melodylane

TYGERS OF PAN TANG  – A NEW HEARTBEAT (MIGHTY MUSIC, 2022)

Beware the Tygers!

Genre: Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Hard Rock

Rating: 9/10

Musical genres. Small boxes created by our attempt to conceptualize everything our little brain can't accept as it is, in its constant, infantile pattern-seeking need. Labels. Empty little glass bottles waiting to be filled up with our inanity. Do we really need them? Is it really so important to point out that the stream of nonsense vibrations I'm currently listening to is Bandana Trash or maybe a fine Powerviolence song? Do we still have a use for their absurd acronyms? Like AOR? Or NWOBHM? By the way, how the heck am I supposed to pronounce that? Someone even came up with a monstrosity like NWONW. New Wave Of New Wave. Can you believe these guys? Jeez, Louise... More close to the point, what if I decide to put a particular band under a particular label, what should it tell me about them? Nothing. Why don't we just let the music speak for itself, just for a change. If I, for example, was about to write of the Tygers of Pan Tang, flag bearers of the aforementioned New Wave of British Heavy Metal, you, my soursweet little rascals, could be tempted to consider it the usual ramblings of an old geezer. Wrong. So wrong. Don't let the bloody labels fool you, my dearest green poisonous peaches. When we talk about the Tygers we're not talking about any past fashion. We're simply talking about how a blasted heavy metal act should sound like, period! More than two years have passed since they released Ritual, a powerful and captivating album, second in line with a fantastic line up. Seriously guys, you've gotta get yourself a copy if you didn't already have one. Great songs, thoughtful lyrics, that record's got everything you could ask for. An aggressive opening track like "Worlds Apart", awesome mid-tempos like "Destiny" (this is my destiny, written in stone for me: to be a metalhead at heart), and, most important of all, loud and fast vibes all over the place! "Damn You!", damn everything and everyone everywhere, that's the spirit folks! Let's "Raise Some Hell", for Pete's sake! God, gimme some more decibels for my stereo, I ain't got enough. And the Gods of Metal answered my prayers: Tygers Of Pan Tang have a brand new EP coming up on February 25th, courtesy of the good guys at Mighty Music. A New Heartbeat for a glorious band, the first cuts after a line-up change: out goes Gav Grey and in gets Huw Holding on bass, and Mike Crystal leaves an opening for Francesco Marras on guitar, with fury from Sassari, Italy. So the band acquires more stylish Italian vibes (and you can't have enough of those, can you) to catch up with Jacopo Meille, vocalist extraordinaire. I'm biased, ok. But he's good. Ian Gillian without the annoying ultrasounds good. Listen to "Red Mist" and judge for yourselves. Thundering drums, thanks Mr Craig Ellis, powerful basslines and killer guitar riffs for a power metal song fueled by Meille's crystal clear though groovy vocals. It's gonna send you shivers up and down your spine, believe me. The title-track is a classic metal anthem that's gonna make you "...hold on tight to your dreams at night, 'till the morning light". I love the guitar work here. Weir and Marras do an excellent job together, with razorblade's precision they cut riffs and solos for your fuzzy ear's delight. Who do you think we are, the Tygers ask. Simply the best, guys. Topping off an excellent record, two covers from the golden years: "Fireclown" and "Killers", straight from the fantastic Tygers' first album, Wild Cat. Please, next time let me bang my head with "Money", I'm looking forward to hear it with your current line up. The Tygers have never roared this way, they sure are at the peak of their performance. That said, this work has a major flaw though. A very serious one: four songs. Come on guys, don't treat me this way. I want more. Now.

 

 

-           TRACKLIST:

1) A New Heartbeat

2) Red Mist

3) Fireclown

4) Killers

 

-           Line-up:

Robb Weir: Guitar

Francesco Marras: Guitar

Jack Meille: Vocals

Gav Grey: Bass (on the EP)

Huw Holding: Bass

Craig Ellis: Drums

 

 

-           Web: https://www.facebook.com/tygersofpantangofficial

 

-           Article by:  Karl Eisenmann