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Solid, but the energy becomes an issue.-
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| Jag Panzer: The Scourge of the Light |
Heavy Metal, Power Metal
SPV Records
March 8th, 2011
- Condemned to Fight - 4:23
- The Setting of the Sun - 3:26
- Bringing on the End - 5:03
- Call to Arms - 3:26
- Cycles - 4:08
- Overlord - 5:27
- Let it Out - 3:34
- Union - 5:15
- Burn - 6:04
- The Book of Kells - 8:01
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| Review Information |
Release length: 48:47
Review posted on March 5th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Ample Destruction (1984) | Dissident Alliance (1994) | The Fourth Judgement (1997) | The Age of Mastery (1998)
Thane to the Throne (2000) | Mechanized Warfare (2001) | Chain of Command (2004) | Casting the Stone (2004)
The Scourge of the Light (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Tyrants (1983)
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| CD Single(s): |
Death Row (1983) | Jeffrey Behind the Gate (1994) | The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (2005)
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| Demo(s): |
Death Row (1983) | Demo 1985 (1985) | Demo 1986 (1986) | Shadow Thief (1986) | Dissident Alliance (1993)
The Return (1996)
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| Compilation(s): |
Decade of the Nail-Spiked Bat (2003)
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| DVD(s): |
The Era of Kings and Conflict (2002)
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| Review |
Jag Panzer has remained one of the more prominant figures in the Heavy and Power Metal worlds as of late, though never really received the recognition they so rightly deserved. It wound up being a rocky start for the group too, forming back in 1981, issuing their debut in 1984, then being stuck putting out demos to finally issue their long awaited follow-up Dissidant Alliance ten years later in 1994. Since then, the band has put out a decent amount of releases, doing a good job of making up for lost time, and pretty much each album continues to be a strong effort that proves why this band is at the forefront of their style with many other Metal legends. The Scourge of the Light, the band's ninth full-length effort, is no exception to this whatsoever.
Jag Panzer is also one of those bands that don't really need an introduction track to their releases. You typically know it's them when the music starts, blending some beautiful music with a good deal of intensity against an one of the strongest Heavy Metal vocals in the Metal world today, that man being Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin, who rejoined the group on their previous effort, Casting the Stones. The group has never sounded tighter and more in tune with their style, and themselves then on this recording. Right from the start of "Condemned to Fight", the band belts out an epic song that blends both the Heavy and Power Metal worlds together, retaining a much sharper edge to the music from the Heavy Metal spectrum, but retaining that melodic beauty many expect from a Power Metal release, primarily in the insanely infectious and powerful chorus that is flawlessly transitioned into from the fast paced Heavy Metal intensity of the rest of the track, and astounding higher pitched vocal range that still manages to remain as soothing as the vocals recorded for the chorus.
While "Condemned to Fight" really makes a point and brings a fantastic amount of energy with it, the music quickly goes down to the traditional mid-tempo pace that many Heavy Metal bands of today seem to do, especially when coupled with Power Metal. Hammerfall is a good example that comes to mind, especially since that is the kind of vibe some of these songs give, like "Call to Arms". This song has a very strong Heavy Metal presence to it, but it goes at a chugging, march-like pace with a great energetic vocal performance to match that same level in the music itself. The bass really plays a critical role in the song, which is great, especially considering it doesn't really come off as important in other songs on this release, giving the song that little extra kick by aiding the guitars along to make sure nothing sounds hollow. "Let it Out" is another fantastic Heavy Metal romp, taking a classic approach to the style, but remaining rather faithful to the premise set up on "Call to Arms". Once again, the bass winds up being rather important, though the song itself isn't a chugging or anthem track, it just sticks out at certain points to, again, add that little extra bite to the mix, and it really gives it that stylish Heavy Metal feel of the 80's coupled with the traditional Jag Panzer sound.
While the Heavy Metal aspect of the band is strong on this release, that's not the only aspect of The Scourge of the Light that shines through (pun intended). "The Setting of the Sun" is a fantastic slower paced track that brings things into a sort of power ballad-type song through a Power Metal approach that creates an epic atmosphere around the story the band is telling through the rather emotional track. This is essentially what you should expect from many of the Power Metal-based tracks on here, though some may have a little more energy or emotion behind them, such as the following track "Bringing on the End", which finds the clean singing to be a little more energetic, with enhances the far softer vocals of the chorus that chime in as if a background vocalist against the lead vocal performance. Of course, there's no other straight-forward Power Metal track that can compare to the emotional closing song "The Book of Kellis", which shows the band pulling out all the stops for an epic, emotional ride of Power Metal goodness, hammering away at a slow pace with such a powerful performance vocally that you are able to feel the pain the lyrics are depicting so subtley.
The only real downfall here is that the Power Metal heavy tracks are all typically much slower. The traditional Heavy Metal material here is very impressive, and really makes for some fantastic listening for fans of the old NWOBHM type of music. But, the rest typically stay at a slower pace, and while the songs are still enjoyable, they often don't really feel like they possess the same energy and drive as some of the other songs, which actually winds up happening more times then one would really hope. This causes the songs to just start to sound a little bland, and are mostly saved by the great guitars and outstanding vocals, or even the presence of the bass itself coupled with the fantastic, well paced drumming that does a good job of working with the atmosphere that the guitars themselves manage to put out. Some tracks do manage to try to capture an epic approach to them, and sometimes it works, like with "Overlord", a track that has a rather subtle epicness that may take a few spins for you to come to terms with, but it's that slight hint of epic music and vocals that make the track stand out a little more without, again, going over the top. The only song that really matches the energy the band presents on "Burn", which has plenty of energy in the vocals and music, once again is a bass driven track, and the guitars feel a little more complex, allowing the track to get away with a slightly tamer chorus, but it works for the song thanks to it's rather epic performance against the rest of the CD.
For what it is, The Scourge of the Light is a good album. It's sad that Jag Panzer doesn't really bring a lot of faster tracks to the party here, as there is plenty of potential, but the band seemed to decide to write more mid-tempo material this time around. That isn't to say the album is bad, as there is a good number of solid tracks on here that are great, with or without that kind of high energetic output. Sadly, the slower tracks do start to get a little redundant after a while. Either way, the band's performance here is still noteworthy, and it makes a nice addition to the band's discography, and is well worth giving a spin when you get a chance.
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