Bad Wizard

The history of rock is littered with wizards, from the pinball to the electric variety, but few acts re-create aggressive '70s-style scuzz metal better than Bad Wizard. Unlike similar acts straining to recall the magic of Motorhead and the MC5, the Wiz kids leave no room for laid-back stoner bluster, instead choosing the simple but always effective combination of Les Pauls, Marshall stacks and skanky riffs that don't slow down for nothin'. Like a lo-fi AC/DC minus the radio-friendly hooks, Bad Wizard drips buckets full o' sleaze on its forthcoming sophomore effort, Sophisticated Mouth. Vocalist Curtis Brown's concrete-throated yowl sounds like the birth-defected offspring of Bon Scott and Lemmy Killminster, and the recent addition of former Helldorado guitarist Tina Gorin has only increased the band's sonic boom.