Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Saxon
Label: UDR
Released: 2015
Length: 46:30
Rating: 4/5
And yet another one: the 21st studio album from the eternal and legendary metal grandpas Saxon. This is a band that has been honoring anniversaries in recent years, too. They’ve gotten up there in years. One new tour after another. Dedicated to this, that, the other thing… Live documents rain down as a result. At the same time, Saxon keep regularly cranking out new studio albums. Two years have gone by since Sacrifice (2013), and a new studio document is already at the door.
Saxon kept Andy Sneap at the production helm, the man who produced the predecessor »Sacrifice«, so sonically the new album follows in its footsteps. When it comes to songwriting, there are no hide-and-seek games. The veterans once again turn on a dime in the studio. Experience and mileage speak for themselves. Punchy, simple riffs that fit the ossified form of old-school Euro heavy metal (the most brilliant of the new tracks in this regard is Top of the World). With no hide-and-seek, it’s clear from start to finish where you stand with the new Saxon, too. Once again they get straight to the point. They don’t overcomplicate a thing. And so, of course, they once more tear the place down, just the way you want them to.
The typical Saxon album, from the first second to the last, once again aims at the wallets of a broad base of fans who have worshipped the band since forever, and Saxon are certainly lucky that the young guard of freshly minted music lovers, who only recently decided to step into the world of metal, appreciate them too. The songs once again stand side by side at a consistently high quality, with no dips between them. The guitar phrases are, of course, masterfully repackaged and recycled. Saxon don’t discover new musical horizons; they ride firmly and safely inside the mold of a predictable musical recipe. Heard before, tried and tested, demanded, and at the same time once more utterly unique. That’s what makes it recognizable, which is of course the essence of all essences.
As long as the boys keep staging such whirlwind charges as the razor-sharp Devil’s Footprints or, right in the middle, Stand Your Ground, the albums will hold on to the freshness and youthful drive that Saxon are still bursting with in the studio, even at a ripe age. The age when plenty of bands are seriously thinking about retirement. In this new batch of fast, mid-paced classic metal marches, with the occasional whiff of rock’n’roll and blues roots, as in To The End, the true Saxon fan will once again find a whole bag of deep personal satisfaction and delight. Among the tracks, the longest one brings not just a fortunate but an extremely welcome detour. That’s the last one, titled Kingdom of the Cross. It’s a darkly shaped track with a moving story behind it, and it has a superb build-up of atmosphere, with the tension rising steadily over its running time. That Biff is still in excellent vocal form hardly needs discussing. He remains one of the most striking vocal figures in heavy metal.
»Battering Ram« is the band’s studio creative constant! A true Saxon album from head to toe. No more, no less.
Saxon – Battering Ram (official video):
Line-up
Biff Byford – vocals
Paul Quinn – guitar
Doug Scarratt – guitar
Nibbs Carter – bass
Nigel Glockler – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
David Bower – vocals
Production
Andy Sneap
Track list
1. Battering Ram
2. The Devil’s Footprint
3. Queen Of Hearts
4. Destroyer
5. Hard and Fast
6. Eye of The Storm
7. Stand Your Ground
8. Top Of The World
9. To The End
10. Kingdom Of The Cross
