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TYGERS OF PAN TANG
Live Blood
Mighty Music

Earning their proverbial stripes within the blistering New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement nearly 45 years onward, TYGERS OF PAN TANG have prided themselves in being one of the more musically consistent bands from their respected scene. They can play fast, they can play loose, they can play angry and they can play slick - and that's just on their collection of 13 studio albums. In a live setting, they're a completely different animal altogether in spite of frequent lineup changes over the course of their career save for the ongoing presence of guitarist/founder Robb Weir. And with such a devoted respect for the band's chemistry over the years that would make Walter White tip his fedora in awe, Weir and the backing TYGERS lineup, comprised of long-serving members Jack Meille (vocals) and Craig Ellis (drums) as well as their two new recruits, guitarist Francesco Marras and Huw Holding (bass), bring the band's live A-game on Live Blood, which includes material from across the band's career, including songs from their first four albums with MCA Records plus their last four albums of new material - three of which they've released for their new label Mighty Music including 2023's Bloodlines which feature both Marras and Holding's respected debuts with TOPT.

Recorded last summer at the Patriot venue in Crumlin in south Wales, Live Blood captures the raw prowess of the TYGERS' high-energy performance and showcases the well-bonded interaction between both the long-standing members and their two recent additions. The opening fast number "Euthanasia" shows the band firing on all cylinders, particularly Meille with much youthful energy and vigor as he keeps up with Marras and Holding's high-level playing. And while the TYGERS are well-noted for many of their 5 and 6-minute numbers such as "Keeping Me Alive", "Edge Of The World", "Slave To Freedom", "Do It Good" and "Insanity", they play with both the crafted precision of YES and the sonic full-throttle hyperactivity of the RAMONES throughout all of Live Blood. Marras' tenure with the band may be fresh but he can deliver a blistering opening riff like a boss on lesser-known numbers such as "Fire On The Horizon" as well as on stone fine classics such as "Gangland" and "Hellbound" while Holding's rolling bass grooves which he'd honed during his time playing with fellow NWOBHM stalwarts BLITZKREIG are the solid gel helping to keep the rhythm together. And I'm pretty sure that the idea to sneak in the quick bass intro lead from RUSH's "Working Man" somewhere during the middle of "Slave To Freedom" may have been his unless it had always been in there to begin with, but done in a more subtle way without the audience knowing immediately otherwise.

Closing their set with the trad-metal neck wrecker classic "Hellbound", their upbeat cover of the SEARCHERS' 1959 hit "Love Potion #9" and the storming war cry of "Blood Red Sky", the TYGERS leave their audience completely awestruck of their energy and their overall relatable connectivity with them. Live Blood - due to be released on double LP (black vinyl, including three exclusive bonus tracks), CD and digital formats on April 26th, 2024 via Mighty Music - only further confirms that free-flowing bond that's kept the band continually thriving.

5.0 Out Of 5.0

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