Power Games – Jaguar’s classic debut album back 1983 back the New Wave of British Heavy Metal days get a spruce-up from High Roller Records with a reissue including a slip case cover, comprehensive booklet and a mini-poster.
High Roller do this sort of stuff so well with old NWOBHM stuff. Recently they gave their treatment to the excellent Omega reissue – and now Jaguar.
Power Games is something of a NWOBHM classic. Breathlessly heavy, fast and furious. Early speed/thrash metal if you will.
The whole album is delivered at breakneck speed. Monster riffs banging along apace. Brutal solos, thunderous drumming and vocals to match.
Jaguar were initially signed to Neat Records – of course the label who snapped up many a fledgling NWOBHM-related band back then – and Power Games was a modest success at the time. As were the great Raven who had a similar style to Jaguar.
The story goes that Jaguar were on the bill with Raven at a Dutch rock festival which resulted in the offer from Neat to join Raven as label mates.
A second album – This Time – was released in 1984 via Roadrunner. However moving away from the fast and furious stuff to a more polished and melodic sound perhaps wasn’t the best move and Jaguar split soon afterwards.
They’d pop up a time or two after a reformation around the turn of the century with sporadic albums appearing. Am not sure if they are still around in some form here in 2024 with the Power Games reissue.
Here’s Dutch Connection – the opener:
The album is worthy of High Roller’s reissue with it being something of an influence on early speed/thrash as well as being from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal days.
If you like Raven or early Metallica you’ll find Power Games rather agreeable.
High Roller Records here:
https://www.hrrecords.de/Home_2
Also found it an Amazon:
https://amzn.to/3yf1dgx
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