Metal Bulletin Zine: Tank (U.K.) - LP and CD reissues of 1980s albums

TANK - the High Roller Records reissues LP and CD

Don't Walk Away EP 6. May 2022 (1981)

Filth Hounds of Hades 6. May 2022 (1981)

Power of the Hunter 6. May 2022 (1982)

This Means War 27.05.2022 (1983)

Honour & Blood 27.05.2022 (1984)

[The music below from YouTube is here for your information. See below for the links for the official High Roller Records full recordings. This commentary is based on the High Roller Records versions provided to this publication.]

The background leading to the formation of Tank (U.K.) involves Motorhead and punk rock icons The Damned. After The Damned’s hot 1977 debut Damned Damned Damned and another 1977 not-so-well-received album called Music for Pleasure, the band broke up, but soon three of the members, without guitarist Brian James, returned as The Doomed and then went back to calling themselves The Damned: lead vocalist Dave Vanian, bassist-turned-guitarist Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. Now they needed a bassist. Enter Algy Ward, formerly of Australian punk rock band The Saints. With Algy The Damned recorded their fan-favorite album Machine Gun Etiquette (1979), an entertaining collage of punk, goth, classic rock and vibes of oldie rock and roll. The band also recorded some additional songs that were released separately. One of those is their cover of the Sweet song “Ballroom Blitz,” which features Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister as a guest on bass and backing vocals. The protagonist of our story, Algy Ward, seemed to be doing pretty well in The Damned, but it was not to be. He played bass on the album (he’s also on the cover of the album; he’s the one wearing a leather jacket), seems to have done some performances (Old Grey Whistle Test [available on YouTube]) and he also appears on the video of the classic song “Smash it up,” amongst other things with The Damned, but he did not last and was reportedly fired due to personality conflicts.

The Damned - Melody Lee

The Damned - Smash it up

Now out of The Damned, Algy forms Tank in 1980 with brothers Peter (guitar) and Mark Brabbs (drums) with him on vocals and bass. In 1981 they give everybody a warning of what’s come with the EP produced by Motorhead guitarist Eddie Clarke, who also produced the 1982 debut album Filth Hounds of Hades. The EP title track, as fans of German thrash know, has been covered by Sodom, and then later on Sodom again covered another Tank song from the debut full-length. The debut is basically a form of Motorhead heavy metal rock and roll rambunctiousness. The EP is cool, but Tank tightened up the speed and intensity on the full-length. Today the full-length sounds more like a greatest hits compilation because all the songs are good. The album sounds like a real band playing right in front of the listener. So full of energy, as the band says, of blood, guts and beer. Some of the songs are basically speed metal numbers, right there for the taking by the young American and German bands to retool it and repurpose it as thrash. The album in general has a wonderful energy to it.

Tank - Turn your Head Around

Sodom - Turn Your Head Around

Tank - Shellshock

They followed up with another album in 1982 called Power of the Hunter. It is the same sound. The masculine but melodic Lemmy-like singing, and in Tank the vocals are singing; it’s not shouting nor screaming, but it does have a rough edge to it while never forgetting to sing. The difference between the first and second album is that on the sophomore work the guitars have been pushed back some. There is less of a crunch, and also less of that urgency that makes the debut compelling. Perhaps it could be summed up this way: The second album did not push Tank into that next phase of songwriting. There are a couple of songs that seem less developed than perhaps they would have liked. Releasing two full-length albums in the same year is not easy, and Tank must also have been on the road at this time trying to make a name for themselves.

Tank - Set Your Back On Fire

Tank - Power Of The Hunter

Some of the Tank lyrics veer too much into joke-band and x-rated territories, making some people dismiss them as a potty-mouth band of drunks. The first two Tank albums have typical rock and roll lyrics. It’s possible that politically-correct people will not like Tank lyrics for the same reasons that they might not like Motorhead or Venom lyrics. It is also possible that Tank realized that they had two problems: they needed to step up their songwriting and needed better lyrics. It’s not good to get dismissed as a joke or stupid band, and they must have sensed it.

They rectified on both counts with This Means War (1983), and also with the next one Honour & Blood (1984). Overall, they focus more on their war and personal lyrics, and step away from the I-think-alcohol-is-the-best-thing-ever lyrics and got further from the x-rated lyrics, too. Two improvements. The new phase of the band features two guitarists and with new personnel after the Brabbs brothers left after the recording of This Means War. How was the music different? One finds the best answer to the question with the opening song “Just Like Something from Hell.” It sounds like Tank. The drumming, the speed and the singing is all Tank, as is the sound of the riffs and guitars. Clocking in at a total of eight minutes and thirty seconds. This is the new Tank. The biggest sign of change is that this song boldly features a solo of dueling guitars going at each other. Tank has taken their game to the next level. Everything about it sounds 100 percent like Tank, but compared to the previous album, these just sound like better riffs, better solos and a more professional presentation, including better lyrics. While the majority of the album is not as ambitious as the first song, and some of the songs would fit perfectly fine on the first two albums, it is, considered as a work, Tank upping their game, and recognizing that they understand that heavy metal music in 1983 equals better guitar playing, more professionalism and a tighter sound. All these matters also apply to the next album Honour & Blood. Once again, Tank continues their transformation into a band that can hang with younger thrash bands that they influenced. The 1984 album has plenty of war-themed songs, and an interesting cover of the soul classic “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin. The music itself would not lead many people to identify it as a cover because it sounds like another Tank song.

Tank - Just Like Something From Hell

Tank - The War Drags Ever On

TANK - Chain Of Fools

Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools

In conclusion, in 1984 Tank has made some changes with guitarists Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans joining. Who would have thought that just some five years earlier this same Algy Ward was the bassist in a punk band playing a rather different type of rock music? These High Roller Records versions of the albums have extra songs that the devoted Tank collector may be interested in. As expected, they are extra songs for the die-hard collectors. The bonus songs do not make or break these albums, and the albums stand on their own just fine without the extra songs, some of which are good, and some of which are ok, and others do not add anything to the album. For example, This Means War has a bonus song called “The Man That Never Was.” It’s a good Tank song, but then there is “Whichcatchewedmycuckoo,” which is Algy showing his prankster and punk personality. This track is very underdeveloped. There is a reason why this “song” was not included on the album. It’s because it’s stupid, that’s why. Hear it one time so that you can hear for yourself that it is not a real song, and then never listen to it again. Regardless of these shenanigans, the album itself, the official album, is worthwhile for the enthusiasts of 1980s British heavy metal bands, especially the ones forgotten by time. Tank did not survive the 1980s. By the end of the decade, they were gone after another album in 1987. Nowadays, there seem to be two Tanks. One Tank is Algy doing everything himself in a solo project, and the other Tank is former members Mick Tucker and Cliff Evans calling themselves Tank without Algy in the band. However, in the 1980s Tank was a worthy band and these High Roller Records reissues are a good reminder of that.