Tank-Honour and blood

Metal Mind
1984/2008



Tank were plugging along as they released their fourth album "Honour and blood". Not too much had changed as they were grinding forward playing the same slightly bare bones style of metal that defined their previous three releases. Having a slightly underproduced sound had been part of their trademark as well in 82-83, but the sound this time around is quite a bit sharper. Maybe they were even a little heavier particularly on tracks like "The war drags on" and "When all hell freezes over". However other songs don't fair as well like their awkward cover "Chain of fools" and the "W.M.L.A." which wanders around for far too long and features some bland vocals. The main strength of Tank was always their gritty attitude and their straight forward approach and other than a few moments all of that is still very much in place. The closer "Kill" might be my favorite track on this album as it plows onward with plenty of ripping riffs peeling off left and right. Obviously they believed in the sound that they started with so they stuck to their guns. Unfortunately much of the metal world around them was changing by 1984. Like a number of the hopefuls of the NWOBHM they were being left behind because they didn't try to progress. Most of the songs are solid and stand up even well today, but they are even a little dated by 1984 standards. I think this was the first album where the cracks in Tank's armor were starting to show. Metal Mind does their usual fine job with this re-release as it includes a bonus track and a nice lyric booklet.