NWOBHM stalwarts Tysondog return with their latest collection of riffery – ‘Midnight’. The band enjoyed some limited success back in the 80s while being signed to Neat records (Venom etc). Since then, the band have been side lined with health issues inflicted on the original vocalist Clutch Carruthers (that’s never his real name) after he had a very serious car accident.

The band regrouped in 2008 and since then there have been more lineup changes, new vocalist Alan Ross (a much more sensible name) is the latest recruit. The band has recently signed with a new Danish label From the Vaults and Midnight is Tysondog’s debut release on the label. The album is well recorded and has some solid performances. These are by far the only positives….

Vocalist Ross has a touch of Blaze Bayley about his voice, it gets annoying after a while if I’m honest. The band are fine musos though and there’s some great playing here. It’s all a bit metal by numbers though, and there isn’t really a riff or melody that has stuck in my head. Tracks like opener ‘Battalion’ just drift on by in the background, double bass drums, generic riffs, and lyrics about war (yawn) are the order of the day. Saxon are the masters of this metal genre, unfortunately, Tysondog are just a pale imitation. Leave it to the big boy’s lads. The rest of the album just plods on, the title track has a few mildly interesting moments, but mostly it’s just uninspiring.

A very forgettable album that doesn’t really get out of second gear. Disappointing

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