Power of the Hunter

I haven’t spoken with many of them, that's right. Nevertheless, I guess every potential prey fears the power of the hunter, but I doubt that many of them know the eponymous album of Tank. Otherwise most hunted creatures would probably say okay, I thought a greater force endangers me. “Power of the Hunter” has strong openers and closers, both on the A and the B side of the vinyl, but what about the six remaining tracks? Well, a lot of mediocre stuff shows up and it gets obvious that Tank returned to the studio much too soon. Make hay while the sun shines isn’t always a good thought.

Given this situation, the listener is confronted with the glorious riffing and the catchy chorus of the totally cool “Used Leather (Hanging Loose)”, but also with very uninspired tracks like the boring and nearly trite “Some Came Running”. It speaks volumes that a solid, but not outstanding cover version (“Crazy Horses”) belongs to the better “non-opener/closer” songs. Tank create more or less memorable lines like the chorus of “Set Your Back on Fire”, but a couple of tracks lacks the essential degree of aggression. Indifference starts growing, because the tracks stick in tiring mid-tempo frames and only “Red Skull Rock” is on a par with the four songs at the beginning and the end of both sides of the vinyl. In terms of style, the album is not far away from the debut, but Tank have lost 10 percent or more of their formerly shown unruliness. I don’t say that some parts of the album were written in order to gain commercial success, nevertheless, they sound quite lame and non-charismatic.

The production achieves a higher level than the song material. The bass of Algy is droning permanently, the guitar sound is okay (even though it could have been equipped with a little touch of nastiness) and the voice sends greetings from the sonic pole position without being too dominant. Just like the tracks themselves, the mix avoids any form of opulent bombast. It seemed as if Tank had found their typical sound, but already the next album with a completely different line-up told another story.

Anyway, it remains a mystery why Tank thought it could be a fine idea to put a pretty average number like “Pure Hatred” on the second position, although the solo of Peter Brabbs makes me prick up my ears. Maybe the band wanted to pay tribute to the old motto “save the best till last”, because the closing title track made clear that the band still had edges and corners. The vigorous, robust and comparatively fast-paced piece glitters with minimalistic yet fiery riffs, dynamic and a proper dose of ruthlessness. It surely belongs to the best songs Tank – regardless of the countless personnel changes – have ever written and with the knowledge of today, one can say that it was the last song of the formation which put the focus on pure and naked metal. Either way, the main trait of the second and last album of the original three-piece is its ambivalence.

This band is real good.

Chances are that if you are reading this review you are familiar with the NWOBHM and its artists (Fist, Diamond Head, etc.). Also, chances are you are into heavy riffing classic metal. If the former is true than this album is a treat.

Tank in my opinion stands out as one of the more talented artists of the NWOBHM, these guys could write metal and it shows! What I like about Tank is that they are really groovy along with being heavy, and their song-writing is all quality. They remind me a lot of Motorhead due to their heavy lead bass and raspy vocals. The raspy vocals, driving bass guitar, blues hooks, and hard rock drums all come together with great overall production on this album to make 13 tracks of awesome hard rock. While many NWoBHM albums have bad production and sound quality, Tank's Power of the Hunter is well produced and the production really brings out the strength of the songs.

The album starts and grabs your attention with a killer riff in "Walking Barefoot Over Glass"; but this is really just a taste of the good things to come. The next two songs "Pure Hatred" and "Biting and Scratching" are mid-paced rockers that showcases Tank's ability to meld swinging rhythm, blues based metal solos, choruses that are catchy as hell, and driving bass guitar and hard rock drumming into a listening treat. Other of Tank's groovy offering on this album are "Used Leather", "Set Your Back on Fire", and "Filth Bitch Boogie". The riff for "Set Your Back on Fire" is particularly groovy and swings just as much as it rocks.

The barn burners on this album are "T.A.N.K" which moves along with a double-bass kick drum, and "Red Skull Rock" which is is a speedy rocker, and "Power of the Hunter" which starts by bludgeoning you with a hard driving bass guitar and rhythm guitar attack much like Motorhead.

I know that most people generally consider Tank's best album to be "Filth Hounds of Hades", while that album is also good, I personally feel that Power of the Hunter is the superior album as the quality of the songs and song writing stands out. I highly recommend this album for anyone who is into classic heavy metal; this is an under-rated classic!