Live Review : Tailgunner + Slander @ The Outpost, Liverpool on October 20th 2023

Outpost tonight is a very different Outpost to last week. It’s rammed for a start, and as far as you can see (which isn’t far, it’s only a small venue) there is a sea of battle jackets, studs and hair. The other week I witnessed some of the old guard that are keeping traditional British heavy metal alive, and tonight I’ve come along to see what the new blood has to offer.  

We start with Slander who are neither old guard nor new blood, instead they are kind of middle-aged! They play classic metal and they play it well. The songs are original but here and there is a nod to some 80’s classic riffs. Maybe a smidge of ‘Neon Knights’ or a hint of ‘Wasted’, tossed in a dressing of W.A.S.P. It’s good! First song and the singer is already in the crowd and seems to know what he's doing, in fact I think I know him from somewhere but can’ t place him. This style of music is timeless, the songs are their own but at the same time familiar. It’s not new but it's done really well and with love. The twin guitars are of course maiden-y because most twin guitars are! I can almost guess how each song will go from the first few notes even though it's a song I've never heard before! I got serenaded by the singer and then it clicked where I knew him from - many years ago in another lifetime he used to front a band I really liked called Captain Horizon who played Manchester's SOS festival a couple of times. I've often wondered what happened to them, guess I know now and it’s good to see him back out and doing what he loves. It seems that retro metal is undergoing yet another revival, it never really goes away it just dies down then pops back up again, and Slander are here for that and so am I.  
 

On to the new guard then. Tailgunner are just back from a short tour of Germany, where apparently they went down great. They have just released their first album “Guns For Hire” which made it into the UK chart, so kudos to them for that too! Tonight’s set is pretty much lifted from that album, and was impressive enough that I went and bought a copy at the end of the night AND booked tickets to see them again in Manchester the night after. The intro is the Sirtaki from Zorba The Greek, and there is already a fair bit of bended knee action going down in the crowd before the band even come on….. Just at the music gets fast enough for your head to be spinning, BOOM! The band here blasting out riffs and pounding out beats.

Tailgunner not only have the sound of 1980 off to a T, they also get the look spot-on. The tightest of tight trousers tucked into dinky little white hi-top boots, t-shirts with the sleeves cut out, bullet belts, growing-out perms or long flailing tresses; this could have been me when I was 17 and first foraying into the NWOBHM, even though this band were not even born back then. Hell, some of their parents may not have been born back then too!  The crowd is with them all the way from the first note and all the way to the back. The venue may be tiny but they treat it like an arena, with pose boxes both front and side stage so those of us at the back can occasionally see more than just the tops of their heads. There are props to go with the songs, which is always welcome and makes me smile. The singer has a hell of a scream, and we get a guitar solo that’s in the vein of Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’, complete with pauses for the crowd to yell in appreciation.  It's fast and furious, each song is delivered with a knockout punch. The bass player throws beer cans into the crowd and we're off again, It's very immersive and from about halfway through a mosh pit forms that quickly takes up most of what little room there is in here. It’s mostly good-natured though, and as far as I can see everyone is enjoying themselves hugely.

Standout tracks were the album title, and a sing-along called ‘Blood For Blood’ with it’s refrain of We Stand We Fall. This is a proper earworm, and I suspect I will be standing and falling for weeks to come. Tailgunner state that their aim is to put British metal back on the map, and on tonight’s performance I think it’s highly likely that they will. The bass player is an absolute star, what a performer this guy is. Their second guitarist, a tiny woman who had been in the band as a temporary stand-in for about 5 minutes last time I saw them, seems to have found her place with them and puts on a grand display that I can see very little of as she’s even shorter than me! The lead guitarist throws shapes and pulls faces throughout, without missing a note. The drummer is an animal. The singer holds it all together with crystal-clear screaming and some top notes that only dogs can hear.

As they go into their encore of their own song ‘Rebirth’ followed by a stonking cover of Dio’s ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’ we get the ultimate metal moment when two crowdsurfers arise and get passed around, only to be followed by both singer and bass player, still performing whilst aloft. Mind your heads lads!  So there you go, if tonight’s show is anything to go by the future of British metal is in very safe hands.   

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Tailgunner, Slander