Dissident Alliance

Jag Panzer was a profound and yet such an unstable band up until 1997, so it seemed. For 16 years the band under went a few drastic changes, enough to make you think their four full length releases up until 1997 could have all been from different bands. The Tyrants EP came out with an incredibly strong NWOBHM influence all over it topped off with a lot of aggression and dark energy. From their they changed things up a little bit creating their own sound, and unleashed the ancient power metal album "Ample Destruction". Rightfully regarded as a classic by many. After this they came up with "Chain of Command", which was still a great album, but lacked the dark and enforcing attitude that their previous material had. All of these releases were incredible, regardless of the changes in their style, sound, and lineups. Then its 1994, a time when the majority of metal had died off and some older bands ruined themselves even further, with their striving efforts to follow the mainstream. It appears that Mark Briody was perhaps really influenced by mid-Metallica's evolution and Nirvana here, and thought he'd take Jag Panzer into this disastrous direction. Or perhaps a better example would be comparing Sanctuary to Nevermore. The change here is way too drastic and for the worst. Seriously, is this Nine Inch Nails?

Vocalist Daniel J. Conca (RIP), is the single most powerful element that literally destroys this album. I can't even imagine how Mark Briody signed him up for the band, then again its just obvious this isn't the Jag Panzer any of us know. What was Mark Briody thinking? Conca pretty much makes James Hetfield look like Bruce Dickinson. He has next to no range, and the majority of the vocals seem grumbled into the mic. They seem too close and come out too scruffy. He absolutely does not fit here at all, and wouldn't even pass for a good vocalist on the sloppiest of thrash bands.

The production continues to make this album suffer beyond imaginable. The mix is terrible, everything sounds too close and claustophobic. The guitar tone is just too heavy for its own good and turns out to sound extremely sloppy, causing the rhythm's to flow like a big chunky muddy river. Is that the bass? Its hard to tell if its even in here. The drums are decent, but again it all feels too close together and just doesn't sound right at all. What a mess.

As for the music itself, the songs here are extremely sloppy themselves. Even feeling unfinished at times and a lot of the rhythm's and structures don't seem to go anywhere. Saying this album is 'boring' is simply an understatement, because its just downright unbearable. The most memorable part of this album for me was part of an intro, during Eve of Penance from 1:40 to 2:20. The potential and possibilities there seem endless, but they're taken nowhere. Again, an intro was the most memorable part of this album for me! ... In agreement with the former reviewers, the only worthwhile songs on here I'd say would probably be Edge of Blindness, Last Dying Breath, Spirit Suicide, and GMC 407. And still these are hardly passable as 'good' tracks and probably aren't something you'll remember at all after listening to them. Some of the solo's and random harmonies here and there are great, but don't really save the album. The other songs miss the mark by miles, you're better off not even hearing them.

I just had to hear this album for myself. Thankfully the previous reviews about this derogatory piece and the general image that it gets is all over out there, so it wasn't all too shocking or anything. I'm just furthering the message to stay clear away from this. The irony, Jag Panzer gets my only 100% rating, and then they get my lowest. Even for the diehard fans who have to own everything they've released, its probably best off we just all pretend this doesn't even exist.

Diarrhea.