As another winter storm is threatening to bear down I decided today was a damn good day to finally have a listen to the advance copy of Saxon’s latest release “Sacrifice”. So I loaded the disc into what I consider to be the best place to currently listen to my metal, the very high powered stereo in my very high powered Charger.
Two minutes into the disc and I could’t care less if a blizzard was coming, this was Saxon in all their full potential. This is the culmination of what they started back with “Unleash The Beast”. With “Sacrifice” the beast has been bloody well released and it’s good. In full disclosure I do admit that I have been an ardent Saxon fan since I first picked up “Wheels of Steel” from an import bin in 1980. However I think this release bears out y faith in this band.
In true metal fashion we are looking at 10 tracks (11 if you buy it from iTunes). I can’t really call track 1 “Procession” a proper track though. It’s just an intro and one that to me anyways seems a bit unrelated to the rest of the disc. No matter the real metal begins on track 2, the title track “Sacrifice”. Heavy, fast with riffage aplenty, this is what I want from a title track from Saxon. Biff makes his presence known 15 seconds in and his voice is still as strong as ever. In fact he sounds stronger. I don’t know if this is just the further legend of Biff Byford or perhaps a bit of the magic that Andy Sneap brings to all that he touches.
“Made in Belfast” follows next. A good mid tempo tune with an historical basis. A classic bit of the Saxon legacy. This time Biff sings about the giant Belfast shipyards that birthed the likes of the Titanic. There are two things that really up the ante on this one. First some solid bass by Nibbs and second how they wove Celtic themed lines through the heavy riffs. This one brought me right back to “Princess of The Night” but with so much more heaviness. In fact I would agree with Biff’s assertion that this is the heaviest Saxon release yet.
“Wheels of Steel” has often been mistaken for a car song but track 4 “Warriors of the Road” is indeed dedicated to the thrill of speed. After the mid tempo break of the prior track this one is fittingly fast and driving. Nice solo on this one too although it would have cooler if it had gone just a bit longer. Fortunately we get some nice bits of solo in fills as the song rides out.
Track 5 brings us back another historical song. “Guardians of The Tomb”. This time Biff sings about the terra cotta army that was buried with Qin Shi Huang the first emperor of China. This one sounds quite a bit like Powerslave era Iron Maiden. Of course Maiden is another band known for historical themes. In this case it’s the some of the harmony riffs that give it that Maidenesque element. That’s not a bad thing at all. This should go down a storm live especially the great solo break.
“Stand Up and Fight” follows. Once again in homage to great songs like “And the Bands Played On” this one is about following your passion for music and slogging through no matter what. Another classic in the making. I wish the booklet provided with the press copy let you know who did which solos. The one on this track is exceptional.
If you get the idea that this disc may be THE must have for 2013 then you are getting the message. When’s the last time I did a complete track by track breakdown?
Next up is more historical song writing. The slow driving “Walking The Steel”. The subject this time is the rebirth of the Twin Towers. The lyrics are pretty damn inspirational. More so since it’s not a song you would expect from the quintessential British band. Having said that this is the second time they have done that. The first was Dallas 1 PM. What’s even more eerie is that the guitar break that comes in at around the two minute mark on this one harken back to the break in that classic track.
Times to speed things up again, “Night of the Wolf” starts the path back to a faster pace. This disc has really been nicely sequenced. Something that’s not always the case in this time of single song downloads. So this one has that faster element but it has slower parts as well. Nigel’s drums sound crisp on this one. I’ve always been a fan of Nigel’s drumming but I think the Sneap touch has made it that much better. It would have been way to easy for a lesser producer to make the drums on this tracks thunderous. Which would have ultimately destroyed the balance of the song.
Next up “Wheels of Terror”. I swear I hear a bit of flanger on this one. Nonetheless we are now back to full heavy. Heads will be banging to this one. Classic metal replete with China Boy cymbal accents. Guitars are solid and driving and sound fantastic. They have really embodied the character of the battle tanks that the songs is written about including the “battle” that is alluded to by the solo.
And sadly we arrive at the last track. This one a bit of classic English cheek with “Standing In a Queue”. We all hate standing in lines but none more than our English brothers. Queues have long been part of English humor. The lyrics are great and the music is pure Saxon.
So there ya have it Saxon’s “Sacrifice”. Of course if ya pony up for the deluxe version you get another disc with 5 classic Saxon pieces either rerecorded or done acoustically orchestrally.
I was thoroughly happy with “Call to Arms” but “Sacrifice” is just head and shoulders above it in terms of sonic delivery and classic songs. It’s truly amazing that this far into their career that Saxon can still write such solid material. With the small exception of the intro track there’s no filler on this release. I say buy it and play it LOUD again and again and again.
Now I just have to wait until my copy of the deluxe edition rolls in so I can delve into all the minutiae of the liner notes.
You can order up any of the different versions of this killer release by visiting the UDR Shop online
