Review JET JAGUAR “Severance”

Jet Jaguar is a Mexican metal band that formed in 2014. They released their debut album, “Endless Nights” in 2020. Releasing a new album as a new band during the world’s biggest pandemic might not have been the best of circumstances, and fate hasn’t always been on the Mexicans’ side. The band was involved in a severe traffic accident while touring with Anvil. This happened in 2024. However, with willpower and perseverance, the band members continued to follow their dreams, which meant carrying on with Jet Jaguar. As if that weren’t enough, the band also welcomed a new singer in 2024 when Raiden Pozenthäll joined the metal force.

It seems the tough times are behind them, as Jet Jaguar launch their sophomore studio album, “Severance”, featuring eight songs and two bonus tracks. Jet Jaguar plays more traditional heavy metal, and the up-tempo opener “Eternal Light” reveals their inspiration. The glorious metal days of the ’80s act as a source of inspiration, and it becomes apparent while listening to the opener that the new man at the mic has a rather good vocal range, which enriches Jet Jaguar’s music.

We continue at high speed to the next song. “Mach 10” follows the same speedy principle of the opener, before the galloping remix of “Hollow Drive” comes next. This song was released in 2023 and has been given a new lease of life on the new album. Usually, one might question the need for this, but given the band’s history, there is a good reason for including the song on the album. The pounding “Evil Within” shares the same backstory and has also been included on the tracklist.

The album contains some good songs, but also some average metal tunes. Some of the vocal melodies in ‘Anthropocene’ show potential for improvement, as does the pulsating “Disposable Minds”, which sticks to a more standard approach.

The listening experience of “Call of the Fight”, with its blazing speed, raises the question of why such a song is the bonus track, given that it is one of the album’s best moments. Indeed, both “Call of the Fight” and “Hunter” are songs from the first demo, and you can’t help but wonder where the band lost this thrilling metal aesthetic. Sometimes less is more, and these earlier tracks are the real highlights of the album.

“Severance” is an album of light and shade. The first two songs are real headbangers, and the bonus tracks showcase the band’s raging metal roots. The rest of the album though is more standard run-of-the-mill metal, and going back to their roots might be a good thing.