Axe in your head, bullets in your chest, sword in your guts and heavy riffage in your ears. Horizon darkens and battlefield paints the sky in red. The army of Tank 86 has arrived. Finally the instrumental super-heavy act from Netherlands has released it's debut album called "Rise". They have released 2 EPs earlier, and I was really looking forward to their full-length album. And here it is - tearing my appartment's walls down.
Captain Obvious hints that CD's title means that you really have to rise! No really - look at the art cover. That face isn't satisfied, nor is it happy. Visual presentation together with the sound, which is tearing my speakers at the moment, gives me the impression, that times are dark, hope has faded away long ago, and the only thing left for us - is to take that old rusty axe (or shotgun, whatever excites you most), and start making good things happen. Well that's a way to go! Avoiding any musical comparison I should say that this CD sounds to me like a brutal, hopeless war. Some fight for freedom, some just fight because they have to, some fight for taste of blood in their mouths.
In a musical sense the music can be distantly compared to Кarma to Burn on steroids. Another closer comparison which comes to my mind is a sonic mixture of High On Fire's fury and Balero's instrumental rage. If they needed a vocalist - the only man who could fit in this instrumental outrage could be Matt Pike (imagine...that would be epic). But Tank86 isn't a band you can compare someone to. Their in-your-face/kick-your-ass riffs are mostly, mixed with some great harmonies, which tend to cross the line of an average song in terms of compositional approach & song-writing.
It's hard to pick and describe some exact track, because they sound all sound like one merciless battle-hymn. But I can tell you that you will hear progressive metal parts & groovy/stoner riffage (Apparat), berserkers rage (Gottes Krieger), and even a soundtrack to an axe (Axe)!
The only bad thing about the album is that it's so volumetric (tracks are really epic) that after four listens I can recollect only one riff (from the Apparat song). Well maybe it means that I have to make it to 20 listens and try it again!
Overall Tank86's first full-length "Rise" is huge. It's powerful. Reminds me of a titan wearing a "fuck you" t-shirt. A titan with a mini-gun and a rusty axe behind his back. You're either on his side, or...you'd better be on his side.
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Buy the CD at http://www.risingmagma.com/
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- Enter The Battlefield -
Great review man, loving it!
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up and great album! \m/
ReplyDelete