The last time I reviewed a concept album from a US power metal band (AKA last week), things didn’t end too well. Granted, this isn’t just any US power metal band we’re talking about. This is the merciless war machine that is Jag Panzer, a band who has been pummeling headbangers with the sharpest steel this country has to offer. Aside from a 1994 groove metal foray that had the misfortune of baring their name, Jag Panzer’s catalog is damn near perfect, thanks to the band’s top tier musicianship and dedication to crafting not just songs, but unadulterated power metal hymns.
On their first album in 6 years, The Hallowed, we see the Panzer yet again bestowing us with an ambitious concept album. This has been the band’s MO more or less since 2000’s Thane to the Throne, which was based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In the years to follow, we’ve seen the band take on no shortage of grandiose lyrical themes, all while still fully embracing their 80s power metal roots. Sure, some albums have bordered on the progressive and symphonic side of things à la Blind Guardian, but at the end of the day, Jag Panzer is pure power metal, which is exactly what we get here.
Over the course of 10 songs and a little over 53 minutes, The Hallowed chronicles the tale of a man navigating an ice age dystopia, and in true Jag Panzer fashion at that. The opening “Bound As One” is absolutely “Harder Than Steel”, the perfect balance between muscular aggression and melodic majesty. It’s a more than convincing opener which sets the tone for the rest of the album. Speaking of aggression, one can’t help but rage it up to devastating displays of high speed like “Prey!”, “Stronger Than You Know”, and “Dark Descent”. Thrash Panzer anyone? There’s no doubt the festival crowds will find a way to mosh to these cuts.
As The Hallowed progresses, we’re treated to all the various musical flavors of Panzer we’ve known and loved for all these years. “Onward We Toil” and “Renewed Flame” scratch that “off to battle” itch, drawing us in with anthemic choruses and driving force. “Edge of a Knife” recalls the drama and intensity of the band’s late 90s/early 00s comeback era, although these tropes were characteristic of power metal in general around this time. There’s ultra-melodic songs like “Ties That Bind” and “Weather the Storm”, which channel classic Maiden and Triumph, while the dark, doomy 10 minute suite that is “Last Rites” closes things in true epic Panzer fashion.
I’d say that The Hallowed keeps me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end, but it doesn’t; it keeps me OUT of my seat, standing tall with honor and pride. Seriously, how can one sit when assaulted by the supersonic vocals of Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin? Or the smashing rhythm section of John Tetley on bass and Rikard Stjernquist on drums? Or the dynamic duo of Mark Briody and Ken Rodarte on guitars, serving up brawny riffs and blistering solos in the same manner as 1984’s Ample Destruction? You don’t. You stand and salute, just as we do! Long live Jag Panzer!
8 out of 10
Label: Atomic Fire Records
Genre: Power Metal
For fans of: Iron Maiden, Pharaoh, Satan’s Host