JAG PANZER and RUTHLESS – Düsseldorf
12/13/2024 | 2:50 p.m
December 3, 2024, pitcher
40 years of destruction in the Rhineland.
Guest tours by Mark Briody, Harry Conklin and Co. have been a special, but above all rare, affair over the last three decades, because JAG PANZER has often had a lack of stability and consistency and the band after their furious live performances no longer appeared regularly in the studio at the Bang Your Head Festival at the turn of the millennium. When the men from Colorado unexpectedly released a new milestone called “The Hallowed” last year and then went on a celebrated European tour, there was a great fear again that this would be another one of those unique events that have been happening since The publication of “The Fourth Judgment” had already given quite a few. But the driving forces in the band had obviously tasted blood again, and when JAG PANZER finally announced that they would be performing again on this side of the pond on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of “Ample Destruction”, the enthusiasm was boundless.
After being able to work in the slightly larger clubs last year (partly because a really strong group of newcomers, RIOT CITY, provided support), the quintet has to come to terms with the smaller shops again this year, which is sad in that sense JAG PANZER still has the potential to reduce even a large hall to rubble. However, the band brought a long-time companion with them to the “40 Years Of Destruction” tour: RUTHLESS, who started around the same time as the men from the northern states and, in addition to a powerful new album with “Discipline Of Steel”, also has a cult record in their luggage. whose release also recently celebrated its 40th anniversary – what more can you expect as a lover of classic US metal?
Well, maybe a slightly larger audience? With around 150 people, the now increasingly popular metal bar in Düsseldorf is full to bursting, but this influx still seems to be expandable for a double of this format. But the fact that the comparatively reduced crowd really got the pitcher going in the three hours of the concert probably made up for a certain basic disappointment in the still largely neglected homage to this legend. Because purely musically, this is a real celebration here today!
As RUTHLESS When they finally squeezed onto the stage for a proper, hour-long performance, the group, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1982, immediately had the sympathy on their side. Above all, the quintet takes advantage of the opportunity to bring the material from their new long record “The Fallen” to the stage. Although there are increasingly loud calls for the songs from “Metal Without Mercy” and “Discipline Of Steel” in the front rows through the packed club halls, the band consistently works their way through their mixed program and only plays the classics at the end of the set.
RUTHLESS may not have set off real fireworks or have such strong anthems up its sleeve as the later headliner, but with a passionate performance, accomplished guitar work and the unmistakable, distinctive voice of frontman Sammy DeJohn and his versatile tube, RUTHLESS can rise to the occasion use it and set a clear accent in Düsseldorf on the first longer tour on the old continent. The five musicians warmly thank the audience, who are clapping ever louder, seem visibly moved and finally fire the title song of their classic into the crowd, the final anthem that many of their friends have been waiting for the whole time. Great gig from a modest, versatile and still very agile US metal combo!
Setlist: Gates of Hell; soldiers of steel; Betrayal; sign of the cross; Defender; dead case; Run for your life; The Fallen; Bury the axe; Metal Without Mercy; Discipline of steel
Almost 20 minutes later the gentlemen from moved JAG TANK Finally through the front entrance to the stage, take another deep breath and immediately transform the section in front of the stage into a madhouse. 'Chain Of Command' as an introduction? Could you have started a gig better and more brilliantly? In any case, in the front rows you are quickly sure that the party is just about to get started and you loudly accompany the Tyrant during the chorus, but also in the verses.
Anyone who dares to take a look at the small stage will see a relatively strange picture: the calm, always professional Mark Briody in his entire routine, the frontman Harry Conklin, who is now based in Greece, in sweatpants and strange leather crogs, who is completely wrapped in leather , Also rather quiet bassist Aric Avina, a loving poser, extremely accomplished and always on the move lead guitarist Ken Rodarte and a very young percussionist as a replacement for Rikard Stejrnquist. As a community, initially not marked by a visual homogeneity, but as a real musical unit a real force, which ignites a fire with the aforementioned opener, which spreads from song to song this evening into a real conflagration.
The focus of the 90-minute set is clearly on the anniversary work, which is performed in its entirety throughout the evening and is supplemented by some songs from the band's early and late history. Conklin explains here that when creating the set list, some classics sometimes have to disappear in order to fulfill all wishes. That's why, among other things, the long-running hit “Shadow Thief” is being omitted today, but large parts of “The Hallowed” are no longer in the set because this tour is all about the early cult album from which “The Watching” and “Licensed “. To Kill' set the first exclamation points early on. As the band wants to sing “Harder Than Steel”, the otherwise rather shy Mark Briody surprisingly steps up to the microphone, reminds them that this evening would have been Mark Shelton's birthday, and dedicates this special anthem to the late MANILLA ROAD mastermind – one great homage that almost makes you shed your first tears.
But it's more like tears of joy that flow when JAG PANZER enters the home straight with “Symphony Of Terror” and the still quite fresh “Stronger Than You Know” and brings out the last reserves. Even the fact that the young drummer keeps having difficulties with his in-ear system doesn't faze the gentlemen. Instead, Rodarte and Brody take the opportunity to have a short jam in which some songs from ACCEPT and BLACK SABBATH are briefly teased. When Briody then announced that Wolf Hoffmann and BLIND GUARDIAN guitarist André Olbricht were among his biggest influences, this of course earned him even more sympathy on German soil.
After the epic 'Take To The Sky', the encore part is supposed to start, but due to the missed time and the technical difficulties in the middle of the set, JAG PANZER doesn't even let himself be bitten on stage again, but burns with 'Cardiac Arrest', 'Warfare' and the inevitable 'Generally Hostile' put on a final fireworks display that even had our photographer shouting 'No Mercy!' enchanting – epic and ultimately phenomenal. That's precisely why it's easy to cope with the fact that the sound in the pitcher isn't optimal, stage action hardly seems possible due to the limited space and perhaps not every wish can be fulfilled (I can think of 'Take Away The Pain', 'The Fourth Judgment' ' and 'The Age Of Mastery' still have at least a dozen songs that I would have liked to hear…). Because JAG PANZER is still in top form, is really up for this tour and not only makes a record like “Ample Destruction” seem timeless, but also puts the golden crown on its head with this performance. That's exactly what I hoped for today, and that's exactly what the viewers got today!
Setlist: chain of command; license to kill; The observing; Black; Iron Eagle; King at his own price; Forward we work; The Mission (1943); Harder than steel; Symphony of Terror; rule of tyrants; Dark Descent; Stronger than you think; Take To The Sky; cardiac arrest; War; Generally hostile
To top it all off, the musicians hand out plenty of picks, sweatbands and dog tags after their show, take plenty of time to chat with their fans, sign every little scrap and once again present themselves as extremely likeable people. for whom proximity to their followers is immensely important. This is then also noticeable in the prices for the merchandise. The two different tour shirts cost just 20 euros and are therefore avoided. It probably no longer needs to be explicitly mentioned that countless colleagues could take this as an example…
Yes, dear people, that's just how heavy metal should be: great support, a stunningly strong headliner, exceptionally fair prices and the feeling of being right in the middle of it and not just there. JAG PANZER has once again raised the bar on the European part of the “40 Years Of Destruction” in every respect. Thanks for this great sweaty evening!
Photo credit: Barbara Sopart
- Editor:
- Björn Backes
