Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado.… Read Full Bio ↴Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado. They came together in late 1981, being inspired by the onslaught of the new wave of British heavy metal. The original line-up consisted of Harry Conklin on vocals (later nicknamed the "Tyrant"), Mark Briody, the sole guitarist of the group in its first incarnation, John Tetley (bassist) and Rick Hilyard (drummer). The band was known as Tyrant in its first incarnation, but they soon had to change the name, because another band already existed in California with that name.

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two key members of the Ample Destruction line-up, Jag Panzer, or more accurately Briody and Tetley, as Hilyard had also been replaced by Reynold 'Butch' Carlson (who also left in 1986 along with Tafolla), revamped the band by recruiting vocalist Bob Parduba, and guitarist Christian Lasegue.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)

Feast Or Famine
Jag Panzer Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When the seas rise and skies fall
Marsh lands turn to dust and blow away
When the air is parched every breath poison
Eternal darkness covers all below

We thirst for days gone past
We hunger for life
We crave

Cover me with this earth
We can be one again
Cover me let me rest
We will be one again

Richly feeding on the pleasures
That this world has given to all
Never ending resources
One day will end and so will we

We thirst for days gone past
We hunger for life
We crave

Cover me with this earth
We can be one again
Cover me let me rest
We will be one again

When the seas rise and skies fall
Marsh lands turn to dust and blow away
When the air is parched every breath poison
Eternal darkness covers all below

Protect her and her beauty
Lush lands we covet

Feast upon her awesome bounty
Before we drain these riches dry

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jag Panzer's "Feast or Famine" speak to the inevitable destruction that comes with greed and excess. The imagery of rising seas, falling skies, and parched air all suggest a world that has been ravaged by overconsumption and neglect. The lines "we thirst for days gone past, we hunger for life, we crave" speak to the human desire for more, even when we have enough. The repetition of the lines "cover me with this earth, we can be one again" suggests a longing for a simpler time when humanity was more in tune with nature, and a desire to return to a state of oneness with the earth.

The second verse further drives home the message of the song, warning that the never-ending resources we take for granted will eventually run out, leading to our own demise. The final lines "protect her and her beauty, lush lands we covet, feast upon her awesome bounty before we drain these riches dry" urge listeners to take action to protect the environment before it's too late, and to appreciate the beauty and abundance of the earth before it's gone.

Line by Line Meaning

When the seas rise and skies fall
In times of great disaster and calamity

Marsh lands turn to dust and blow away
The environment is barren and lifeless

When the air is parched every breath poison
The air is polluted beyond measure

Eternal darkness covers all below
Complete hopelessness replaces light and joy

We thirst for days gone past
We long for the time when the world was a better place

We hunger for life
We yearn for a better quality of life

We crave
We desire and want more than what we have

Cover me with this earth
Let me be buried in the ground

We can be one again
We can reunite with the earth in death

Cover me let me rest
May I find peace in eternal slumber

We will be one again
We will become part of the earth once more