Aug 29, 2025
Jag Panzer - Cardiac Arrest
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Jag Panzer - Cardiac Arrest
Friday, May 19: Jag Panzer, “Burning Heart”
“Burning Heart” was one of the Chain of Command tunes Jag Panzer resurfaced for The Age of Mastery, and unlike “Chain of Command” or “Sworn to Silence”, it highlighted not only the clear distinction between Harry “the Tyrant” Conklin and Bob Parduba, but also reflected how the band had evolved as performers in the intervening years. Some of that had to do with the clarity of Jim Morris’ production, as well as the presence of Chris Broderick on second guitar, but there was also more focus in the playing as well as a clearer sense of dynamics, pacing and narrative. Of course, the biggest change came with the vocals: Parduba was a perfectly capable singer, but Conklin brought the drama with his bobbing and weaving over the riffs. This was the sort of track that could have only come from Jag Panzer in the late ‘90s, and while it was unfashionable its resoluteness made it timeless.
Monday, April 11: Jag Panzer, “Salacious Behavior”
Jag Panzer became far less prolific once their deal with Century Media ended around 2005, but that seemed to work out to their benefit, at least creatively: both The Scourge of the Light and The Deviant Chord were robust US power metal albums that felt both consistent with the band’s earlier material as well as uniquely their own thanks to a combination of sturdy songwriting and locked-in and passionate performances. And with the return of founding guitarist Joey Tafolla for the latter, the group sounded even more in their zone. “Salacious Behavior” was perhaps a bit less intense than usual, but was enjoyable and felt completely natural to the band. Harry “the Tyrant” Conklin’s ageless vocals were perfectly modulated to the needs of the track, sounding stout and powerful without resorting to cheap histrionics (unlike his subsequent performances with the Three Tremors project, which were nothing but cheap histrionics). Tafolla and Mark Briody’s chemistry as a guitar tandem remained potent even after 20+ years apart, and “Salacious Behavior” as a whole played like a no-frills traditional heavy metal tune made by experts, feeling uniquely pleasurable as a result.
Friday, October 22: Jag Panzer, “Lustfull and Free”
Jag Panzer returned to action in 1997 with The Fourth Judgement, but it was with the release of The Age of Mastery the following year that things began to click in place. Although Joey Tafolla was out of the band again, in his place was a young and hungry Chris Broderick, and it was this lineup, besides being the longest-lasting in the group’s history, that reasserted and reestablished Jag Panzer’s place in the American power metal hierarchy. And while Broderick didn’t write “Lustfull and Free”, his presence nonetheless gave both the band and the track a kick in the pants, as it was a little faster and nastier than usual. There was also confidence, with Harry “the Tyrant” Conklin adding some grit to his stout middle range and not feeling the urge to wail when it wasn’t necessary to do so, while Broderick and mainstay guitarist Mark Briody fully locked in as a guitar tandem. “Lustfull and Free” was energetic and propulsive while also staying resolutely within a comfortable power metal zone, and simply stayed true to what Jag Panzer was and did.
Friday, April 23: Jag Panzer, “Ready to Strike”
The Fourth Judgement was better than most were expecting, though Jag Panzer was shaking off the cobwebs: it hadn’t been that long since Dissident Alliance, but Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin and Joey Tafolla hadn’t played with the band in over 10 years. As such, “Ready to Strike” played like both a throwback to Ample Destruction and a clarion call to arms heralding the band’s return to active duty. Arguably the biggest surprise was Conklin, whose piercing range hadn’t aged since 1984 and stood in defiance of late ‘90s trends. And mainstay guitarist Mark Briody, as well as the rest of the group, ably followed suit, delivering a stout and charging anthem that was unabashedly and unashamedly metal. “Ready to Strike” was power metal in the best sense: there was some cheese factor, to be sure, but it was largely kept at a minimum, and the track surged with conviction and hooks. And while Jag Panzer would soon deliver even better material, this was a clear indication that, then and now, the band was true to their craft.
Friday, October 16: Jag Panzer, “Call to Arms”
The 7-year gap between Casting the Stones and The Scourge of the Light proved to be a blessing in disguise for Jag Panzer- it wasn’t so much that their formula had grown stale, but rather that they had sort of begun to wear out their welcome after a series of records that were almost consistent to a fault. And while the departure of Chris Broderick to Megadeth was likely a major factor in the band’s hiatus, the return of Christian Lesague ensured continuity in sound and approach, so absence made the heart grow fonder and tracks like “Call to Arms” felt refreshing and classy instead of rote. For starters, years of inactivity had done nothing to dull the power of Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin’s stout bellowing- in fact, his vocals apparently hadn’t aged since 1984- and the rest of the band maintained their tradition of delivering smartly arranged but absolutely unpretentious traditional heavy metal. “Call to Arms” was pure in intent, and could only have come from Jag Panzer, and even if they remained underappreciated, the quality of the music illustrated why they were always a well-regarded presence on the scene.
Friday, October 25: Jag Panzer, “Warfare”
Jag Panzer would never again strut the way they did on “Warfare”, instead opting to follow through on Ample Destruction’s more intense elements. As a result, the song was arguably the only one of its kind in the band’s entire discography: Harry “the Tyrant” Conklin wailed with the same frenzy that made him perhaps the first great American power metal vocalist, but here he had a swagger that bordered on hair metal- not in his lyrics or singing, but rather in his cadence and phrasing. Even Mark Briody and Joey Tafolla’s guitars had a certain swing, again standing out from everything else they did by virtue of not being entirely set to stun. That said, “Warfare” was USDA Grade A Prime heavy metal that fit perfectly within the landmark Ample Destruction: the album was a force like few others at the time, and the song was fundamental to shaping that record’s legacy.
Friday, October 19: Jag Panzer, “Symphony of Terror”
Harry “the Tyrant” Conklin’s opening scream on “Symphony of Terror” jarringly announced Jag Panzer as a major underground force, and did its part to help Ample Destruction live up to its title. Those first few moments were more metal than most could fathom, even in 1984, that the lucky few who heard were stunned into silence before getting pummeled by the precise but charging riffing from Mark Briody and Joey Tafolla, to say nothing of the rolling drumwork of Rick Hilyard. But the Tyrant was the clear focal point, his thespian vocals offering a blend of Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson and Eric Adams that was all his own, practically inventing a style of singing that remains the gold standard for American power metal. Everything in “Symphony of Terror” was perfectly in place, so much so that the song had an ineffable quality that made it seem not only essential to metal, but inevitable. And even though it didn’t really do anything particular new, Jag Panzer was so flawless in its execution that both the song and Ample Destruction quickly became landmarks that helped define an entire subgenre.