Band:	Tankard
Album:	A Girl Called Cerveza
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	July 2012

01. Running On Fumes
02. A Girl Called Cerveza
03. Witchhunt 2.0
04. Masters Of Farces
05. The Metal Lady Boy [feat. Doro Pesch]
06. Not One Day Dead (But One Day Mad)
07. Son Of A Fridge
08. Fandom At Random
09. Metal Magnolia
10. Rapid Fire (A Tyrant's Elegy)

Tankard returns after two years since their previous release. This 2012 album is entitled A Girl Called Cerveza, and it comes as a big improvement compared with Vol(l)ume 14. In my opinion it can very well be compared with their 2008 album Thirst. The group is commonly named as the AC/DC of thrash metal, because their music is always the same. Today they maintain the same level of entertainment in their music as they did thirty years ago.

The German natives will always be the kings of beer, and they maintain that image in this album. Despite playing the same type of metal, and most of their albums are quite the same, with the passing of the years they have changed their songwriting. Ever since 2008 with Thirst they became much more polemic and concerned about the reality surrounding, maturing their albums. Since then the band leaves space for tracks concerning more serious themes. In Thirst they were able to compose songs that were quite different from their usual repertoire, with songs about child abuse or lust; in Vol(l)ume 14 with a more general concern about today's world with tracks about economic crisis or the spill of oil in the sea, the black plague as they call it. The band decided to continue the more serious approach with tracks such as "Rapid Fire (A Tyrant's Elegy)" or "Witchhunt 2.0" about power and repressive behavior; but also continue, lyrically, to do what they did almost exclusively in the old days with tracks such as "A Girl Called Cerveza", "Son Of A Fridge" or "The Metal Lady Boy". In the three tracks mentioned above,Tankard has personality all over them. The motto of beer drinking, pure fun, mocking and humor continues to be the main ingredient of most of their compositions.

Business as usual personifies this album, Tankard are not fancy, and they don't want to be. They play pure thrash metal and have no concerns to play other type of metal. Technically they never were good? They are OK, but nothing more. To play what they play and with the complexity of their songs I think their level of technicality is quite sufficient. One thing any metal fan has to acknowledge is their degree of indifference to money: they play for their fans and for pure fun. They aren't a serious band. Of course they keep the same characteristics: lyrics are catchy and funny, fast guitar riffs and solos, crazy drum parts and marked vocals. The album production is good and they have been improving in that area year after year, although I'm not the biggest fan of the production of the previous album. Another thing to take notice is that their instrumental intros have been improving ever since Thirst, sometimes making the best instrumental moments their albums have; A Girl Called Cerveza is no exception. The band performance is good, it contains good guitar moments (good riffs and great solo combination, "Son Of A Fridge" for example), "headbanging" drum parts, enraged and explosive vocals by Andreas.

The four beer "maniacs" returned with a pure and credible Tankard album. Despite having two or three tracks that are more socially aware, most of the album contains the group persona. Since 2008, the band is different lyrically. In my opinion that is quite positive, most of them are in their 50s, and it seems quite absurd not to play something more mature, even if it is for brief moments. They are not exceptional and they know it, they are good in being fun and playing for their fans, without being obsessed with money. Although they haven't the most artistic performance I hope they continue with their style and attitude in future albums.