Customer Reviews

The Filth Hounds Of Hades: Dogs Of War 1981-2002 (8CD+DVD)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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If you like TANK you'll LOVE this Box set!! If you don't know who TANK is I guess "raw, unpolished, yet melodic heavy metal" would sum it up. They have a sound all their own. If you like Motorhead, early Maiden and the heavier NWOBHM stuff that came out in the early 80's you may want to give TANK a try (you can give TANK a listen at Tank Filth Hounds on my space). I've been a fan since 1982. This box set is EVERY TANK album PLUS ALL the bonus tracks from the B-sides and singles (and Armour Plated). The DVD is a collection of various performances from over the years (most of which you can preview on You-tube) and they are pretty rough... The DVD quality is very "bootleggy". I am from Southern California and I never got the chance to see TANK live, so I enjoyed the DVD.

If you had a musical blender and threw in one part Motorhead, two parts all that is punk, one part metal, and a dash of proto-grunge before grunge was ever heard of and oddly enough I wrote this before I knew Curt Cobain had mentioned them as an influence) you'd have TANK. From the sonic opener Shellshock off their first LP Filth Hounds of Hades, to their latest release Still At War, Tank is one band that has never compromised their sound. Distinctive, dirty, grindy, with songs about war, seedy women, disease, and yes, even love. Tank were a band that was so instantly likeable to me all those years ago, I have always found it hard to understand why some real metal lovers just never took to Tank like I did. Perhaps it's the dirty, grungy, sometimes muddy singing of Algy Ward, or consistent theme of war and madness that hurts their appeal. Lyrically, the theme of Tank has always been simple. Most of the songs contain serious attitude and desperation, wrapped with shredding loud guitar, relentless pounding of the skins, and heavy bass. The years have been kind to Tank, and while their sound is distinctly 80's metal, very little of their music sounds dated.

The Tank Box Set and catalog has a lot on offer with six studio CD's, two live Cd's and one DVD in this set. The box set is chock full of goodies from the elusive Hammer On track to the single version of Crazy Horses, which just slays the Album version. Honestly- there is not a weak album on offer from Tank.

This is how it should be done. The CD's are not over compressed and sounded great cranked. I know this box set is pricey, especially if you own all the stuff on vinyl or have some imports but this is 10/10 with no reservations. This box set has a 60 page booklet with great pics, lyrics and narrative.

Important to note that the sound is clearer and crisp especially on the Tank/Tank effort. The remastering really lifts and improves the sound of these efforts without ruining them like so many other remasters.

Below are my ratings for each album/cd individually.

Hammer On!

In Chronological order Studio Albums:

1982- Filth Hound Of Hades: 5/5 Lots of punk influences. Terrific release top to bottom. Lots of bonus tracks on this CD including Shelshock, Hammer On, Stromtrooper, The Snake, Blood Guts and Beer, Steppin' On Landmine.

1982- Power of the Hunter: 4/5 Stars. A bit of a continuation of the first LP's sound. Set Your Back On Fire is a all too often overlooked Tank song. Bonus Tracks include, Oh What A Beautiful Morning, Crazy Horses (single version) and Filth B**ch Boogie.

1983- This Means War: 4.5/5 Stars. Perhaps Tank's most commercial and successful LP. Several Killer tracks and another terrific album. Includes three bonus tracks, The Man That Never Was, Witchcatchewedmycuckoo, Swapiyayo.

1984- Honour and Blood: 4/5 Stars. Always one of my favorite Tank LP's. This is the real deal. Heavy, fast, epic. Bonus Track: The Man Who Never Was.

1987- Tank: 3.5/5: Although regarded as the weakest Tank LP, that does not diminish the value of the effort. There are three very exceptional tracks (With Your Life, None But The Brave and The Hell They Must Suffer). The overall vibe of effort is great and I have always appreciated the tribute to the space shuttle crash "It Fell From The Sky". While not the best of Tank LP's still worth every cent.

2002- Still At War: 4/5. This CD is a welcome return and has several very good tracks (Light the Fire-Watch em' Burn, The World Awaits, In the Last Hours before Dawn, the bonus track C-ing Duball) are all stellar.

Live-

Return of the Filth Hounds Live- Great live CD. I especially appreciated the inclusion of Honour and Blood and two tracks from the new CD Still at War.

War of Attrition (Expanded): Live show from 1981 with Bonus Tracks, Demo's and BBC recordings. Lots of goodies here and the live stuff is terrific.

DVD: Its grainy, and old but....Terrific. I loved every minute of it. The audio I thought was pretty decent too. This is a flashback in time and its great to have for any Tank fan.

One of the better NWOBHM bands that never quite took off. Were as heavy as Iron Maiden, hand a punk edge like Motorhead, and a good concept of near future warfare to drive a bulk of their songs. With solid musicianship and solid vocals, Tank is well overlooked and is do for at least a best of reissue. This package combines all the albums and live stuff floating around in clean 24bit remaster editions. Alongside Demon, this British band is probably one of the most overlooked bands in British metal history.