NWoBHM survivors Tygers of Pan Tang continue their late-career renaissance with another strong effort in the shape of Bloodlines; Once again Robb Weir and his band of brothers have delivered a varied set of heavy rock and metal bruisers, underlining the fact that they are one of the best ‘veteran’ Brit metal bands still doing the rounds from the halcyon days of the New Wave…

Seriously – quite a few ‘bigger’ leftovers from that time when the dam began to burst would kill to be able to put out music of the quality of In My Blood – a nice mixture of Scott Gorham‘s 21 Guns, Judas Priest and Richie Sambora, if you can get your head around such a concept – and it’s a tribute to Weir’s steady hand as band leader and keeper of the Tyger flame that the band find themselves in this position.

It’s also a tribute to the complimentary skills of (now longtime) vocalist Jacopo Meille, who puts in another Grade-A performance throughout (but especially on the all-guns-blazing Fire on the Horizon and standout cut, album closer Making All The Rules) and fleet-fingered fretboardist Francesco Marras, who sends sparks flying in all directions whenever he deploys his axe. Seriously – and with no slight intended against his predecessors – he’s the best man to spank the plank for this band since the departure of John Sykes, bringing an invigorating enthusiasm to everything he touches. Bravo!

Light of Hope is an absolute banger, too, with drummer Craig Ellis and new buddy in rhythm Huw Holding powering the whole thing along in impressive style, and the Accept-styled crowd pleaser Back For Good isn’t far behind, either, but, truth be told, whatever song you happen to be listening to at any given time sounds like a highlight. Tygers of Pan Tang don’t waste any bullets on Bloodlines, hitting the target time and again, in the process creating one of the most remarkable albums of their storied career and one of the most listenable melodic metal album’s we’ve come across so far in 2023 – result!

Bloodlines releases on May 5th.