Hey, I'm as happy as if Christmas and Easter were together that, after the gem "Hellbound Spellbound Live 1981", which was unearthed from the deepest archives, I can now hear the current TYGERS in an extremely authentic live recording. The only fly in the ointment: I wasn't there! Shame! But Wales isn't even accessible with the €49 ticket. For me too, the TYGERS OF PAN TANG were something like an archive or chance find when I held a re-release of "Wild Cat" and "Spellbound" on double vinyl in my hand, probably long after the original release, and from that extremely rough sound and last but not least Jess Cox's nasty singing on 'Euthanasia'. After the now almost obligatory live intro, whose tiger roar could be confused by an ignorant person with the purring of a house cat, Robb Weir, Jacopo "Jack" Meille & Co. begin with this very number, which fortunately has a large portion of timing in addition to the dirty riff Drive of the original has been preserved. It segues seamlessly into the track 'Keeping Me Alive' from the 2012 album "Ambush", and you have to listen closely to hear behind the riff, which bites into your ear canals smoothly like a big cat, that this is one of the newer ones title is. In this sense, Mr. Robb Weir has to be given credit and credit for the fact that he may not be a musical visionary, but simply lives his rock'n'roll dream between NWoBHM, hard rock and classic metal. Probably with main income from a side job and fewer groupies than in the 80s, but hey, 'The Times, They Are A-Changin'. After 'Love Don't Stay' from the half-forgotten 'Crazy Nights' comes 'Gangland' from the strongest TYGERS album of all time 'Spellbound'. Holy shit, the title still hits! It's no coincidence that Jack announces it as his favorite TYGERS title. What proves the band's consistency before the split in 1983 and after the restart in 2001 is the balanced mix of old and new tracks on "Live Blood" - and that you can rock out to all tracks equally.

It's a little melancholic to note that the crowd for a band like TYGERS no longer fills stadiums these days. During the announcements between 'Destiny' and 'Back For Good' you can already hear individual screams from the audience, which give you an idea that the hundreds had come in a limited number. Hardly understandable, because the latter number from the current album "Bloodlines" is one of the band's best of the modern era. Huw Holding's bass groove is great, the audience sings along, Robb and Francesco Marras on the second guitar have (finally, one would think) nice parallel runs. That's fun! What's interesting is that even 'Paris By Air' and 'Love Potion No. 9' of "The Cage" - the album that for me marked the early downfall of the TYGERS in the 80s. Maybe that's sheer defiance, and that's what makes the latter track a strong rock'n'roll number in the current live version. The old numbers 'Suzie Smiled' and 'Insanity' are timeless (record label: "We need one more song for this album." Mr. Weir: "Give me fifteen minutes.") Did I mention Craig Ellis, who plays the drums classic rhythm and the breaks simply get to the point in a dry way? Now I have!

I had “Live Blood” in constant rotation for a few hours, but then, I have to admit, you have to take some time off. The risk is too great that one might start to quibble with small details compared to "Hellbound Spellbound Live 1981". For example, that Jack perhaps doesn't have the overvoice today that Jon Deverill did over forty years ago, and that he can't completely hide his accent live. Or you could notice that Robb and Francesco too often just rock out the riffs of the classics in unison, although Francesco - in my very personal opinion - played a significant part in the quality of "Bloodlines". And now, after about a week of listening, it's all so much lost on me. The TYGERS OF PAN TANG have been delivering heavy metal at its best since their relaunch over two decades ago and document it once again impressively here.
To put it in Jack's words:
Recording a live album with the TYGERS after all these years? I never thought I would have this experience, but with TYGERS OF PAN TANG I learned that "impossible" is possible. "Live Blood" captures all the energy we deliver when we perform our favourite songs live and raw. 'Nuff said!

And for those of you who like the old shit and don't know the TYGERS yet: Yes, haven't I scratched my fingers enough yet? And for all those lazy readers, here's (a slightly edited version of) 'Gang compared to the live album.

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