Tank: Re-Ignition

With the number of reimagined and splintered outfits out there these days Re-Ignition shouldn’t be too much of a surprise and yet there’s no denying that this latest outing from NWOBHM veterans Tank is somewhat curious. Forming in 1980 the band evolved through a number of line-ups led by singer and bassist Algy Ward, who was joined in the middle of that decade by guitarists Cliff Evans and Mick Tucker and that trio - aided by numerous drummers over the years - stayed together until 2008 when Ward was left on the sidelines.

Since then Rainbow/Michael Schenker man Doogie White, ex-Dragonforce singer ZP Theart and now Pink Cream 69 crooner David Readman have all filled Ward’s shoes, but with the band’s ex-singer announcing that he too would be going out once more under the Tank name, we now have two bands with long standing members operating under the same moniker. Hence maybe it should, or maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Evans/Tucker/Readman version have, much to the chagrin of some long-term fans, trawled through their own back catalogue to offer spruced up versions of tracks from the band’s first four albums, which were originally released between 1982 and 1984.

For some this is sacrilege, but there’s no denying that Tank were and still are a good band, or that David Readman is a hugely respected singer, so let’s put the why’s and wherefores to one side and simply give Re-Ignition a listen.

Taken pretty evenly from Filth Hounds Of Hades (82), Power Of The Hunter (82), This Means War (83) and Honour & Blood (84), there’s no denying the class of the mid-paced hard rock that is "(He Fell In Love With A) Stormtrooper�, the more heavy metal outburst of “Walking Barefoot Over Glass� or “The War Drags Ever On�. Aligned to an excellent production, you could argue that these songs and many other here have never sounded so good and yet some of the charm that the (admittedly patchy in terms of their sonics) originals still possess does get lost a little along the way. Things are slightly less steady on “WMLA�, which rather disconcertingly sounds like a sultry piece of 1987 era Whitesnake power balladry. However, Readman is in his element in that type of setting and in itself that means the transformation is pulled off pretty well. The rest of the album plays more to type, with bristling riffs and hammering drums but there’s no denying that the new frontman and more modern production might surprise a few old timers by moving things more blatantly into a hard rock vein, although it is in general done without compromising the songs themselves.

Re-Ignition does undoubtedly sound good and the songs themselves stand up well in this sonically sparkling setting. Whether that’s enough to bring all the Tank faithful to the frontlines, who knows? However, newcomers to the band will find plenty to enjoy here, even if it doesn’t necessarily give a complete reflection of how these songs sounded first time round.

Track Listing
1. Walking Barefoot Over Glass
2. Power Of The Hunter (feat. Tom Angelripper)
3. Just Like Something From Hell
4. (He Fell in Love With A) Stormtrooper
5. This Means War
6. Shellshock (feat. Dani Filth)
7. W.M.L.A.
8. Honour And Blood
9. Blood, Guts And Beer
10. Echoes Of A Distant Battle
11. The War Drags Ever On

Added: December 26th 2019
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Re-Ignition on bandcamp
Hits: 1097
Language: english

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