While hardly a supergroup, Panzer brings together three German metal legends for a blast through some well-trodden territory. Featuring Destruction bassist/vocalist Schmier alongside Accept axeman Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, this debut outing offers 10 chunks of no-frills old-school metal with precisely zero surprises in store.
Although it’s not quite as simple as ‘Accept with the guy from Destruction singing’, fans of the former will find themselves at home whereas thrash-heads may judge the whole thing just a tad pedestrian for their tastes.
All muscular riffing and taut rhythms topped off by Schmier’s caustic larynx and cynical worldview, it’s very much in tune with 21st-century Accept’s darker tone. Only the doomy crawl of Panzer and the moody Why? serve up something of a slightly different flavour. About as sophisticated as currywurst for sure, but every bit as tasty.
From the band name to the furrow-browed ferocity, it’s a celebration of Teutonic stereotypes that does what it says on the tin./o:p
