New week and new letter. Time for a week long run of the J's. Short run again this week as I appear to be lacking in the J department. Mix of genres this week, ranging from Power Metal to Blues and some whatever thrown in there. Starting off this week with Jag Panzer. A power metal band hailing from another unlikely spot, Colorado. Starting off in the early 80's as Tyrant, the band soon changed their name to reflect that of a WWII era German tank. Jag Panzer released the critically acclaimed album 'Ample Destruction' in 84. However the band would wait ten years before releasing their next album. Of course the next album 'Dissident Alliance' featured a new singer and the album bombed outright. The band reunited with singer Harry 'The Tyrant' Conklin and spent the rest of the 90's honing their power metal sound. In 2000 the band released 'Thane To The Throne' which was based on Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth'. Released to high praise the band continued on until they unexpectedly called it a day in 2011, shortly after releasing their new album.
'Thane To The Throne' remains as one of my favorites in the power metal genre. It took some balls to put out an album like this. As crazy as it sounds, this album really did work really well. The vocals are strong and the guitar work of Mark Briody and Chris Broderick is nothing short of stellar. I got into the band solely based on this record alone. I was finishing up High School and was deeply immersed in Brit Lit at the time. The concept fascinated me and after a spin I was sold. Jag Panzer has released some solid records over the years and sadly gets overlooked sometimes in the Power Metal discussion. I was bummed to see them call it a day. If the name Chris Broderick sounds familiar it's cause he's currently shredding in a little band called Megadeth. By the way he is an amazing guitarist both live and on the record. This is an album for people who dig the US Power Metal scene and for those curious to see how a band can pull of a concept record based on Shakespeare.
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