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two key members of the Ample Destruction line-up, Jag Panzer, or more accurately Briody and Tetley, as Hilyard had also been replaced by Reynold 'Butch' Carlson (who also left in 1986 along with Tafolla), revamped the band by recruiting vocalist Bob Parduba, and guitarist Christian Lasegue.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)
Viper
Jag Panzer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A flash of his blade turns your screams into silence
He laughs in your face as your life fades away
King of the night time
Black as the night and colder than steel
The VIPER
The VIPER
Lord of the night
I ride on air
I will take you down, down
Wicked within turning dreams into nightmares
Nowhere to go when this cat is on the prowl
He laughs in your face as your dreams turn to silence
He laughs in your face as your life fades away, away, away, away, away, away, away
The lyrics to Jag Panzer's song "Viper" tells the story of a ruthless and deadly predator, the titular Viper. The Viper is described as the King of the nighttime, black as the night and colder than steel. He injects his venom deep inside his victims' souls and turns their dreams into nightmares. The lyrics suggest that once the Viper has set his sights on his prey, there's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. He will take them down, down.
The imagery used in the lyrics is dark and foreboding. The flash of the Viper's blade turns screams into silence and laughter is the only response to the fading life of his victims. It is unclear who or what the Viper represents, but the lyrics suggest that he is a symbol of death, destruction, and chaos. The Viper is an entity to be feared, and there's no escaping his grasp. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness in the face of an unstoppable force.
Overall, the lyrics to "Viper" are a haunting exploration of the darkness that lurks within human nature. The Viper is a metaphor for the evil and destructive impulses that can drive us to harm others. The lyrics are a warning to be wary of the darkness within ourselves and to resist the urge to give in to our destructive tendencies.
Line by Line Meaning
A flash of his blade turns your screams into silence
With one quick stroke of his blade, he stops your screams and cuts your life short.
He laughs in your face as your life fades away
He takes pleasure in seeing the light leave your eyes and watching your life slip away.
King of the night time
He reigns over the darkness, the dangers that lurk in the shadows, and the fear that creeps in the heart of man.
Black as the night and colder than steel
His appearance is intimidating, dark and ruthless, stripped of all warmth and mercy.
The VIPER
He is the predator, the slayer, the one who strikes without warning and leaves no survivors.
Injecting his venom deep inside of your soul
His evil deeds leave a lasting mark, poisoning the very essence of your being and claiming a part of your soul.
Lord of the night
Like a king who rules his kingdom, he is in charge of the dangers and darkness of the night, and no one is safe.
I ride on air
He moves effortlessly, unimpeded by anything or anyone, and strikes at will from above.
I will take you down, down
He promises to bring you to your knees, crushing your spirit and leaving you defenseless.
Wicked within turning dreams into nightmares
His inner nature is wicked, twisted, and unforgiving, and he enjoys turning your dreams into living nightmares.
Nowhere to go when this cat is on the prowl
With him stalking his prey, there is no escaping his grasp, no respite from his cruelty, and no safe place to hide.
He laughs in your face as your dreams turn to silence
He mocks your shattered dreams and takes pleasure in silencing your life forever.
He laughs in your face as your life fades away, away, away, away, away, away, away
He finds joy in watching you slip away into death, and he continues to relish in the sound of your dying breaths long after you're gone.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jay Tyrusss
ahhhh my favorite Jag Panzer track! "Reign of the Tyrants" and "Black Sunday" close behind.
pedestrian555
Have you heard the demo version from 86', call me weird buy i prefer the demo version, anyway this is also amazing
Jay Tyrusss
more like Megadeth's "killing road" is so alike this song's intro since it came out long before Megadeth's....this is actually JP covering their own song from the 80's. :-)
ZipercooDe13
The intro is so alike Megadeth's killing road intro. @.@