Ah, ’04 was a good year for me. At least when it comes to my relationship with thrash metal. Exodus released their critically acclaimed Tempo of the Damned and Tankard released this thing of beer-googling beauty. Tempo of the Damned took the thrash metal world by storm and completely overshadowed this one. Like many others, I was quickly hailing it as one of the best albums of the year. That was of course until I heard Beast of Bourbon. Fair enough, this isn’t Tankard’s best, but it surely deserved more recognition than it got. Tankard is impossible to go wrong with. Their respected amount of released albums are all of high quality, and this is no exception. Personally speaking, Tankard are one of those few bands with a genuinely strong discography, always delivering the goods. Get ready to get wasted on thraaaaaaaashhh!

Musically, Tankard is, as always, at their best. The guitars churn out quality razor-sharp riffs and face-shredding solos, the drums are as rabid as ever, and Geremia’s frenetic bellowing is top notch. He spits out line after line packed with the desired intensity. When I listened to this, it occurred to me that Tankard always were very faithful to their sound. If you enjoyed their previous releases, and the later ones for that matter, there is no good excuse for why you shouldn’t get this one. This blasts out of the starting blocks with full speed at once with the frantic Under Friendly Fire. It should be noted that this is one of the few tracks that actually has serious lyrics. The majority does obviously fall in the party/humorous category. The party-anthem Die With A Beer In Your Hand is unmistakably the number one song on parties over here. Not without a reason, as it is anthemic and aggressive and at the same time melodic enough for your softer friends. Tankard focuses all their energy on making killer music, and less on making compelling and deep lyrics. Even if you’re into all these meaningful stuff you can’t deny the fact that the actual music counts the most. With humorous lyrics about beer-drinking and women as an extra, how can you not find this interesting? I mean, just look at this!

As far as production goes, this is pretty polished. If I had to pick on something I prefer my thrash a little rawer and dirtier, however this is nothing major. The guitars are in no way as steel-y as, say newer Exodus. And where Souza’s/Duke’s vocals are unbearable to some, Geremia’s frantic shouting clutches your neck with a firm grip. The album closes with a metalized cover of Cocksparrer’s (funny name) We’re Coming Back, which is way lighter yet nearly as entertaining as all the other stuff. It is also a cool way to finish of yet another excellent release from these German beer-swallowers! Definitely something to add to your thrash collection.