Tank - Power of the Hunter (1982)^{Release ID: 6686}

Tank's Motorhead-inspired NWOBHM debut "Filth Hounds Of Hades" made a fair impression me as it possessed an energy & honesty that was quite infectious. And although some of the rockier numbers weren’t quite up to the task, most of the metal material was pretty damn fun. But when a band releases their follow-up album just five months after their debut you wouldn’t expect there to be much in the way of development given the short time period. What I would more likely expect would be more of the same or possibly a drop in quality due to the band having to resort to using the leftovers from the debut. And with Tank’s sophomore effort “Power Of The Hunter” being released in August 1982 both of those things are true.

Firstly, no one would be surprised to hear how the band sounds here. The production is again a bit rough but so is Tank so that’s not a such a big deal. The musicianship on the other hand seems to have been improved with much tighter instrumental performances. Vocalist Algy Ward is still pretty sloppy vocally but that seems to be half the appeal of the old punk rocker. What IS different to the debut is that we have decidedly less metal material this time. It’s much more of a straight-up punky hard rock affair in a similar style to Motorhead’s more generic filler material. I don’t have a problem with that at all as long as the song-writing is up to the task but unfortunately it’s not on this occasion.

I think this was very likely a case of the band being rushed back into the studio due to management or record label pressure & having to settle for leftovers from their early days in order to fill a full-length album. There’s nothing particularly horrible here but a lot of the songs just seem to drift past without engaging much of a reaction from the listener. There’s a distinct lack of the urgency & intensity that made “Filth Hounds Of Hades” such a fun listen & ultimately I’m left wondering if I’ve paid close enough attention. The closing title track is the best & most iconic track on the album with its energetic verse riff reminding me very much of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock” but there’s really only a couple of other songs that draw me in so I’d going to have to recommend that you give this album a miss & explore the albums either side of it which possess a more exciting & electric vibe.