Time to give this bad boy a spin 👇

🎵 Midnight Blitz by Tailgunner
💿 Midnight Blitz, 2026
▶️ https://song.link/y/QImEQlb7PPM

Thanks for the recommendation @Kitty 🤘

#TomsMusic #NowPlaying #Tailgunner

TAILGUNNER Unveil New Single “War In Heaven” Featuring Grammy Winner Adam Wakeman New Album Midnight Blitz out now!

British heavy metal torchbearers Tailgunner have unveiled their new single “War In Heaven”, accompanied by an official music video available to watch now. The track arrives alongside the release of their brand‑new album Midnight Blitz, produced by metal legend K.K. Downing and out today through Napalm Records.

K.K. Downing praised the band, stating: “TAILGUNNER personify everything that is heavy metal.”

“War In Heaven” showcases a different side of the band, delivering a powerful, emotive ballad enriched by a guest appearance from Adam Wakeman (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple), who recently won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Wakeman’s synth work adds a sweeping, atmospheric depth that blends classic 80s metal influences with the band’s modern edge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np25HG13BCg

TAILGUNNER said of the single: “When the legendary K.K. Downing challenges you to write a ballad, you don’t let him down. Make no mistake, this one hits hard. We went all out and enlisted the help of Adam Wakeman (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple) on synths to make ‘War In Heaven’ an all‑time classic, just like those iconic 80s ballads from the bands we all love. Walking in the footsteps of giants, no ballad is complete without a blistering, iconic guitar solo, ready for the history books and ‘War In Heaven’ is no exception.”

AILGUNNER’s second album, Midnight Blitz, marks a bold step forward for the fast‑rising British outfit. Drawing deeply from the roots of classic British heavy metal while pushing their sound into new territory, the band remain committed to their founding ethos of pure, uncompromising heavy metal. Their rapid ascent has already earned the admiration of their heroes, with K.K. Downing stepping in to produce the new record after the band supported KK’s Priest on tour.

TAILGUNNER said of the album: “Like phantoms of the clouds, the Midnight Blitz screams silently through the air. Descending on their prey, a Heavy Metal militia striking at the speed of sound. Only blood can run. Whilst touring our debut album, we were described by one roadie as ‘The bastard child of Maiden & Priest’ and that became the ethos for our new album Midnight Blitz. Just like our forebearers, we are determined to push forward, always crafting our sound and building on what we have, whilst never compromising on what we started with – Pure Heavy Metal. We are not just worshipping at the altar of those who have gone before, but determined to stand upon it and be the heroes for a whole new generation. We played over 100 shows touring our debut album, sharing the stages with some of the most legendary names in Metal while paying our dues in blood, sweat, tears and endless nights out on the road. Everything we learned is on display here, packed into 10 tracks in what we feel can be a true, essential TAILGUNNER album. Produced by none other than the Metal guitar God K.K. Downing, working closely with K.K. during this entire process has been the ride of a lifetime and you can hear those touches of a bonafide Metal God throughout this album.”

K.K. Downing added: “TAILGUNNER is a band we should have seen emerge years ago from the UK. They personify everything that is heavy metal. They are loud and proud, and totally descended from everyone in metal that has gone before – their energy and rawness, together with their brand of metal, incorporates all of the godfathers and much more. Maiden, Priest, Motörhead, Def Leppard – the list is endless. The band has a youthful freshness and a uniqueness that will no doubt elevate them to being a true Metal favourite of the fans.”

Read the review here:

https://thenwothm.com/2026/02/02/review-tailgunner-midnight-blitz/

tour support for Fozzy’s “Eyes On You” tour

• 06.02.26 – Brighton, England – Chalk
• 07.02.26 – Margate, England – Dreamland
• 08.02.26 – Manchester, England – The Ritz
• 10.02.26 – Norwich, England – Epic Studios
• 11.02.26 – Bradford, England – Nightrain
• 13.02.26 – Nottingham, England – Rock City
• 14.02.26 – Glasgow, Scotland – TV Studios
• 15.02.26 – Newcastle, England – Boiler Shop
• 17.02.26 – Cardiff, Wales – Tramshed
• 18.02.26 – Torquay, England – The Foundry
• 19.02.26 – Southampton, England – The 1865
• 20.02.26 – London, England – Electric Ballroom
• 21.02.26 – Wolverhampton, England – KK’s Steel Mill

supporting Accept – “Half A Century Of Metal” tour

• 27.08.26 – Wolverhampton, England – KK’s Steel Mill
• 28.08.26 – London, England – Indigo at The O2

summer festivals 2026

• 05.06.26 – Stykkishólmur, Iceland – Sátan Festival
• 06.06.26 – Sölvesborg, Sweden – Sweden Rock Festival
• 07.06.26 – Trondheim, Norway – Trondheim Rocks Festival
• 13.06.26 – Donington Park, UK – Download Festival
• 26.06.26 – Spálené Poříčí, Czech Republic – Basinfire Fest
• 27.06.26 – Dischingen, Germany – Rock Am Härtsfeldsee
• 04.07.26 – Ballenstedt, Germany – Rock Harz
• 18.07.26 – Maidstone, UK – Maid of Stone Festival
• 06.08.26 – Villena, Spain – Leyendas Del Rock
• 08.08.26 – Kortrijk, Belgium – Alcatraz
• 09.08.26 – Geiselwind, Germany – Keep It True Legions Festival
• 15.08.26 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Dynamo Metal Fest
• 21.08.26 – Pellingen, Germany – Hells Pells Festival
• 05.09.26 – Coventry, UK – Hella Rock Festival (Coventry Empire)

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tailgunnerhq

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tailgunnerhq

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tailgunnerhq

[photo credit: Tunde Valiszka]

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#MetalInjection
TAILGUNNER Guitarist ZACH SALVINI Shows Off The Riffs That Taught HIm

https://627e81c5fee2d202a5df846c.paas-p.smehost.net/video/tailgunner-guitarists-rhea-thompson-zach-salvini-show-off-the-riffs-that-taught-them

#TAILGUNNER #ZACHSALVINI #Guitarist #ShowsOffTheRiffsThatTaught #MetalInjection #metal #music

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#MetalInjection
TAILGUNNER's RHEA THOMPSON Shows Off The Riffs That Taught Her

https://627e81c5fee2d202a5df846c.paas-p.smehost.net/video/tailgunners-rhea-thompson-shows-off-the-riffs-that-taught-her

#TAILGUNNER #RHEATHOMPSON #ShowsOffTheRiffsThatTaughtHer #guitarist #MetalInjection #metal #music

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
TAILGUNNER's RHEA THOMPSON Shows Off The Riffs That Taught Her

https://metalinjection.net/video/tailgunners-rhea-thompson-shows-off-the-riffs-that-taught-her

#TAILGUNNER #RHEATHOMPSON #ShowsOffTheRiffsThatTaughtHer #guitarist #MetalInjection #metal #music

After staggering off four crazy days at sea for the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, my ears and brain are fried unto merciless death. Luckily, I anticipated this contingency and left myself a fairly easy bounce-back to reality with the sophomore album from England’s classic metal rockers, Tailgunner. I was a fan of their 2023 Guns for Hire debut and found their modernized take on NWoBHM antics to be an entertaining ride. They slot into the same category as acts like Enforcer, Wolf, and Skullfist, and they have enough talent to sell traditional metal thrills like they’re something new. On Midnight Blitz, they rock a slightly more polished variant of what we heard last time with less of an obvious NWoBHM core, but their basic attack plan is still there. It’s all high-flying dual-guitar assaults, soaring vocals, and thundering drums, forced through an anthemic stadium-metal filter to create catchy, crunchy little metal nuggets ready to dip in shitty beer. It’s as cutting-edge and innovative as a stick, but sometimes brainless is better anyway. Now shut up and get in the gun seat!

Things open up effectively with the exuberant title track, which delivers all the classic metal goods and recalls Iron Maiden’s “Aces High” in subtle and unsubtle ways, especially in the lusty guitar noodling. The chorus is immediate and hooky and works as intended, and you will suffer involuntary fist-banging disorder as you prepare to strike at something at midnight. They manage to keep things in this winning window for much of the runtime with catchy tidbits like “Tears in the Rain,” which pays homage to the coolest lines from Blade Runner in appropriately big ways with a huge chorus, and the stupidly infectious “Dead Until Dark,” which rocks hard and rides free with a big Euro-power chorus that sticks like peanut butter mixed with Gorilla Glue. Some of the tracks punch above their weight and really win you over, like “Barren Lands and Seas of Red” and “Blood Sacrifice,” which thread that tiny needle between 80s metal and Euro-power to deliver hot guitar work and larger-than-life choruses.

Elsewhere, “Night Raids” reminds me of something off Human Fortress’s immortal Defenders of the Crown album, so that’s a win. Even the big, overwrought power ballad “War in Heaven” hits harder than you’d expect, sounding a bit like Primal Fear, though it does blunt the album’s momentum somewhat. Not every song is as clutch as the top dogs, and there is a minor bloat factor on a few songs, but no track feels like filler or an afterthought, and at 44 minutes, Midnight Blitz flies by like a gloaming onslaught. The production is a bit too clean, and I’d prefer more bite on the guitars, but you can hear everything the band does clearly.

Craig Cairns leads the air attack for Tailgunner, and he sounds more polished and professional here than he did on Guns for Hire. He no longer reminds me of Blaze Baley or Brian Ross of Satan, and his clear, commanding vocals skew more to a Euro-power style now, but there’s still enough grit to get the job done well. Much of the impact comes from guitarists Zach Salvini and Rhea Thompson. They rob the vaults of 80s metal wantonly while dabbling in various levels of Euro-cheese making, but never go too far down that rabbit hole to find the pirate shirts. There are ripping riffs, melodic harmonies, and overblown solos aplenty, and they keep the energy levels sky high for much of the runtime.

Midnight Blitz is a successful evolution of the Tailgunner sound. I might prefer the slightly more raucous sound of their debut, but what these cats do is still in the wheelhouse of Steel, and I eat it up like fruit leather and old Twinkies. If you like high-energy 80s metal designed to get the head nodding, Tailgunner is the caliber of act you should load up and blast. Fun will be had, and planes will be felled. It’s it’s a Midnight Blitz!



Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Fucking Stream
Label: Napalm
Websites: tailgunner.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/tailgunnerhq | instagram.com/tailgunnerhq
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026

„Wenn ihr euch nach neuen Bands im Stil von Maiden, Priest und Helloween sehnt – dann sind wir hier. Verpasst uns nicht. Heavy Metal lebt – und es geht ihm gut!“, geben Tailgunner bei uns zu Protokoll.

Alle aufregenden Infos zur Heavy-Metal-Band der Stunde lest ihr im Interview! #tailgunner #HeavyMetal #JudasPriest #helloween #IronMaiden

https://www.burnyourears.de/interviews/54780-tailgunner-im-interview-heavy-metal-lebt-und-es-geht-ihm-gut.html