Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Panzer
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2017
Runtime: 53:10
Rating: 3.5/5
In the middle of last September, the »eternal all-metal« label Nuclear Blast Records released the second studio album from the colorful Pänzer, a German super heavy / thrash metal outfit that was only formed recently and is driven by two forces: drummer Stefan Schwarzmann (ex-Accept, ex-Running Wild, ex-Helloween, ex-U.D.O.) and bassist and vocalist Schmier (Destruction).
They put out an excellent studio debut, »Send Them All To Hell«, back in 2014, with all the guitars played by former Accept guitarist Herman Frank (also Victory, solo), so expectations for the follow-up ran that much higher. On the debut the trio worked in a »phantom-like« way, and in their spellbinding, demonic dynamic they complemented each other incredibly well. Sadly, though, the lineup didn’t last long. Pänzer have since grown into a quartet, and instead of Frank there are now two guitarists: Pontus Norgren (HammerFall, ex-The Pooodles) and V.O. Pulver (G.U.R.D., Poltergeist).
So what’s new on »Fatal Command«? First off, a superb cover that reminds us that human history is simply the history of absolute madness, something only humans can cook up, and that it’s been clear for ages that all human reason went bankrupt keeping alive some system that time has already run over. More important than this slyly served reminder is, of course, the music. The interesting thing is that, despite the two guitars, »Fatal Command« doesn’t feel quite so »rabid and unhinged«. Let me tone that down. The new album isn’t as sharp, honed and sonically or stylistically uncompromising as its fine predecessor. There’s considerably more musicality, which of course comes from the musical integrity, or rather the musical characters, of the two new guitarists. There are many more nice-sounding passages, thanks to the new, greater integration of three-part guitar harmonies, and the album is packed with neoclassical ornaments, courtesy of the exceptionally nimble, fast fretting hand of the Scandinavian school of guitar virtuosity that the otherwise excellent Pontus Norgren brings to the record.
You can hear it everywhere. In every composition, at every step of the album. The sound is a bit more »pleasant«, even a touch »softer« to the ear when you compare it with the phrasing of the predecessor. But that doesn’t mean Schmier has lost his vocal edge or his sense of delivery. He squeals and roars again like an enraged boar on a spit, and nobody can touch him there. It’s precisely Schmier’s unyielding vocal attitude and, of course, Schwarzmann’s cannon barrage on the drums that tip the scales the right way, making sure Panzer don’t drift too far into the bosom of power metal and instead keep that expressive appeal of the right collision between power metal and Teutonic thrash metal of the orthodox, ossified German school. On »Fatal Command« too, Panzer keep their artistic quirks this way, and that keeps the door open for listeners looking for fresh, original creations, though Panzer won’t necessarily win over typical Destruction fans.
Lineup
Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer – bass, vocals
Pontus Norgren – guitar
V.O. Pulver – guitar
Stefan Schwarzmann – drums
Production
Panzer
Tracklist
- Satan’s Hollow
- Fatal Command
- We Can Not Be Silenced
- I’ll Bring You The Night
- Scorn And Hate
- Afflicted
- Skullbreaker
- Bleeding Allies
- The Decline (…And The Downfall)
- Mistaken
- Promised Land
