Unknown Soldier

I'd say that Saxon were probably the most representative of all bands of the NWOBHM and as you've said most of their best material revolves around songs designed for driving down a freeway. To get the whole package you need to really listen to Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law as well, as all three album imo are classic NWOBHM albums, also Bill Byford is in many ways the archetypal metal vocalist of this movement as well.

I don't like AC/DC much either, but I'm still a huge Saxon fan.

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William_the_Bloody

Oh no say it ain't so!!!

You know what I find interesting though, for a band that's always attracted rednecks, mass fights and riots at their concerts, they are some of the shortest guys in the business, not that it matters, but they look a lot bigger on stage!

Cliff Williams 5 ft 7
Bon Scott 5 ft 6.
Brian Johnson 5 ft 4
Malcolm Young 5 ft 3
Angus Young 5 ft 2

Janszoon

Exhibit #5:
Tank—Filth Hounds of Hades (1982)

So… the bad news is that, in the past few weeks, my job decided to explode into a terrible maelstrom of chaos, aggravation and long hours, which consequentially derailed my exploration of NWOBH to such an extent that it is now no longer Metal Month. The good news is that this next album on my list turned out to be the perfect antidote to the craziness, and I say fuck the goddamn calendar, it's still Metal Month in this thread.

Until recently, I had absolutely no history with or knowledge of Tank whatsoever. Maybe I had heard of them somewhere along the line. Maybe the name vaguely rings a bell. The only place I know for certain that I encountered them was right here on MB in a post by The Batlord. So I came into this album with no preconceptions whatsoever.

As with every album I've reviewed on here, I did start reading up on the band and the album once I started listening to it. Virtually everything I've read anywhere compares them to Motörhead, and with good reason: they're a raw, rowdy three-piece with punk energy, hard rock riffs and an immediately apparent sense of humor about themselves. Hell, this album was even produced by former Motörhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke. I won't say I fell in love with Filth Hounds of Hades instantly—it did take a few listens—but once I fell, I fell hard. It's not surprising really. Give me rough-edged, drunken rock and roll and the odds are I will love it.

The formula here is simple—short, stripped down tracks with abundance of attitude—but pulling such a thing off this well is deceptively hard. The key with these guys is that they really know what the hell they're doing. A large part of their appeal lies with guitarist Peter Brabbs. His ability to jump from simple power chord driven Misfit-esque punk rock to compact but sophisticated riffage is truly a thing to behold. The vocals and bass of former Damned bassist Algy Ward are also terrific. His singing style is simple and unadorned—at times even awkward—but it's perfect for this music. And his bass playing backs up the guitar flawlessly, though every once in a while, such as on "Who Needs Love Songs?", he demonstrates musical abilities above and beyond the band's usual format. It's a similar situation with Mark Brabbs drums. It's hard to really judge him because this music demands simple drumming and that's what he delivers, but every once in a while, like on "Turn Your Head Around", he delivers such propulsive percussion that it's notable almost as a precursor to the best of the thrash drummers.

I have to say, this is the first album I've reviewed as part of this little experiment that I've flat out loved rather than merely appreciated. Not only is it a great collection of songs but it's extremely well sequenced. From the opening "oombah oombah oombah" chant of "Shellshock" to the incendiary closing double feature of "Filth Hounds of Hades" and "(He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper", this album rocks your ass right the hell off. If you love metal or punk or rock 'n roll or simply like getting drunk and getting crazy, you owe it to yourself to listen to it.

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Unknown Soldier

It doesn't suprise me that you like Tank best, but what would be interesting is if you listened to their third album which came out just a year later, to see how much the band had supposedly evolved their sound.

I actually reviewed this Tank album their third about a week ago.

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Janszoon

I saw your review and definitely am curious to check it out. I still have one more review to go in this series too.

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Janszoon

Exhibit #6:
Tygers of Pan Tang—Wild Cat (1980)

Yes, this thing was supposed to be written almost six months ago, at the end of October. Sue me. Better late than never, right?

I wasn't sure what to think going into this honestly. I had basically zero familiarity with this band. Never heard them before. Never even heard of them before. I did think they had a really ridiculous name and some pretty cheesy artwork and that didn't bode well. But you know what? I was wrong. These guys turned out to be damn good. Their singer, Jess Cox, aside from having an awesome gay pornstar name, is easily my favorite of any of the NWOBHM bands I've reviewed for this. His voice is more punk and raw and also more vintage rock n roll that any other NWOBHM singer I've heard—he sounds a bit like John Ries from Rocket from the Crypt mixed with a dash of Billy Idol—and that really gives this album a fantastic high-energy charge. Also, unlike every other band I've reviewed, their drummer, Brian Dick (giggle), is worth mentioning as well. His style is streamlined and direct but never boring. He's got a much better groove than those other guys and he's quick to change things up with an unexpected move at the drop of a hat. He's a bit bluesy, a bit jazzy, a bit surf rocky and all of it is very good. Richard Laws' bass playing is damn fine as well, rumbling along like the engine driving those drums, and he really rises to the occasion when he takes a more dominant role as on "Fireclown". Robb Weir's guitar playing is probably the least remarkable thing going on here, but it's still quite good and I love the fact that he's not afraid to get a little dissonant sometimes, most notably on "Slave to Freedom".

Along with Filth Hounds of Hades this is one of the punkiest NWOBHM albums I've heard, which is probably a big part of why I like it so much. These guys are skilled musicians and are pretty tight together, but it's never flashy. They don't feel the need to show off and they always make things feel very off the cuff, something that's key to making Wild Cat as fun and full of life as it is.

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Trollheart

Woo-hoo! Another fan of Wild cat! Sadly, as mentioned at length in my journal, they watered down their sound towards a more AOR one for the next albums, Cox left and the magic was gone. I love this album, and always will. Delighted it spoke to you, Jansz! Great review too.

Incidentally, their name comes from that of an island in Michael Moorcock's "Elric of Melnibone" series, so it's actually quite cool.

From Wiki:

Theleb K'aarna: A human sorcerer of the Pan Tang isles. After being displaced as Queen Yishana's advisor and chief sorcerer by Elric, he seeks revenge and uses sorcery to hinder several of Elric's plans.

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Unknown Soldier

Looks like Trollheart has found another sucker for this album too, it can't hold a candle to the classic Spellbound album though.

Like Trollheart said a nice review.

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Janszoon

Thanks for the feedback! I was hoping you'd respond to one of my reviews at some point since you were so instrumental in helping me come up with my list.

Gracias! I may have to check out Spellbound, though TH's comments make me a little trepidatious.

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Trollheart

Meh, Spellbound is not the worst; the rot only really sets in with 1981's Crazy nights. Maybe the strain of putting out two albums in six months was to blame. But Cox is definitely gone as a vocalist and John Deverill, his replacement, is a totally different singer.

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