Flying Tigers

Stripped down to a trio while cutting its sophomore album, 2011’s Flying Tigers was the last White Wizzard album with Wyatt "The Screamin' Demon" Anderson on vocals. The Los Angeles band was initially formed by guitarist Jon Leon as a response to the plethora of Hot Topic–clad screamo bands popping up in Southern California—hence White Wizzard’s disciplined take on the more technical aspects of bygone British metal. Hinting at band tension, Anderson wails “You’ll never take me alive!” in the opener, the Iron Maiden–inspired “Fight to the Death.” Conversely, the following feel-good “West L.A. Nights” recalls a time when you couldn’t walk down the Sunset Strip without smelling Aqua-Net hairspray wafting from the rock clubs. And though “Starchild” is a standout with moody arpeggios and romantic heavy metal balladry, the album really kicks in when the last six songs take on a near-progressive stab at conceptual lyricism, starting with the sinister “Night Stalker.” The intricately arranged “Fall of Atlantis” blends early Rush–inspired arrangements with New Wave of British Heavy Metal proficiency.