I like tradition in my metal, just like everything else. In my shaving (dry shave only), my food (well done steak with ketchup only, please), and of course sex (missionary only-no eye contact ever, for reproduction purposes only). While none of that’s true, it’s also not true when it comes to my metal. However, I can behind some tradition when it comes to bands such as White Magician.

Firstly, this band reminds me a ton of In Solitude’s The World. The Flesh. The Devil. This is due to the production of the instruments, as well as the vocals. The sound itself is very retro in feel. It takes me back to a time when the lines were blurred between blues, rock, metal, and even southern rock. A time where bell bottoms in metal were a thing. A time when I… wasn’t born. So, “Hold on Loosely” and prepare thyself for White Magician to deal you in.

There’s a brief intro before the first track gets going. The guitar skills are immediately apparent one the music kicks in. There’s a great bass guitar sound, but the bass drum is a little thin. Not bad, though. This first track, “Dealers of Divinity,” is a rousing success with that aforementioned guitar work, a fantastic chorus, and some great lead work on top of that riffing… and what’s that? Cowbell?! Finally, the only prescription for my fever.

Track 2, “Mad Magic II: In the Absence of Gods (Bad Magic), continues on the success of the opener. The chorus here is even better, too. I’m a big fan of the rousing guitar work to begin the track, which continues throughout.

If you didn’t know from the previous tracks, there’s an obsession with magic at play here, track 4, “In Memoriam: Love and Magic (Magic and Love) will hammer that home for you. The objective here is the same as the previous tracks, too. There’s a solid hook in the chorus, some great guitar work, and those vocals definitely help carry the load. On the negative side, the song tends to drag a little, although it’s still interesting throughout the runtime.

The same can also be said for the final track, which is called “Spectre of a Dying Flame.” At around 8 minutes long, I’m not certain I would have chosen it for the closer as it is certainly not one of the more raucous tracks on display here. There’s nothing wrong with it, of course as it’s still a solid traditional metal track. However…

The truth is that I am more infatuated than in love with this album. The guitar work is great, as are the vocals. I am a big fan of the clean, yet retro production. There are some good choruses, too. However, I feel like once you’ve heard a song or two, you’ve heard this album. That’s not unexpected with this sub-genre. With that being said, I go between loving this album, especially the first half and merely thinking it’s good… and that’s about where it lies: Somewhere between great and good, so pretty good, eh?

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