Year : 2019
Style : NWOBHM , Heavy Metal , Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 385 mb
Bio:
Saxon are an English heavy metal band which formed in 1976, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had eight UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums. The band also had numerous singles in the UK Singles Chart and chart success all over Europe and Japan, as well as success in the USA. Between 1980 and 1987 Saxon established themselves as one of Europe's biggest metal acts. They still tour regularly and have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. Saxon have also influenced many bands such as Metallica and Megadeth.Somewhere around South Yorkshire, UK there was a band that started life as SOB during 1976 with founder members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson. This band joined forces with another local band, Coast, featuring Biff Byford on vocals and Paul Quinn on guitar. The two bands then finalised with a line-up comprising of the then 26 year old Graham 'Oly' Oliver, Steve 'Dobby' Dawson (27), Paul 'Blute' Quinn (26), Pete 'Frank' Gill (27) and Peter 'Biff' Byford (27). The name of the band was Son Of A Bitch. That name was dropped a few years later and the band re-christened themselves SAXON. They were at this time playing the usual rock clubs and concert gigs supporting The Ian Gillan Band and Heavy Metal Kids, amongst others, playing all their own material. Demo tapes were recorded at Tapestry Studios, with producer John Verity (Ex. Argent singer/guitarist). They hawked these round the usual record companies only to be ignored as the New-wave was at its height at this time. After a few months the band finally gained a favourable reaction from EMI man Peter Hinton. He had come up to Barnsley to see the band play at the town's Civic Hall. He was very impressed and recommended SAXON to Claude Carrere as candidates for his new label on the British scene, Carrere Records. Claude decided to offer them a contract, after hearing the band's demo tapes.Saxon released their nineteenth studio album, Call to Arms, on 3 June 2011. It debuted at number 6 on the UK Rock Albums chart. The band embarked on a world tour which saw them visit the US; Saxon also revisited the UK for a second leg of the tour. The band announced on their Call To Arms tour that a number of fans at each venue each paying £10 would be able to watch them soundcheck. This was donated to the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy and Childline charities.In December, Byford joined Metallica on stage to perform "Motorcycle Man" for the band's 30th anniversary show. Saxon were billed as special guests supporting Judas Priest at Hammersmith Apollo on 26 May 2012. Saxon also played Download Festival 2012, and were recorded playing "Wheels Of Steel" for the festival's Highlights show shown on Sky Arts. On 13 February 2012, the band announced that they were releasing a new live DVD and CD package entitled Heavy Metal Thunder - Live: Eagles Over Wacken, which compiled their 2004, 2007 and 2009 performances at the Wacken Open Air across various formats. In March, Saxon won the Metal Hammer 2012 Golden God award for 'Best UK band'.In October 2012, the band announced that their next studio album would be titled Sacrifice and it was released on 25 February 2013. On 11 December 2012 Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie saw an international release and was the first Blu-ray release for the band.
Album:
With a massive parp of the trumpets, and deservedly so, Saxon are celebrating their 40th Anniversary. Along with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal movement, whose first LP was Saxon’s eponymous debut, there’s been a lot of great music; Samson, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Girlschool, Praying Mantis to name just a few.But Saxon, twin guitar classic metal, this is where it’s at. No-one has epitomised British heavy metal more, few have matched their consistency, on record and on stage, for the last 40 years. And since 2000 Saxon have been riding the crest of a wave.The current line-up of founder members Biff Byford and Paul Quinn, guitarist Doug Scarratt, bassist Nibbs Carter and drummer Nigel Glocker, has been stable and rocking the world for some time. Since their NWoBHM roots, the band have gone FM friendly, rock’n’roll, power metal, back to trad metal, then in the mid 00s albums have utilised power metal to tie in prog metal, rock’n’roll, their punk influenced roots and symphonic. Then in 2018 Saxon released Thunderbolt, their heaviest album to date and most successful in many years.This live set has much to celebrate, and it does so immaculately. Seriously. Even before you hit ‘play’ (or place the needle in the groove), the packaging alone is something to behold. A triple CD in a digipak with booklet, lovely for a start. Or then there’s the heavyweight vinyl, 5 LPs each in a sleeve with a different band member, a playing mat and a thick 12” book full of memorabilia and old press cuttings. Well worth the expense!Celebrating 40 years with 40 tracks, songs are taken from across the career; well, the 80s, 00s and 10s, the 90s have been criminally overlooked. No fan favourite ‘Solid Ball Of Rock’ – a sackable offence surely?That said, much of the tracks here show why Saxon are my favourite live band (and a favourite for many) – if for no other reason that Saxon have a broad catalogue and they have confidence in it. Tracks are played from across their career.I was at each of the London shows from which tracks were taken here (I’ve only missed one London show in over 20 years) and in each case they’ve played 5 or 6 from the then current album. Since Killing Ground, confidence in themselves has increased and who can blame them? Equally, setlists vary, a whole lot more than most.‘State Of Grace’ is a great opener, as there’s a few atmospheric bars before you are hit in the face by a sledgehammer. And as it leads into ‘Red Star Falling’, Biff introduces the song; he’s always one to talk to the audience, never shy, you know where you stand with this band. Another song with atmospheric moments.Tracks like’ Demon Sweeney Todd’ mix high speed guitar work with chunky riffs, Scarratt and Quinn a solid pair with a lot of chemistry.Plenty of new tracks and confidence in them, and rightfully so, there’s too many bands live in the past. But when older tracks like ‘Machine Gun’ are introduced, there’s a roar from the crowd. The more melodic ‘Rock’n’Roll Gypsy’ also goes down well, it also sounds good amongst the heavier more recent material, some good variation. There’s some very neat guitar work going on in the middle there too.Nice to see rarer tracks like ‘Play It Loud’ get an airing too.‘Princess Of The Night’ is another old classic, where the audience get a chance. You can almost hear Biff patrolling the stage like a lion does the Serengeti, yet managing the audience like a lion tamer, the man has class and one of the best front men around.A very touching moment is bringing out ‘Fast’ Eddie Clark when recently supported by Fastway, to play ‘The Ace Of Spades’, raising a glass to Lemmy. I was lucky to meet Eddie after the show, that was an evening to remember. Motorhead and Saxon have history, about which Saxon recorded ‘They Played Rock’N’Rol’l, also featured here.40 live Saxon tracks, new and old, recorded since 2007, what’s not to love? And the selection also means there’ll be tracks you may not have heard live before, rather than the usual setlist regurgitation (something Saxon never do). There will always be debate over set lists; I may be alone in wishing they’d drop Wheels Of Steel, but with such a strong catalogue you can’t bear grudges. Just please take note of the frown about ‘Solid Ball Of Rock’, ‘Dogs Of War’ or ‘Unleash The Beast’.Live album of the year, and the forthcoming 40th Anniversary tour is going to be something to look forward to.Saxon and their current label never fail to impress.
Line Up:
Biff Byford - Vocals (1977-present), Bass (1986) - See also: The Scintilla Project, ex-Son of a Bitch, ex-Coast
Paul Quinn - Guitars (1977-present) - See also: ex-Son of a Bitch, ex-Coast
Nibbs Carter - Bass (1988-present) - See also: ex-Paul Di'Anno, ex-Air Pavilion, ex-Paul Di'Anno & Dennis Stratton
Doug Scarratt - Guitars (1995-present) - See also: Mad Men and English Dogs
Nigel Glockler - Drums (1981-1987, 1988-1998, 2005-present) - See also: ex-Thunderstorm, Mad Men and English Dogs, Winter's Reign, ex-Paul Di'Anno, ex-Air Pavilion, ex-The Bernie Tormë Band, ex-Toyah
Tracklist:
CD1:
01. State Of Grace (Berlin' 2007)
02. Red Star Falling (Berlin' 2007)
03. Attila The Hun (Berlin' 2007)
04. If I Was You (Sheffield' 2007)
05. Witchfinder General (Berlin' 2009)
06. Demon Sweeney Todd (Berlin' 2009)
07. The Letter + Valley Of The Kings (London' 2009)
08. Machine Gun (London' 2009)
09. Live To Rock (Berlin' 2009)
10. Hammer Of The Gods (Berlin' 2011)
11. Back In '79 (Berlin' 2011)
12. I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive) (Berlin' 2011)
13. Call To Arms (Berlin' 2011)
14. Rock 'n' Roll Gypsy (Berlin' 2011)
15. Chasing The Bullet (Berlin' 2011)
16. Play It Loud (Berlin' 2011)
CD2:
01. Sacrifice (BYH Balingen' 2013)
02. Night Of The Wolf (BYH Balingen' 2013)
03. Conquistador + Drum Solo (BYH Balingen' 2013)
04. Stand Up and Fight (BYH Balingen' 2013)
05. Crusader (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
06. Battalions Of Steel (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
07. The Eagle Has Landed (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
08. Power and The Glory (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
09. Dallas 1PM (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
10. Princess Of The Night (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
11. Denim and Leather (Wacken Open Air' 2014)
CD3:
01. Eye Of The Storm (Zoetemeer' 2015)
02. 747 (Strangers In The Night) [with Phil Campbell] (Live In Helsinki' 2015)
03. Killing Ground (London' 2016)
04. Ace Of Spades [with Fast Eddie Clarke] (London' 2016)
05. 20,000 FT. [with Andy Sneap] (San Antonio' 2018)
06. Thunderbolt (San Antonio' 2018)
07. Sons Of Odin (Los Angeles' 2018)
08. This Town Rocks (Los Angeles' 2018)
09. Nosferatu (the Vampire's Waltz) (Manchester' 2018)
10. Predator (Manchester' 2018)
11. They Played Rock and Roll (Stockholm' 2018)
12. The Secret Of Flight (London' 2018)
13. Battering Ram (London' 2018)
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