Hard to believe this band is still hanging in there. Tygers of Pan Tang are an NWOBHM mainstay who I have always wanted to like more than I do. Thirteen albums in, this is obviously not the same band that started out in 1978, and in fact only guitarist Robb Weir remains from those days, every other member having joined since the turn of the century, and two members having joined in the last few years.
This is the exact same style they have always played, and I like that, because this is not a band here to chase what they think people might like, they are here to play the music they love and if you don't like it, then go elsewhere. This, as always, is a bit too rock for me. They will kick out some classic metal riffs, the production is good, and singer Jacopo Meille has just the right kind of voice for this kind of stuff—but then when I want them to go for the throat, they never really do. You do get a few good barnburners like "Fire on the Horizon" or "A New Heartbeat," but most of this is just a bit too classic rock, and not quite hitting what I would like it to hit. Needless to say, if you love this band, then this is another slab of them doing what they do best.
