It doesn’t seem like five minutes ago that I was reviewing Saxon’s last fine collection of Heavy Metal tunes ‘Carpe Diem’ for this fine online publication. That was a bloody great album. I caught the band live twice in 2022 too, firstly when they stepped in and saved the day at the Steelhouse Festival after a certain American guitar player decided to pull out, and then at St David’s Hall in Cardiff with Diamond Head doing a great job in the support slot…. More about them shortly.

Much has happened in the Saxon camp in the last few years. Founding member Paul Quinn decided to step down from the band in 2023 much to the surprise and disappointment of many of Saxon’s die-hard fans. After all, Mr Quinn had been there since the ‘Son of a Bitch’ days. He’s kept himself busy though with his other project: The Cards, and it’s been great to see him join the other founding guitarist of Saxon – Graham Oliver on stage at some of Oliver’s gigs.

Stepping in as the new guitarist in Saxon is none other than Brian Tatler of Diamond Head, (told you there’d be more about them). He certainly fits in well with Biff and the boys. They share a long history as part of the NWOBHM movement back in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s and DH are arguably as influential as Saxon in inspiring a new era of metal with the speed and thrash boom in the mid to late ‘80s.

Saxon have been keeping themselves busy (as usual) and 2024 is off with a bang as their latest album ‘Hell, Fire And Damnation’ has landed. Incredibly, this is the band’s 24^th studio album. Let that sink in…

The album kicks off with an atmospheric build up before Brian ‘Gordon’s Alive’ Blessed tells us all about ‘The Prophecy’, which rolls into the title track – a mid-paced chug fest with THAT guitar tone that producer extraordinaire Andy Sneap has nailed down to a fine art. Biff’s vocals sound superb as ever and Tatler puts his stamp on the new tracks alongside longtime guitarist Doug Scarratt.

‘Madame Guillotine’ is a muscular, slab of metal with lyrics about not losing your head. ‘Fire and Steel’ showcases the always amazing Nigel Glocker’s sizeable chops. Double bass barrages a plenty. Bass player and full-time head banger Nibbs Carter keeps up with ease. They really are a rhythm section to be reckoned with. Superb. ‘There’s Something in Roswell’ kicks in with an epic intro before we are off into another chugger with a UFO theme. I too believe there’s something there.

Saxon, along with Iron Maiden are one of those bands that taught me more about history than school ever did, and I’ve always been a fan of their historical lyrical content. ‘Kubla Khan and the Merchant of Venice’ is another of these historical masterpieces. ‘Pirates of the Airwaves’ is a nostalgic nod to Biff’s early days of listening to pirate radio stations.

We are back in history class for ‘1066’, a steady head nodder with more solid guitar work from the Tatler/Scarratt pairing. ‘Witches of Salem’ is a track close to my heart, well, I am married to a Wicca Witch after all…. Some of the riffs on this track are approaching death metal territory, impressive stuff.

Final track ‘Super Charger’ closes an album of fine-tuned Metal muscle. Saxon NEVER phone in any of their material, they really do want to deliver the best to their legions of fans, and they always deliver. The cover art from Peter Sallai is superb too. The next phase of the Saxon story has begun in style. I look forward to catching them live somewhere in 2024!

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Author: Kenny Kendrick