Review of the Album "Chemical Invasion" by Thrash Metal Band Tankard

German thrash metal band Tankard is a band that has not really stayed the same in terms of their thrash metal albums. Their second studio album called "Chemical Invasion" released in 1987 is worthy of a review and analysis because it is a better album than 1986’s Zombie Attack. The first track is not a song but an introduction to what listeners should expect from these German guys. I think it is pretty obvious what that first track leads to. There is the sound of a beer bottle opening as the person drinks that beer and then the speed of Tankard begins.

They want to somehow introduce the listener to what is coming up next which is hard-hitting and in later years HEAVY thrash metal which would rival the band Holy Moses.

Why has Tankard not stayed the same musically in spite of playing heavy thrash metal? This is because they have infused punk, progressive, and other elements into their style of thrash metal.

The next song Addiction is a fast and heavy as heck song about what happens when a person becomes addicted to anything especially illicit drugs.

The voice of Andreas “Gerre” Geremia at this time period is of a higher pitch. Some fans might say that his voice has always been the same as before. In 1987 his voice was of a higher pitch with an emphasis on almost a shriek kind of quality to it but not really. Think about the Holy Moses album Finished With the Dogs to get an idea of what is going on with his vocals.

In the riffing, I hear a more modern type of metal that King Diamond would later incorporate in his solo albums. But Tankard is not just about speed. They play thrash metal that keeps me interested right to the end of each album pretty much.

There is a definite punk style influence in this album, at least that’s what I’ve noticed as far as the musical style. These guys played music for the reason of having as much fun as possible and this attitude shows in their lyrics. There is a strong party influence for Tankard as listeners were introduced to back in 1987. And these party style lyrics would not change much even in 2004 when they released Beast of Bourbon.

Why is the song Don't Panic important even today? The very fast song Don’t Panic shifts the subject to world affairs. The song is a criticism of international politics. Contrary to what the lyrics say, the disaster at Chernobyl was huge and of course, the Russians got involved in a 10 year war in Afghanistan to try and prop up a communist style government. These guys were clearly aware of the world the way it was back then and they are transferring their intellect into the musical arena where it clearly works out for them!

The song called For a Thousand Beers is a 7+ minute instrumental song that start out with some progressive influenced guitar before the electric guitar starts and the song becomes more of a heavy metal song. The guitar sound in this song resembles the kind of sound that we heard earlier in the decade with Iron Maiden’s Killers album and that was in 1981. Not much changed in the 1980’s sound between 1981 and 1987.

Chemical Invasion is a song that brings awareness to the fact that companies will try to put preservatives in import beer and that will make people around the world very sick. German beer is said to be the finest in the world or is it? We have to fight for the right to drink only the highest quality drinks in the world and that’s both a health and a quality of life issue. The song Traitor can be analyzed in two ways. The first way to analyze this song lyrically is to assume or say that the song is about a person that sold their soul to the dollar even as their record or finished product didn’t sell so well. The second way to analyze this song is to say that Tankard were ready to play thrash metal without selling out to meet trends and they have always stuck to this style due to their dedication, willingness to have fun playing music, and respecting the genre of thrash metal. What are the strongest songs in the album Chemical Invasion? All of them not counting the first and last track and this leads them into 1988 on a very strong note!