1347. Tygers of Pan Tang / Spellbound. 1981. 3.5/5

Tygers of Pan Tang is a band that always come up when the conversation turns to talk of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They were of course one of the bands at the forefront of the movement, a part of the first wave that found their way to prominence. They had supported bands such as Iron Maiden, Scorpions and Budgie on the way to signing their first record contract, from which had come their debut album “Wild Cat” in July of 1980, album of which you can learn all about by listening to episode 112 of this podcast. This helped to raise the band’s profile even further, and along with increased touring saw their name beginning to create a success. It was during this period that they brought in a second guitarist which would help replicate the twin guitars that appeared on the album live on the stage. For this job they were able to recruit former Streetfighter guitarist John Sykes to fill the role. Yes, THAT John Sykes, the one that went on to become so influential during the 1980’s decade. His addition to the band brought on a whole new dimension, and along with his vocals gave the band a true boost to their sound. It was around this time as well that lead singer Jess Cox had a falling out with the rest of the band, and as a result he quit. In his place, the band recruited Persian Risk lead vocalist Jon Deverill. In Sykes and Deverill, the band had hit gold. Both were noted songwriters, and Deverill’s stronger and melodically controlled vocal style gave the band a real leader both in the studio and on stage, while Sykes’s added technical ability on guitar to band leader Robb Weir brought in a player who was already showing off the skills that would see him become one of the decade’s most talked about guitarists, and his serious backing vocals also brought added depth to the band.
The band once again had up and coming producer Chris Tsangarides in the studio to produce their follow up to their debut album, and with “Spellbound”, the Tygers of Pan Tang were looking to move up from their position of promising newcomers in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands to becoming one of the leaders. The member recruitments gave them every chance of fulfilling that promise.

Opening with a burst of energy, “Gangland” immediately showcases the band’s evolution from the debut album. The riffing of the guitars is tighter and more melodic than on “Wild Cat”, and Deverill’s vocals add a sense of urgency and style. The chorus is catchy. The jump into the solo section brings John Sykes to the fore for the first time, and it is immediately noticeable what he brings to the band in this respect. The rhythm pushes the track along and Deverill, like Sykes, showcases the improvement that he brings to the band with his presence. From this great start the album moves into “Take It”, which dials back the pace slightly but not the tempo, the rhythm locking into the groove immediately and driving it along. Deverill is sublime in coercing his vocals to meet the demand, moving easily from the range he usually deals in to dive down into an almost Bonnet/Turner vocal groove in the chorus. The trade off in the solo section between Sykes and Weir is perfect and provides the best example of why the twin guitar attack works for this band.
The short, almost superfluously separated 22 seconds of “Minotaur”, which could so easily have just been added as the start of the following track, then segues straight said next track of “Hellbound”, which opens with a cracking guitar riff and kicks off in a fast and aggressive fashion. This song contains everything that is great about the best songs of this era. While the guitars drive the track from the outset, the rhythm of drum beat and the prominent rumbling bass line keeps everything in check and running smoothly, while Deverill shows off the best of his vocals here, taking centre stage and producing the performance that proves he is the right man for this job, of promoting this band in their best light on the biggest stage. “Hellbound” captures the greatest essence of Tygers of Pan Tang – speed, melody and attitude, with more great solo play off between the dual guitars. It’s a ripper.
Just for good measure, depending on which way you look at it, they then turn things and head to the other end of the spectrum with “Mirror”, which acts as the more atmospheric and introspective of the songs here. The first half of the song is more of a quiet interlude, but halfway through Deverill really piles on the full range and power of his vocals while the guitar of Sykes offers a complex yet melodic shift, something he brought to all of his bands through the 1980’s decade. For a song that starts out as though it might head down into the power ballad territory, it ends up coming through as a surprising and importantly mature offering of the Tygers of Pan Tang puzzle. A return to upbeat, melodic metal comes with “Silver and Gold” with a riff that isn’t incredibly unlike that on “Hellbound” but at a lesser pace and a more melodic interpretation. Once again, the rhythm sets the pattern and sticks to the road ahead, offering the guitars the chance to create the drive of the track. Then “Blackjack” follows with its short sharp burst, a traditional type of track of the era but done with the flair and excellence that this band and its current line up could produce. It’s a straightforward hard rocking heavy track, with punchy riffing and great vocals from Deverill. The beauty of this track is that although it might be structurally a basic track, the energy and excellence with which it is performed is what sets it apart from others of this era.
Then comes “The Story So Far”, a song that comes out of nowhere, the style changes up to a more melodic and mainstream track, something that on initial reflections sounds and feels completely out of place. The lyrics too are very basic, and it sounds very much like a track that was written to gain radio airplay. Everything here is simplified from what has come before. It is a little like the sore thumb of the album; it stands out for the wrong reasons. “Tyger Bay” draws us back to a more level footing, the bottom end of drums and bass is back and providing the sure footing. Sykes and Weir complete the feeling of returning to normality with a trade-off of licks and solos, and the album’s standing is restored. “Don’t Stop By” then brings the album to its conclusion with another slight change up to the album’s basic tenants. There is a more melodic exchange between the guitars here and also Deverill’s vocals, both of which draw from a different well musically than they have for the majority of the album. It looks to be a mood changer, one that offers a different perspective from the style that the majority of the album offers. Does it work? Each person’s perspective will be different. For me, it makes the mistake of drifting away from what had worked on the album, the harder and faster styled tracks that gave the album its best sound. To me it weakens the impact that the band had set up along the path of this sophomore release.

My true discovery and dive into this band did not come until well after their initial foray into the music world. There were songs that I had heard during my initial discovery of the heavy metal genre, but that was about it. In those latter days of high school and early days having escaped that institution, I would only truly find and listen to bands if friends or acquaintances also listened to those bands and had albums that they could offer to record for me on cassette. As none of my friend group had any music from Tygers of Pan Tang, they remained a band that I knew the name of, that I was aware of their influence in the early days of the 1980’s decade, but that nothing came from.
It wasn’t until many years later, when I began a quest to go back in time, and discover the bands of that bygone era, and track down their albums, and listen to them all in order to conduct my own research on the music of the time, that I finally got around to seeking out the band’s first four albums. And although I was listening to all of them at the same time, along with albums from other bands such as Angel Witch, Praying Mantis, Venom, Holocaust and Diamond Head, there was still one particular album from Tygers of Pan Tang that stood out immediately. And it was this one, “Spellbound”. And there were two main factors that made this album bounce its impact from the others, and that was the twin guitars and the vocals. The difference that both of these things make from the debut album, and indeed the next two albums as well, is calculated. Not only here is the play off between the two guitarists much brighter and more exciting, the solos and melodic pieces, it is the impact that John Sykes makes immediately on this album that is the winner. Robb Weir’s guitaring on “Wild Cat” is great, but here with Sykes added, it just makes everything better. And John Deverill’s vocals are a step above what Jess Cox offers on that first album. You can understand why and how Deverill’s career has gone the way it did on the first listen to this album.
On listening to this album again this week, nothing has changed for me. I still enjoy this album whenever I put it on, and not without a little surprise still each and every time. As a follow up to their first album it has all the improvements a band needs to double down on their first effort. And I won’t deny that two songs here still do disappoint me, but not to the overall detriment of the album itself.
While “Wild Cat” had reached #18 on the UK charts on its release, “Spellbound” topped out at #33. There had only been a nine months turnaround between the two albums, and there would be only a seven months turnaround to the follow up. Tygers of Pan Tang were in a hurry. Perhaps they knew they were on borrowed time. Whether or not this is true, “Spellbound” remains an album that offers you some of the best that this era had to offer in the metal genre.