Up and coming Tampa, Florida metal act Midnight Vice made a splash with their self titled debut Ep, seeing great reviews across the globe as well as a plethora of interviews introducing the band to an entirely new audience that was previously out of their reach. It was often noted that one of the strongest aspects of the band was frontman, Tyler Gray, whose versatile voice lead the quartet through such staples as ‘Baptized By Fire’, ‘Strike In The Night’ and the band’s cover of the Savatage classic ‘White Witch’.
That versatile voice – as well as his veteran level talent as a frontman at such a young age – placed Gray in the sights of legendary guitarist George Lynch and led to Tyler temporarily joining Lynch’s band for dates this August just gone, replacing the band’s actual singer, Brett Carlisle, who will be unavailable for those shows, due to commitments with Great White.
Of the opportunity, Tyler remarked, “Brett and I have known each other six or seven years and he played his manager some Midnight Vice stuff. Because of that and our mutual love for Dokken, we’ve done a few things together over the past few years. When he asked me if I’d be up for filling in on these dates I was super excited and grateful for the opportunity.”
“Ironically, our guitarist Sam Bean is now playing with Terry Ilous from XYZ and we’re doing these shows together,” he noted at the time.
On passing the baton to Tyler temporarily, Brett Carlisle added, “I picked Tyler from Midnight Vice to sing on these shows because we’ve been homies for years. He sounds good, he looks good and I know he’s going to kill it. I’ll be there for the last show and I think we’re going to split that one up, actually. It’s gonna be great!”
Hailing from the depths of Tampa, Florida’s underground metal scene, Midnight Vice‘s self-titled debut EP, avaialable via Roar/RPM Music, has had reviews that are said to “have been amazing”.
With a sound that pays homage to the legends of the 1980s metal era, they combine crushing riffs, soaring vocals, and blazing guitar solos to create a sound that is both familiar and fresh.
They are characterised by denim and leather, with a take no prisoners attitude. The group is heavily influenced by bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Savatage, Megadeth, Motörhead and more. Midnight Vice brings a sense of tradition to their music, all while infusing modern energy that is sure to ignite the flame within diehard metal heads.
The band was originally formed by vocalist Tyler Gray, and bassist Lakota Stafford. After enduring a few renditions/lineup changes, the band eventually brought guitarist Samuel Bean, and drummer Dennis O’Sullivan on board.
Picking up speed, they started writing heavy metal anthems of their own. It wasn’t long before they hit the ground running, rehearsing in humid, sweltering warehouses as preparation for things to come.
The band will be entering the classic Morrisound Studios in the near future to begin tracking their debut full length album for RPM- Roar. Currently untitled, some of the titles include ‘Mystic Eyes’, ‘A Serpent’s Kiss’ and ‘Tongue of Silver’. The album is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2026.
