Tag: Saxon

Top Ten Albums of 2024

On By bigbadburchIn AOTY 20244 Comments

It’s the last day of 2024, so I guess I ought to post my album list for the year.

There is one important thing to keep in mind – I honestly did not have time to check out a whole ton of stuff. I was very busy this year with house hunting that got put off, a job that was going off the rails and an eventual job change, and all of the assorted stress and turmoil along with stuff like that. Things are moving forward but even now I’m still adjusting to a different job, way different hours and stuff like that.

It’s the unfortunate part of this site – I’m a hobby blogger, I’m not a music journalist of any sort so I don’t have near as much time as I would really need to investigate new releases. Week after week went by with albums of interest to me, some of them I got to hear once and others not at all. Given that I spent a good chunk of the year on this site in remembrance of 1984, keeping up with today’s music wasn’t nearly as much on my radar as I would have liked it to be. Add in to that the issue that more new music is released than ever before, and it’s just impossible to keep up.

But even if my evaluation of this year’s music is woefully incomplete, I can still offer up a top ten list. Even if 2024 albums weren’t’ the focal point of my year, there are still ten out there I can nail down to compose the pretty well mandatory year-end list.

Blaze – Circle Of Stone

In a year when every Iron Maiden singer released a solo album of some sort, it’s Blaze that came out on top for me. This album is a great follow-up to his excellent prior album War Within Me. This one brings a few touches of power metal along. Blaze has had a great solo career and this is another wonderful release in the series.

Chat Pile – Cool World

The Oklahoma outfit generated a lot of buzz on their 2022 full-length debut God’s Country. The follow-up also delivers a woeful brand of noise and doom, with just a touch of nu-metal thrown in. This one shapeshifts in places to keep it from sounding like a clone of their prior work and keeps the band on everyone’s radar, much to the chagrin of some. I’m here for it.

illuminati hotties – POWER

In 2021 I happened on this indie/punk/alt act on kind of a whim and the album Let Me Do One More nearly ran off with my album of the year award. Sarah Tudzin has done production and engineering work to everyone from Logic and Slowdive to boygenius, and her own project rivals those. This album is overall pretty chill and satisfying and I look forward to much more to come.

Rotting Christ – Pro Xristou

I did not check out a ton of extreme metal this year, which is a shame as I’m led to believe there was a ton worth a listen. But I will always make time for the veteran Greek outfit and their blend of atmospheric black metal. This is their 14th album and they sound just as great as they did when I first heard them in the early ’90’s.

Waxahatchee – Tiger’s Blood

Katie Crutchfield’s project got notice in 2020 with the critically praised Saint Cloud album and this is the long-awaited follow-up. It’s a fantastic blend of indie rock and country that was pleasing on first listen and then made itself at home with subsequent plays. It’s nice to see Waxahatchee continue to gain notice, including with a Grammy nomination for this record.

Transylvania – Windrider

Up next is something a bit different – this is the debut full-length from an act local to Springfield. We’ve been waiting awhile for this release as it was done sometime a few years ago in the midst of the pandemic and took some time to come to light. Transylvania have been one of the mainstays of the local scene here for years and it’s great to finally have this album in hand. While there’s no doubt the band bears comparisons to Iron Maiden, they have definitely made their own stamp on things here.

I will cover this album in more detail in the coming weeks.

Grand Magus – Sunraven

It’s never a bad year when Grand Magus release an album. This is another fine blend of doom and traditional heavy metal. I’ve been following Grand Magus since pretty much the beginning and it’s hard to believe we’re now over 20 years and 10 albums in.

Saxon – Hell, Fire and Damnation

Saxon showed up right at the start of the year with their 24th album and yet another excellent entry in their catalog, which has been on fire for a few decades now. There’s a bit extra behind this one that lifts it up another level. It didn’t hurt that I got to see them on tour this year in one of the very few shows I was able to attend.

I did previously review this album as an Album of the Week feature.

High On Fire – Cometh The Storm

The heavy as hell noise merchants took over five years off, with founder Matt Pike dealing with some health issues and releasing a solo album in that time. But the band returned better than ever with this slab of metal that combines their trademark Motorhead meets stoner metal vibe with Middle Eastern music influences. As usual, High On Fire transcend all category labels and delivered a quality offering once again.

Album of the Year 2024

Judas Priest – Invincible Shield

Priest arrived earlier in the year with their 19th album and they mopped the floor with everyone from the word go. The band have been in fine form on their past few releases despite line-up turmoil and advanced age. Everyone else had most of the year to top this and were unable to do so. It’s amazing just how great Priest sound in 2024 – it isn’t just that they sound “better than they should for their age,” it’s that they were once again able to conquer the heavy metal realm.

That does it for 2024, at least the stuff I was able to give spins to. I’m sure there’s more great stuff out there that I missed, but sadly that’s how time works, I don’t have near enough of it. Let’s see what 2025 has in store.

Saxon – Crusader

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week5 Comments

Saxon had been one of the leading acts of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal coming into 1984. By then it was time to shift gears into other sounds, and Saxon would set out to update themselves for the rest of the decade.

Saxon – Crusader

Released January 30, 1984 via Carrere Records

In the mid-80’s Saxon were riding a streak of albums that would go on to sell a million copies each and largely define the career of the pioneering British outfit. But the times were changing and Saxon were poised to explore new territory to adapt. Saxon had not failed in their career by any means, but by this time the NWOBHM was largely fading out as Iron Maiden had taken the crown and run with it while many other outfits were facing obscurity. Saxon were somewhere inbetween – successful but not world-conquering.

Saxon’s line-up through their history needs at least a short book to recount, but in this time period they had a stable group together. Biff Byford was and still is the band’s singer. Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn were the guitar tandem. Steve Dawson was on bass, and Nigel Glockler on drums. Glockler is with the band today along with Byford, and Quinn retains some degree of involvement though has retired from performing.

Crusader features 10 tracks at a decent 39:10 runtime. There was a deluxe reissue in 2009 that features a second disc full of bonus tracks. This is the version of the album I own but I’ll confine today’s conversation to the original album as my posts are too long as it is, no need to write 5,000 words about some bonus tracks. But in general terms, the 2009 CD reissues of these Saxon albums are worth the price of admission.

The Crusader Prelude

This is a small intro bit, with a bit of war and horse sounds. Nothing much too it and no reason for me to grade it, but a neat little piece that adds a bit of atmosphere to the impending title track.

Crusader

Now on to the title track and we get more build-up first, with the song establishing its main rhythm with a brief, ominous spoken intro before Biff comes in. The song operates at a bit of a slower pace, and is a bit militant in its presentation, just as a crusader marching into battle. There’s a kind of long breakdown section before another bellowing spoken part that then goes into a guitar solo.

There is nothing wrong with this song – it is the highlight of the album and will garner a high score here. I will say that this song does get an extra kick in the ass when done live. But this original recorded version is one of Saxon’s most-streamed songs, out of a catalog of 24 albums, so it clearly resonates with the fanbase. Grade: A

A Little Bit Of What You Fancy

This one is a fairly high-octane boogie with a very melodic gang chorus that sounds very, very ’80’s. It’s an odd proposition as it causes the fan of classic Saxon to raise an eyebrow, yet it’s a very enjoyable jam. Saxon are expanding their base through the rock realm here and it’s a bit mixed but a worthwhile listen overall. Grade: B

Sailing To America

This song’s premise is totally Saxon – it’s a historic account of the Pilgrims who sailed over on the Mayflower or however the story goes. The music is very airy and melodic here, it’s another push into other areas for Saxon and it’s honestly a bit weird. Like, this isn’t that far removed from a Journey track. But we didn’t get a Steve Perry Thanksgiving song, we got a Saxon one instead. It’s kind of befuddling though listenable by any measure. Grade: C+

Set Me Free

Now we get a cover song, this being from The Sweet. This version is a nice ’80’s update to the original, which actually has a fair bit more edge to it than this more smoothed over cover. This song does leap out a bit in comparison to most of the album. It is a good choice for a cover song as it does seem to fit what Saxon are largely up to here. Grade: A-

Just Let Me Rock

A very simple track here with an easy to grasp premise – Saxon would like to rock. They do so in the powerful chorus for sure. For the verses they go very light and melodically atmospheric (whatever that means). I find the contrast between verse and chorus a bit jarring but I can live with it. Grade: B-

Bad Boys (Like To Rock N’ Roll)

There were a whole lot of bad boys in ’80’s rock and Saxon were not going to be left out of the mix. What did get left out of the mix is a bit of beef to make this song more powerful. It’s not bad but man this is very light and kind of thin. I get that the band were pushing this sort of sound but I think they could have amped this one up a bit more. Grade: C

Do It All For You

This was one of the album’s two singles (the other being the Pilgrim song). It is a ballad that has some extra push behind it, but overall it’s still a ballad and one that I personally find a bit ill-advised. Not a bad song but not really what I’m looking for from Saxon. It’s tougher to grade this forty years out since the band have been balls to the wall since the mid-90’s, but this is a somewhat odd inclusion. Grade: C-

Rock City

This one is a more upbeat and pounding rocker, though again it is a very rock track and not particularly in line with Saxon as we generally know them. This one isn’t really ill-fitting though, it gets the job done and makes for a good listen. Grade: B-

Run For Your Lives

The record closes with another track along similar lines to the one before – very ’80’s and melodic, perhaps a hair light, but still pretty worthy and nice to hear. Grade: B-

Crusader comes off as something of a mixed bag. The album is very melodically pushed and in several places feels like it lacks a bit of bite that would put some of these songs over the edge. It’s also kind of a paint by numbers thing in many respects, this is a standard plate of rock music without a ton of dynamic ideas to set it apart. The grand exception is the title track, which is a total monster and could be considered an early power metal masterpiece. It’s also Saxon’s 5th most played song live, so it hit pretty hard and wasn’t even a single.

This one did confuse the fanbase a bit on release and still does confound many years later. But at the end, I find a decent and sometimes really good album, and overall I can play this without too many hang-ups over the change in direction that would only become more drastic on the next few albums.

Album Grade: B-

In terms of success, Saxon kept themselves in the game here. The album charted at 18 in the UK and in similar positions across many other European countries. It did very modestly chart at 174 in the US. While sources aren’t entirely official, the estimated sales total worldwide is 1.5 million copies, not a bad haul for a band that didn’t break the same way a few of their peers did.

I don’t know if Saxon wanted a piece of the ’80’s rock pie, something they never really got, or if they simply wanted to go in a new direction after five albums of heavy metal. While the ship did get a bit off course in this time period for the band, Crusader is still a pretty enjoyable listen.

Saxon and Uriah Heep – Live at the Gillioz Theatre 5/24

On By bigbadburchIn live music13 Comments

Last Friday was the big show, one that I would have never expected to book in my town. But it happened against any expectations and it was quite a night.

The venue was the Gillioz Theatre. This is a historic spot that was originally opened in 1926, then closed in 1980 and re-opened after restoration in 2006. The spot holds roughly 1,000 people. It has been an occasional hotspot for shows and I’ve seen a handful there. It is a seated venue with not a ton of room to stand around in, a point that will come up in a bit.

The show was Saxon and Uriah Heep, two long-running British rock and metal acts who are still going strong after decades. Uriah Heep started in 1970 and have been running since, and Saxon got off the ground in 1975 and released their first album in 1979.

While Saxon was the first act to play, this was a co-headliner tour where each band got equal stage time, roughly an hour and twenty minutes. No openers or anything like that, just long sets for the featured acts and straight to the point. I’m getting to enjoy this kind of show without openers who I forget about before they’re sometimes even off stage. Opening a show like this would be a killer opportunity for an emerging band, though I do also appreciate the extra spare time from not having one.

Saxon were up first and got right into it, they played the intro and then the title track from their newest album Hell, Fire and Damnation, which I conveniently reviewed the other day. In all, five songs from the new disc got into the setlist so Saxon are clearly high on this new material.

Another thing Saxon do a lot of are title tracks – including the new album, a total of seven title tracks got stage time. This ran the string from early Saxon releases like Denim And Leather and Wheels Of Steel, to the more recent Sacrifice and also stuff like Power And The Glory being somewhere inbetween it all.

Saxon celebrating after their set

The band were totally on point all night, these guys are seasoned pros and there wasn’t going to be any let down. It could be said that their intensity was greater than that of the seated crowd, who to be honest were a bit tame. This did seem to capture Biff Byford’s attention as he brought it up more than once and a fair portion of the crowd got up and put in some energy in response. I have nothing bad to say about the venue, but an open standing sort of place would have been a much more appealing venue for this show. Sadly we don’t have much of anything like that in town, at least for a show this size.

Even with the contrast between a heavy metal band on stage and a crowd all stuffed in theater seats, the show went off without a hitch. I was very happy to see Saxon as it was my first time. I don’t know why I hadn’t caught them before, they aren’t exactly shy about touring, but whatever the case I finally got another band off my bucket list.

In a bit of trivia – I have no clue if Saxon had ever played Springfield in the past, this town did get some shows in the ’80’s long before I lived here. But I do know that their most recent member, guitarist Brian Tatler, had played town just seven years prior with his main outfit Diamond Head. There’s a story or more in that show that I will tell in a post sometime down the road.

After Saxon left the stage there was a pretty quick stage turnover to get ready for Uriah Heep. Saxon were actually only occupying the front part of the stage in fairly cramped conditions, as UH already had their gear set up behind Saxon so the changeover was pretty seamless. I’ve noticed that set turnover is a very quick process these days – back in the ’90’s when I started attending shows, the change from one band to next could take an eternity.

Uriah Heep is a band I have been familiar with but haven’t spent a ton of time listening to. They’ve had a few songs in rotation on classic rock radio but I hadn’t played an album of theirs or anything. I did put together a playlist of sets they’d done at shows prior to my stop in order to familiarize myself more with their stuff, another nice convenience of the modern age.

Uriah Heep does have one remaining original member, guitarist Mick Box. In fact, Mick is the only surviving original member so it’s not like anyone else would have the opportunity to join him. Mick was joined by singer Bernie Shaw, who has been with the group since 1986. Bassist Dave Rimmer has been around since 2013, and Drummer Russell Gilbrook has been on board since 2007. Regular keyboardist Phil Lanzon was unable to join Heep for the tour, so the band landed one hell of a special guest in his place – Adam Wakeman, the son of legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, helmed the organ keys for this show.

The Heep are also touring behind a recent album, 2023’s Chaos and Colour. Three songs from that album made the set, as well as one from their 2018 effort Living The Dream. The rest of the set was culled from the band’s classic early 1970’s work. I will say that the newer songs were all really good and have me eager to visit these more recent albums. It’s a tough task to catch up with the group as they have 25 total studio albums.

Uriah Heep in action

The band were in fine form as they delivered their goods. Most of the stuff was performed faithful to the original, while UH took a few liberties here and there. After shouting out Saxon, Shaw made a remark that today’s music is pigeonholed into genres, while when Uriah Heep were starting out music was mostly either good or not. Then UH showed off their own metal chops with a heavy rendition of Free n’ Easy. Russell Gilbrook especially got down hard and heavy on the song, an illustration that sometimes drums are honestly the line between rock and metal.

There were a few treats in store for those, like me, who enjoy extended live jams and departures from the original recordings. UH again struck up a heavier tone on Look At Yourself and also drew the jam out for a pretty long time. They also aired out their long ballad July Morning, a gentle reminder that ten-minute long songs existed long, long before Taylor Swift. We then got the encore, which was capped off with the band’s obvious hit Easy Livin’.

That was all for the show, it was off into the night for us afterward. It was a true honor to finally see Saxon live, a true stalwart of the NWOBHM. And it was a real privilege to see Uriah Heep and I will be working their albums into my rotation as I move along, they are far too good to not listen to. I was surprised that this show got booked here and I’m damn glad it did, my gigs these days are very few and far between and this was a true highlight of my concert going.

Photography by Susan Cummins

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Saxon – Hell, Fire And Damnation (Album of the Week)

On By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week3 Comments

After seeing them live last week, it’s finally time to sit down and go over the 24th album from the long-running legends of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Saxon – Hell, Fire And Damnation

Released January 19, 2024 via Silver Lining Music

For Saxon it has been business as usual throughout the 2000’s, as they have landed album after album of consistent material. Some might wonder when the group will call it a day, but nothing indicates that day will be anytime soon.

There was one major departure from Saxon’s line-up before recording, but the rest of the band remained as it had for a long time. Biff Byford helms the group from the vocal spot. Doug Scarratt is on guitar, Nibbs Carter on bass and Nigel Glockler is on drums. All have been with the band for a great deal of time, with Byford being an original member, Glockler and Carter on board since the ’80’s, and Scarratt having come on in 1995.

One original member did leave the band – guitarist Paul Quinn retired in 2023 after having been with Saxon since 1975. He did contribute to two songs on this album, keeping a streak of appearances going from the band’s start. Quinn was replaced by Brian Tatler, the long-running bandleader of Diamond Head. Tatler was first brought on to be a touring guitarist but later become a permanent member of Saxon.

This album was produced by Andy Sneap. Sneap has been producing for Saxon since 2011 and has been at the forefront of heavy metal production for quite some time now. It’s been a busy year for Sneap as he’s also a member of Judas Priest, who have lit the metal world on fire with their latest release.

Today’s album has 10 songs at a 42:20 runtime. The first track is an intro so I’ll set it aside and discuss the other 9.

Hell, Fire and Damnation

The title track gets things going after an intro. This is a pretty epic depiction of the eternal struggle between good and evil, Heaven and Hell. The song runs mid-paced and quite heavy to paint the battle in sound. Saxon don’t really pick sides here – rather they illustrate the ongoing war. And there is a bit of something extra in this title track, something Saxon often do. Grade: A

Madame Guillotine

It’s on to a song that pretty well gives away its theme in the title. The topic at hand is the French Revolution and the fate of Marie Antoinette and many others at the hands of the vengeful populace. The song keeps it simple and direct, letting the instrument of beheading take the lead over the instruments in the band. Nicely done song with a sly and funny chorus. Grade: A

Fire And Steel

This one goes quick and hard. It is not just figuratively about “heavy metal,” it is literally about making heavy metal. Well, sort of – steel is not actually classified as a heavy metal in the scientific sense. But steel is heavy so let’s just go with it. Grade: B

There’s Something In Roswell

Over the course of nearly 50 years and 24 albums, Saxon have covered a lot of topics, ranging from the JFK assassination, to an out of service steam train, to an airliner crashing. Now Biff and company take a peek under the blanket of a huge conspiracy, the aliens of Roswell, New Mexico.

We don’t get anything concrete about the truth of Roswell here, but Saxon do believe something is up. It’s set to another nice mid-paced stroll through government secrets. Grade: B+

Kubla Khan And The Merchant Of Venice

This song covers a lot of ground and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on here. Kubla Khan was a poem by Samuel Coleridge set in China’s Yuan Dynasty, which is referenced in the song. The Merchant of Venice was a Shakespeare play with no bearing on the Yuan Dynasty, that I know of. But here are presented the two concepts. It’s a nice, fast song with a bit of an adventure feel to it. Grade: B

Pirates Of The Airwaves

This is a fantastic track that goes back to the history of pirate radio in the 1960’s. That’s all before my time but apparently there were some rogue stations out there that got away from payola and other shady record label practices and simply played the music people wanted to hear. It even mentions a radio station out of St. Louis despite being an England-centric song, or at least I assume the song is referencing that station. Very cool stuff to hear, we’re so far removed from “pirate radio” that many people would have no clue what it was. Grade: A-

1066

Pretty simple concept here – Saxon are returning to the days of their namesake, when the Saxons were defeated by William the Conqueror in 1066. Maybe it makes Saxon the band feel less old to look back on something almost a thousand years ago, I don’t know. Pretty cool song. Grade: B

Witches Of Salem

One more history lesson from this album, the topic is evident in the title. The Salem Witch Trials were a horrific display of inhumanity but has also been fodder for heavy metal and horror stories forever now. Another fine Saxon song that also made the setlist on the current tour. Grade: B+

Super Charger

We wrap the album up with a old-school heavy metal tale of engines, racing and speeding. Pretty standard fare for sure but that’s probably why most people listen to Saxon in the first place, we want the meat and potatoes of metal without all the bells and whistles, and Saxon deliver just that. Grade: B

Hell, Fire And Damnation was another in a long line of Saxon albums that pleased fans and gained notice as the band performs beyond the confines of their age. The album charted at 19 in the UK and landed top 10 positions in Austria, Germany, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Saxon would tour Europe alongside Uriah Heep, opening for Judas Priest. Saxon and Uriah Heep would then bring the tour to the US, a show I saw this past Friday. A recap of that show is coming Wednesday.

As for this album? It’s another in a very long line of solid and consistent Saxon releases. The band had a run of aiming for commercial airplay through the late ’80’s, then began righting the ship through the ’90’s. Their modern run of consistent ass-kicking might begin with 1999’s Metalhead, or might even go back to an earlier 1990’s album. Whatever the case, Saxon continue to deliver quality music each time they press the record button in the studio.

Album Grade: B+

This was another, uh, solid ball of rock from Saxon that did not disappoint. The band shows zero signs of slowing down, on record or on stage. Nothing is slowing down this beast of Britain as it heads forward into metal immortality.

For an explanation of my grading system, head here.

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Saxon – Hell, Fire And Damnation

On By bigbadburchIn Song Of The Week5 Comments

First off – I haven’t been on schedule this week at all. This was a combination of the holiday weekend and just general laziness. I’ll have a post today, the next Maiden live album tomorrow, then be back to normal next week.

For today here’s a quick and easy one – this is a new song from metal legends Saxon, who are preparing the release of their 24th album this coming January. 24 records is absolutely staggering and just a great accomplishment, and that the vast majority of them are solid albums is also fantastic.

This new song Hell, Fire And Damnation was released last week and is the title track from the new record. It is a really nice song, Saxon have had a winning metal formula down now for quite awhile so it’s no huge surprise. The music does suit the pretty heavy topic at hand, which of course are also three of my favorite things – hell, fire and damnation.

I am a bit unclear as to one member of Saxon’s present line-up. The following are in place – Biff Byford as the band’s constant presence on vocals, guitarist Dug Scarratt, Bassist Nibbs Carter and drummer Nigel Glockler are all along for the ride. Back earlier in 2023, co-founding member Paul Quinn retired from touring. It was assumed he was going to be involved with future recording endeavors, but here we have an interesting quirk without a ready answer.

To replace Quinn in the touring line-up, Saxon recrutied longtime Diamond Head mainstay Brian Tatler. He was billed as a touring replacement and did state in certain terms that he would also be continuing with Diamond Head. However, the video clearly features Tatler in it and the video blurb touts the guitar duo of Scarratt and Tatler, so going by these bits of information it appears Brian Tatler is fully Saxon’s second guitarist. I’m sure all of this will be made clearer as the album’s release is closer.

That is about all for this one, it’ll be one of many albums I’m looking forward to next year. I’m curious also to see just how much longer Saxon goes on, but at this point I won’t doubt the great British beast to continue for several more years, anyway.