KK Priest / Tailgunner – The Academy, Dublin 21,08.2024

Tailgunner opened for KK’s Priest in The Academy, Dublin, on Wed 21st Aug with their first gig in Dublin (and I think Ireland). 

As debut shows go, it was amongst the best I’ve seen yet. 
The band invaded the stage with a highly professional performance, from a band well beyond their years. 

They also looked the part, with all members wearing the leather pants and with hightop as high as Craig Cairns’ vocals, and not a sleeve to be seen. 
I can only describe them as a mixture of early Iron Maiden with a dash of Megadeth, a twist of 80’s Metallica and a sprinkle of Slayer. 

They have a relentless raw energy and extreme talent, from the amazing vocals to the effortlessly alternating guitars, backed up by a rhythm section that I can only describe as rock solid. 
I saw them literally grab a sceptical crowd in the palm of their hand and by the end of the gig had all of them shouting back at them.

If this is what they can do with their first gig as a support, I can’t wait to see them when they hopefully come back. 

The story behind KK’s Priest is as interesting as the motley crew of members that make up the band, some of metals elite, and these guys had no problem blasting through a stadium style show, even in a more ‘intimate’ venue like The Academy. 

When KK Downing left Judas Priest in 2011 to return in 2020 with his own (not so subtlety named)band, he took Rob Halford’s replacement singer Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens along with him, adding sometimes Iron Maiden bassist Tony Newton, and rounding out the band with A.J. Mills and Sean Elg, and decided to continue his own vision of what direction Judas Priest could have gone in. 

These guys are the real deal, being top level musicians, amazing performers and fronted by Ripper, one of the most effortlessly badass frontmen I’ve seen in a long time. It didn’t seem to matter where they were playing, and from their video intro to the constant smoke towers blasted across the stage, you’d have been forgiven in thinking you were watching a stadium show. The fact that it was in a more intimate venue made it all the better, giving the hardcore and clearly very loyal fanbase a more up close and personal experience.

The setlist was as relentless as the band, and they blazed through it with more enthusiasm than many younger bands you will see currently touring.
You can tell these guys simply love what they do as much as the fans live to listen to it. It was such an amazing gig and one I won’t be forgetting for a long time.

Tailgunner photos:

KK Priest photos & set-list:

Set-list:
Hellfire Thunderbolt
Strike Of The Viper
One More Shot At Glory
The Ripper
Reap The Whirlwind
Nightcrawler
Sermons Of The Sinner
Burn In Hell
Diamons And Rust
Hell Patrol
Green Manalishi
Before The Dawn
Breaking The Law
The Sinner
Raise Your Fists

Words & photos – David McEneanery @experimentzero