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██▌ Artist...: Tailgunner ░▐██▌
░▐██ Album....: Midnight Blitz ░██▌░
▓▐██ Year.....: 2026 ▓▐██▓
▓▐██ Rel. Date: 2026-11-01 ░▐██▓
▐██ Genre....: Heavy Metal ██▌░
░ ██▌ Label....: Napalm Records / Soyuz Music ██▌
▐██ Source...: CD ▐██
░▐██▌ Type.....: Album ▐██▌░
▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo ████▌░
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1. Midnight Blitz 3:55
2. Tears in Rain 3:28
3. Follow Me in Death 3:56
4. Dead Until Dark 3:12
5. Barren Lands and Seas of Red 6:09
6. War in Heaven 5:39
7. Blood Sacrifice 3:20
8. Night Raids 4:49
9. Eye of the Storm 3:30
10. Eulogy 6:35
44:33
Tailgunner comes back with their second offering, the first release from
Napalm records after turning some heads in the underground scene with
their great debut in 2023. The question in my mind when I heard they
signed with Napalm records was if they would keep (and further refine)
their straight NWOBHM worship or attempt to tap into a bigger audience,
and this album clearly shows their intention.
On face value and on the first couple of spins, thereÆs plenty to
admire. Twin-guitar harmonies along with Craig CairnsÆ clear and
powerful voice are the backbone of ôMidnight Blitzö. Cairns especially
sounds amazing, offering his best performance to date, with a great
sense of control and emotion while staying convincingly ômetalö. The
rhythm section is tight and both Zach Salvini and Rhea Thomson offer an
outstanding performance with nice chemistry in the twin leads. Lots of
earworm choruses, easy-to-follow structures (more on that later) and a
crystal clear production pave the way for a very pleasant and at times
nostalgic dive into our beloved 80s metal sound as taught by the
masters. Judas Priest meet early Iron Maiden and for you who prefer more
contemporary comparisons Enforcer meet Haunt while jamming to Helloween.
And make no mistake, while Tailgunner proudly wear their influences on
their sleeve, at no point they become a cheap copy, they keep their
laser-sharp focus on their vision, something I highly appreciate.
There are some fantastic songs in here like the Maidenesque opener title
track or the closing speed metal banger ôEulogyö, or even the excellent
mid-album ballad ôWar in Heavenö, and Tailgunner deliver everything with
such confidence that itÆs obvious all my upcoming complaints and
nitpicks are conscious choices from the bandÆs effort to become bigger
in todayÆs metal scene, rather than lack of inspiration or talent.
So, whatÆs stopping this from scoring even higher?
Well, my main problem with this new-era Tailgunner is that their
high-energy, old-fashioned heavy metal gave more room to easy hooks and
ôsafeö songwriting, avoiding any kind of structural surprise and at
times missing the grit that made the debut feel alive. WhatÆs difficult
for me to accurately convey here is the mild sense of disappointment I
was left with after my 10th or so listen, because Midnight Blitz is in
no way a bad album. ItÆs a very competent -hell- even occasionally
excellent record. It ultimately feels like a step sideways, cleaner and
more ôcommercialö, but slightly less compelling and fresh than ôGuns for
Hireö. If you prefer a modern take on classic heavy metal with a
polished production and easy hooks, youÆll find plenty to enjoy here and
might as well disregard this review altogether.
The problem is that the result is so comfortable and predictable that
too often ventures into generic, and I expected more, making me wish
they would lean back to their mercenary days (Guns for Hire, see what I
did there?).
--
Before its release, I viewed Midnight Blitz as a make-it-or-break-it
moment for Tailgunner. Yeah, Guns for Hire was a banger, but in
retrospect, itÆs pretty damn uncreative and didnÆt leave a lot to the
imagination. What it did do was supercharge the room around the listener
with Craig CairnsÆ electrifying vocals, Sam CaldwellÆs thumping
percussion and the combined efforts of Zach Salvini and Patrick van der
VolleringÆs tight, pulsating rhythms. But for Midnight Blitz to push
Tailgunner forward, theyÆll need to do more than what they did on Guns
for Hire did. But nahhh, this became the Guns for Hire II I was afraid
it would be, and itÆs about what I expected such an album to be. With
less energy behind the compositions and even less really going on with
the stock-standard trad melodies, it really is a bland bit of heavy
metal and a disappointing follow-up to their more confident debut.
To be fair, it starts off on a positive enough note. The titular song
maintains that energy, sounding like regular 80s heavy metal mainlining
adrenaline with Zach and newcomer Rhea Thompson laying down seismic
speedy heavy metal riffs while CraigÆs banshee calls supercharge these
heavy metal rhythms. The problem, unfortunately, is that much of the
rest of the album doesnÆt maintain this momentum. ôFollow Me in Deathö
and ôBarren Lands and Seas of Redö have the right idea behind them û the
straight-up heavy metal with twin-guitar leads promise high-flying
melodies, but said melodies are plainer in their execution due to the
safe, by-the-books compositions with little-to-no personal flair. In
short, weÆve been hearing these songs for about 45 years now and, with a
subdued level of energy compared to the debut, thereÆs nothing that
makes these songs stand out from the crowd, nor all that worth listening
to on their own terms. At least the title track and ôEulogyö are jam
packed with thunder and lightning û meanwhile, songs like ôBlood
Sacrificeö and ôEye of the Stormö fizzle out with mediocre imitations of
the classics. ItÆs a bit like how in-between the adrenaline-fulled
opener and closer are eight songs that largely may as well be titled
ônot-Midnight Blitzö.
I say ôlargelyö because two other tracks at least try to pick up the
slack for the other six. ôTears in Rainö has these sappy chords trying
to make it a more emotionally-driven rocker, and while itÆs obvious
single-bait, at least thereÆs an attempt. ôWar in Heavenö has these
killer synths that, in tandem with the downtrodden composition and
CraigÆs soulful inflections, makes for a rather strong power ballad.
Hell, ôWar in Heavenö, for as typical as it is for a power ballad, has a
lot of the oomph that makes Tailgunner able to overcome the odds.
Alongside the titular song and ôEulogyö, ôWar in Heavenö does give
Midnight Blitz an edge. Hearing these songs (and, in concept at least,
ôTears in Rainö) does show a bit of growth and development for
Tailgunner in terms of variety and striking heavy metal melodicism.
Unfortunately, youÆre left with seven songs that couldnÆt be any more
generic and middle-of-the-road if they tried.
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