Them Dawgs Don't Bite - A Review of Tankard's Alcoholic Metal: 40 Years in Thrash - Extended Version

Despite the title, Alcoholic Metal: 40 Years in Thrash - Extended Version is not simply an alternative version of Tankard's 1985 demo Alcoholic Metal. It features two brand-new songs from 2022 to support new full length effort Pavlov's Dawgs. There is also a new 2022 live version of ''Schwarz-weiss wie Schnee'', celebrating SG Eintracht Frankfurt's Europa League victory. Therefore, this is an entirely new compilation that is interesting for fans of old date but not so much for potential new supporters to be honest.

The two new tracks aren't the best from Pavlov's Dawgs that qualifies as average output in Tankard's long career. ''Beerbarians'' is the typical tongue-in-cheek party anthem with energetic thrash metal riffs, thunderous rhythm section and raw vocals while the lyrics walk on the thin line between humour and ridicule. It's a matter of taste whether you still find such lyrics tolerable or not. In my humble opinion, Tankard has written much better songs with similar lyrics in the past and should have tried out something new for a change. ''Lockdown Forever'' suffers from similar problems. While the musicianship is tight, fast and dynamic, nobody really needed lyrics about the lockdowns we have all been going through. Sure, it's not a bad idea to take dramatic events with a good sense of humour but that topic really has been discussed time and again and we simply didn't need a thrash metal song about it.

This release's highlight certainly is the energetic live version of ''Schwarz-weiss wie Schnee''. This song makes it obvious why Tankard have been developing a successful career for four decades and counting. The band simply knows how to communicate with its fans, how to deliver sympathetic entertainment and how to perform energetic thrash metal that doesn't take any prisoners as if the band members were still hungry teenagers striving for attention in a rebellious way. The band hasn't released a live record in a while, so perhaps the time has come to do so in the near future. I'm still hoping for a collaborative live release from Germany's greatest thrash metal bands Tankard, Sodom, Kreator and Destruction.

Up next, we have the titular demo from the mid-eighties featuring eight songs and a total running time of twenty-nine minutes. This demo is only interesting for adamant fans of the band who want to discover Tankard's roots and how the group sounded in its very early years before signing its first contract with Noise Records. To be honest, this demo hasn't aged very well. It's not just the blurry, chaotic and underproduced sound that some hopeless nostalgics might call romantic but the songwriting is at times extremely simplistic with only a few guitar riffs, repetitive rhythm section and boring choruses that are repeated to death. Sure, a few moments show potential when the band comes around with more melodic sections and more elaborate songwriting but there are ultimately more lows than highs in my opinion. There isn't anything legendary about that old demo anymore as there are much more interesting Tankard records that are truly worth your attention.

At the end of the day, Tankard's Alcoholic Metal: 40 Years in Thrash - Extended Version is only interesting for adamant collectors and fans of old date. For everyone else, this is a confusing release featuring two new songs, a live track and a demo that is almost four decades old. Instead of getting more people interested in this band, such a release might actually keep potential new fans away from a great thrash metal band.

Final Rating: 40%