Jag Panzer

Formed in Colorado during 1981, Jag Panzer drew from the foundational British metal sound shaped by Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Guitarist Mark Briody, bassist John Tetley, drummer Butch Carlson, and vocalist Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin launched the group, which issued its first mini-album three years later. Seeking an additional guitarist, the members relocated to Los Angeles and recruited Joey Tafolla, whose playing shaped much of the band’s most enduring work. After the release of their debut full-length, Ample Destruction, commercial momentum failed to arrive at the pace Tafolla had anticipated, prompting his departure; he subsequently performed with Alice Cooper and issued solo recordings on Shrapnel Records. Carlson and Conklin exited soon afterward, the latter making a brief stop in Riot before establishing Titan Force. Briody and Tetley revived the project in 1987, bringing in vocalist Daniel Conca among other new members, and the resulting demo secured a contract with Auburn Records along with studio time for a fresh album. In 1996 the original lineup, minus Carlson, reconvened—Rikard Stjernquist taking the drum chair—for The Fourth Judgement, produced by Jim Morris of Death. Age of Mastery appeared in 1998, followed two years later by Thane to the Throne. Mechanized Warfare arrived in summer 2001. During 2004 the band issued two albums: the previously bootlegged Chain of Command, taped in 1987, and the new Casting the Stones, the final studio effort to feature guitarist Chris Broderick before he joined Megadeth. After releasing Scourge of the Light in 2011, the group disbanded, citing rising touring expenses, yet resurfaced in 2017 with its tenth studio album, The Deviant Chord.