They saw a poster featuring a German World War II tank, named Jagdpanzer literally "hunting tank" in German, but actually referring to what in English would be called a tank destroyer, which they decided to name their band after. They were, however, unable to pronounce the name correctly and as a result, dropped the letter "D" from the name and simply called it Jag Panzer. The band, who were all in their late teens at the time, played at local venues in the Denver club circuit, and recorded an EP in 1983, later known as Tyrants. In early 1984, the band recruited Joey Tafolla, a native of California, and promptly recorded their first album, Ample Destruction. The album was released in August of that year by the independent record label Azra Records. The album was an underground hit in the United States, and in Europe and Japan it was available on import only.
After the release of the album, the band relocated to Southern California. Tafolla quit the band in 1986, releasing a solo album, Out of the Sun, in 1987, while Conklin played with Riot for a brief period in the late 1980s, before forming his own band, Titan Force. Without the two key members of the Ample Destruction line-up, Jag Panzer, or more accurately Briody and Tetley, as Hilyard had also been replaced by Reynold 'Butch' Carlson (who also left in 1986 along with Tafolla), revamped the band by recruiting vocalist Bob Parduba, and guitarist Christian Lasegue.
The Swedish born drummer, Rikard Stjernquist, was added to the line-up and the band proceeded to record the follow-up to their debut LP. The album was recorded in late 1987, but never got an official release.
By 1994, the band had reunited, this time with vocalist Daniel J. Conca, with Tetley and Briody on bass and guitar. Guitarist Chris Hostka and drummer Rikard Stjernquist were employed on their first official album in almost 10 years, Dissident Alliance. It was released by the German indie label Rising Sun.
The next album was on Century Media, The Fourth Judgement, which came out in late 1997, followed by Age of Mastery (1998). Jag Panzer sought to tackle more ambitious territory for their next album, with Thane to the Throne, a concept album about William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Mechanized Warfare was released in 2001, then the band released a double album in 2003 that featured previously unreleased tracks as well as songs from their first LP. Decade of the Nail Spiked Bat came out in 2003, and featured re-recorded and remixed old material. In 2004, the band released Casting the Stones. The previously unreleased Chain of Command album was remixed and was issued in 2004 as a limited edition.
In 2008, Chris Broderick left the band to join Megadeth, and was replaced by Christian Lasegue, who handled lead guitar duties on Chain of Command.
On December 23, 2008, Briody made a post on the band's official forum stating that the title of their next album would be The Scourge of the Light. On the official site, the band announced that SPV/Sony planned to release the album in February 2011. The album was released March 8, 2011.
Two weeks after its release, The Scourge of the Light placed at No. 117 on the Billboard New Artist Chart, making the album Jag Panzer's most successful to date.
On July 25, 2011, the band announced that they are to disband due to the rising costs of touring. Jag Panzer played a special early days show tour with Joey Tafolla for the first time in Europe. They played two shows in Greece, one in Austria and they headlined the Keep It True Festival XVII on April 25, 2014, in Germany.
High Roller Records released a 4-LP vinyl box set entitled Historical Battles – The Early Years, on April 19, 2013, limited to 500 copies.
By 2014, Jag Panzer had commenced working on their tenth album for a near future release, also featuring lead guitarist Joey Tafolla for the first time since 1997's The Fourth Judgement. Jag Panzer announced in August 2014 that it was looking for a new vocalist. However, it now appears that Harry Conklin has rejoined the group as of March 2015. In October 2015 the band announced their new album title would be The Deviant Chord and would be released sometime in 2017. The album, which was released by SPV/Steamhammer on September 29, 2017, included a cover version of the Irish folk song "Foggy Dew".
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jag_Panzer
Discography
Ample Destruction (1984)
Dissident Alliance (1994)
The Fourth Judgement (1997)
The Age of Mastery (1998)
Thane to the Throne (2000)
Mechanized Warfare (2001)
Chain of Command (2004, inedits in 1987)
Casting the Stones (2004)
The Scourge of the Light (2011)
The Deviant Chord (2017)
The Hallowed (2023)
Call To Arms
Jag Panzer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Live our lives in the gaze of the moon
Cold ice flowing through our reason
Hell has no fury like a nation scorned
We are all brothers by blood
All uniting for the same cause
Hardened steel out of the fire
Giving none taking all
Stake our positions standing our ground
Striking hard without a warning
Our only goal is the mission abound
We are all brothers by blood
All uniting for the same cause
Hardened steel out of the fire
This is our call to arms
No remorse
Never a regret
Justice on our side
We will have you yet!
Final days are approaching
Soon justice will be tasted by all
Liberation by attrition
Come my brothers heed the call
We are all brothers by blood
All uniting for the same cause
Hardened steel out of the fire
This is our call to arms
The lyrics of Jag Panzer's song "Call to Arms" portray a sense of brotherhood, unity, and determination among individuals who have been scorned by their nation. The opening lines, "Dark of night is our playground/Live our lives in the gaze of the moon/Cold ice flowing through our reason/Hell has no fury like a nation scorned" suggest that the individuals who are the subject of the song are outcasts who do not belong in the conventional society. However, these individuals have found solace among themselves and use the cover of darkness to carry out their mission.
The next verse, "Giving none taking all/Stake our positions standing our ground/Striking hard without a warning/Our only goal is the mission abound" further reinforces the idea of brotherhood and unity. The individuals are ready to put their lives on the line for the mission, and they are ruthless in their approach. They do not hesitate to strike when necessary, but they do it while protecting each other.
The final verse, "No remorse/Never a regret/Justice on our side/We will have you yet!/ Final days are approaching/ Soon justice will be tasted by all/ Liberation by attrition/ Come my brothers heed the call" suggests that the individuals are fighting for a just cause, and they are confident that they will emerge victorious. They firmly believe that justice will prevail, and they are prepared to continue their mission until that day.
Overall, "Call to Arms" is a powerful song that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit, particularly in times of adversity. It highlights the importance of brotherhood, unity, and determination in achieving a shared goal.
Line by Line Meaning
Dark of night is our playground
We operate under the cloak of darkness.
Live our lives in the gaze of the moon
Our nocturnal lifestyle is admired by the moon.
Cold ice flowing through our reason
Our emotions are overcome by a cold, calculated thought process.
Hell has no fury like a nation scorned
When a nation feels wronged, the retaliation will be severe.
We are all brothers by blood
We share a bond that transcends all other relationships.
All uniting for the same cause
We stand together for a common purpose.
Hardened steel out of the fire
We have been forged and strengthened through adversity.
This is our call to arms
Our rallying cry to prepare for battle.
Giving none taking all
We will not surrender, but we demand everything from our enemies.
Stake our positions standing our ground
We are unwavering in our determination, standing firm in our positions.
Striking hard without a warning
We attack with full force, surprising our foes.
Our only goal is the mission abound
We are focused solely on completing our objective.
No remorse
We will not feel guilt for our actions.
Never a regret
We will not look back with sadness or sorrow.
Justice on our side
We have right on our side.
We will have you yet!
We will succeed in our pursuit of justice!
Final days are approaching
Our time for action is near.
Soon justice will be tasted by all
Soon our enemies will receive their just punishment.
Liberation by attrition
We will wear down our enemies until there is freedom.
Come my brothers heed the call
Let us band together and answer the call to action.
Contributed by Josiah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.