{"id":2101,"date":"2023-06-22T17:55:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T00:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sdmetal.org\/msm\/?p=2101"},"modified":"2023-06-22T17:55:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T00:55:37","slug":"jag-panzer-the-hallowed-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sdmetal.org\/msm\/jag-panzer-the-hallowed-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Jag Panzer – The Hallowed Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Panzer Attack!!<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The seminal Colorado heavy metal quintet, Jag Panzer<\/em><\/strong>, have returned with their 11th full length, “The Hallowed<\/strong><\/em>“, releasing Friday June 23rd, 2023 on Atomic Fire Records<\/em><\/strong>. Jag Panzer <\/em><\/strong>first formed in 1981 releasing the critically acclaimed debut, “Ample Destruction”<\/em><\/strong> in 1984. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m gonna be straight with you. Throughout my metal journey, the “heavy metal” genre was just outside of my wheelhouse. Sure I enjoyed the likes of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest<\/strong><\/em> and Dio<\/em><\/strong>; I leaned more towards the extreme sub-genres: black metal, death metal, etc, only within the last 15 years or so have I been going back and self-discovering the ancient roots of metal. I preface with this because “The Hallowed”<\/em><\/strong> is my first Jag<\/em><\/strong> Panzer<\/em><\/strong> album. Having heard the name in conversations, zines, and billed on festivals. I even remember them headlining a Metal Swap meet a few years ago; but I never really gave them a chance, thinking they were cheesy, heavy metal schlock,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am dead fucking wrong <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and ashamed of myself for having missed out on one of the leaders of the genre. Since listening to “The Hallowed”<\/em><\/strong> I have made it a priority to to their back-catalogue and get caught up. I’m getting ahead of myself, back to the review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comic Book?<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

What I didn’t know going in to this album, is “The Hallowed” <\/em><\/strong>is a concept album based off a comic book of the same name the band released in 2022. A frozen, post-apocalyptic tale of survival between animals and humans, however it is not a simple re-telling of the comic. The twist is while the comic is told from the perspective of the humans – the album is told from the perspective of the animals. Imagine a retelling of the movie “I Am Legend”<\/em><\/strong> but told from the perspective of Will Smith’s dog, Sam. I recommend checking out the mini-doc of the album and comic to see how it all came together, found here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Beautiful, Frozen Wasteland<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Well, “the album “The Hallowed” <\/em><\/strong>doesn’t waste any time getting started, the opening track “Bound As One”<\/em><\/strong> pummels you with Rikard Stjernquist<\/a>‘s double-bass groove and Harry Conklin<\/a>‘s banshee vocals and frankly, an emotional introduction, “bonding” you to the characters with the opening line, “..we will last through the frost; all the muck and the mire.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Hallowed”<\/em><\/strong> continues the characters trek through the wasteland searching for food and shelter on the mid-tempo banger “Prey”<\/em><\/strong>; introducing more dangers in the tracks, “Stronger Than You Know”<\/em><\/strong> and “Dark Descent”<\/em><\/strong> then coming to a conclusion with the 9+ minute epic, “Last Rites”<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Hallowed” <\/em><\/strong> mixes tempo’s between the thrash-y opening track, “Bound As One”<\/em><\/strong> and the doom inspired closing track, “Last Rites”<\/em><\/strong>. Musically, I’m not saying the music is “everywhere” or unbalanced, in fact I’m saying the opposite. It is incredibly well-paced; giving you variety without coming off as a jumbled and convoluted mess. It knows what it is and what it isn’t, giving you exactly what was intended. “The Hallowed”<\/em><\/strong> sits at 53 minutes, but the pacing, the story, and the all-out, unapologetic heavy metal-ness makes every minute worth it’s stay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jag<\/em><\/strong>, you don’t know me – I’m just a dork who listens to music, plays video games and occasionally writes an album review. But I beg you as a new fan, please return to this story, this setting, on future releases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For fans of: Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Omen, Sabaton<\/strong><\/em> and Metal Church<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My rating scale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Star: STAY AWAY<\/strong>. Far away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Stars: Major flaws but you gave it a chance. Destined for the bargain bin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Stars: Overall, it\u2019s okay despite some obvious flaws. Fanboys can get enjoyment out of it it but someone who is more critical may have an issue with it. Buy at a discount or while on sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 Stars: Nearly perfect. A must listen and well suited to add to your collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Stars: BUY IT NOW<\/strong>, no questions asked. I don\u2019t care if you don\u2019t like [insert genre]\n\n\n\n

Rating<\/div>
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Check out “The Hallowed”<\/em><\/strong> below!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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