Tygers Of Pan Tang: Ambush

NWOBHM favourites reunited with their first producer.

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Of all the bands that emerged from the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, the Tygers Of Pan Tang had the fanciest name – taken from a sword-and-sorcery tale by Michael Moorcock, although it sounded like a curry house in the band’s native Whitley Bay.

But if their name was a little pretentious, the Tygers’ music was quite the opposite. These lads were true working class heroes, playing no-nonsense, meat-and-potatoes heavy metal. And they still are, all of 30 years since the NWOBHM fizzled out.

Guitarist Robb Weir is the band’s sole remaining original member, but this new album has many links to their past: producer Chris Tsangarides cut the Tygers’ early 80s records Wild Cat and Spellbound; the cover art by Rodney Matthews is based on his illustration for the band’s 1981 album Crazy Nights; and among these 11 new tracks is a sequel to their 1980 anthem Suzie Smiled – titled Hey Suzie.

Following on from 2008’s Animal Instinct, which was rated 8⁄10 by Classic Rock, Ambush is a solid, old-school metal album, nothing more, nothing less. And there’s integrity in that, if not much money.

Paul Elliott
Paul Elliott

Freelance writer for Classic Rock since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!”