After a Tankard concert some years ago, one of my mates said something along the lines of this: This band is unbeatable. They're more than music, they're an attitude.
He was spot on. Since the beginning of the eighties, Tankard has represented more than just thrash metal. They represent an attitude of defiance. They laugh in the faces of those who say that music isn't fun. They mock those who claim that music is all about business and not about doing the things you love. Tankard love what they do. It has to be so, because they've more or less done the same for over 25 years.
Does that make Tankard the AC/DC of thrash? Well, yeah, in a way. The output has been constant, and it has been constantly if not cool then at least alright over the years. I can't think of a bad Tankard album as such. You might question the sound quality of the first couple of albums, but never mind, that was just how it was back then.
'Vol(l)ume 14' follows the tradition. The album holds no real surprises, but, still, it's hard not to like it if you like Tankard. Very appropriately, the album starts out with a track called Time Warp. Yeah, apart from the production and mix, this could have been an album from 1987. It soothes an old-school heart like that of yours truly.
The Tankard recipe is followed to the dot. Beer songs mixed with songs that point out a few absurdities of our society, a no-thrills attached recipe that has been followed since 1990's 'The Meaning of Life'. In my book, the recipe works. I can't help loving it.
Proost!
