Whyzdom is an acclaimed French female fronted metal band, with Marie Mac Leod behind the microphone since 2013 (they were formed in 2007). “Of Wonders and Wars” is the fifth full-length album of Whyzdom, which comes after the moderately successful “As Time Turns to Dust” (2018), and I think that not many things have changed in the Whyzdom camp. I would say that the French symphonic metallers are very ambitious, but fail to fulfill what they promise. First of all, the songs are mediocre, dipped in clichés, lost in a labyrinth of worn-out patterns and perplexed arrangements. Whyzdom has the will and the technique to do extraordinary things with their songs, yet there is a lack of vision. The result is a mess of symphonic and heavy metal music elements, which bombard our ears – I don’t think there will be more than a couple of song ideas, which will stick in your mind. That troubled situation is a fault of the composer(s), but also of the producer – because the final sound is rough and unclear. You may find good moments (for example the keyboards, some guitar solos and choirs), nevertheless these moments disappear in the music mist. Last but least, sometimes the vocals of Marie Mac Leod are excessive – again, in my opinion this is a mistake of the production, since Marie is a fine vocalist. In general words, “Of Wonders and Wars” is an unsuccessful effort from a band, which has to rethink its course, to decide which path is the best for today and tomorrow – of course, the first that has to decide is who will be producer of the songs from now on …
♦ 5/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
