The Serpent

The Wizards come from Bilbao in Spain. They were originally formed in the spring of 2013. After having recorded a four-track demo the band started gigging for earnest in February 2014. Since then The Wizards have released two studio albums and toured mainly in Spain but also in France, Portugal and Germany. Rise Of The Serpent is the band's third album. The band's slogan is "Occult Heavy Metal Warriors", what's that supposed to mean and how would The Wizards describe their overall musical style? "What we play is a totally unconscious mix of styles we all share and like. There definitely is a strong and obvious heavy metal background in our music, but if you scratch the surface you will also find some 1970s hard rock, a piece of the doomy element and even some punk.

The Serpent Is Rising is the third album by Styx, released in 1973. The album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, Serpent. The band considers this to be their worst recording…

Perry and Gerrard continued to experiment and improve with The Serpent's Egg, as much a leap forward as Spleen and Ideal was some years previously. As with that album, The Serpent's Egg was heralded by an astounding first track, "The Host of Seraphim." Its use in films some years later was no surprise in the slightest – one can imagine the potential range of epic images the song could call up – but on its own it's so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe. Beginning with a soft organ drone and buried, echoed percussion, Gerrard then takes flight with a seemingly wordless invocation of power and worship – her vocal control and multi-octave range, especially towards the end, has to be heard to be believed. Nothing else achieves such heights, but everything gets pretty darn close, a deserved testament to the band's conceptual reach and abilities.

When Magnum released 2018's Lost on the Road to Eternity, keyboardist Rick Benton replaced Mark Stanway, who'd quit (for the third time) in the middle of a tour. The album's razor-edged, riff-laden hard rock sound contrasted with the plodding bombast and balladry of 2016's Sacred Blood "Divine" Lies that, frankly, sounded tired. Longtime drummer Harry James left in 2017 and was replaced by Lee Morris. The resulting tour was wonderfully documented on 2018's surprising On the Road to Eternity live outing. Finally, in June of 2019, Al Barrow, the band's bassist since 2001, retired from music. American Dennis Ward claimed the spot just before Magnum entered the studio to record The Serpent Rings. Founding members guitarist Tony Clarkin and singer Bob Catley are the only remnants from the 20th century. As evidenced on their 21st studio album, the personnel changes stoked the fire in the bellies of these two mainstays.