This Means War is the third album by British heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Tank

Tank (band)

Tank is a British heavy metal band, formed in 1980 by Algy Ward, a former member of The Damned. The band is known as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement...

, released in 1983. On this album, the line-up expanded to a four-piece, with the addition of second guitarist Mick Tucker, former member of the NWOBHM band White Spirit

White spirit

White spirit [CAS 64475-85-0], also known as Stoddard solvent [CAS 8052-41-3] or mineral spirits, is a paraffin-derived clear, transparent liquid which is a common organic solvent used in painting and decorating. In 1924, an Atlanta dry cleaner named W. J. Stoddard worked with Lloyd E...

. Thanks to Tucker's songwriting contributions and to the sound expanded by an extra guitar, the band changed their music in comparison with their previous albums with longer, more melodic compositions, which helped differentiate Tank from Motörhead, the band they were often compared to.

Track listing

All songs written by Tank (A. Ward, P. Brabbs, M. Tucker, M. Brabbs).

1. "Just Like Something from Hell" – 8:30
2. "Hot Lead, Cold Steel" – 5:46
3. "This Means War" – 5:18
4. "Laughing in the Face of Death" – 5:16
5. "(If We Go) We Go Down Fighting" – 5:26
6. "I (Won't Ever Let You Down) – 4:40
7. "Echoes of a Distant Battle" – 5:03

CD Bonus Tracks

Since 2007, editions of the album have been available on CD with the following bonus tracks:

8. "The Man Who Never Was" (B-side of "Echoes of a Distant Battle" single) – 4:31
   
9. "Whichcatchewedmycuckoo" (additional B-side of "Echoes of a Distant Battle" 12") – 3:20
   
10. "Swapiyayo" (from French version of This Means War LP) – 1:13
    

Personnel

• Algy Ward
  Algy Ward
  Alasdair Mackie "Algy" Ward is an English rock and roll bass guitarist and singer.-Biography:He was first active as a member of the Australian punk band The Saints before joining British group The Damned and playing on Machine Gun Etiquette...
  
  – vocals, bass
• Peter Brabbs – guitar
• Mick Tucker – guitar
• Mark Brabbs – drums