Release date: June 2nd, 2017
Nuclear Blast Records
TANKARD don’t play reunion shows. They just don’t break-up! This is their, like Sodom and Kreator also of this music genre and vintage who still rock on 35th year. This “One Foot In The Grave“ will be the seventeenth album for these German thrash-meisters. And this album shows they still have it! Respect.
They’ve created, apparently, this niche for themselves called “alcoholic metal”, as their songs largely have a beer or alcoholic themed tunes. Oh, you may have guessed that from the label. In case you didn’t… now you do.
Though sounding totally old school, like a mix of Suicidal Tendencies, Iron Maiden, and Slayer, TANKARD with “One Foot In The Grave“ still sound very fresh and it has a cool creative vibe. The sound is pummeling and totally still kicks ass! There’s bass that grooves, great riffs, machine gun drumming… and beer! What more could one want?
Seriously though, like their last album “RIB” (“Rest In Beer”), which this reviewer wrote about, TANKARD on “One Foot In The Grave“ have diverted the lyrics from solely beer to also have themes that are humorous, and political as well as other things.
The last song, for example, takes the piss out of their manager Buffo Schnädelbach, called ‘Sole Grinder’. ‘I’m your sole grinder, you will travel where I say’… going on to advise he can’t be with them sadly as he has another place to be, and what he says about the venue isn’t always true. ‘Arena Of The True Lies’ is about the cult of fame – ‘Arena of the true lies / More fake news every day / Like gladiators in ancient Rome / You’ll fight the spectacle right inside your home.’
Beer comes back into their songs here with ‘Secret Order 1516’. It’s about the German beer purity law of 1516. For those needing to know and trivia buffs, Martin Buchwalter (DESTRUCTION, SUIDAKRA) produced this album, and the new artwork was done by Patrick Strogulski, a student of the former TANKARD cover artist Sebastian Krüger.
“One Foot In The Grave“ will grab many a fan of the bands mentioned, good metal, thrash, old school, and hardcore that give it a listen.
4/5 Stars
TANKARD – ‘Arena Of The True Lies’
