Well, that’s a wrap for Netherlands instrumentalists Tank86. The Tilburg-based four-piece have decided to call it a day after two full-lengths, the latest of which, Obey (discussed here), was released in 2015 on Rising Magma Records and Lighttown Fidelity Records. That offering followed 2011’s Rise (review here) and found the four-piece of guitarists Joost Kruiswijk and Harold Aling, bassist Jochum van Weert and drummer Rogier Berben exploring textures of trumpet and trombone amidst the suitably dominant riffing of “Conquistador” and making a track like “Piledriver” live up to its name.

Their 2012 split with Belgians SardoniS helped spread the word of what they were up to, but Tank86 were ultimately a well-kept secret of the Netherlands heavy underground, likely too aggro for some heavy rock heads, but still more grooving than someone of the punch-you-in-the-face-metal sphere would be looking for. It’s hard sometimes for bands between two worlds to make an impression. If not fitting in was easy, everyone would do it.

All the best to the guys in Tank86 in their future musical and/or other creative endeavors, whatever they might entail. They’ve got some last shows coming up at the end of the year and you can see those dates in with their announcement below, as posted on the social medias:

Heavy friends,

We bring you the sad news that TANK86 is coming to an end.

After cultivating our own particular brand of instrumental heaviness over the past 13 years, we have now run out of diesel and have to put our mighty machine to a halt. We have always taken this band very seriously and to us TANK86 only has 2 modes: full charge ahead or full stop. With slowly dwindling morale we decided to pull the lever.

Needless to say we want to shout a huge huge TANK YOU to all who have supported and cheered on our path of instrumental destruction over the years. We’ve had an awesome ride!

TANK86 is not about to die silently of course. We will be doing a bunch of farewell shows in December and we very much invite you to come and have your face melted by instrumental riffage one last time and drink beers and share war stories afterwards:

December 8th: Faster & Louder XV, MC Heracles, Retie (BE)
December 9th: Plupub, Nijmegen (NL)
December 15th: LittleDevil Bar, Tilburg (NL)
December 16th: RARE GUITAR, Munster (DE)

And since we have boatloads of merchandise left and because we are greedy dudes who would like to milk every last penny out of this enterprise before we retire to our own private islands in the Pacific: We have made everything in our webshop cheap, so this is a great time to grab yourselves some TANK86 merch: http://store.tank86.com/

Cheers & stay heavy!
TANK86

https://www.facebook.com/TANK86
https://twitter.com/tank86rock
https://www.instagram.com/tank86band/
https://tank86.bandcamp.com/
http://www.tank86.com

Tank86, “Vault” official video

You could ask me exactly just what the gosh darn heck is going on in Dutch four-piece Tank86‘s new video for the song “Vault” — taken from their Obey album, which is out on Jan. 30 — and if it came to it, I could probably make up something plausible, but the underlying truth is that, yeah, I pretty much have no idea. There are two characters, and they fight, and it’s in stop-motion, and one of them is wearing one of those weird Eyes Wide Shut plague masks, and there’s heavy riffs and they fall down and some of it kind of reminds me of Street Fighter 2 and then they’re both on the ground and then the one guy gets up and leaves. Okay.

Why were they fighting, and what’s up with that mask? I don’t know. Probably better to just roll with the riffs and not worry about the rest. The video was shot and directed by Jelle van Dun of Animate the World, and if you’re epileptic or get a headache from watching quick, jerky movement, you might just want to put the song on in the background and let it play out, but otherwise, there is something hypnotic about it, and though the clip like the track itself is wordless, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the strange narrative of this nighttime battle somewhere, in some city, at some time. I guess that’s probably the whole idea.

Obey will be out next year. More info on the album and the clip follows the player below. Enjoy:

Tank86, “Vault” official video

Dutch instrumental heavyweights TANK86 have released a music video for the track “Vault” from their new Album “OBEY”, scheduled for release on Lighttown Fidelity / Rising Magma records in January 2015. The band just completed a successful kickstarter campaign to raise funds fo the follow up of 2011’s critically acclaimed “Rise”.

The video depicts an atmospheric battle between two grim figures shot in full stop-motion.

TANK86 has been creating its own particular brand of heavy instrumentalism since 2005. Two guitars, bass and drums are all the tools this band needs to get their heavy point across. A high dosage of riffs, harmonized layers and unconventional song structures effectively dismiss any need for vocals. No time for singing when you are pounded into oblivion…

Tank86 on Thee Facebooks

Tank86 website

Animate the World website

Following up on 2011’s Rise, Netherlands-based instrumental foursome Tank86 are preparing to launch a Kickstarter in order to press their second album, Obey. I was pretty sure Shepard Fairey had a trademark on the word “obey” in block letters if not the word overall, but I guess the Tilburg outfit are within their rights on the new album’s cover, which they’ve newly unveiled. Or if not, you know, prepared for litigation.

Tank86 recorded the eight tracks for Obey this spring at Quarantine Studios and their plan is to put the whole deal out on vinyl presumably early in 2015, though I guess they could probably squeeze it in before the end of this year if the crowdfunding takes off. They teased the whole deal like such, and as you can see, they’re of about as few words as one might expect of an all-instrumental outfit. We can’t all be talkers.

Goes like this:

The final master of “OBEY” is done and approved by our four sets of bleeding ears. Great work by Brett of Tower Studios!

Currently we’re editing a crowdfund promovideo and finalizing all the other kickstarter thingies. There will be some very cool limited stuff up for grabs! Expect the kickstarter (with preview tracks!) to hit somewhere next week.

Meanwhile we present you the cover image of “OBEY” designed by the fine folks of Blacklake. Coming to you soon in full vinyl glory!

TANK86 released their debut album ‘Rise’ in 2011, which was well received by critics and fans all over the globe for it’s instrumental depth, high density of breackneck riffage and general instumental songwriting.

TANK86 has toured Europe with Dozer, played at the legendary roadburn festival and stood its ground alongside bands such as Monster Magnet, Pelican, Karma to Burn and The Sword.

https://www.facebook.com/TANK86
http://tank86.com/

Tank86, Rise (2011)

Netherlands-based instrumental practitioners Tank86 are getting ready to record a new long-player and follow-up to 2011’s surprisingly metallized Rise (review here), and before they do, they’ll be heading out on a quick run of German and Swiss dates, joining forces for the last two shows with Rising Magma labelmates Pendejo, who have a new album called Atacames out on April 25. Serendipitous timing there, and no doubt the two Dutch groups will make for a formidable pairing in Luzern and Schongau when they meet up.

Tank86 will begin the recording process after this tour, and they’re also slated to play with Greenleaf at the beginning of June, which seems as valid an excuse for interrupting work in the studio as any I can think of. That show is June 7 and more info is available at Tank86‘s Thee Facebooks, should you happen to find yourself in Nijmegen over the summer. Hey, stranger things have happened. Look out for more info on the Tank86 record when it’s done, and in the meantime, dates for the tour that links them with Pendejo are below, fresh off the PR wire:

TANK86 spring tour and new album recording

In preparation of the recording of the follow up to TANK86’s highly acclaimed album “Rise”, the Dutch instrumental band heads on tour to Germany and Switzerland to test-drive their brand new material. They are joined by their Rising Magma friends Pendejo on the last two dates of the tour. After the tour the band heads straight into the Quarantine Studios to start recording. The new album will be released in the fall of this year.

The tour schedule is as follows:

01-05-2014: Hühnermanhattan, Halle/Saale (GER)
02-05-2014: Subway to Peter, Chemnitz (GER)
03-05-2014: Tiefgrund, Berlin (GER)
04-05-2014: 119FM, Esslingen-Zell (GER)
09-05-2014: Bruch Brothers, Luzern (SWI) – with Pendejo
10-05-2014: G2, Schongau (GER) – with Pendejo

https://www.facebook.com/TANK86
http://tank86.bandcamp.com/album/rise

Tank86, Rise (2011)

Kind of ironic for an instrumental band to have an album cover of an open-mouthed statue that’s essentially locked in an eternal scream, but that’s nonetheless what Dutch rockers Tank86 (via the artist Alexander Von Wieding) chose to put out front on their debut full-length, Rise. Released through Rising Magma Records, the eight-tracks of Rise work in a surprisingly metallic vein. One might expect coming from The Netherlands in 2011 with a sans-vocals approach, the four-piece are rooted deep in heavy psychedelic jamming. Well, they kept the heavy and sent the psych packing.

They can’t be bothered with the progressive pretension of minimalist Godspeed You! Black Emperor followers or the post-Explosions in the Sky new wave of instrumental indie passing itself off as heavy psychedelic rock, and the requisite Karma to Burn comparison fails as well, because although there are some similarities – mostly in that both bands have guitars, bass and drums – Tank86 are way less stoner and way more metal. Even the swaying, late-arriving semi-acoustic “Black Lake” has more in common sonically with Metallica and High on Fire than it does with Pelican or anything so pastoral as that. Instru-metal.

Rise is pretty straightforward from the outset, with most tracks in the five-to-seven-minute range, but Tank86 leave room for a more expansive feel in the 8:29 centerpiece “Apparat” and likewise a thrashier edge to the much shorter “Gottes Krieger,” on which Dozer/Greenleaf guitarist Tommi Holappa contributes a guest solo. His is one of two guest solos on the record – Peter Van Elderen of Peter Pan Speedrock also donates one to the earlier “Axe” – and it’s worth noting that although there are plenty of pinch-harmonic squeals and lead lines, Tank86 guitarists Joost Kruiswijk or Harold Aling feel more concerned with setting the rhythm, which one might not expect with the six-stringers having the added task of carrying the songs in the absence of singing. That is, it’s the guitars that most listeners to Rise will latch onto without the convenience of a verse or hooky chorus, and though there are some rippers scattered throughout, it’s not like the lead guitar is stepping up to provide a lyrical anchor. Opener “Barrosphere” hints at a solo in its final moments, but the track ends before it can really pay off.

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