Tailgunner are the new Metal kids on the block. Their new album, Midnight Blitz, is a Classic Metal revival with arena-ready power, and tonight, alongside Marisa And The Moths, they pumped the youthful excitement into Brighton Chalk alongside the impressive Fozzy.
Tailgunner – Marisa And The Moths
Brighton Chalk – 6 February 2026
Words: Adrian Stonley
Photography: Robert Sutton
Tailgunner
For those of a certain age, Tailgunner will almost certainly take you back to your youth, to the heady days of the early ’80s and the rise of the NWOBHM. For those too young, this is the best option that you currently have to understand what we old buggers were discovering all of those years ago.
This is a band who know how to instil the same level of excitement and fervour as their forbears. They make no issue around their sound and clearly wear their colours on their leather and studded sleeves.
This is the perfect warm-up for Fozzy, and they will have earned many new fans tonight. With their latest album, Midnight Blitz, just released, the set unsurprisingly consists of many of those new songs, and for those who are not familiar with the band, it is a great introduction to them.
They are getting good radio airplay at the moment, and it certainly ensured that I caught this set as one that I have been looking forward to for a while.
Opening with the title track, they proceeded to produce forty minutes of high-quality old school Heavy Metal. With the latest album being produced by ex-Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, there should be no surprise that there is a strong Priest vibe here.
From the synchronised swinging guitars, the screaming vocals and the leather and studs, this is pure homage to the greats of ’80s Heavy Metal.
If there is a criticism, it is only small, and as a band, they perhaps need to find their own personal niche in the genre. At times, some of the stage antics are cheesy as cheddar, but let’s not knock it.
This is a band that knows how to deliver, and for everyone here tonight and those awaiting and anticipating Fozzy fans who were tuned into Tailgunner, they were clearly delivering in spades.
Marisa And The Moths
The first band on the bill are Marisa And The Moths. They are an interesting addition to the bill, as their form of rock is not quite so in your face, but has more subtlety.
They are not your head-down, go-for-the-throat Metal band, but have a stronger alternative feel to the music. However, in singer Marisa Rodriguez, they have the whole package. Not only is she a strong songwriter, but also delivers as the sole woman in the band.
The music clearly hangs back in ’90s Alt Metal, with at times a strong grunge feel. The lyrics are personal, up close and thought-provoking. The musicianship is superb.
As a band, they can switch styles comfortably between songs, such is their adaptability. Marisa’s vocal range is impressive, and she never fails to deliver. At times, she is raw and raging, at others, there is a gentility in her delivery.
Yet when needed, there is strength and intensity. With songs such as Get It Off My Chest and Wither Away, there is a clear indication that this is a band that recognise their strengths and play to them. Great musicianship, emphatic vocal firepower and a strong lyrical direction.
Skin, their first single, sees the band bringing the audience on side. A new song, played for the first time tonight, is Nothing’s Getting Better, and this sees the angst overflowing, yet this is also creatively strong and shows how far the band have come in a short few years.
Maris And The Moths are a band who do not comfortably fit into musical categories. They cross genres, they mix things up musically, and this can only be a good thing. They keep you on your toes.
Who knows what they will produce next? I do not, but I am certain it will be worth waiting for, and we will not see it coming.
