Jag Panzer



"Black leather lords we're so tall and so proud Warfare is our battle cry, shout it aloud!"

- "Warfare"

Jag Panzer was a Power Metal band from Colorado that was founded in 1981 by Joey Tafolla, Harry Conklin, John Tetley, and Rick Hilyard, originally under the name "Tyrant". In 1983 it turned out that another band had already taken that name and they were forced to change it. They saw a poster depicting a World War II "Jagdpanzer" armored vehicle, decided that would be A Good Name for a Rock Band, and simplified it to "Jag Panzer". Harry Conklin appropriated "Tyrant" as his Stage Name. Initially heavily influenced by the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Jag Panzer moved towards a more pugilistic, aggressive sound by the mid-80s and became one of the preeminent American power metal bands. Their first album, 1984's Ample Destruction was an instant underground classic, due to its massively heavy riffing, supremely Badass lyrics, Conklin's even more Badass vocals, and Joey Tafolla's insanely fast shredding, and became one of the most highly sought after metal records of all time. After that, Jag Panzer's fortunes took a turn for the worse; Harry Conklin and Joey Tafolla left the band (liner notes in a later release indicate that Conklin's departure may have been less than amicable). The band recorded a second album, Chain of Command, in 1987 with Bob Parduba on vocals and Chris Lasegue on lead guitar, but the record label ran out of money and the album was never released until 2004. Jag Panzer subsequently disbanded in 1988.

A reunion came in 1994, but the first fruits were nowhere near comparable in quality to their releases from the '80s; the '90s were a Dork Age for heavy metal, and Jag Panzer's third album, Dissident Alliance, reflected that. The style changed from power metal to Groove Metal, the production and songwriting took a serious hit, and, worst of all, instead of Harry Conklin's bestial howling, the album featured Daniel Conca delivering a vocal performance reminiscent of Phil Anselmo, only much worse. However, in 1997, Harry Conklin and Joey Tafolla rejoined the band, and Jag Panzer signed to Century Media and released The Fourth Judgement, bringing back the old style that had made them famous. From there, Jag Panzer has gone from strength to strength, releasing a string of excellent records, including five with Chris Broderick of Nevermore and Megadeth fame. Their most recent album, The Scourge of the Light came out in early 2011. Unfortunately, this proved to be their final album, as lead guitarist Chris Lasegue left soon after and on July 25, 2011, the band announced that they would disband again instead of seeking another guitarist.

Final lineup:
 * Harry "Tyrant" Conklin - Vocals
 * Mark Briody - Rhythm Guitars
 * Christian Lasegue - Lead Guitars
 * John Tetley - Bass
 * Rikard Stjernquist - Drums

Former members:
 * Bob Parduba - Vocals
 * Daniel Conca - Vocals
 * Joey Tafolla - Lead Guitars
 * Chris Broderick - Lead Guitars
 * Chris Kostka - Lead Guitars
 * Rick Hilyard - Drums
 * Reynold Carson - Drums

Albums
 * 1983 - Tyrants (EP): "Battle Zones", "Death Row"
 * 1984 - Ample Destruction: "Licensed to Kill", "Warfare", "Reign of the Tyrants", "The Crucifix"
 * 1987 (released 2004) - Chain of Command: "Chain of Command", "Shadow Thief"
 * 1994 - Dissident Alliance: "Jeffrey - Behind the Gate", "Spirit Suicide", "The Church"
 * 1997 - The Fourth Judgement: "Black", "Shadow Thief", "Judgement Day"
 * 1998 - The Age of Mastery: "Iron Eagle", "Chain of Command"
 * 2000 - Thane to the Throne: "Thane of Cawdor", "Bloody Crime", "Tragedy of Macbeth"
 * 2001 - Mechanized Warfare: "Take to the Sky", "All Things Renewed"
 * 2003 - Decade of the Nail-Spiked Bat (re-recordings of early material)
 * 2004 - Casting the Stones: "The Mission (1943)", "Legion Immortal"
 * 2011 - The Scourge of the Light: "Condemned to Fight", "Burn", "The Book of Kells"

Jag Panzer show examples of:

 * A Good Name for a Rock Band: "Jagdpanzer" is German for "tank destroyer" (which itself is A Good Name for a Rock Band).
 * Badass: And how! Everything about this band is badass. Harry Conklin in particular is about as GAR as you can possibly get without turning into Kamina.
 * The Band Minus the Face: Chain of Command and Dissident Alliance. The former is well-liked by fans, the latter...not as much.
 * Batter Up: Jag Panzer like baseball bats, especially ones with nails in them.
 * Chronological Album Title: The Fourth Judgment
 * Concept Album: Thane to the Throne, which is an adaptation of Macbeth.
 * Cover Version: "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", originally by Gordon Lightfoot.
 * Echoing Acoustics: Chain of Command
 * Epic Riff: WARFARE!
 * Epic Rocking: "The Crucifix", "Jeffrey - Behind the Gate", "Judgement Day", "Tragedy of Macbneth", "All Things Renewed", "The Book of Kells"
 * Harsh Vocals: Daniel Conca did these. Nobody liked them.
 * Hell-Bent for Leather
 * Intercourse with You: "Licensed to Kill", "Call of the Wild", "Cycles"
 * Keep Circulating the Tapes: Ample Destruction has been out of legal print for years due to rights issues. Jag Panzer released the rerecording album Decade of the Nail-Spiked Bat as a consolation. Good luck finding a legal copy of Ample Destruction for a reasonable price.
 * Lighter and Softer: Chain of Command was considerably less heavy and aggressive than Ample Destruction.
 * Metal Scream: The Tyrant does lots of these, especially in the earlier albums. There's a truly insane one in "The Crucifix" that has to be heard to be believed.
 * Myspeld Rokband
 * Obligatory Bondage Song: "Cycles" (with a side order of Ho Yay)
 * One Steve Limit: Between 1994 and today, the band has had three lead guitarists named Chris.
 * Power Ballad: "When Walls Come Down"
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Judgement, not Judgment.
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Bob Parduba sounds just like Harry Conklin, only not as mean.