now, creating and growing the next phase seeing where that may go. During that time we have met and talked with Luna a couple of times and expressed a strong interest in working together again. This show is a first step in seeing if that can come to fruition. I think WW was best when the 4 of us were clicking together and this is a fantastic thing for the fans of WW mk1.

As for the future we will see where it can go. Luna has HG and we are releasing a new single and video today with me on vox. WW is an evolving entity and we do feel strongly about doing more with the original line up. We all have obligations and really this show is a first testing ground for the possibilities of what could be in the future. Either way this is a great thing and I'm very excited to see it happen and we will see what the future holds. See you there! "
JON LEON

"When Jon and LaRue met with me a a year ago we shot the shit and they expressed interest in me working with them again, however I had too much going on with the grail so I had to decline. I don't usually hold grudges so there's no hard feelings there, I feel the Wizzard/ Grail feud was fabricated by the press and labels. Fast forward to 2016- Jarvis hits us up about an original lineup WW reunion and I said "Sure man! What's the harm in one show?". I think the fans of that GTO ep will be really excited to see us play these tunes live. Naturally the next question is if we will be playing more shows or releasing new material, and to that I'd say I can't make any promises with our other obligations and such. For now, we're just focusing on this one show and making it as awesome as we can- if something else comes of it then so be it. Looking forward to revisiting those old tunes again and seeing what happens."
JAMES PAUL LUNA

" I've had a lot of fun adding instrumentation to Jon's new songs. Coming up with video ideas, song concepts, artwork, telling unsavory stories, it's classic fun times. Being able to get creative with a project, it's like taking a really great dump. I'm looking forward to Frost & Fire, lots of really classic bands on that bill. You definitely don't wanna miss that one, guys, you're gonna see people wearin' some killer classic t-shirts."
JAMES LARUE"

www.frostandfirefest.com

That's cool. I like these guys, although I only have "Flying Tigers" I really like it. I have had the "High Speed GTO" EP in my queue on the bay a few times, but have yet to pull the trigger.

I like White Wizzard. So much great metal out these days.

A lot of people have complained about White Wizzard's albums being subpar after the debut, but I've really enjoyed them. Even the Marathon Of Dreams single, which features Jon Leon on vocals, is quite good.

So yeah, original lineup, whoohoo, I guess.

You guys need to fly out for Frost and fire II!

I've been debating with myself if it would be worth to bring Stromspell's mobile store to the F&F metal market, or just go and enjoy the fest as tourist

I like this band. Really good music even with all the lineup changes.

Only have the debut EP

Lots of bands I'd dig seeing at that Festival

Eyesore wrote:

A lot of people have complained about White Wizzard's albums being subpar after the debut, but I've really enjoyed them. Even the Marathon Of Dreams single, which features Jon Leon on vocals, is quite good.

So yeah, original lineup, whoohoo, I guess.

I guess I'm one of them. I love the debut but the subsequent albums have just been ok. I never heard Flying Tigers. Too many other band were picking up on their traditional metal by that point and I lost interest.

Nice to see them reuniting. I hope it leads to a new recording though.

I am surprised people actually like this band. Always thought they were the biggest jokes. They should have stayed broken up because this band is garbage!

Death Sentinel wrote:

I am surprised people actually like this band. Always thought they were the biggest jokes. They should have stayed broken up because this band is garbage!

Oh boy...

Death Sentinel wrote:

I am surprised people actually like this band. Always thought they were the biggest jokes. They should have stayed broken up because this band is garbage!

Right on. 'Bout time someone called them out.

nevermind

I like White Wizzard but don't love them. So it's not that big of a deal to me if that lineup performs or not. There's lots of way better bands on that bill IMO.

Great band. I proudly own all their studio albums. A new cd would be most welcome.

Reunite for a minute, then Jon Leon pisses them off, and they leave in the middle of the show, and leaves him looking for someone else to finish the rest of the set.

Not a bad band, but Jon Leon is a douche F*ck.

HAHAHA they make this out like this band is from the old days, I didn't have a clue who they were until I looked them up and their from 2007 HAHAHAHA enough said.

i'm one of those who never got into White Wizzard.

Over the Top was the only album i dug by 'em but even i found that album to be kinda...meh...to me there are just better band within' this NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) movement.

also i have to agree that Jon Leon is indeed infact a egotistical dickhead who just can't get along with anyone but himself, seriously though, screw this guy.

I like WW but they never really stood out to me for anything other than the amusement in having trouble retaining lead vocalists.

New tune...

MetalGuy71 wrote:

New tune...

Not a bad tune, but that mid-section before the solos is weak as hell.

New tune is ok.

I like White Wizzard, overall. High Speed GTO was fantastic, Over the Top was really good. Then they sort of lost me. This new track was kind of underwhelming.

I am definitely more of a fan of Holy Grail, as they've been way more consistent. And I think James Paul Luna is one of the better singers in the NWOTHM scene.