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Armored Saint Reigns Supreme In London With Fierce Support From Tailgunner

One of the most commonly used phrases among metal fans is, "They should have been bigger." Despite metal fans' contradictory attitude towards commercial success, Armored Saint always had the tunes and the talent to go far and while they never reached the heights they deserved, their legacy is undisputed as one of the greatest exponents of American heavy metal. "Symbol Of Salvation" is a bona fide classic and there are several other albums that could be considered legendary too. Forty two years on from their formation, Armored Saint were back in London to perform at The Dome in Tufnell Park and fans were eager to welcome them back to The Old Smoke.

The evening kicked off in tremendous fashion thanks to English traditional heavy metal flag bearers Tailgunner. Since the release of their debut album, "Guns For Hire" last July, the quintet has received a lot of praise and rightfully so. Traditional heavy metal is a hard thing to pull off in the modern day, but Tailgunner is bloody superb at it. It was a surprise, albeit a fun one to see them walk on stage the classic Mikis Theodorakis composition, "Zorba The Greek," but it set the tone for the fun that was to come, which soon arrived via opening number, "Guns For Hire." The title track is a great representation of what to expect from the band; Maiden and Priest worship at its finest.

Guitarists Zach Salvini and Rhea Thompson were on fire throughout the whole set, particularly during the guitar battle mid-way through their performance. Like Thompson, there's another recent addition to the lineup in the form of ex Asomvel drummer Jani Pasanen, who was just as exciting to watch, while vocalist Craig Cairns (also of Induction and Titan Blood) was in excellent voice. In addition to excellent originals like "White Death," "Warhead" and "Revolution Scream," there was a couple of covers thrown in like "Beast In The Night" by Randy, and the closing song, "Painkiller," which of course is a Judas Priest classic. It's easy to see what the hype around Tailgunner is all about because they're so energetic and so much fun. Fans of classic heavy metal need to add them to their listening rotation because they'll restore your faith in the music you love.

Of course, we're all here for the main event, (except the Tailgunner fan I was talking to in the chicken shop across the road,) and sure enough, Armored Saint did not disappoint. It's been four years since the release of their latest album, "Punching The Sky," but for all intents and purposes, it's still the band's new album and it was the first to be featured via the first song, "End Of The Attention Span." While the classic material is naturally what people remember most, the music they've created since the start of their second run (which itself started twenty five years ago,) is just as good, with "Left Hook From Right Field" from the 2010 album, "La Raza" being a true highlight, while "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants" and "Win Hands Down" were also received really well.

Classic albums "March Of The Saint," "Delirious Nomad" and "Symbold Of Salvation" were all represented with three songs from each, including "Tribal Dance," "Over The Edge" and "Can U Deliver." Singer John Bush has always been a personal favourite of mine, (I still remember how furious I was as a fifteen year old, looking forward to seeing Anthrax at Download only for them to announce an Among The Living reunion,) and to see him live is a real treat, as Bush is still in as excellent as ever. It goes without saying though that every member of the group is on fire tonight, all putting in good shifts, with the guitars sounding on point and Joey Vera still providing some of the best bass in metal. More staples like, "Last Train Home," "Reign Of Fire" and "March Of The Saint" were brought out before the band capped off the show with "Mad House." Whether this was their first or tenth time seeing Armored Saint, nobody in the crowd could complain at this display, with the band pummeling London with some of the very best American heavy metal. Can they still deliver? You bet your balls they can!