From My Collection #65: Jag Panzer – Ample Destruction

Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. If one had to choose the greatest year in metal history without thinking, chances are most would choose 1984. The year was absolutely stacked with landmark releases, all of which hold up to this day. If we were to narrow this down exclusively to the fantastical realm of power and epic metal, I’m certain ’84 comes out on top. The masterpieces released this year were endless. Queensrÿche‘s The Warning, Omen’s Battle Cry, Manilla Road’s Open the Gates, Fates Warning’s Night on Bröcken, Brocas Helm’s Into Battle, Cirith Ungol’s King of the Dead, Manowar’s Hail to England AND Sign of the Hammer: The list goes on and on. Amazingly enough, nearly all of these bands are still going strong today, including Jag Panzer, who are on the verge of releasing their 12th studio album, The Hallowed. As we patiently await its release, today we go back in time to that magical year of ’84, when a young and unforgiving Jag Panzer unleashed Ample Destruction upon the masses.

Jag Panzer initially formed in 1981 under the rather faceless name of Tyrant: A moniker that was also used pre-Saint Vitus and by too many bands to mention. Two demo tapes followed before the band settled on the far more unique Jag Panzer. Come ’83, the new up and coming band exploded onto the underground with their debut single, “Death Row”. A self titled EP that included “Death Row” and 3 new songs soon followed, and quickly picked up steam between the pages of burgeoning zines.

Jag Panzer were quickly branded “the American Iron Maiden”, if only for frontman Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin’s vocal similarity to Bruce Dickinson. However, a Maiden knockoff they were not. The music Jag Panzer played, while inspired by Maiden and others of the NWOBHM ilk, was far more raw, aggressive, and most important of all, powerful. Granted, their brand of metal was still more refined and elevated than the barbaric speed attacks of Metallica and Slayer, so clearly they weren’t thrash. No, Jag Panzer were power metal personified, as heard on their debut album, Ample Destruction.

The second the needle drops on this beast of an album, there is no ominous buildup consisting of synths or acoustic guitars or any other “atmospheric” gobbledygook; just the pummeling twin guitar attack of Mark Briody and Joey Tafolla. Having joined just in time for the recording of Ample Destruction, Tafolla would broaden the band’s songs and overall sonic attack, playing alongside Briody like Dave Murray and Adrian Smith on steroids. The devastating impact of this band is made apparent on the opening “Licensed to Kill”. Not only is the song powerful, but so are the performances. The rampaging guitars, the explosive rhythm section, and those ear-shattering vocals, all pure power!

“Warfare” turns down the speed dial a notch or two, but doesn’t sacrifice intensity. The riffs on this one have a strange rocking quality to them, almost as if Mercyful Fate tried their hand at a Motörhead song. Trust me when I say my description of this classic is far more bizarre than the song itself. Perhaps I’m just so enamored by this band’s knack for catchy hooks while remaining musically brutal. “Symphony of Terror” keeps the eclecticism up, serving as the obligatory “battle hymn” that’s commonplace for this era. Though the formula has since been beaten to death, it remains fresh and invigorating in the context of power metal’s early days.

True to its title, “Harder Than Steel” comes barreling in and my goodness it’s about as perfect a metal song one could ask for. That twin lead riff, the uplifting lyrics, Conklin’s muscular vocals, the larger than life chorus, the melodic soloing at the end: I’m not joking when I say if I had to make a Top 10 Metal Songs of All Time list, it would HAVE to be included. Nearly as perfect in the power/speed realm is side A’s closer, “Generally Hostile”. Yet again, the picturesque lyrics are a force to be reckoned with, and so is the accompanying soundtrack. Drummer Rick Hilyard goes to town on the double bass, while the rest of the band valorously thrashes alongside.

As we flip over to side B, we’re treated to yet another battle hymn with guitar melodies that can only be described as regal, “The Watching”. How can a song be simultaneously be so menacing, yet so empowering? It beats me, but it’s the only way to sum up this song. Matter of fact, it would’ve been as compelling an album opener as “Licensed to Kill” in its own unique way. Perhaps the thrashiest song on this album, “Reign of the Tyrants” speeds with bloodlust. Its balance between straight-ahead velocity and hard hitting breaks aren’t far removed from the earliest days of thrash. It’s the traditional soloing and Conklin’s vocals that separate it from the pack.

“Cardiac Arrest” keeps the ruthless attack going, guaranteed to “break ya, shake ya, slide you on your back”. One can hear shades of Maiden and Satan on this one, but the overall sound is still distinctly Jag Panzer’s. This was a band who set out to be more than “just another metal band” of the day, and they sure achieved that on this album’s closing track, “The Crucifix”. With its origins going back to their second ’81 demo as Tyrant, “The Crucifix” was no fully realized on Ample Destruction as a 7 and a half minute epic power metal suite. The musical twists and turns are a thing of awe, and the lyrics are utterly chilling. This grandiose approach would foreshadow what was to come later in Jag Panzer’s career come the late ’90s.

Despite the brilliance on display, Ample Destruction didn’t do much in the way of commercial success. A handful of demos would follow before the band splintered in 1988. Come 1993, they returned, albeit as a groove metal band. Thankfully for us, Jag Panzer righted this wrong sooner than later. By 1997, they were back with 4/5 of the Ample Destruction lineup for The Fourth Judgement. A slew of brilliant US power metal albums followed. While these releases have been far and few in between since, whenever Jag Panzer bestows a new album upon us, the result is unadulterated US steel, still dead set on unleashing Ample Destruction.