ALBUM REVIEW: Tailgunner – ‘Midnight Blitz’

So, you mean to say that this band—this rattling classic-metal homage with their screaming, howling singer and skeleton mascot, and who share their name with an Iron Maiden song—is influenced by Iron Maiden? Well, I never!

This would usually be the point where the mockery and derision would ensue. “Oh, a throwback band without a single idea of their own? Must be a day that ends in Y!” But there’s a caveat that doesn’t tend to be acknowledged much in these situations: the bands on the receiving end of that usually aren’t any good. Maybe that goes without saying, but you can theorise that so many retro-rock chancers don’t believe that they need to put in effort, and ergo, they uphold the boring-as-sin image as the norm. The oldies they’re chasing won’t care; to them, anything that doesn’t sound like that modern rubbish is a godsend. And so, the immediate temptation is to tar Tailgunner in the same way. The only problem with that is Tailgunner are really, really good at what they do.

What’s more, this isn’t a new development. Their debut Guns For Hire wasn’t as strong, but next to the bounty of middling dross in the trad-rock and -metal spheres, you wouldn’t turn it down. That’s exponentially more true of Midnight Blitz. Tailgunner’s knack for this exact style is astonishingly efficient, to where a chromed speed-machine like this isn’t too far from the absolute ideal.

In the way that ‘Maiden themselves are often seen among the progenitors of power-metal, Tailgunner play in a similar pre-genre lane without falling to anachronism. Precise, slicing guitars and the occasional DragonForce-esque synth whippet are their concessions towards contemporaneity; otherwise, it’s as trad as trad gets, in a very good way. You’re not left grasping for a vestige of energy, for starters. As you’d hope for from an album called Midnight Blitz from a band called Tailgunner, they’re not afraid to kick some tempos up and scream forth. Stick on Follow Me In Death or Blood Sacrifice and try to argue that they’re not exactly what you want, to the letter. It’s impossible, frankly.

Granted, you’re then left with an element of predictability that, were this a band incapable of leaving a grim-reaper-wearing-a-sci-fi-visor-shaped hole in anything approaching a ‘hurdle’, might be an issue. It’s very much the point of Tailgunner that they aren’t doing anything new, instead leaving the heavy lifting to the near-flawless execution. In a nice change of pace from the throwback crowd also adopting the arthritis of their ageing idols, Tailgunner put the effort into sounding like a legit metal band. This is heavy and uncompromising in a classic way, thanks to its ripping pace, Bones’ bass clatter and the age-old multi-guitar assault ripped straight from the playbook of that band whose name rhymes with Shmion Shmaiden. Even without a third shredder in their ranks, there’s some immaculate work done by Rhea Thompson and Zach Salvini here. Closer Eulogy is a fitting pinnacle, featuring multiple Olympic-level fretboard sprints that are worth the price of admission on their own.

All tied together, there’s barely a loose line or untucked fold to be found. Midnight Blitz is comprehensiveness to a T, even down to the inherent fun that classic metal always had. Throughout, vocalist Craig Carns is channeling Dickensonian grandeur without a trace of ponderousness or self-importance to be found. Thus, it’s hard to care when the lyrics are basically the same overblown metal bollocks apropos of nothing besides sounding mighty and epic. It helps when the choruses of Tears In Rain and Eye Of The Storm go supernova, but you’d also struggle to find a single second of vocal excess where Carns isn’t defining Tailgunner’s size singlehandedly. It’s so effective, in fact, that it’s impossible to imagine the wailing power-ballad War In Heaven not being here.

It’s probably worth bringing up how you do have to have a certain palette to get the level of enjoyment from Midnight Blitz that this review presents. A tin ear for old-school metal is not being remedied by what might as well be another glorified tribute act. That’s not a fair dismissal, though, certainly not in this case. Tailgunner are country miles ahead of the ‘norm’ in this field, thanks to the value of effort that carries them utterly ludicrous distances. Is it a stretch to say that they’re one of the most exciting revival bands around, full stop? No, probably not, and not just because the bar is sinking into the floor. There’s genuine desire to make something fun and frantic, and with as often as Midnight Blitz is an absolute blast to experience, it’s a roaring success. If Iron Maiden fancy not carting The Raven Age around on every tour they do anymore, Tailgunner are, quite literally, the perfect alternative.

For fans of: Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Saxon

‘Midnight Blitz’ by Tailgunner is released on 6th February on Napalm Records.

Words by Luke Nuttall