Embedded Files
TAILGUNNER “Midnight Blitz”
TAILGUNNER “Midnight Blitz”
By Dr. Abner Mality
There’s a lot riding on this record as far as TAILGUNNER is concerned. Will they be the face of the next generation of “real” metal or just a better than usual traditional metal band? “Midnight Blitz” will have a lot to do with the answer to that question…
The title track kicks off with the wail of air raid sirens and slams right into a classic headbanger that has much of the feel of an “Electric Eye” or “Aces High”. The duelling solos of Zach Salvini and Rhea Thompson would bring a tear to the eye of any PRIEST/MAIDEN fan and Craig Cairns’ vocals are smoother than ever before. This track is outstanding and a perfect intro for the album, but in many ways, it’s the best song here.
The rest of the album is a solid jolt of pure metal, well produced by a guy who knows a thing or two about it…K.K. Downing himself! No complaints on that front. There’s actually quite a heavy dose of HAMMERFALL in the TAILGUNNER sound, which comes out in the melodic choruses of “Tears In Rain” and “Dead Until Dark”. The power ballad “War In Heaven” could have come right off the first HAMMERFALL album and is a good example of that type of song.
“Barren Lands and Seas of Red” has a bit of a tougher, grittier sound to it that works well, while “Blood Sacrifice” and “Eulogy” are just as much modern power metal as NWOBHM style tracks. The only track that fails to do anything is “Eye of the Storm”...as turgid and unoriginal as its title indicates.
Is “MIdnight Blitz” the knockout blow to take TAILGUNNER to the next level of traditional metal? Not yet, I think that is yet to come, but it is certainly a step in that direction.
Report abuse