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Tankard > Thirst > Reviews
Tankard - Thirst

Quenched - 68%

Felix 1666, October 30th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2008, CD, AFM Records

Up to now, Tankard's album no. 13 is the last one I have bought. The song fragments of the later outputs never gave me the impulse to add another work of the mostly good-humoured guys to my collection. I really regret this, but there seem to be so many fantastic albums out there that there is no time to get sentimental. However, "Thirst" is an ambivalent longplayer that has to struggle in order to avoid drifting into meaninglessness. Honestly, these ten tracks do not whet the appetite for more work results of my neighbours, although Tankard did not forget to pen a small number of definitely strong pieces. Be that as it may, the question here is: what has gone wrong?

The lyrics do not play an important role in this respect. No doubt, stupid song titles like "Myevilfart" or "Sexy Feet Under" indicate blatantly that the typical Tankard joke has been told too often. Yet the band has also written some rather unusual lyrics and it is surely common sense that a good composition does not go into the ditch only because of a moronic naming. The problem is more complex. In former times, Gerre and the other beer killers were constantly bursting with energy. But their juvenile boisterousness decreased steadily over the years. God knows that they are not alone in this! Anyway, experience replaces energy and the result is another album that fails to take possession of the somewhat perplexed thrasher who sits in front of his speakers.

In rare moments it seems as if the band has not forgotten any of its once impulsive art. The explosive chorus of "G.A.L.O.W" has the power to drive a concert audience wild and the high speed verses do not lack of intensity, too. "Hyperthermia" points in the same direction while sending greetings to Finland in view of its original lyrics. But the best is yet to come. The quasi title track - look out for its hilarious video on YouTube - offers the entire range of Tankard's thrash metal approach and it does not need to be afraid of any comparison with the classics of the band. Both the melodic, almost melancholic sequences and the stormy verses release strong emotions and force the listener to do his personal expressive dance. Not to mention the chorus which connects fatalism with optimism. I know that this liaison sounds strange, but the whole song, each and every part, is simply excellent. Additionally, the lyrics combine the well known alcohol topic with an extraordinary story about Twisted Sister (!) and the result is 100% Tankard at its best.

Unfortunately, the Hessian squadron mainly performs pretty average tracks. The opener or "Zodiac Man" fail to develop an own identity, while the integration of a children's choirs in "When Daddy Comes to Play" and the closer do not belong to the best compositional idea in the history of the band. Okay, "Zodiac Man" has a fanatic instrumental part after the chorus and the solos are fine as well. But under the bottom line, these songs do not reflect Tankard's once enormous capability in terms of song-writing. And the crummy "Myevilfart" bears its name with pride. That's definitely a pity, because the clear, aggressive sound points out that the recording budget has been well invested. In terms of professionalism, the dudes do not need any form of instruction. It is also laudable that they still or - if the truth be told - again play pure thrash. Nevertheless, the last drop of insanity is missing. Don't know what the future will bring, but at the moment, my thirst is quenched.

Not as intense but still frothy and thrashy - 84%

slayrrr666, May 15th, 2013

The thirteenth full-length from German thrashers Tankard, “Thirst,” may not be as vicious or aggressive as the band may be known for but this is still a great thrash album and continues their legacy of enjoyable, memorable thrash with a Teutonic vibe.

Like the greats of their past, the first half of the album differs slightly from the later half and here, the trend continues with the songs here being of a more melodic nature. Like on their last album, the band’s penchant for writing full-throttle thrash-based riffs with a melodic undercurrent remains on full display here, with the group utilizing high-speed songs but accented with memorable melodies and a toned-down feel from their chaotic riff-work of the past. The voracious drumming and technicality remain a part of their attack, and these tracks are for the most part hard-charging thrashers that would’ve fit anywhere in Tankard’s catalog.

While the first half here is a lot more melodic and down-driven, in contrast the second half is slightly different as this one comes as a series of solid, traditional thrash umbers. There’s not a whole lot in the way of real experimentation to be found, just straight multi-tempo efforts that keep the adrenaline going and the speed on full-stop until the end, resulting in this round of songs to become a lot more enjoyable than the first half. That said, those are a lot more impressive than those here and it’s a testament to the band that they’ve managed to do this split and make a great album.

Opener ‘Octane Warriors’ is a vicious number with a chugging pace and stellar riff-work that creates a bouncy feel to it that remains constant throughout it’s running time to leave a lasting impression and is an overall stellar album lead-off. Even better is ‘Deposit Pirates,’ which utilizes an anthemic mid-tempo crunch with strong riffs and stellar choruses to create a real winner and one of the best songs on the album. Perhaps the closest on the album at being the hit single, ‘Stay Thirsty!,’ is a pretty eclectic offering that that starts with an epic acoustic intro before turning into a charging thrasher with plenty of energy and excitement with a series of aggressive riffing, pummeling drumming and one of the album’s best choruses to make for a truly enjoyable offering. The crushing ‘Hyperthermia’ is another strong track, being a raging full-throttle thrasher with up-tempo pacing and intense riffing with furious drumming to complete the experience and make for another really enjoyable track. The slaughter takes a break with ‘Echoes of Fear,’ an example of this more melodic thrashing period, so it’s not as voracious as the others but still raging enough and features a great riff to wend through it’s running time and the chug makes for a traditional thrash breakdown and making for a pretty enjoyable track.

The laid-back ‘When Daddy Comes to Play’ could be the experimental offering of the band, alternating between a charging groove and mid-tempo catchiness but features a group of children singing the chorus, a notable effort at times but not quite as intense as expected and is a bit of a downfall. The more-traditional ‘Zodiac Man’ in contrast is more technically involving and its’ catchy start/stop rhythms merge with an up-tempo pace into a solid overall thrasher. ‘G.A.L.O.W.’ features some punkish rhythms but gives way to exceedingly fast riffing with bombastic atmospheres and catchiness for an enjoyable effort, and the hilarious ‘Myevilfart’ is a traditional thrash effort with no aggression in the riffs but tons of technicality and energy, making for two pretty good tracks to set up the end. Closer ‘Sexy Feet Under’ is quite enjoyable with some chaotic riffing early on before becoming a solid thrasher with quite absurd lyrics that make it all the more enjoyable and gets the album out on a solid note.

While this isn’t an overall bad release in many respects, this one is just a tad below their most recent efforts due to the overall melodic vibe of the album. A funny comment, granted, but in the past when the band went into the melodic mode it was a streamlining and refining of their sound, which here it comes across more as intentional to follow a successful career path and in the end this results in a series of fast-paced but not as intense efforts on display here. There’s also none of those instant, genre-defining classics that the band featured on their works, so despite the outstanding production that’s been a trademark of the band in recent times that gives this a heavy, bruising tone, this is left to stand as a solid and enjoyable if unremarkable effort really only for the die-hard Tankard devotees.

Fat and drunk - 75%

autothrall, October 28th, 2009

Beer stein in hand? Fat, unapologetic drunk on the album cover? Alcoholic Teutonic thrash. Ready. Set. Go. It's time for a new Tankard album again, and the band is coming off a series of some of their best work since the original trio of Zombie Attack, Chemical Invasion, and The Morning After. Though it would have been a tall order to ever match those masterworks, the band have been hitting it close with albums like Beast of Bourbon and Beauty and the Beer.

Does Thirst deliver once more? Not exactly, but it's a solid effort with well constructed songs and an emphasis on pure thrashing mood. Gerre's vocals are quite the same today as they were in the early albums, but the riffs aren't nearly as frenetic or punk fueled. The album begins with "Octane Warriors", a catchy enough track with busy riffing and breakdowns, a sort of tribute to wild stretches of open road and a craving for fucking beer! "Deposit Pirates" has a pretty steady pace, not one of the best songs here, but "Stay Thirsty" has some great riffs and it's quite fun even with the acoustics. "Hyperthermia" and "Echoes of Fear" are decent enough German thrash, but the songs almost feel too serious for this band. But then you read the lyrics and realize, nope, it's still Tankard: 2/3rds alcoholic joy and 1/3rds an almost futile attempt to write the more serious thrashing topics like war, society, etc. "When Daddy Comes to Play" seems to be about some abused child locked away in a basement for decades. "Zodiac Man" is about some anomalous cosmic superhero, or something. "G.A.L.O.W.", or "Gods and Legends of War" is one of the better songs here, a lot of fun. "Myevilfart" is, well, dumb. "Sexy Feet Under" is another of my favorite tunes on the album, a nice energetic number with some nice riffing, and it's about...a foot fetish!?

The production of the album is superb, much like the last three. Everything is clear and they've never sounded better from a studio standpoint. Unfortunately the album does lack some of that reckless and wild feeling that so saturated their younger days in hops and barley. However, it's still Tankard, it will still be waiting at the pub with another round, on the house, to give you a swift thrashing kick to your ass. And isn't that enough?

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Tankard - Thirst - 80%

ThrashManiacAYD, October 21st, 2009

Inexplicably Tankard have remained anomalous to all but those who have worshipped at the altar of thrash for some considerable time now. You will frequently hear utterance of the German 'Big Three Thrash' bands (Kreator, Sodom and Destruction) and while all three are without doubt brilliant bands, the omission of Tankard has always bemused me - "Chemical Invasion" is one of the best thrash albums I've ever heard. But nevermind, they don't seem to care reveling in their underground status, as long as there is plenty of that magical juice of Satan's nipple involved - bier.

With the widely renowned 'difficult 13th album' on the horizon for Tankard how have they pulled this off? Well, let me tell you, for a band so long into their career they don't sound tired or out of ideas and the idolisation of these old-schools by the new generation is fully justified. For a band at such a stage of their career, and for one as light hearted as Tankard they have never been about reinventing the wheel or displaying ground-breaking new ideas but there a number of tracks that have the fortune of sounding recognisably Tankard. Album opener "Octane Warriors", though not without it's similarities to Slayer, sets the scene for a fun-filled 45 mins of mid-paced (by thrash standards) catchy riffage that save for some cringeworthy children's chorusses in "When Daddy Comes To Play" and "Sexy Feet Under" is hard to pick holes in. The album's video song "Stay Thirsty" has all the elements of a classic "Ride The Lightning"-era song, but with precisely none of the seriousness or dedication to the craft that Metallica possessed back in the mid 80s. "Myevilfart", the owner of one of the greatest lyrics ever sung in metal ("The burning flame of power/ My evil fart!") has all the fun that someone singing something so ridiculous should be having while "Echoes of Fear" has the kind of groove Destruction have intermittently shown over their past few albums and a headbanging chorus riff to boot.

If you've read this far and are expecting something to rival Tankard's harder, faster, louder or more extreme brothers of thrash from Germany and beyond you've completely missed the point. I'm often critical of bands that display a jokey demeanour for good reason as the music usually conveys a similarly sloppy attitude but on "Thirst" Tankard have a near-perfect balance of what makes them so essential for any thrasher. To beer!

Originally written for {\link http://www.rockfreaks.net}

Keep drinking - 75%

DGYDP, January 17th, 2009

Thirst, being the band's thirteenth album, is the name of Tankard's newest musical manifesto. While overall it's your typical Tankard treat of crazy, awesome party Thrash, it also contains some new musical and lyrical paths. Most notably, there are lyrics present that are actually (no joke!) intelligent and interesting. The opening track, "Octane Warriors", for example, describes a world thrown into chaos after an energy crisis. Another song, "G.A.L.O.W.", contains references to Greek and Roman mythology. In short: not the standard beer-drinking nonsense (even though they pull that off quite good) one might expect from this group of insane German metalheads. Don't panic yet, since there's plenty of ridiculousness present too: "Myevilfart" talks about nasty vapors that tend to escape from the back of man, while "Sexy Feet Under" gives us a slightly disturbing, perverted story about an apparent foot-fetish.

Enough about the lyrics though. The music: no-nonsense, polished German Thrash Metal with gruffy vocals and catchy choruses. Great solos, great riffs, good drums and bass, unique singing... What else would you expect when buying a Tankard album? And while the group generally holds on to their standard path, there are also some new elements present. Acoustic guitars at the intro of "Stay Thirsty!" for example, female vocals in "When Daddy Comes To Play", or folk-ish parts in "Sexy Feet Under". Unfortunately, another factor is present that we all are used to: filler songs. As always, there's some skull-crushing anthems ("Octane Warriors", "Stay Thirsty!", "G.A.L.O.W."...) but also some less interesting songs ("Hyperthermia", "Deposit Pirates", "When Daddy Comes to Play"...).

Still, this is a very enjoyable and high quality release, even though the presence of lesser songs drags the score down quite a bit.