Artist: Jag Panzer
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 8/7/01
|
|
Title: Mechanized Warfare Artist: Jag Panzer Label: Century Media Release Date: 8/7/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
|
2 | ||
|
3 | ||
|
3 | ||
|
|
Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
It's pretty amazing that Jag Panzer have endured. You have to respect a band of that vintage that continues playing power metal today, in the face of most of mainstream America's perception of the style as cheesy and dated. Don't blame the critics though, because power metal is cheesey and dated. But that doesn't mean it cannot be good. Hell, if you think black metal isn’t going to sound cheesy and dated ten years from now, you better think again.
"Would I say I like Jag Panzer now? No, probably not, but they do seem to be improving, and they seem to be doing it on their own terms." I’ve never really liked Jag Panzer, as they, like most of the genre, are a little too cliché for me. Unlike power metal gods Iced Earth, this band has just put out quality power metal rather than really reaching any sort of crossover appeal. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, integrity is very important, but I grow tired of old sounds no matter how well played, unless I find something fresh hidden inside. Jag Panzer, till now, hasn’t done that for me. Mechanized Warfare, however, does take an important step forward for the band. Would I say I like Jag Panzer now? No, probably not, but they do seem to be improving, and they seem to be doing it on their own terms.
My biggest problem with this band over the years has been (in my opinion) lackluster songwriting. Power metal lives and dies by melody, and just because you’re a melodic band, you don’t necessarily have good melodies. I can remember no times where, after listening to a Jag Panzer disc, I found myself singing to myself later. This album is changing that. I found myself at work the other day humming the chorus to “Frozen in Fear”, which is my early favorite on the album. This alone is evidence enough that these guys have stepped the songwriting up a notch. This permeates throughout the album, and if they just got rid of the stupid, lumbering ballad crap this might make it into my playlist. But alas, there is a lot of stuff on here that still turns me off, but it’s nice to see that these guys are going in the right direction.
Death's Review:
I remember Jag Panzer as a relatively obscure heavy metal band from the eighties, existing before modern distinctions like "power metal" or "death metal" were born. By the time the nineties rolled around, Jag Panzer were merely a vague memory for me, the kind of band that only "old metal" afficionados and underground collectors might have maintained an interest in at that time. I mentally lumped them in with bands like Oz, Nasty Savage, Raven, Exciter, Razor, etc. Not because I had any knowledege of the bulk of those bands, and not because I had any idea that they sounded at all alike (truth be told they mostly don't), but because of the time period, the era, and the feel.
"Jag Panzer are a quality metal band, and display advanced musical chops throughout Mechanized Warfare." Then somewhere in the mid-to-late-nineties, Jag Panzer came back. I remember Famine playing me a couple of tracks from their Century Media comeback record, The Fourth Judgement, and being rather impressed. I didn't buy the record, but I was interested.
Fast forward a few years, and I find myself at an Iced Earth show at the Bank in NYC (Iced Earth was supporting the Something Wicked record). I remember being in awe watching Jag Panzer . . . but not for the reasons I had hoped to be. I was watching vocalist Harry "the Tyrant" Conklin run around on stage looking altogether far too cheesey and lame. I'm no longer sure exactly why I felt that way at the time, but I do remember simply being unable to get into the performance.
So I blew off Jag Panzer, although I read good things about releases like Thane to the Throne. Only now, having been assigned Mechanized Warfare for Metal Judgment, am I sitting down to truly analyze this seminal metal outfit after all of these years. Verdict? They're pretty good.
Jag Panzer are a quality metal band, and display advanced musical chops throughout Mechanized Warfare. Conklin has a powerful voice, and the rest of the band often sounds like they are bordering on prog elements a la Dream Theater. Of course, Jag Panzer is not about musical masturbation, they are about traditionally-flavored, well-executed heavy metal. They are a "power metal" act, but have much more of that solid traditional metal feel than does Blind Guardian or Helloween, yet with not as much right hand riffing as a band like Iced Earth. In fact, Jag Panzer's sound lies somewhere in between those examples. And thus Mechanized Warfare comes off as sounding like Manowar meets Iced Earth meets Agent Steel meets Helloween meets Judas Priest.
"These veterans deserve some increased recognition for their continued efforts." Tracks like "Cold Is The Blade (And The Heart That Wields It)" are very reminiscent of Manowar, although the guitar sound is much more Megadeth a la The World Needs a Hero. My favorite is "The Scarlet Letter," a riffy little ditty which reminds me of Jon Oliva-led Savatage mixed with something like Crimson Glory or Agent Steel (due to the extremely high-pitched vocals). Bottom line: if you like musically proficient, traditional heavy metal, with solos, harmony guitars and high pitched vocals, check out Jag Panzer. These veterans deserve some increased recognition for their continued efforts.
Hel's Review:
Favorite tracks: "The Silent" and "Choir of Tears"If you recall, a few weeks ago I was ranting and raving about how I've just heard too much power metal lately. So imagine my reaction to doing yet another power metal record. Dear lord, make it stop! This influx has diluted my enthusiasm for the sub-genre like a 12-year-old dilutes the bottles in Dad's liquor cabinet after a big night of "experimentation". It all tastes like water now.
And Jag Panzer has never managed to worm their way into my heart to begin with. Their big chance to do that was around three years ago, when they opened for Iced Earth at a tiny little dive called The Bank way, way downtown in NYC. The setup was there, but they managed to come off as clownishly overzealous instead of intense, and I laughed so hard I still can't take them completely seriously to this day. That said, this is actually quite a good effort, and particularly the guitar work stands out as being simply top-notch.
Overall, however, I am unable to find the unique qualities that would upgrade this from "good" to "great". In many ways, I can't help but feel as though it is extremely stereotypical of the more fanciful, what I call "European-style power metal", with lots of treble to the mix and images of dragons, knights, castles, and wizards dancing in my head, regardless of the actual lyrical content.
"There's nothing specifically 'wrong' with this album..." There's nothing specifically "wrong" with this album. If you like power metal, this is certainly one of the top releases in the sub-genre this year, and you should definitely consider picking this up. I've just never liked this style much, and considering my power metal burn-out, I err on the higher side of their score for the sake of fairness.
[- Metal Judgment Home -] [- Email Metal Judgment -]
©1999 Metal Judgment. All rights reserved.