Panzer - Send Them All To Hell (2014) (Japan IUCP-16208)

×

Panzer - Send Them All To Hell (2014) (Japan IUCP-16208)

Close

Comprised of vocalist and bass player Schmier, best known as frontman of Destruction and Headhunter, guitarist Herman Frank (ex-Accept, Victory) as well as drummer Stefan Schwarzmann (ex-Accept).

If you love to hate innovation, this album will make your day. The band members guarantee stagnation. Admittedly, Destruction´s Schmier has been part of an innovative movement, the awakening of the glorious German thrash metal scene. But this movement arose in the early eighties of the last millenium. Therefore, you will agree that this is nothing but a distant memory. The two warhorses from Accept do not even know how to spell the word "innovation". So far, so good. While looking at my CD shelf, I have to admit that I really like stagnation. That´s one of the reasons why I buy (almost) only metal records. However, let´s get back to the here reviewed debut. The involvement of Nuclear Blast definitely ensures an appropriate budget. Thus, I expected nothing less than a flawless sound. Fortunately, this is more or less the case. Of course, rehearsal demo fetishists will call this mix "polished", "predictable" or "not edgy enough". I share their point of view up to a certain degree. Nevertheless, I like this full and dense sound, although it pays tribute to the contemporary zeitgeist. It would have been ridiculous, if these well-known metalheads would have released an album with an imperfect underground sound.

Maybe due to the fact that two thirds of the German Panzer crew originate from Accept, the vigorous music tends towards the traditional approach of this band. Influences from Destruction are sidelined. The stomping old-school songs gain the upper hand over the relatively fast tracks. The album can be compared with the works of those bands who also combine heavy metal and speed metal. For example, the level of harshness of "Send Them All to Hell" is similar to Chastain´s unforgotten "The 7th of Never". But it goes without saying that Schmier´s vocals sound less masculine than that of Leather Leone…

The songs fit into the conservative verse-chorus-verse scheme. It is almost superfluous to mention that the guys demonstrate their indisputable maturity in a more than solid manner. They deliver catchy choruses as well as incisive riffs and the straightforward tunes are apparently not overloaded. It is therefore permissible to describe the music of Panzer as no frills metal. As always, you will find better and less good songs - and the musicians are experienced enough to realize this situation. It is certainly no matter of chance that the best compositions are placed at the beginning. No matter whether you listen to the double bass driven opener, the pounding "Hail and Kill", the up-tempo banger "Temples of Doom" or the heavy and ponderous band anthem, all these artillery shells possess the capability to raise your adrenaline. You do not need to be sober to understand the tracks, because the entertainment factor is of primary importance. The songs are deliberately kept simple. They are lively and energizing while coming precisely to the point. Due to the classic composition pattern, the spirited choruses deliver the most memorable parts. It would be unfair to say that the following tunes just copy the success formula of the first tracks. They offer pretty awesome details, for example the edgy riffs of "Mr. Nobrain" or the very vibrant chorus of "Virtual Collission". Nevertheless, they do not stand on an equal footing with the four tracks at the beginning, because they lack a bit of variety. Finally, the (rare) use of keyboards seems unnecessary.

Some might say that this album lacks depth. I agree. There exists no special message that Panzer wants to convey. This three-piece does not have any kind of superior sense of mission, although they cover Gary Moore´s more or less political track "Murder in the Sky". The band seems to be rather a sort of fun project. Furthermore, it seems that playing the tunes in a passionate way is a value in itself. But this does not mean that the componists, Schmier and Frank, have written funny songs. They perform each and every piece with the right amount of seriousness while being happy with this style of metal. And so am I.

www.metal-archives.com