In 1981, having scored a second hit album with Spellbound, the Tygers Of Pan Tang looked set for a promising future, only for record label pressure for another album that same year and a toned-down sound the year after to render them extinct by 1983.
Since re-forming the band in 2000, founding guitarist Robb Weir has stabilised an enduring lineup which has clawed its way back to enjoy a second wind, with Ritual’s self-titled 2016 predecessor selling an impressive 10,000 copies.
Sounding keen to continue their hard-won comeback, the band come out fighting with Worlds Apart in a flurry of scything riffs and resounding power chords, bolstered by a cast-iron chorus hook line delivered with aplomb by vocalist Jacopo Meille, a fixture since 2004.
Aided by a heavy, contemporary production, tracks like Destiny, Rescue Me and White Lines offer a hotwired take on the Tygers’ vintage-era blend of melody and aggression.
