Jag Panzer – Casting the Stones
Century Media Records – October 19th, 2004
By Jason Jordan
The first “victim” in
Ultimatemetal’s attempt at saturating me with power metal is
Casting the Stones by the ever-popular
Jag Panzer. As the first review, that you’ll probably read, in this short series of power metal ramblings, you must know that it doesn’t get better than this particular group.
“Feast or Famine” starts normally, I’d say, but the vocals are too low in the mix. “The Mission (1941)” has a nice, opening riff while Conklin’s vocalizations are distinctly vibrato-laden; the aforementioned aspect is fine by me. Guitar melodies, leads, and rhythms weave in and out of the song’s radius. “Vigilant” begins with drums, and unapologetically adds guitar to the overall picture. The latter relies on solid riffage for the composition’s length. Haunting, piano instrumentation makes an entrance at the 1:30 minute mark, which improves the quality of the song and background. More guitar leads, etc. “Achilles”: kind of awkward upon initial listening. But, the number smoothes its edges and eventually grasps attention. “Tempest” is speedy, “Legion Immortal” has an unbelievably dramatic chorus, and “Battered and Bruised” commences with a traditional – albeit proverbial – instrumental line. “Cold” has a sinister aura attached to it, and another simple-yet-catchy chorus. “Starlight’s Fury” and “The Harkening” are both energetic tunes. Needless to say, I will not cite “Precipice” in this review, although it’s an awe-inspiring song.
A band with many albums often receives accolades for each individual release, and – more commonplace than not – hordes of fans weld themselves to the record that they feel is the band’s swansong. Has
Casting the Stones been out long enough to garner such ogling? Probably not, but
Jag Panzer have displayed fresh ideas on the disc that I was handed, so to speak. And for that the
Jean-Pierres of the world can unite.
8/10
Official Jag Panzer website
Official Century Media website
