Back in the early to mid-eighties, Tank was a band that many metal fans knew about. This strong NWOBHM act took the metal world by storm until they parted ways in 1988. Luckily, in 1997, a majority of the founding members reactivated Tank, which caused a slew of live material to surface, among other side releases, as well as their first full-length effort in fifteen years: Still at War. It's been seven years since that album, and there has also been some line-up changes, bringing Doogie White of Rainbow fame into the picture as vocalist, as well as Chris Dale of Bruce Dickinson and Mark Brabbs returning on drums, forming an incredible line-up, and releasing one hell of an album.
War Machine proves to be an album that was well worth the extended wait, though the music seems to be centered more around slower paced tracks that take a good deal from earlier Doom/Hard Rock material acts like Black Sabbath would release, as well as a similar atmosphere, though the tracks are, musically, performed more as Heavy Metal ballads then anything, typically about war-based themes, a staple to the band's literary creations, and for the most part it works well. The title track, "War Machine" is the perfect example of that, bringing in a sound that wouldn't be too strange from fans of Doogie's time in Rainbow, while executing a haunting metal ballad song. The only problem is that the song lasts about seven minutes, but the song isn't too complex or feature any real changes to the sound during this time to keep it from feeling a bit repetitive and drawn out after the first five minutes. This isn't to say the song is bad, it's still a great song, it's just that by the last minute, you'll be waiting for that fade out after the first few times through it. Outside this track, "Feast of the Devil" is a song that blends in both an anthem-like approach to the music in the vein of Dio, but offers a rather mainstream chorus that is performed in a manner that would fit a hit mainstream rock band like Pearl Jam. The chorus actually clashes with the song at first, mostly because of how the music sounds, which actually is a little more muffled due to the dramatic change in chords utilized, but the ending of the chorus winds up mixing them together well, and the guitar solo here is fantastic and well suited to both the pace and atmosphere of the song.
Sadly, both of those songs wind up losing their appeal after a while, mostly due to the length of the tracks and lack of anything to keep the listener interested past the first few spins, though they are still good songs that the listener will probably come back to later on down the line and enjoy once more. However, there are plenty of songs on this release that are just so well done that you'll keep going back to them, even during the first run through. "Judgement Day" kicks the album off nicely, and is one of the most moving tracks on here, capturing the essence of this new line-up nicely, but it's the vocals on this track, as well as "Phoenix Rising" that make it so memorable, being both soothing and beautifully performed against such classic Heavy Metal music that there's no denying how perfect these tracks genuinely are. War Machine also shows the greatest departure from the band's early NWOBHM sound for a more updated traditional Heavy Metal sound. While some may say this is a terrible move, in the case of this release, it's great. There's still some traces of the older sound in their material, such as in the song "The Last Laugh", which has a heavy NWOBHM pulse to it thanks to the drumming and it's more upbeat sound that comes off as a straight forward Rock/Metal anthem song, and "Great Expectations" is your basic NWOBHM track, but more upbeat then "The Last Laugh" with some fantastic vocals that really make it shine amongst the many bands and songs of that style. The closing track "My Insanity" is another classic track presented here that will instantly stick with the listener, bringing the album to a close nicely with it's mid-tempo music that is powerful and fun. While it doesn't quite capture the power and majesty that is the starting track, "Judgement Day", it sets a tone all it's own and still hits the listener with enough force to be one another track that demands the listener take notice.
If you're looking for a solid metal album, War Machine should be on the top of your list. While sometimes the longer tracks can feel a bit drawn out, there's absolutely nothing wrong with them, and you'll wind up coming back to them again after a while. The music on the album is heavy, ranging from just classic sounding tracks, to fun songs or straight forward anthems, all holding a fantastic atmosphere from this collection of talented musicians and their backgrounds. This long awaited follow-up album from Tank will not let down, and is easily one of the band's best efforts to ever be recorded.
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