|
Rattle
- 'Ritual' Review by
Gabriel Kiss
As we are nearing
the end of the year, the British
metal legends are just getting
more and more active! After
Angel Witch and Grim Reaper,
another veteran band, Tygers Of
Pan Tang is now contributing to
the genre with a new album. For
those who've never heard about
this group before, it's worth
mentioning in a nutshell that
Tygres was one of the greatest
hopes of the NWOBHM scene at the
time, and John Sykes sharpened
his „tigerclaws” in this band in
the early years.
Their first two albums, Wild Cat
(1980) and Spellbound (1981) are
both early heavy metal classics,
and even James Hetfield calls
them his favorites, and main
influences. After these albums
they started to mix thier
original sound wih hard rock,
and then in 1984 they split up
because of the disagreements
with their record company.
However, they re-activated
themselves a year later, but
this fast-paced resurrection
only lasted for two albums, and
brought a significant change in
music, as the band turned
towards the AOR-style, enriched
with keyboards. By the way, I
don't think it is a bad thing,
and many of their contemporaries
have stepped on this path. Just
a few examples: Diamond Head,
Saxon, Def Leppard, Tokyo Blade,
Praying Mantis. Of course, this
change was not a success story
for everyone, because there were
some who were flown to the top,
but our favorite tigers were out
of luck, so they split up again
in 1987, shortly after the
Burning in the Shade album.
In 2000, guitarist Robb Weir
(and the only founding member)
re-started the band, and has
been an active member of the
heavy metal scene ever since,
but most importantly, since
Jacopo Meille joined the band in
2004, they have gradually
regained their original sound.
And now we have arrived to the
newly released Ritual album.
Fortunately, on the new album
they continue to balance between
hard rock and powerful heavy
metal, just like Saxon does
these days. The opening track,
'Worlds Apart' shows the
metallic side of the group right
away, kickstarting the old
engine with raging fast-paced
riffs and some really good
melodies. Very good start, we
get a heavy metal anthem right
at the beginning!
On the other hand, 'Destiny' is
cool mid-tempo rock song. As we
listen to the music, we start to
nod our heads to the rhythms
unwittingly, while in thought we
are already riding on the
highways, and ripping off the
chains of social expectations.
Behind our back, of course, with
a hot chick. You know what I'm
talking about: freedom, love,
and such. 'Rescue Me' is another
hard rock track, with a little
bit of talk box magic, and some
background chorus in the chorus.
But those who think of something
like Bon Jovi, better think
again, because these crunchy
riffs would make Richie Sambora
run scared and grab a pint of
beer, and I'm quite sure that
good old Jon wouldn't be able to
sing like that anymore!
'Raise Some Hell' takes us back
to the realm of heavy metal in a
form of an insanely fast song,
summoning the finest traditions
of the genre. A real headbanger
opus, addressed directly to the
old-school metal maniacs. If you
like classics like 'Hellbound'
from this band, you'll love this
one as well! After such an
energy bomb, 'Spoils of War's
slower marching tempo will let
us have some rest. What I am a
little sorry about the song is
that the guys could play a bit
longer that cool riff at the
ending, so I could enjoy it for
a longer time.
'White Lines' probably will be
the biggest hit from this album,
and will become a fan-favorite
track on their live performances
from now on. I also looked up to
see if this song was played at
the concerts, and of course, it
is already on the setlist among
the classics. Deservedly. The
song starts with a nice
AC/DC-like intro, then we get
some fast-as-lightning riffs,
and the whole thing is crowned
with fantastic catchy melodies,
not to mention the roaring
chorus. It was a good decision
for Robb Weir to surround
himself with younger musicians,
as it is probably the main
reason why we can't find any
signs of awkward „granddad-rock”
on the whole record.
The instrumental section is
great, but the big catch for
Weir is undoubtedly the singer,
Jacopo Meille. This Italian-born
guy totally reminds me of Robert
Plant, and I think he is a real
blessing for the band. His
youthful, powerful voice, and
his excellent sense of melody
greatly contribute to keeping
the band's sound so up to date.
I wouldn't be surpsired, if one
day we could see him on the
front of a bigger, more popular
band. I wouldn't be happy with
it, and I hope this day will
never come, but it wouldn't
surprise me. I hope they will
never try to get a record deal
with Frontiers Records...
After all the madness of 'White
Lines' comes 'Worlds Cut Like
Knives', which is a really nice
ballad, but at this point the
listener no longer wants a
candlelight atmosphere, but some
good ass-kicking metal!
Fortunately, with the raging
anthem of 'Damn You!' the guys
give us what we need. If you
like 'Never Surrender' from
Saxon, then you'll have a close
friendship with this song,
because it is driven by the same
timelesss riff, which have been
already played by so many bands,
so many times, but you just
can't get enough if it!.
'Love Will Find the Way' is a
great, catchy hard rocker, with
an excellent chorus, Meille did
an excellent job on this one. I
really like the beautiful guitar
solo, luckily, it returns again
and again through the song.
Congratulations to the
six-string section! Following
the hypnotic, modern feel of
'Art of Noise', the monumental,
epic 'Sail On' is a brilliant
grand finale for this excellent
album.
The crew of Tygers Of Pan Tang
once again gave us a diverse and
uniformly high quality album.
They are releasing their fourth
excellent album in a row,
proving that they are still not
old, toothless tigers, but not
even hearing impaired, unlike
some leopards! This is a real
alpha-male team that the world
of heavy metal still has to
count on!
Back To
Reviews |
