Trillions Newcastle 17th October
Review and Photographs by Linda McDermott
Move over Iron Maiden and make way for the newbies because Tailgunner are out to take your crown, and this was the first night of their UK leg of the Guns for Hire Tour that is going to prove that they are the ones to take on that mantle.
But first. Support came from three bands starting with Wildfire Scotland. I’ve seen the guys several times now and I’m never disappointed by their melodic metal set. This was their first gig as a four-piece band, and they nailed it. I was expecting the songs to have a different tone to them, but Keir was more than capable of reproducing the two guitar sounds on his own.
Mikey, Liam, Keir and Lewis have a couple of EP’s well worth listening to and are working on new material which I’m looking forward to hearing more of. They finished their set by playing one of my favourite songs, ’Stronger’ to a very appreciative crowd and they were a perfect start to the evening.
Set List
Undercover
Buried Deep
Gimme a Kiss
New Song
Hell Bent for Leather
Stronger
Buried Deep https://youtu.be/hOvw_NvCWuw?si=Aj77DYSDucY90DJA
Next up was a band called Oath Sc This was an exhilarating night for the guys as it was the first gig for Steve, Richie, Ryan and James as a band. They played seven songs without stopping for breath, opening with ‘Gatekeeper’ with a great punky vibe. They continued on with the rest of the set which was more in tune with the new wave of British heavy metal theme of the night. Altogether a fantastic debut gig for the guys.
Set List
Gatekeeper
Computer Warrior
Dream of Solitude
Blinded by the Sun
Take This Oath
Disposable
The Carpathian
The last support band was Tantrum, the five-piece band took to the stage with the same ethos as the other bands and they produced a blistering set of heavy metal anthems. With a few changes in the lineup since they first formed, they now have a formula that works perfectly to deliver a powerful gritty sound that will take them forward in this genre. I loved ‘Valhalla’ and sang along to the chorus with everyone else. This is a band I’m looking forward to seeing again.
Set List
Another Life
Hellion
Sands of Time
Never More
Black & White
Valhalla
Hunter Hunted
Tailgunner
I first saw Tailgunner at Call of the Wild Festival in May and was blown away by how polished they were, and I was even more impressed when I found out that it was Rhea’s first gig and she’d only had three days to learn everything, three days! She absolutely smashed it.
With the new lineup solidified they have produced a handful of singles and a new album ‘Guns for Hire’ that the likes of Iron Maiden would be proud of.
Tonight was all about Tailgunner. They stood left off stage while their intro ‘Zorba the Greek’ played to build up the atmosphere and then on they came and BANG! That was it, they were in full flow with mighty guitar riffs, powerful drums, rhythmic bass and Craig in full flow singing ‘Guns for Hire’ and that was how the whole set played out. They were hypnotic as they moved around the stage, never standing still and for five of them on the stage at Trillions that was no easy feat.
Tailgunner means business and with a declaration from Craig that they were ‘there to put UK heavy metal back on the map’, no one in the room doubted it for a second. I loved their set in its entirety, the solos, the guitar duets, the enthusiasm from the band and how they got the crowd behind them, all in all, they were very impressive as the music was imposing and complicated but made to look easy.
There were lots of opportunities to sing along to the choruses, and they insisted you did, but then why wouldn’t you, it was why everyone was there on a Tuesday night.
They tore through a spellbinding fifteen songs that left you feeling that you had witnessed something incredibly special. Thanking everyone for their support they finished off the night with a new song ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’ to rapturous applause and cheers.
Tailgunner is attracting a lot of interest as they grow and were picked to open the very first KK’s Steel Mill show this year by KK Downing of Judas Priest fame. If that’s not a seal of approval, then nothing is.
I’m looking forward to seeing them grow and sell out bigger venues because I feel they have the grit and determination to do just that.
If you love your heavy metal, you really should make the effort to catch them on tour. And with shows selling out fast with tickets a very affordable £10 you’d be nuts to miss them!
Set List
(Zorba the Greek – Intro)
Guns for Hire
White Death
Beast in the Night
Warhead
Guitar Battle
Hall of the Mountain King
Painkiller
Blood for Blood
Revolution Scream
Shadows of War
Futures Lost
New Horizons
Crash dive
Rebirth
Don’t Talk to Strangers
Videos
Crash Dive
New Horizons
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