One of the stalwarts of the early NWOBHM scene, like many others in the genre, Whitley Bay rockers Tygers of Pan Tang were signed – albeit briefly – to celebrated Geordie label Neat Records along with the likes of Venom, Raven, and Saracen. However, while many of those acts were to remain on Neat a while longer (original vocalist Jess Cox even left the band to run the label), the commercial potential of Tygers… had not gone unnoticed, the band being signed almost straight away by prominent international label MCA.

 

From the release of their 1980 debut Wild Cat, for the next few years, the Tygers were synonymous with the NWOBHM scene. Not quite as well known as the likes of Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, or Saxon, the band still churned out a succession of quality eighties metal for the first few years before fizzling out towards the end (the less said about 1987 swansong Burning in the Shade the better) and eventually disappearing from sight if not memory.

 

Save for a compilation album here and there, the remainder of the eighties and the nineties in their entirety passed without so much as a purr but in 2001, original guitarist Robb Weir made his comeback, rebooting the band with a fresh new line up. Since then, the reinvigorated Tygers have released six more albums, already lasting more than twice as long as their original incarnation.

 

The band’s seventh full-length studio release since their comeback, Bloodlines (Mighty Music) rocks as hard as in their heyday but with a distinctly modern cutting edge. ‘Edge Of The World’ offers a slow, portentous opening before bursting into life with a simple but classic old-school riff and a chorus straight from the class of 1982. ‘In My Blood’ is a throwback to the eighties with a modern vibe while ‘Fire On The Horizon’ is a heads-down banger that opens with a riff that sounds like a sped-up hybrid of ‘Breadfan’ by Budgie and Blitzkrieg‘s self-titled classic.

‘Light Of Hope’ is another cut which sends us back in time with a vibrant modern sound courtesy of renowned producer Tue Madsen, knob twiddler extraordinaire for acts such as The Haunted and Moonspell. Bassist Huw Holding, former four string slinger for NWOBHM acts like Avenger, Holosade and unsurprisingly the aforementioned Blitzkrieg opens the upbeat, gang chorus-assisted ‘Back For Good’ alongside drummer Craig Ellis. A hard-rockin’ retro-bastard which thankfully has literally nothing in common with that hideous Take That song of the same name.

 

“But is there a power ballad?”, I hear you ask. Of course, there is and it comes in the shape of ‘Taste Of Love’, a classic sounding cut with some great guitar work from Weir and the recently recruited Francesco Marras, and a top-quality vocal from frontman Jack Meille. ‘Kiss The Sky’ boasts a instantly memorable chorus, ‘Believe’ is decent but fairly uneventful while the upbeat and catchy ‘A New Heartbeat’ lifted from the 2022 EP of the same name is the logical choice for a single.

 

‘Making All The Rules’ ends the album on a powerful if downbeat note, the country, and western inflections making for a rather melancholic closer, the song really coming to life halfway through with a superbly performed solo and an impassioned vocal from Meille.

 

Old-fashioned and retro as fuck with a modern production and great songs, Bloodlines might just be the band’s best work since the mid-eighties.

 

Buy the new album here:

https://targetshop.dk/tygers-of-pan-tang

 

7 / 10

GARY ALCOCK