Tag: saxon (Page 1 of 2)

This is the second of the mid eighties trio of albums which saw Saxon’s popularity start to drift away from the early NWOBHM onslaught. Along with Iron Maiden, they rode that wave to the top of the pile. The other two albums were Innocence Is No Excuse and Crusader.

I think the interference from the record company wanted the band to focus on the American market, which saw them soften their sound somewhat. The soft radio friendly songs on this album are Waiting For The Night (which was a single) You Ain’t No Angel and Northern Lady. They’re okay, but it’s not what Saxon are about.

There are a couple of good old Saxon crowd pleasers such as the title track and Battlecry, but the weak production lets them down. It would take the band some 15 years to climb back up the ladder to where they are today. Maybe the record company should have trusted them because they seemed to do alright with those early albums.

It’s okay, but not a classic.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

It’s safe to say that Saxon’s glory period sort of died out after Power And The Glory. Those first five albums are all bangers, I love them all. They had this ability to make kick ass metal albums but with the ear firmly on melody and song structure. You can sing along to all the songs on those albums.

After Power, things started to slowly go down as did their popularity. Now credit where it’s due, they have consistently kept pumping out albums where others did not and they kept their name in the spotlight culminating with this, their 24_^th studio album (not counting the cover albums), and it’s actually quite good. No, it doesn’t sound like Saxon of old but they do sound like a band with its finger firmly on the euro metal pulse.

Biff’s love of history is very evident on Saxon albums, but this one more than the others as every songs has an historical theme. Except Pirates Of The Airwaves where Biff is reminiscing on where he used to listen to new music when he was but a young boy. As usual with Andy Sneap, the production is on the money with plenty of crunch added to the clarity. My favourite tune is There’s Something In Roswell as it’s the one song that has that old school chugga riff and groove.

Not bad at all.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

This is album number three for one of NWOBHM’s finest sons. It’s definitely safe to say that the band were in a golden period that would last up until Power And The Glory.

Saxon were our band, as they came from only a few miles from where I lived. I always and still do prefer this version of  Saxon to Iron Maiden as the band had that sense of melody added to the crunch, which made them special. Saxon were also regulars on Top Of The Pops (the UK chart show) at the time, as the singles Strong Arm Of Law and Hungry Years did quite well. However, it was Dallas 1 PM that was the one that got a lot of the attention as it was about the assassination of Kennedy. It’s my favourite track on the album, a timeless classic that I never tire of hearing.

Although the band are still going, they are a shadow of what they once were and if you are new to a Saxon this is a good place to start.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

I’m a huge fan of the first five Saxon albums, as they appealed to me more than Maiden did. Plenty of huge riffs and grooves, and they knew how to write a good melody. The album before this was a bit disappointing, and there were rumours that the record company were interfering big time with this album, as they wanted the band to appeal more to an American audience. In fact, the version that you hear here was not the original version, as the label wanted them to record it again. There is another presumably more metal version of this album somewhere.

The first thing your ears are subjected to is a synth intro to opener Rockin’ Again. It’s clearly aimed at US radio with a slick production and commercial sound. Call Of The Wild follows and it feels more like Saxon, albeit with that slick production. It’s not that this is a bad album (it’s not), it just sounds like Saxon-lite, if you will. Back On The Streets is a great pop rock track with a killer hook and chorus, and the record company agreed as it was the lead single. Devil Rides Out sounds like any LA band of the time, a decent enough Friday night stomper. Rock N’ Roll Gypsy was another single release, and I hate that big dustbin lid snare drum sound.

Broken Heroes opens up Side 2 and its power ballad time. The only ballad that I like by the band is on their first album, with Frozen Rainbow. Gonna Shout starts with a nice riff and there are some very recognizable Saxon chord patterns on this one. Everybody Up has a variation of THAT riff again, and is quite a generic track. Raise Some Hell is moving the tempo up from the rest of the album with Dobby playing the galloping bass line. Superb middle eight! Save the best till last they say and that’s what get here with my favourite track Give It Everything You’ve Got. The band are finally giving it the treatment and it’s the only track that could have appeared alongside any from the first five albums. Great tune.

As I’ve already mentioned, it’s Saxon lite. It’s not a bad album, it’s just that I love those first five so much.

8/10 from The Grooveman.