TYGERS OF PAN TANG
Tygers Of Pan Tang
Mighty Music (2016)
Rating: 6.5/10
|
|
I miss the days of Spellbound (1981) and Crazy Nights (1981), my two favourite Tygers Of Pan Tang records. That was a cross section of sound, style and music that included bands like UFO, Thin Lizzy, and even April Wine. The Tygers, like a lot of bands, began to shift and change in terms of that classic New Wave Of British Heavy Metal sound to a more MTV viable, commercial metal during the mid-to-late 80s, which in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it’s executed right.
The Tygers did it well. And that leads me to their latest, self-titled disc which unfortunately isn’t a return to Spellbound and Crazy Nights, but rather an extension of that commercial metal sound I mentioned above. Is it good? Yeah, it gets the job done. Is it great? I’m afraid it isn’t.
So, why just good? As far as commercial rock goes, it’s not bad, they’ve got that sound down to a tee and seem quite adept at doing it. This record in general rings heavy of the LA Sunset Strip days, and track two, ‘Dust’, really brings it home, sounding highly reminiscent of the band Wildside. It just isn’t, say, ‘Gangland’ from Spellbound or ‘Do It Good’ from Crazy Nights. Same holds true for ‘Glad Rags’, which seems to be a better fit for a stripper pole dance than a Tygers Of Pan Tang record. Again, good beat, very catchy, lots of hooks, and really nothing to not like about it. In fact, I’m sure Warrant wishes they had written that song as well.
‘Never Give In’ also a rocker. It’s a good party song; fast paced, energetic, and no complaints from a straight ahead metal standpoint. I don’t even have an issue with the ballads; ‘The Reason Why’ in particular sounds great. If you gleaned anything what I’ve written so far, this is a good commercial metal record. But if you’re looking for any hints of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal past, you’re not going to find it here. Their past and their present are literally worlds apart, which, by the way, would make a great song title for their next record. Obviously, I’m being flippant, but it may not be too far from the truth. And in their defence, another band I mentioned above, April Wine, kind of went down a similar path as well. Check out April Wine’s 1993 Attitude album and you’ll see what I mean.
About the best I can say about this self-titled record, the band’s 11th full-length, is I like it as commercial metal, but if you’re a looking for anything resembling the sorely missed New Wave Of British Heavy Metal sound, you’re not going to find it here. Stick to their early records for that. But if you can appreciate the Tygers Of Pan Tang for who they are and the music they’re making now, you’ll connect with this record.
Theron Moore
