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Silver Lining Music (Release Date 19.1.24)
The fact that Saxon were one of the inductees in GRTR’s ‘Grotto of Greatness’, marking significant acts from our first 20 years, tells you all you need to know about the ability of the NWOBHM stalwarts to stay relevant in the current climate.
Indeed you can set your watch by the fact they will release a new studio album every couple of years, and ‘Hell Fire and Damnation is their 24th! It does however mark a significant change in the Saxon camp- founder member Paul Quinn initially retired from the road to be replaced by Brian Tatler, but it appears that the Diamond Head guitarist plays a significant guitar role on the album too, alongside Doug Scarratt.
Another Yorkshire popular culture icon in Brian Blessed gets the album off to the perfect start with a typically fruity spoken word introduction in ‘The Prophecy’ leading into the title track.
It begins with a very Tatler-esque guitar intro and a big scream from Biff Byford, and features some razor sharp guitar work including a twin break mid-song that even had a whiff of Judas Priest’s ‘Beyond the Realms of Death’. Simply put, it is the best thing they have done in years.
‘Madame Guillotine’ is another departure, with a steady beat and mid-tempo pace, telling the story of Marie Antionette with the wry chorus ‘please don’t lose your head’, though the guitar solos again bears those Tatler hallmarks.
In contrast, ‘Fire and Steel’ trots a long at a rapid fire, if slightly repetitive pace, with some double kick drumming from Nigel Glockler. It’s actually a tribute to the workshop of the world that was nearby Sheffield, but works just as well as a traditional metal anthem.
The production – from Biff and Priest’s Andy Sneap who also did the honours on last album ‘Carpe Diem’ – is pin sharp and clear, and the singer continues his rejuvenation of recent years. Biff’s love of historical lyrical topics long predates the likes of Ice Age and Sabaton, but he seems to have excelled himself with the wide range of themes covered here, like a heavy metal version of Horrible Histories.
However the lyrical efforts to present historically accurate and detailed facts are too often accompanied by rather repetitive and monotonous music and arrangements- ‘There’s Something in Roswell’ (about the UFOs in New Mexico), ‘Pirates of the Airwaves’ and (some scary introductory sound effects apart) ‘Witches of Salem’ all being cases in point.
On the up side, ‘Kubla Khan and the Merchant of Venice’ has more of an epic feel, with some splendid guitar solos, and another of those histories in ‘1066’ is marvellously entertaining with its lolloping beat and subject matter including the self-referential ‘the Saxons were slain’.
The album ends with another recurring lyrical motif in Saxon history, ‘Super Charger’ harking back to the likes of ‘Motorcycle Man’ and ‘Stallions of the Highway’.
It doesn’t all hit the mark, at least not by the standards of the outstanding title track, but this is a really strong start to the next chapter of Saxon’s distinguished career. ****
Review by Andy Nathan
The GRTR! Grotto (Saxon, November 2023)
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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