Truemetal, Italy (Author: Manuel Gregorin)


At the beginning of the 90s, there was a magazine called simply “Metal“, a somewhat anonymous name but one that was a point of reference for many of my generation. The magazine in question did not report news, articles or reviews but, for each issue, it offered a CD or a cassette tape of a specific band with a file attached with the history of the same. Now imagine in those years (about 1992): even talking about burned CDs still seemed like science fiction...free download and Spotify then were beyond any human conception, and having all the music in the world available just a click away as it really did today Jules Verne novel stuff. Our file sharing network at the time consisted of having a friend duplicate a cassette tape of the desired disc for you. Or go directly to us to buy the original album (always finding the store that had it available)
So, the aforementioned release was, for me, like many other metalheads of the time, an opportunity to increase my discography which was starting to take shape in those years. It was thanks to this appointment at the newsstand that, in addition to getting some classics, I got to know names that were still unknown to me at the time… like Raven, Nuclear Assault, Savatage by the never too late Criss Oliva, and an English group with the name bit bizarre: the Tygers Of Pan Tang. Formation which, even if still new to me, had been among the most representative ones for the birth of the nwobhm. The accompanying disc was The Wreck-Age, not a very lucky album for the English five to tell the truth. In fact, despite being a well-made product, it had melodic hard rock sounds at times close to AOR which at that time were not appreciated by many fans. However, the record in question stimulated my interest in that band so much that I even went looking for their most successful works. Obviously, it was a somewhat difficult undertaking given that Tygers Of Pan Tang had already disbanded for a few years at the time and their releases were often out of print.

Then, thanks to the initiative of the founder Robb Weir in 1999 the Tygers Of Pan Tang reformed, helping to reprint their old works to which new chapters were added over time. In the end, the tigers roar again, and they do it with a Tuscan accent, given that since 2004 we have found the Florentine Jacopo Meille behind the microphone.

So here we are today, still talking about the tigers of Whitley Bay, and the opportunity is given by the release of their new album Bloodlines. Published by the Danish Mighty Music, for this latest work we see in training in addition to guitarists Robb Weir and Jacopo Meille, Craig Ellis who has been sitting on drums since 2000, and the newcomer Huw Holding on bass. Furthermore, since 2020, the Tygers can also count on the guitar of Francesco Marras, another compatriot of ours who, after showing off with the Screaming Shadow, now arrives at the court of the historic British formation.

Returning to the new Bloodlines, with this new effort, Weir and associates sign the thirteenth studio work, with which the English (or we could even venture Anglo-Italian) formation continues to carry forward the banner of the nwobhm of which at the time they were among the leading pioneers.

Determined like the tiger that stands menacingly on the new blood red cover, the band opens the dance of Bloodlines with Edge Of The World, a song with oriental flavours and a solemn gait. In My Blood is presented as a biting mid-tempo punctuated by the massive sound of the guitar. Fire On The Horizon sends the band back to their nwobhm roots while the syncopated riff of Light Of Hope captivates by burning itself into your ears.
The disc travels in balance between vintage heavy metal and hard rock, where the two guitars indulge themselves in grinding riffs and solos. The performance of Marras is remarkable, proving to be a good companion for Weir in filling the role that years ago was entrusted to an artist of the calibre of John Sykes. Jacopo Meille for his part is confirmed as a trump card. The Tuscan singer's voice, which at times recalls that of Joey Tempest, has now become a hallmark of the band. Also with Bloodlines, Meille reaches five albums with Tygers Of Pan Tang, equalling the figure of those made by the historic former front-man Jon Deverill.

Proceeding in listening we arrive at Taste Of Love, a ballad with a piano in evidence in giving a hand to the other instruments. Once this last track fades out, the tigers resume grinding more hot metal rock.

However, there are a couple of slightly subdued songs, not bad, but which we can classify as fillers, such as Back For Good, which doesn't say anything particularly interesting. Kiss The Sky on the other hand, after a full-on start, is flattened by a refrain thrown in perhaps too hastily. Too bad, because with that Saxon-flavoured riff it was shaping up to be a nice crackling track.
Luckily the disc regains altitude with Believe, a medium tempo with a martial attitude where the Tygers Of Pan Tang try to show off more modern guitar sounds. A New Heartbeat also did well, a pleasant metal with which our guys give off more sparks. This set of songs close with Making All The Rules, an appreciable melancholy ballad with a bluesy aftertaste.

All in all, a good job we can say about Bloodlines. A genuine disc that even without being a milestone is placed in a more than dignified position in the Tygers Of Pan Tang discography. An old school heavy metal with which ours can continue to look confidently to the future.
Who knows if in 81, when they sang A Story So Far, they would have imagined that their story too would have reached so far up to the present day..



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