Saxon

[Vantage Point]

Just under two weeks until I am due to see Saxon at Hammersmith, I keep expecting to hear that it has been cancelled. I see The Who postponed their gig on the Royal Albert Hall on the same night ...

 

[Kalata]

Saxon will release a cover album called Inspirations.

Spoiler

Track list:

1.Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones cover)
2.Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin cover)
3.Paperback Writer (The Beatles cover)
4.Evil Woman (Black Sabbath cover)
5.Stone Free (Jimi Hendrix cover)
6.Bomber (Motörhead cover)
7.Speed King (Deep Purple cover)
8.The Rocker (Thin Lizzy cover)
9.Hold The Line (Toto cover)
10.Problem Child (AC/DC cover)
11.See My Friends (The Kinks cover)

SAXON To Release Covers Album Called 'Inspirations'

British heavy metal legends SAXON are putting the finishing touches on a cover album titled "Inspirations". Singer Biff Byford broke the news of the project's completion in a video message on Tuesday (November 17). He said (see video below): "I wanna tell you about a project we're getting really...

www.blabbermouth.net

 

[Kalata]

The new Saxon album called Carpe Diem will be released on February 4, 2022.

Track list and album cover:

1.Carpe Diem (Seize The Day)
2.Age Of Steam
3.The Pilgrimage
4.Dambusters
5.Remember The Fallen
6.Super Nova
7.Lady In Gray
8.All For One
9.Black Is The Night
10.Living On The Limit



-> The first single is the title track:

Good song - typical sounding for them. The good old heavy metal. Nice album cover too.

 

[Azas]

First, Magnum with black album's cover background, now non English Saxon album's title. The Great Trendsetters...
Also, first single, opening song, they sing about some wall

 

[Colonel Trautman]

Really looking forward to this, Saxon are another band that will be greatly missed whenever they finish up. So glad to have seen them numerous times over the years.

 

[Boroking]

Love Saxon but I’m a little underwhelmed with the single, largely due to the chorus being a non event. That being said they always deliver the goods so I’m excited for the album

 

[Night Prowler]

largely due to the chorus being a non event

That's called the Saxon special.

 

[Boroking]

That's called the Saxon special.

I’ve just watched the video and its warmed me to the song a little more. Something about watching a clearly freezing Biff singing along next to the ruins of Hadrian’s wall is very charming

 

[Vantage Point]

New tune from Saxon,

 

[Boroking]

Pretty solid stuff. Biff sounds as good as ever.

 

[Kalata]

New single (1 day before the official release of the album!) - ''The Pilgrimage''

The song has a classic vibe. I like the melodic riffs, the vocal melody during the verses/chorus and the solo. The intro fits great. This was the other song that was considered to be the title track of the album, iirc.

 

[The_7th_one]

I'll play the album tomorrow

 

[Yax]

New single (1 day before the official release of the album!) - ''The Pilgrimage''

The song has a classic vibe. I like the melodic riffs, the vocal melody during the verses/chorus and the solo. The intro fits great. This was the other song that was considered to be the title track of the album, iirc.

Good track. Best so far.

 

[Kalata]

The new album is good. Fast songs with great riffs and solos. Biff's vocals are still great.

Best songs: ''The Pilgrimage'' and ''Super Nova''.

My review:

Spoiler

1.The title track - great intro, riff, pre-chorus and solo. Vintage verses and fun chorus. One of my favorites from the album.

2.Age Of Steam - awesome melodies, metal riff and verses, but the chorus is not so good. The solo is pretty good.

3.The Pilgrimage - classic song that has an epic feel to it. The melodic riffs and the vocal melody are superb.

4.Dambusters - nice riff, melodies and solo. The chorus is good.

5.Remember The Fallen - great riff, verses and chorus. The solo is one of the best in the album. One of the better songs.

6.Super Nova - this song has a big Judas Priest vibe. Crushing riff and melodies, effective pre-chorus and great chorus. The short acoustic part with the awesome melody before the solo is a really good idea. Nice slow solo. Fantastic song!

7.Lady In Gray - very good heavy riff. The vocal delivery during the verses/pre-chorus fits great. The solo also fits quite well and I like it.

8.All For One - another fast short rocker. Great verses.

9.Black Is The Night - great heavy riff, verses and chorus. Pretty good bluesy solo.

10.Living On The Limit - the traditional fast short rocker with a singalong chorus for Saxon. I like the drumming, the rock riff and the guitar harmonies. Fun song.


I'm still not sure where I will rank it in the band's discography, but the album is good, especially as a whole piece. Classic metal. I wouldn't say it's one of their best albums though - it's like the previous album, I like half of the songs.

 

[Boroking]

Looking forward to listening to this later. Saxon are like a comfort blanket for me

 

[Yax]

Solid album. You always know what you get with Saxon. They haven't released a bad album in about 30 years, although they rarely manage great albums (although Lionheart and Inner Sanctum is in "great" territory in general, and definitely in terms of a Saxon album). I really like how with The Pilgrimage, they have actively drawn a large chunk of inspiration from "Crusader", in an obvious attempt to go Crusader Pt.2 and it works like magic. Great track.

I also really dig the classic Saxon style, painted (or at least painted looking) cover rather than the b-league artwork of the past 15 years. Good job.

 

[Night Prowler]

Still incapable of writing a song with a chorus that's anything other than the song title repeated.

 

[Yax]

Could be the other way though, incapable of not naming the songs after catchy choruses.

 

[Kalata]

Solid album. You always know what you get with Saxon. They haven't released a bad album in about 30 years, although they rarely manage great albums (although Lionheart and Inner Sanctum is in "great" territory in general, and definitely in terms of a Saxon album). I really like how with The Pilgrimage, they have actively drawn a large chunk of inspiration from "Crusader", in an obvious attempt to go Crusader Pt.2 and it works like magic. Great track.

I also really dig the classic Saxon style, painted (or at least painted looking) cover rather than the b-league artwork of the past 15 years. Good job.

It is true that you always get solid stuff from Saxon. I don't like some of their albums after 1997 (as a whole piece), but they are constantly good. The new album is pretty straightforward, as you can expect from them. Classic metal! What impressed me the most in it is the guitar work, it's really good. ''The Pilgrimage'' indeed sounds like a song from the Crusader album. Btw, ''Super Nova'' has a big Judas Priest vibe.

I like the album cover - it's colorful and leaves something to the imagination.

What do you think about the album, @Boroking?

Still incapable of writing a song with a chorus that's anything other than the song title repeated.

Not true! One example - ''Song For Emma'', Destiny, 1988.

 

[Boroking]

What do you think about the album, @Boroking?

I think it's really strong and my initial impressions suggest i like it more than Thunderbolt, which i also liked. Lots of good, memorable riffs (intro of Black is the Night absolutely rocks)and a heavy feel throughout. Biffs vocals are essentially unchanged from 20 years ago which is remarkable. I wasn't particularly enamoured with the first two singles but they work much better within the album. It's another release where there are no real weak songs or filler, at least that i can see yet. It supports my theory that the last 20 years of Saxon have been better than the first 20 years. Saxon keep delivering the goods and remain one of the few things i can rely on in this madcap world so cheers to all of them.