By Monk
There are not many more words you can add to the canon that have been written in multiple volumes about one of the foremost bands in the heavy metal Überverse… but I shall hereby endeavour to add a few more inconsequential comments to the lore of the mighty Saxon on the occasion of the release of their 24th studio album…
That last phrase alone speaks volumes for the staying power of these godfathers of the British heavy metal scene, who have withstood all the vagaries and winds of change that have beset the genre over the five decades to prove that if you stick to your beliefs then you will come out the other side not only fighting but victorious in doing so, as this is yet another example of how being taken to the old school is the best lesson in how to produce a heavy metal education.
You want an intro to the album? Then bring in Brian Blessed to deliver ‘The Prophecy’ with a rich tonality that heralds the declarative opening title track. And right from the off this is classic Saxon: a massive melody with a huge hook, the duelling guitars intertwining through the verses and choruses into the massive mid-section duel, all over-topped by Biff’s absolutely HUGE vocal. OK, he’s had to drop his register as he gets older, but by all the gods he can still send those tingles down the spine and deliver operatic-style vocals that will have many younger wannabes blushing with embarrassed inadequacy.
Nigel Glocker’s massive bass provides a suitably morbid intro to ‘Madame Guillotine’, a traditional metal ‘banger with some typically cheeky Byford lyrics (“don’t lose your head”) combined with a typically Saxon cruncher of a riff, before we get one of those subtle solos that has Brian Tatler written all over it.
They prove they can still defiantly put the pedal to the metal with the retro-thrash of ‘Fire And Steel’, Nibbs Carter laying down some serious blastbeats that would put the finest DM drummer to shame while Scarratt and Tatler bounce off and around each other like kids on a trampoline.
My mind was blown when I heard the title track, but then ‘There’s Something In Roswell’ hit me between the eyeballs. Byford’s vocal is simply exceptional. To be honest, it’s a OK song in itself, but Biff just has that ability to take something mundane and otherwise ordinary to the next level and stretch it until it virtually breaks… Which is what he does with this album as a whole, backed by an incredible band who all still possess an incredible amount of passion and power, not to say commitment to the craft of heavy metal.
- ‘Hell, Fire And Damnation‘ is released on Friday 19 January.
- Saxon tour with Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in March:
