Heavy Metal Vanguard

This is Tankard’s first demo and it’s not bad whatsoever. The guitar riffs followed by the guitar solos are actually really catchy and effective (they are also pretty heavy for being early 80’s thrash). The band also has a sense of punk, yet at the same time it has that raw feel like Exodus’ Bonded by Blood.

I actually manage to enjoy this demo very much. The diversity between the punk-ish riffs and the semi-thrash action that happens in most of the tracks are actually quite fun (take track ‘Mercenary’ as an example). The audio quality is what makes the riffs so heavy and raw. The sound on this demo is very cheap and fragmented; it seems like the audio quality is perfect for doing guitar solos and picks, but at the same time bad for some of the mid-tempo riffs and drumming. So in other words, the demo has very strong points at one end, and some real weak points at the other end. However, the bass is really something to take note of – the bass is very affective and you can pretty much go along with the bass lines since they are so audible (the bass picks found at the beginning of tracks ‘Heavy Metal’ &‘Death by Whips’ are good examples of this).

It’s really awesome to hear the demo version of ‘Rundown Quarter’. You know… the track that was re-recorded for the album B-Day? I really like the feel of the song, and the chorus followed along by the riffing and guitar solo shows what Tankard are really all about (speed, diversity, and fun).

Guerre’s vocals are done in a different manner than the Tankard of today. They are definitely spunkier and at the same time harsher, making it sound very much like punk instead of heavy metal. Not to worry though, this is still heavy metal, but very much more like under-produced heavy metal. Don't forget the fact that this is a demo, and the audio quality is what kills most of its value.

I got this demo thanks to the special limited edition of B-Day which included this demo and their other demo titled ‘Alcoholic Metal’. This is one hell of a deal, especially if you’re a fan of Tankard. Two good demos and one hell of a full-length for the price of one… definitely something you should look into.