Fire Follow Me
Anti Tank Nun
Firing it up a notch, and having a good time while doing it, that seems to be the wayward way of the ANTI TANK NUN, a Heavy Metal band from Poland, bred by ACID DRINKERS's mastermind, Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki. Roaming out of his Thrash / Crossover main thingy with ACID DRINKERS, Titus forged a common ground for Heavy Metal music, whether old or new school, following several indications of Punk with punctures of MOTORHEAD and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. I have to admit that I found the chosen band title to be quite provocative, yet funny as it is. That same name also affected the proceedings surrounding the band's material. Just recently, ANTI TANK NUN released their second album, "Fire Follow Me", via Metal Mind Productions, a new effort that was set to be a little mature, both lyrically and musically, than its previous contender, though I hardly find it to be so, at least when it comes to lyrics that at times didn't make sense. Nonetheless, ANTI TANK NUN's secret weapon, young guitar wizard, Igor "Iggy" Gwadera, only 15 years old to remind you all, shredded harder and produced a range of creative melodies on this one, still abiding his guitar gods, letting others wonder about his measure of skill at such a young age.
Admittedly, Titus is not what I would call a common Heavy Metal vocalist, yet Lemmy hasn't been one either and look how it worked out for him with MOTORHEAD. Moreover, for ANTI TANK NUN, which turned out to be a hybrid of Heavy Metal plus extras, Titus appeared fitting after all. But not everything within this release is about Titus. The info provided closured that this sophomore release was a joint venture by the entire crew and this is probably one of the reasons for "Fire Follow Me" to be diverse than before, no doubt a compliment for this crew. ANTI TANK NUN seemed to have wanted it all, enslaving Punk for their needs, possessing Speed Metal elements along with slight Crossover endeavours that might indicate of an ACID DRINKERS's influence. I was greatly fond of "Killing Times", my best thinkable choice out of this album, a catchy, roaring Speed / Heavy Metal ignition that highly reminded me of MOTORHEAD's legacy. "Canal Street" is a heavy chug, mastering groove, consisting of some tough riffing, slow to mid tempo Heavy Metal meltdown. One of Titus's greatest hours at the microphone. Iggy's soloing is no less than perfect, showing off his Zakk Wylde lead guitar handling. I wouldn't say a complex track, but I didn't care, it went smoothly. "Hanged Man's Diary" is rather dark, cramped with mysteries, modern jacked Metal haze with direct influence of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. The chorus is rather decent, I can't consider it to be the song's winning ace as the riffs didn't that for it. "That One Who's Good...", I believe to be the album's ballad. Its form resembles that instigation, but I hardly felt any emotive element throughout its course. On the other hand, I liked its chorus, very uplifting, and I did sense a 70s vibe within the riffing along with the acoustic intro and outro that did the trick.
"Fire Follow Me" is above the term decent piece of work. It made a fair attempt to step out of the norms of Heavy Metal music and come up with a common ground to gather a few directions altogether for a bash. ANTI TANK NUN seems to have the talent to write songs that have that catchy elements, yet in the process messed a little bit, making their songs a tad difficult to connect with. For me, the album really began to bang hard after the first half, other tunes were adequate and no more than that. At least they have a lead guitar section to base their future on.
7 / 10
Good
"Fire Follow Me" Track-listing:
1. First Spark
2. Fire Follow Me
3. Sake Crazy
4. Hurricane Kazz
5. Under the Big Black Tent
6. Iron Midget
7. Canal Street
8. Hanged Man's Diary
9. That One Who's Good...
10. Killing Times
Anti Tank Nun Lineup:
Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki - Vocals, bass
Igor "Iggy" Gwadera - Lead guitar
Adam "Adi " Bielczuk - Rhythm guitar
Bogumił "Mr. Bo" Krakowski - Drums
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