TANK (NWOBHM – UK) – High Roller records to re-issue 5 classic Tank albums in May 2022 #Tank #AlgyWard
TANK – “Filth Hounds of Hades” (Reissue)
Label: High Roller Records
Release date: 6. May 2022
Format: LP & CD
Distribution: Soulfood
Looking at it from today’s perspective it all seems pretty clear cut. When the Brabbs brothers, Mark on drums and Peter on guitar, met up with bassist/singer Algy Ward in the spring of 1980 to form TANK, they had the vision to fuse punk and metal. It took them less than two years to become the most popular original crossover act of the early 1980s. So far, so simple. But as it’s often the case in life the truth was much more complex.
“Nothing was planned,” elaborates Mark, the younger of the two Brabbs brothers: “Peter started with music a while before me. Our parents were always very supportive. My brother, obviously being my elder brother, was into heavy rock: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and all that sort of stuff. And I started listening to his records. We both became great fans of Deep Purple, that’s probably our favourite band, for both of us. That’s how I started learning drums, from the album »Made In Japan«. Peter and I were both popular in local bands. Once we had a gig in a local pub. It was a sell-out. After the show we went backstage, pouring with sweat. The door burst open and there was Algy. We had never met before. Algy pointed at us, me and Pete, and said: ‘One day I am gonna be in a band with you two.’ That’s it, and he walked out. And we were like: who the hell was that? Algy was with The Saints at the time. And then he joined The Damned. And when he left The Damned, he found me and Pete.”
In contrast to speculation by the music press of the day, when TANK was formed in the spring of 1980, there was no master plan whatsoever. “To be perfectly honest, we didn’t know what we were going to do,” laughs Mark Brabbs today. “Peter and Algy used to just jam all the time, Pete and I were still living with our parents at the time. I used to go out on a Saturday night and come back on Sunday morning when my mum and dad would be having breakfast. They said to me: ‘Have a look in the garden.’ There were Pete and Algy sitting in the lounge in the garden jamming, and they had been there all night, surrounded by empty bottles of vodka and beer. And all they used to do was jam, jam, jam. So they really were the backbone of TANK because they more or less wrote the first album there and then in the garden.”
The legendary »Filth Hounds Of Hades« record was originally released in the spring of 1982 on Kamaflage Records. The album was produced by Fast Eddie of Motörhead fame. “Well, to be fair, Eddie really didn’t need to do much as a producer,” reminisces Mark Brabbs today. “We’d been touring England for about a year and a half with the material from the first album. And then of course we did this massive European tour with Motörhead, who we knew anyway, they were mates of us anyway. We finished the tour on Christmas eve 1981, and we were in the studio to record »Filth Hounds Of Hades« on December the 29th. So we were very well rehearsed. Nothing needed production, apart from the mix.”
HRR 843LP, ltd 1500, 500 x black, 500 x orange/ grey bi-color, 300 x bone/ red splatter + 200 x red/ blue mixed with white & orange multi splatter vinyl (HRR mailorder exclusive), 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 7mm spine, bonus 10” with p/s and insert (black, orange, bone and red), 2 x double-sided poster, 3 x A5 photo card in special envelope, 20 pages A4 booklet
HRR 843CD, slipcase + 2-sided poster
TRACKLIST – LP Version
01. Shellshock
02. Struck by Lightning
03. Run like Hell
04. Blood, Guts and Beer
05. That’s What Dreams Are Made Of
06. Turn Your Head Around
07. Heavy Artillery
08. Who Needs Love Songs
09. Filth Hounds of Hades
10. (He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper
11. The Snake
12. Steppin’ on a Landmine
13. (He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper (7″ Version)
14. Blood, Guts And Beer (Live Version)
(playing time: 53:48min.)
TRACKLIST – CD Version (includes the “Don’t Walk Away” EP)
01. Shellshock
02. Struck by Lightning
03. Run like Hell
04. Blood, Guts and Beer
05. That’s What Dreams Are Made Of
06. Turn Your Head Around
07. Heavy Artillery
08. Who Needs Love Songs
09. Filth Hounds of Hades
10. (He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper
11. The Snake
12. Steppin’ on a Landmine
13. (He Fell in Love with a) Stormtrooper 7″ Version
14. Don’t Walk Away
15. Shellshock
16. Hammer On
17. Run Like Hell (Demo Version)
18. Blood, Guts and Beer (Demo Version)
19. Don’t Walk Away (Live Version)
20. Blood, Guts And Beer (Live Version)
LINE-UP
Algy Ward – Bass, Lead Vocals
Peter Brabbs – Guitar
Mark Brabbs – Drums
TANK – “Don’t Walk Away” (Reissue)
Label: High Roller Records
Release date: 6. May 2022
Format: LP
Distribution: Soulfood
When TANK were signed on the spot by Kamaflage, the newly founded sublabel of DJM Records lost no time in putting out the debut single by Croydon’s best. »Don’t Walk Away« preceded the band’s debut album »Filth Hounds Of Hades« and was released to tie in with the band’s European tour supporting Motörhead in 1981.
Consequently, Germany saw the exclusive release of a 12” edition of “Don’t Walk Away” (with the non-album “Hammer On” on the B-Side as well as an alternative version of “Shellshock”), bearing the legendary slogan “Der Heavy Metal Schock” on the front cover (in addition to the tour dates). The first pressing of the UK edition of »Filth Hounds Of Hades« (featuring a different colour scheme in comparison to some of the European variations) even came with a free 7” single including the non-album composition “The Snake” on the flip side.
In 1982 “Steppin’ On A Landmine” landed on the back side of the mighty »Turn Your Head Around« single. Similar to Iron Maiden in the early days, TANK (and their record company) were giving their fans value for money, placing unreleased high quality material on the B-Sides of their singles. “Funnily enough,” explains drummer Mark Brabbs, “the thing with ‘Steppin’ On A Landmine’ was, we did the European tour with Motörhead and we opened up the set with ‘Shellshock’ and then went straight into ‘Steppin’ On A Landmine’. And it used to get the crowd jumping up and down. It’s got that Maidenish style of riff. But when we recorded it, it was really disappointing. We felt it didn’t have the energy of the live version. So it didn’t make the cut for the first album.”
“Hammer On”, featured on the band’s debut single, did not make the cut for »Filth Hounds Of Hades« either. Mark Brabbs: “’Hammer On’ is a really good song. But for the album it was that one or ‘Struck By Lightning’. And to be perfectly honest, I’d have preferred ‘Hammer On’ but I think Peter and Algy got the vote on that. But again, we used to play both songs live all the time.”
And what about “The Snake”, which was the B-Side of the free 7” single given away with the initial UK pressing of »Filth Hounds Of Hades«? “Yeah, again, we loved that as well,” states Mark Brabbs. “We used to do it as an encore. So it was part of the live set. That was one of Algy’s favourites. ‘Filth Bitch Boogie’, which ended up on the back side of the »Crazy Horses« single, taken off the »Power Of The Hunter« album, was just a jam, a good laugh in the studio.”
So if you look back, over twelve or 15 months TANK wrote between 15 and 20 first-class songs … “Yeah, it was quite prolific, really,” concludes Mark Brabbs today. “We weren’t a studio band as such. If we weren’t in in the studio, we would be out partying, we were young guys. We were a gigging band rather. The studio was a bit of a bore for us.”
HRR 842LP, ltd 1000, 300 x black, 300 x black/ yellow mixed, 200 x black/ yellow bi-color + 200 x ultra clear with black, white and yellow multi splatter vinyl (HRR mailorder exclusive), 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, 2-sided poster, 2 x A5 photo card, 4 page insert
TRACKLIST
01. Don’t Walk Away
02. Shellshock
03. Hammer On
04. Run Like Hell (Demo Version)
05. Blood, Guts and Beer (Demo Version)
06. Don’t Walk Away (Live Version)
(playing time: 23:02 min.)
LINE-UP
Algy Ward – Bass, Lead Vocals
Peter Brabbs – Guitar
Mark Brabbs – Drums
TANK – “Power of the Hunter” (Reissue)
Label: High Roller Records
Release date: 6. May 2022
Format: LP & CD
Distribution: Soulfood
When »Filth Hounds Of Hades«, TANK’s legendary debut album, was released on Kamaflage Records in 1982, it not only made huge waves within the NWOBHM community at home, it also topped the import charts on the East Coast of the United States.
After having toured with Motörhead in Europe in 1981, Tank once again appeared as special guests for Lemmy and the boys, this time on their tour throughout the United Kingdom for »Iron Fist« in 1982. Drummer Mark Brabbs remembers: “Yes, that’s right, we did the ‘Iron Fist Tour’ with them. Any tour with Motörhead is legendary, really. It was great, it was great just going out on the road again. After a long tour you get to know the road crew, the caterers, the sound engineers, you get to know everyone. So when we started this tour it was like seeing old mates again. Brilliant, really brilliant tour.”
TANK’s second album »Power Of The Hunter« was released the same year as »Filth Hounds Of Hades« (1982), so two full-length albums within less than twelve months. That’s quite a feat. Mark Brabbs thinks so too: “Yeah, that’s true. »Filth Hounds Of Hades« had sold quite reasonably well all over the world. In those days the world was a lot bigger than these days… So the American release was only an import. In the old days you didn’t really get a world wide release, you got an European release and then it was imported. The album sold all around the world and everybody was happy with it: the record company was happy, the management was happy, we were happy. We were still young and it was still a new thing for us. We did put out the second album quick. We didn’t want the interest to die. We should have waited for another year, to be perfectly honest. It would have been better to have written it, taken it on the road for about six months and make it a bit more release-ready. But anyway, it did okay. It didn’t do as good as »Filth Hounds« but it still sold a good few copies.”
“When someone rushes Steve Harris for the next Iron Maiden album,” continues Mark Brabbs, “he will tell them to fuck off! They will do it when they’re ready. But when you’re a young band and your record company says that they want you do to something, then you gotta do it. Well, we didn’t have that fuck off attitude towards the record company back then. Listening to it now … I was disappointed back then but listening to it now 40 years or so later it’s not bad, it’s still pretty good. There is a couple of belters and a couple of fillers.”
HRR 844LP, ltd 1500, 500 x black, 500 x white/grey mixed, 300 x white/ black splatter + 200 x ultra clear with white, yellow & grey multi splatter vinyl (HRR mailorder exclusive), 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 5mm spine, bonus 7” in p/s + insert(black, grey, white, ultra clear), poster, 4 page insert
HRR 844CD, slipcase, poster
TRACKLIST
01. Walking Barefoot over Glass
02. Pure Hatred
03. Biting and Scratching
04. Some Came Running
05. T.A.N.K.
06. Used Leather (Hanging Loose)
07. Crazy Horses (The Osmonds Cover)
08. Set Your Back on Fire
09. Red Skull Rock
10. Power of the Hunter / Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
11. Crazy Horses (Single Version)
12. Filth Bitch Boogie
(playing time: 48:27 min.)
LINE-UP
Algy Ward – Bass, Lead Vocals
Peter Brabbs – Guitar
Mark Brabbs – Drums
TANK – “This Means War” (Reissue)
Label: High Roller Records
Release date: 27.05.2022
Format: LP & CD
Distribution: Soulfood
After two very successful albums for Kamaflage in 1982, »Filth Hounds Of Hades« and »Power Of The Hunter«, TANK issued their third longplayer on the newly founded Music For Nations label. 1983’s »This Means War« came across more polished than its two predecessors, and some to this day think that it’s the best album the band has ever recorded. The songwriting itself was a bit more refined and a few compositions even featured keyboards.
“The album was certainly different,” observes drummer Mark Brabbs today. “But it still sounds like us. Mick Tucker joined the band as an additional guitarist because we wanted to get even more powerful and aggressive live. Mick’s a bit more … how can I say? His solos are rehearsed. And I think this difference comes across on the album. It’s a little bit more precise because of Mick. There’s no jamming on it, nothing is spontaneous, regarding the playing or the songwriting. Whereas before the three of us were very spontaneous. With Mick everything was always the same. That was it. That’s the record and that’s how it is gonna be played. I am not saying that’s wrong but that’s probably why that record doesn’t sound as spontaneous as the first two. It sounds a lot more precise, rehearsed and practised. But it still has attitude, I think this comes across but … it’s a good album, I like it.”
And what about the English press back then, did they also get it? Or did they compare it to »Filth Hounds Of Hades« and »Power Of The Hunter«? “The only place where we didn’t get any good press was England,” laughs the TANK drummer, “our home country, where we were born. But they actually warmed to »This Means War« because it was different. You couldn’t possibly say that it was influenced by Motörhead, which they seemed to always wanna say. When the album came out, they expected to slag it off but they actually really liked it, the press, basically all over the world.”
»This Means War« came out on Music For Nations, so had Kamaflage gone bust by this time? “No, they were still part of the DJM conglomerate,” explains Mark Brabbs, “but I think they gave up on it. They really only wanted to sign Tank when they formed the label. But when they started to sign other bands, they didn’t do much. Bernie Tormé was great but he only got popular after he joined Gillan, not with his own band. His own band didn’t make it, although they were superb, I have seen them live a couple of times. I think DJM just wanted to wind up that particular project. DJM felt that was just enough and went straight back to their middle of the road catalogue.”
HRR 845LP, ltd 1500, 500 x black, 500 x black/ red bi-color, 300 x electric blue/ black marbled + 200 x electric blue with white & red splatter vinyl (HRR mailorder exclusive), 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 5mm spine, bonus 7” in p/s + insert (black, red, electric blue, white), 2-sided poster, 4 page insert
HRR 845CD, slipcase, 2-sided poster
TRACKLIST
01. Just like Something from Hell
02. Hot Lead Cold Steel
03. This Means War
04. Laughing in the Face of Death
05. If We Go (We Go Down Fighting)
06. I (Won’t Ever Let You Down)
07. Echoes of a Distant Battle / Swapiyayo
08. The Man That Never Was
09. Whichcatchewedmycuckoo
(playing time: 49:07 min.)
LINE-UP
Algy Ward – Bass, Lead Vocals
Mick Tucker – Guitar
Peter Brabbs – Guitar
Mark Brabbs – Drums
TANK – “Honour & Blood” (Reissue)
Label: High Roller Records
Release date: 27.05.2022
Format: LP & CD
Distribution: Soulfood
By the time TANK released their fourth album »Honour And Blood« in 1984, bassist/singer Algy Ward was the last remaining original member. He got in Graeme Crallan on drums, and added second guitarist Cliff Evans, who teamed up with Mick Tucker. Cliff Evans explains how he met Algy Ward the first time and became a member of Tank: “In the early 1980s I was working in a guitar shop in London called Boogie Music. It wasn’t far from the famous Marquee Club which was on Wardour Street in Soho. When TANK were playing at the Marquee they would always stop by my shop to pick up guitar strings and on one occasion I sold Algy a Gibson Thunderbird bass. We became good friends and I would often join them in the pub before going to see the show. In the summer of 1984 I was playing guitar with the legendary blues band called Chicken Shack. We had a show at the Golden Lion in Fulham and during the show I noticed that Algy and Mick Tucker were in the audience. A few days later the guys came to my shop and we went to the pub. They explained that the Brabbs brothers had left the band and they were looking for a new guitarist to replace Pete Brabbs. We stayed in the pub until they chucked us out and we got extremely drunk. That was my audition and I was now a member of TANK.”
Playing together with Algy, drummer Graeme Callan and guitarist Mick Tucker was no problem for Cliff Evans whatsoever: “I first played with the guys during the recording of the »Honour And Blood« album. We had already gelled together in the pub on several occasions so working together in the studio was no different. Mick played all the solos on the album. All the songs were already written and arranged by Algy and Mick. When I heard them I knew that his album was going to sound great and I was very excited to be a part of it.”
»Honour And Blood« kept the lengthy songs from »This Means War« but toned down the keyboards, whose decision was this? One could imagine that with songs like “When All Hell Freezes Over” or “Too Tired To Wait For Love” keyboards might have worked well. “Mick was more involved with the writing on »Honour And Blood«,” remarks the guitarist, “so the songs were more focused on the guitar riffs to make the album sound heavier. Looking back now I think a couple of the songs might have benefited from some keyboard parts but we’ve had no complaints from our fans.”
Just like the three albums before, »Honour And Blood« was once again put out by Music For Nations, but somehow it did not seem to work out the way everybody hoped it would this time around: “We had recorded a great album and the line up was solid and tight. We were confident that this would be the album to really raise TANK to the next level but unfortunately our management didn’t share our vision. We had the same manager as Motörhead at that time and they would always be the main focus for promotion and investment. The label wasn’t promoting the album as much as they should have done but it was our manager’s fault for not looking after our interests.”
HRR 846LP, ltd 1500, 500 x black, 500 x blue/ red bi-color, 300 x blue/ mustard mixed + 200 x ultra clear with blue, red & yellow multi splatter vinyl (HRR mailorder exclusive), 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, 2 x poster, 4 page insert
HRR 846CD, slipcase, 2-sided poster
TRACKLIST
01. The War Drags Ever On
02. When All Hell Freezes Over
03. Honour and Blood
04. Chain of Fools (Aretha Franklin cover)
05. W.M.L.A. (Wasting My Life Away)
06. Too Tired to Wait for Love
07. Kill
(playing time: 42:47 min.)
LINE-UP
Algy Ward – Vocals, Bass
Cliff Evans – Guitar
Mick Tucker – Guitar
Graham Crallan (R.I.P.) – Drums
Get these reissues here —> TANK High Roller Records Shop
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