So far this year, great Metal albums were released, showing that Metal is going strong throughout the world. Now, with modern technology, Brazil is able to show its best Metal bands for all to see and hear. But what about one of the heavy weight champion of Brazil, the quartet PANZER, from São Paulo (sorry to say for the fans of the German trio of same name, but the Brazilian guys use this name since the 90s)? They had some changes on the line up, with the coming from new vocalist and bassist. So, how do they sound? The answer for this question is "Resistance", their new album that is out now.

The band's main style is untouched. They are still doing that mix between Thrash Metal with influences from Stoner Metal with a modern musical outfit. But they evolved a bit more, because even with these elements, they brought back some of the influences of their earlier albums, those ones prior the hiatus they passed (there are clear elements of what they did on "The Strongest", from 2001). Then PANZER is back to the front, ready for new trials and conquests. The sound quality of the album is really astonishing. Once more, Henrique Baboom worked with the band (both on production and mixing), but having André Pars (the band guitarist and the one who played all bass guitar parts of the album) co-producing "Resistance." The result is a sound that flows clear and heavy, but keeps the band's musical weight and aggressiveness. So, in contrast with the live felling showed on "Honor," here there's a clear trace of elegance. The cover is simple, a work from Edson Graseffi (the band's drummer) a statement of these veterans on Metal, that they'll keep resisting, no matter how difficult the things are going to be in the future. The new line up shows as they are strong as ever, because the vocals of Sérgio Ogres is excellent, using very good and personal aggressive tones, but his clean and melodic clean voice works perfectly (as you can hear on "You May Not Have Tomorrow" clean parts). It fits perfectly to the catchy and distorted riffs of André (as well as his melodic solos) and powerful drumming of Edson (that follows a school of drummers guided by feeling, not only by technique, besides his performance is excellent).

The best moments of "Resistance": The hard weight and bitter melodies on "The Price" (a perfect work from guitars, both on aggressive and melodic moments, along with fine contrast between the aggressive and clean tunes of vocals); the strong and hooking groove shown on "Impunity" (the slow and abrasive tempos creates a bitter atmosphere, where the drums are really excellent); the very good tempos shown on the abrasive "No Scream in Vain" (again, the rhythmic session is outstanding, where feeling and groove dominate); the heavy, bitter and aggressively melancholic "Alone" (that gains some faster tempos and incredible vocal melodies on the chorus); the Hard'n'Heavy feeling that permeates the excellent guitar arrangements of "Attitude" (where the bitter and heavier part is on the chorus) and on "Do It!" (where a "Sabbathic" approach joins forces with a modern groove, something modern and fresh. And what a good guitar solo!); the powerful and nasty "The Resistance"; the introspective and full of melancholy "You May Not Have Tomorrow" (it's almost a ballad, but done with some nasty and introspective); and the hooking weight and musical aesthetics presented on "Actittud" (the lyric is on Spanish, maybe a homage of PANZER for their legion of fans on Argentina and Uruguay). PANZER is back to the front once more, so be prepared for their Thrash Metal assault! Surrender!