Saxon’s first album after the sudden departure of Paul Quinn and Biff remaining as the only original member is a fact.
The band doesn’t seem to be affected even though their plans and programming are radically changed. There were no plans to release a new album until at least November ’24, but a tour with Judas Priest and Uriah Heep next March and Paul’s decision to abstain from live performances came up, which brought Brian Tatler into the group to replace him on stage, but not in the studio. However, due to circumstances, the Diamond Head guitarist was involved in writing and composing new material, in fact one of the first riffs he introduced to the band is that of the title track. However, there are two songs with Pail Quinn on the album without being mentioned in the credits .
One thing is for sure, the guitars sound like classic Saxon, but there is something different about them. They are heavier, faster in some parts, especially in the solos. The lyrical themes traditionally deal with historical topics, for example “1066”, is about the battle of Hastings between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons, and “Kubla Khan and The Merchant Of Venice”, is inspired by the palace the Mongol emperor had built in Xanadu, which was mentioned to have been visited by Marco Polo. “There’s Something In Roswell” apparently refers to the famous 1947 incident at the military airfield runway, which generated huge rumours and theories about the crash of a flying saucer, which has since been in the possession of the US armed forces.
‘Fire And Steel’ is about Sheffield and ‘Pirates Of The Airwaves’ is about the legendary pirate radio stations that operated in Britain from the 1960s and played material not allowed by the BBC and forever changed music on the island and beyond.
And the crucial question is: is this album better than the previous one, “Carpe Diem”? The answer is probably no, but it’s not worse either. It’s a very, very good Saxon album that adds to the long list of notable Saxon releases – the truth is that few albums escape that list! To reiterate the obvious, it’s not insignificant that the 24th album of your career (since 1979) is this good, losing a key member of the band with no impact on the quality of your material and yes, Saxon’s guarantee of quality remains; both in the studio and live. Oh, and just so you know this won’t be their last album!
