Today in 1984 Tank released the album Honour & Blood London, England NWOBHM, Heavy Metal Status:Changed name Years active: 1980-1989, 1997-2007, 2007-present (as Tank), 2007-present (as Tank) UK outfit TANK was formed in 1980 by Alasdair Mackie Ward (bass, vocals - ex Algy Ward of The Damned, hence the strong Motorhead link), Peter James Brabbs (guitars) and Mark Arthur Brabbs (drums). From the onset constant gigging was a central part of the band, and they opened for more acts such as Girlschool, Motorhead and Baron Rojo. Out of many who found themselves assured of this new bands talents were Lemmy of Motorhead, probably due to his old association with Algy Ward during his days with The Damned. 1982 saw the band hit the studio twice, first to record their début effort Filth Hounds of Hades and then later for their sophomore album Power of the Hunter. With two well received albums and ongoing gigging the bands reputation was on the rise, and in 1983 they signed for up and coming metal label Music For Nations, to become labelmates with bands such as Anthrax, Metallica and Manowar. Mick Tucker (guitars) were added to their line-up in 1983, and shortly after they hit the studio once more. The result was issued in June the same year as their third studio disc This Means War. While good quality albums and a busy gig schedule made for a band on the rise, the internal conditions were far from perfect at this point, and the Brabbs brothers both decided to leave and the concert circuit was given a long pause. Michael Bettell (drums) joined the band briefly, soon replaced by Graham Crallan (drums), while Cliff John Evans (guitars) was the second new member in. This new line recorded the album Honour & Blood, the fourth effort in three years and their second for Music For Nations. The end of the year saw Tank land their most spectacular opening slot so far, as they were chosen by Metallica for the European parts of their Ride The Lightning tour. But while they still managed to get good concert deals at this point their latest album didnt fare as well, and eventually they were dropped by Music For Nations. 1985 saw drummer Crallan calling it quits, and he was replaced by Gary Taylor (drums). As their fortunes on the home front was declining, Tank decided to revive their career in the US from 1985 and onwards. Securing a new record deal took its time though, and to cater for their fans while awaiting for their future to be panned out the compilation effort Armour Plated was issued in 1985. In 1987 GWR, who was the label of Motorhead at the time, came to the rescue. And towards the end of the year the bands fifth studio effort Tank was issued. The album as such had been recorded the year before, and between the time of its creation and its release Tucker decided to call it a day, returning to the UK. While GWR saw to it that the album was issued, that didnt include their current base of operations. Unable to support the album as it wasnt released in the US Taylor decided to call it a day as well, with Steve Clarke (drums) coming to the rescue. In 1989 Tank was finally issued in the US as well, but didnt get any more positive attention there than in their native UK. A support tour was planned and executed, but didnt manage to salvage the situation. Dismal and steadily declining attendances made this latest move pretty much a total disaster. And at the end of 1989, Tank was no more. As with many other bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement Tank also saw a rising interest in their efforts throughout the 90s. And when Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame mentioned that they had been an important band for him this eventually spurred a revival. An appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival became the first reappearance, sporting a lineup of Ward, Tucker, Evans and new man Steve Hopgood (drums). A live album, The Return Of The Filth Hounds, followed in 1998, and in 2001 the archival live production War of Attrition followed. By 2002 Hopgood was out and Bruce Bisland (drums) in, and a new studio album saw the light of day in the shape of Still At War. A collection of live and rare cuts followed in the shape of Live & Rare in 2007, while the studio album Sturmpanzer, of which rumours have been circulating since 2004, have yet to be issued. Long-time fans of Tank were shocked by what has been the latest development so far in the history of this band though. In 2008 it was announced that Ward retired from active band duties, and a new line-up was announced in the shape of Mark Brabbs (drums), Mick Tucker (guitars), Cliff Evans (guitars), Doogie White (vocals) and Chris Dale (bass). This most recent effort of Tank was booked into several high profile events in the 2009 festival season. While no news as such has been forthcoming for this band since 2009, rumours are that their long awaited new studio album Sturmpanzer will be issued in December 2010. Music for Nations Algy Ward – vocals, bass Cliff Evans – guitar Mick Tucker – guitar Graeme Crallan – drums (R.I.P. 2008) 1. The War Drags Ever On (8:14) 2. When All Hell Freezes Over (5:56) 3. Honour and Blood (6:13) 4. Chain of Fools (4:08)(Aretha Franklin cover) 5. W.M.L.A. (5:17) 6. Too Tired to Wait for Love (4:37) 7. Kill (8:00) Total time 42:25 Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7 by Algy Ward & Mick Tucker. Track 6 by Algy Ward. Track 4 by D. Cova. Produced by Tank. Recorded at Sound Suite Studios. Mixed at Livingston Studios. The 1997 High Vaultage Records re issue includes a bonus track: 8. The Man That Never Was (04:30) Remastered and reissued on digipak CD by Metal Mind Productions with the following bonus track: 8. The Man That Never Was (04:30) Honour & Blood is the fourth album by the British heavy metal band Tank, released in 1984. By the time of this album Algy Ward was the last original member of the group remaining, as the Brabbs brothers had been replaced by Cliff Evans on guitar and Graeme Crallan on drums (reuniting Crallan with his former bandmate in White Spirit, Mick Tucker). The album follows much the same format as the bands previous album This Means War, with seven songs, several quite lengthy, of melodic heavy metal primarily about the topic of war. However, the band explores some different subject matter on side two, as W.M.L.A. and Too Tired To Wait For Love, express frustration in love, while Chain of Fools is a cover of the 1967 hit by Aretha Franklin youtube/watch?v=2zUKo1Enmis
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 20:24:05 +0000
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