Power metal stars Jag Panzer has certainly gone through some turmoil over the past few years. Since their formation in 1981, the band from Colorado Springs, Colorado has turned out some great tunes in addition to giving prominence to some legendary artists. Their latest album and first since 2004, The Scourge Of The Light, is their debut release without guitarist Chris Broderick, who left in 2008 to join Dave Mustaine in Megadeth. Christian Lasegue, Panzer’s guitarist from 1985-1988, decided to rejoin the band and attempt to fill the shoes of Broderick, which is certainly not an easy task to do.
Lasegue gets thrown right into the mix, as “Condemned To Fight” starts out with fast, heavy guitars, before he rips a nice solo. “The Setting Of The Sun” gets lighter, but the violins sound great. Lead singer Harry Conklin stretches his voice out on “Bringing The End.” He hits more high notes and at one point, all of the music stops, before an electrifying guitar solo starts it back up. The military themed “Call To Arms” describes how soldiers are brothers and are on the front line fighting for what they believe in.
The best song has to be “Overlord.” It’s more upbeat and instrumental then others, contains fast drums, a memorable chorus and classic string arrangements from Mark Briody. “Burn” has a romantic theme to it with its piano melody, though it gets darker and a bit creepy.
I was impressed with the music on the album, but sometimes it seemed like the instruments clashed, like a fast guitar solo in an otherwise slow song. It’s not bad by any means, but it could have been better.
In A Word: Favorable
