The English of 'Tygers Of Pan Tang' were part of my playlist rock and melodic hard rock albums of the second half of 2020 with 'Ambush' which was the remastered version of the 2012 studio recording and they released a compilation in 2021 from the period 2000 until 2016 ('Majors & Minors'). 2023 sees the release of 'Bloodlines'. With a new bassist, 'Huw Holding' replacing 'Gav Gray' and a new guitarist 'Francesco Marras' replacing 'Micky Crystal', they continue to offer us a fusion between hard rock and metal and this by bringing us back to the best of the 80s and incorporating a touch of modernity.
From the start, with 'Edge of the World' (see video above), everything comes together to offer us a very punchy title with a chorus to sing along to during concerts, the instrumental section in the second part of the title with a beautiful solo by guitar being quite remarkable, then, 'In My Blood' continues with a well-marked rhythm section and incisive guitar riffs conducive to headbanging and with the short 'Fire On The Horizon', we get on the high-speed train which delivers impressive firepower. Follows 'Light of Hope' which shows a melodic face and I haven't yet spoken of 'Jacopo Meille' which offers, as on the other titles, a beautiful vocal performance, then, 'Back for Good', with its bass line harkens back to the best of 70s/80s hard rock and the melodic lines remind me of 'Rainbow's 'All Night Long' with a modern sound. In a calmer register, between ballad and mid-tempo, 'Taste Of Love' shows the soft side of the English and distills beautiful melodic lines, then, here we go again with the energetic 'Kiss The Sky', very rhythmic and which offers a very beautiful guitar solo, then 'Believe', more tagged 70s, delivers beautiful variations of intensities throughout the title and 'A New Heartbeat' adds a catchy composition with a catchy chorus. Finally, 'Making All The Rules' ends this beautiful album by bringing a progressive touch thanks to alternations between calm parts and other more powerful ones, 'Jacopo Meille' modulating his voice in a beautiful way according to the intensity of the moment.
In summary, the English of 'Tygers Of Pan Tang' continue their journey with their influences of the 70s/80s to which they add a touch of modernity (beautiful and very dynamic production) and 'Bloodlines' should appeal to a following audience of a heavy metal which draws its influences from what is called NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal)... | |
