Jag Panzer: The Fourth Judgement
Heavy Metal, Power Metal
Century Media Records
August 25th, 1997
  1. Black - 4:53
  2. Call Of The Wild - 3:17
  3. Despair - 4:21
  4. Future Shock - 3:54
  5. Recompense - 4:46
  6. Ready To Strike - 2:33
  7. Tyranny - 3:15
  8. Shadow Thief - 5:33
  9. Sonnet Of Sorrow - 2:21
  10. Judgement Day - 6:47
Originally posted on July 19th, 2009
Review
Jag Panzer's release The Fourth Judgement is the follow up to Dissident Alliance, an album many fans consider to be an atrocity in comparison to their previous works. It is with this release, however, that this unstable band managed to find the sound we know and love, stability, and make up for the abomination that angered many of their fans.

The album doesn't really start off that strong with the song "Black", as the song seems to go in various directions throughout, and at one point will have you think you moved onto the next track when you actually haven't. It isn't until "Call Of The Wild" that the album really picks up. This track is an amazing old school heavy metal sounding track that is ultimately ruined by the abrupt outro of the song slowing down quickly, during the chorus, into a dead stop. Why the recording features this is beyond logic since the song feels as though it has a lot more steam in it before it ends.

From "Despair" up to "Shadow Thief", you're gonna love this album. There are no sudden shifts or musical approaches that will confuse you, just some kick ass old school heavy metal. "Sonnet Of Sorrow" would have been a beautiful track, but the main issue here is the vocals. Had the vocalist performed the song in a deeper tone, instead of his normal singing voice with a higher, falsetto voice in the background, this could have been one of the must hear tracks on this album, next to "Future Shock, "Ready To Strike" and "Shadow Thief". But, sadly, the vocal structure of the song can become a bit grating after a while against the classical fastasy sound being created by the acoustic guitar and violin. This track technically bleeds into the final song, "Judgement Day", which holds back on the falsetto vocals before the actual music kicks in, creating a very fitting closing track for the release.

So, yes, The Fourth Judgement has it's blemishes, but by the end of the day it is one hell of a heavy metal release. Jag Panzer have outdone themselves with this release, and show a lot of promise for future releases with this heavy, commanding incarnation.