2. Reload (5:00)
3. Aspirin Smoke (6:51)
4. Schmitz Kadtse (6:16)
5. Iron Maiden Voyage (7:22)
6. Abkrassen (7:41)
7. Meschugge (6:36)
8. Zickenterror (4:23)
From a band that calls itself the Tank Ballet you can expect nothing
but sheer power and elegance. And this quartet, treading its way
from Germany, fully delivers. The music is yet another exponent of
the jazz-metal genre that seems to have found such a hot bed in
Germany. Unlike their older brüder from Counter-World Experience,
Panzerballett have also some punk influences on this debut album
(I hear Primus all over the place). Other than that, the music is a
crazy mix of jazz, rock, metal and even funk (the album is introduced
by "Zehrfunk", a cross between "Sehr Funk", which translates in
"Very Much Funk", and the name of the guitarist, Jan Zehrfeld).
The precise rhythmic section is provided by Flo Schmidt (on bass)
and Max Bucher (on drums). They canvas the background for
Zehrfeld's flashy guitar and Gregor Bürger's soaring tenor sax.
These two guys are really a perfect match in terms of skill,
Zehrfeld's energetic, yet elegant phrasing being met by Bürger's
stunning bursts of flowing notes. One can only imagine how
powerful are Panzerballett's live shows.
If I were to categorize this album, after some thought, I would place
it in the fusion bin, mainly because I am not so sure jazz-metal is
really a genre in itself. Anyway, this is a solid debut from a band I
like to think is here to stay. Highly recommended for die-hard fusion
fans and those who like power metal slipping away into new
territories.
Eddie L. - March 4, 2007
Go to the band's website here for a few audio samples.
At the time this review was written, the album was available in North
America at Laser Edge.
Credits:
Jan Zehrfeld - guitar
Gregor Bürger - tenor sax
Florian Schmidt - bass
Maximilian Bucher - drums
