Tygers of Pan Tang
Ritual

This 2019 ends with a bang!
It's unlikely that "Ritual" by the "Tygers of Pan Tang" will leave your top ten best albums of the year.
The clear and powerful roar of the tiger on the cover reaffirms its place, certainly predominant and primary in the hierarchy of the most classic hard rock \ heavy metal music of the genre.
The intention of "Robb Weir" and his companions was to release in 2018, but the new work was officially released on November 22, 2019, heavily delayed compared to forecasts. Added to this was the distribution and availability of the CD (and vinyl for those who are more traditionalist or not accustomed to downloading digital music). Thus, those who managed to find the Tygers of Pan Tang under the tree were truly lucky.
We still find "Robb Weir" and "Michael McCrystal" on guitars, "Iacopo Jack Meille" on vocals, "Gavin Gav Gray" on bass, and "Craig Ellis" on drums.
A winning team isn't touched, says a well-known sports saying, and so it was.
On the contrary, it is enhanced. Given the enormous positive feedback received with the previous self-titled album, "Mighty Records" wanted to invest time, resources, and hopes in its most prestigious and representative band.
And so the tigers are pampered almost like kittens. It is no coincidence that the recordings took place at the studios in Newcastle, a few km from Whitle Bay (where the band founded by "Weir" was born at the end of the 70s and of punk), relying on the sound engineer "Fred Purser", an old acquaintance with a prestigious pedigree and past in the same band at the time of “The cage” (he replaced "John Sykes").
The mixing was again handled by "Soren Andersen" (guitarist among others for "Glen Hughes" and "Mike Tramp"), and the mastering by "Harry Hess" ("Harem Scarem").
We will find the three technicians together with the band playing, having fun, and chasing solos in the track “Don’t touch me there”, recorded for the occasion (a mix with double duration compared to the original), available on the b-side of the first single or alternatively as a bonus in the Japanese edition CD.
Also confirmed was the artist "Todorico Roberto" involved in the project with the creation of the booklet and the cover depicting a stylized tiger mask, an iconic symbol of the band. The map with the island of Pan Tang is lovely.
Behind a great band, there is always a supporting team. The architect of these intricate plots and informal contacts between present and past is the diplomatic manager "Tom Noble", also formerly with the band. And the sales are proving him right: the "Tygers of Pan Tang" ratings are rapidly rising under his guidance.
The partnership also produced the "Purser/Deverill" split “Square One” released at the end of 2018, also under the Mighty Music label, bringing to light what should have been the sequel to "The Cage", obviously with the necessary adjustments and updates. This way, we had the opportunity to listen to "Jon Deverill", one of the best voices born from the NWOBHM, still in great shape today.
Not to mention the previous release (2016) of one of the many projects by the dynamic Italian singer Iacopo Meille and his "Damn Freaks" (of which a second work seems imminent). But let's not digress with parallel works and return to the review.
The album "Ritual" consists of 11 tracks that move in the group's most characteristic and modern style. It was preceded by the physical single, this time a 12-inch vinyl (the b-side mentioned earlier) “White Lines” released on September 27, followed by those digital paired with promotional videos “Destiny” and “Damn you”.
These are certainly the catchiest, melodic, and captivating tracks with immediate appeal, fitting the band's classic style. Very likely, we will hear them played at their concerts to be sung together under the stage.
But the album opens with the track “Worlds apart,” a guitar buzz almost annoying until the clear and sharp riffs of the guitarists where Iacopo Meille's voice stands out, dragging with it choirs against choirs and echoes, making the song quite modern and full of nuances that only with multiple listens will be completely appreciated.
"Rescue me" is a cadenced heavy metal track almost doom, seems to have come out of “The Cage” (Macking tracks) also for the characteristic sound of the box voice machine that "Robb Weir" likes to use.
But overall, the entire album turns out to be varied and captivating, covering the entire cacophonic spectrum of the group's career. In several passages, what are now the trademarks of the various past periods can be found. In fact, there are ballads and semi-ballads: “Word cut like a knife” played with great feeling and “Love will find the way” that will leave you with moist eyes if it doesn't actually bring a tear to you.
"Raise some hell" is a crystal clear track in 100% Tygers style with a big riff deriving from "Spellbound," representing the traditional historical continuity where a solo by "Michael McCrystall" in exuberant grace does not make us regret the past of "John Sykes" whose guitar style he has certainly absorbed. The arpeggio in the middle of the song does not limit but only attenuates the magnitude of the tsunami that will catch you unprepared.
In truth, "Michael" stands out throughout the album where he performs two-thirds of the solos contained, demonstrating handling and mastering the instrument on par, if not even better than the illustrious master. In some phrases, the "Sykes" matrix is recognizable and evident, as in “Spoils of war,” another characteristic track in style, but overall this is exactly what old and new fans want from the Tygers of Pan Tang. Undoubtedly, we are in the presence of a guitar virtuoso, a new "Sykes". We just hope he doesn't get attracted by the many lights and sirens of the show business world (we recently saw him lend his guitar to prominent figures in various concerts, with the "Deex Plus" and play in his original band "New Breed Revolution" or accompany "Mendoza" across half of Europe.
“Art of noise” is the essence of the tiger, a concentrate of HM where 40 years of the group's career are mixed in a few minutes. The bass rhythms of "Gray" and drums of "Ellis" are devastating.
The album concludes with the six minutes of “Sail on,” a majestic and monumental song dedicated to maritime life and all its moods, containing in the lyrics some verses taken from "The ghost" by "Robert Louis Stephenson". The track is one of the most complex ever elaborated by the group and brings back the mind to the more epic Maiden style. With various nuances, I dare say almost progressive, it can be easily compared to “Slave to freedom,” “Insanity,” or the more recent “Master of illusion.”
In conclusion, although sinking its paws into the glorious past, we are faced with an album that is fresh and modern and stands out among the various flat and anonymous productions today.
There is a noticeable greater care in the production of the product, correcting precisely the weak point that penalized the group in the past. The band has managed to return to the top of the most captivating and requested names at festivals thanks to the latest four albums on the rise.
It couldn't be otherwise for a legend of the NWOBHM.
But the hard part will come now with the attempt to stay there as long as possible and avoid possible missteps.
Let's just hope the toy doesn't break and history doesn't repeat itself. (Written on December 29, 2019)