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two key members of the Ample Destruction line-up, Jag Panzer, or more accurately Briody and Tetley, as Hilyard had also been replaced by Reynold 'Butch' Carlson (who also left in 1986 along with Tafolla), revamped the band by recruiting vocalist Bob Parduba, and guitarist Christian Lasegue.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)
Cold
Jag Panzer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eyes and lips as black as the night lead me in to
Drain
Your so cold; cold as ice you're so cold
Ice you feel, feel to the bone
Ice that burns, burns inside
The moves of a slithering ghost perfect and slow
Evil beckons me stay can not break away
With one touch you are still
Lust for the touch and for the feel
Your body's beat is what she craves to keep her alive
Drains your warmth in her eyes out of your soul
The lyrics to Jag Panzer's song "Cold" tell the story of a seductive but deadly woman who is described as having "ivory skin so porcelain smooth and cold to the touch" with "eyes and lips as black as the night" that lead the singer to his doom. The woman is referred to as "so cold; cold as ice" and her touch is like ice that burns inside. Despite the singer's instincts warning him to break away, he is unable to resist her as she moves like a "slithering ghost" and beckons him to stay.
The woman in the song is described as draining the warmth from her victims' bodies to keep herself alive. She craves their "body's beat" and feeds off their warmth until they are "still." The singer is conflicted between his lust for her touch and the danger he knows he is in. The lyrics paint a picture of a dark and deadly seduction that leads to the ultimate destruction of the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
Ivory skin so porcelain smooth and cold to the touch
Her skin is smooth like porcelain, but it's so cold to the touch.
Eyes and lips as black as the night lead me in to Drain
Her dark eyes and lips lure me into being drained by her.
Your so cold; cold as ice you're so cold
You are painfully cold, as cold as ice.
Ice you feel, feel to the bone
You feel ice, and it goes all the way to your bones.
Ice that burns, burns inside
The ice is so cold it feels like it's burning on the inside.
The moves of a slithering ghost perfect and slow
She moves like a graceful ghost, slowly and perfectly.
Evil beckons me stay can not break away
Despite the evilness that beckons me to stay, I cannot break away.
With one touch you are still
One touch of her and you become still, immobilized.
Lust for the touch and for the feel
There is a desire for the touch and feel of her, even though it is dangerous.
Your body's beat is what she craves to keep her alive
She craves the energy and warmth of your body to keep her alive.
Drains your warmth in her eyes out of your soul
She drains the warmth from your body and soul, leaving you empty and lifeless.
Contributed by Ian H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.