Jag Panzer

Following the path of traditional power metal, Jag Panzer first came into prominence with the release of their self-titled EP in 1983 and the epic Ample Destruction in 1984, with the line-up of Harry Conklin (vocals), Mark Briody (guitar), John Tetley (bass),Rick Hilyard (drums), is still regarded as one of the best power metal albums of the decade. But the upcoming years were not kind to Jag Panzer, as they struggled with lineup changes and direction shifts to a more Progressive bent. Only Briody and Tetley returned to recruit Daniel J. Conca (vocals), Chris Kostka (guitar) and Rikard Stjernquist (ex-Ballistic; drums) for the release of Dissident Alliance (1994), an album that also managed to carry some weight, but Tafolla and Conklin returned for The Fourth Judgment (1997), restoring the line-up for what was expected to be their comeback album.

Age Of Mastery (1999) saw the band evolving more but splintering again, now with Chris Broderick in place of Tafolla. Now moving back into their original styling, Jag Panzer's line-up was surprisingly stable for Thane to the Throne (2000), Mechanized Warfare (2001) and their "best of..." compilation 2CD set, Decade of the Nail Spiked Bat (2003).

For the 2004 effort, Chain of Command, Bob Parduba had taken over for Conklin, but this line-up change didn't last for more than one album because the returning Conklin re-took his old position on Casting The Stones (also in 2004), while Broderick had been replaced with Christian Lesague. It would be after the follow-up, Scourge of the Light (2011), that Joey Tafolla would take over from Lesague in time for the release of The Deviant Chord (2017), who in turn was replaced by Ken Rodarte for The Hallowed (2023).

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Footnote: Former vocalist Daniel J. Conca died in March 2004.