With the upcoming release of “The Solid Book Of Rock” collectors box set, UK metal veterans SAXON are looking to remind everyone that metal has always been with us, it’s never surrendered to the times and in turn, it’s thoroughly bloody British…we invented it after all! Sure, they were surpassed by the likes of IRON MAIDEN in terms of global success, but with a career also spanning four decades it’s impossible to not respect the longevity and consistency of these Yorkshire-men and what they have contributed to heavy metal, providing us with many a classic album over the years, influencing generations of new bands with an appreciation for heritage…and you don’t get much more heritage than a 40-year, 21-album career! The new box set doesn’t cover the bands entire timeline however but does offer us a whopping nine studio albums in one neat bundle covering the majority of work from the 1990’s on wards…and here we’ll take a little more in depth look at what you’ll be getting and believe me, it’s plenty of metal for your money’s worth…
We start off back in 1991 with the release of “Solid Ball Of Rock” where the title of the collection comes from (albeit tweaked) and it’s an interesting era in alternative music to say the very least…the 80’s had given us glam-rock; bands focused on girls and good times, drugs, the cliché rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, it was very extravagant whereas the 90’s saw a complete transition into the dominating era of grunge…everything was down tuned, stripped back, morose, almost depressing and really the styles couldn’t be much further apart in terms of sub-genres under the big metal umbrella…for many, the 90’s WAS grunge…traditional metal was an afterthought, it was old hat…but it never went away, in part, thanks to the likes of Saxon. Tracks like “Alter Of The Gods” and “Lights In The Sky” retained elements of the previous decade during this transition, but their sound was true to their origins, and highlights like “Baptism Of Fire” proved that…we welcomed in the 90’s with an instant classic. [7]
In case there was any doubt, just a year later they were back with follow up album “Forever Free” and they had lost no sense of purpose or momentum… proving that metal was far from one-dimensional, the title track had one hell of a catchy, hook-laden chorus that was impossible to dislike while simultaneously keeping the classic approach to riff-writing and solos, by today’s standards, it’s beige but it was true to itself…the album had extra character too by means of a cover of WILLIE DIXON blues classic “Just Wanna Make Love To You” and the beautiful acoustic ballad “Iron Wheels”…it was a more diverse but no less enjoyable album. [7]
1995 saw Saxon deliver us “Dogs Of War” and here we find ourselves in our first dip…as if contending with the monumental popularity of the grunge era wasn’t enough at the turn of the decade, the year prior saw KORN practically invent Nu-Metal and ripped the alternative music landscape a new asshole…things were changing and evolving yet again, music had a whole new visceral edge and Saxon here sounded just a little bit dated with their classic hard rock approach. The album wasn’t without its highlights however, with “Hold On” and “Great White Buffalo” providing enjoyable listens. [5]
I guess you could say, they took a step back and re-evaluated what was going on around them at this point in time…with a little shuffle in the ranks, introducing new guitarist Doug Scarratt, Biff and the boys delivered one of the albums of their career in 1997’s “Unleash The Beast”…with a new lease of life this album does exactly what it says on the tin! Tracks like “Terminal Velocity”, “Ministry Of Fools” and “Bloodletter” pounding the listener with a surging urgency, this was more up-tempo and very much a statement, Saxon were back and metal was very much alive and kicking. [8]
Saxon weren’t quite done with the 90’s however, as they managed to slip in another record before the decade was up via the fittingly titled “Metalhead” in 1999…not having as much impact as its predecessor, it didn’t pack as many punches but did have some notable moments…”All Guns Blazing” was and is pretty self-explanatory; high octane, energetic metal providing an instant hit, while they also dabbled in slight progressive qualities with the eight minute epic “Sea Of Life”…also, the track “Piss Off” gets an honourable mention…purely for its name. [6]
The turn of the Millennium saw Nu-Metal hit it’s monstrous commercial peak…for Korn really had created a monster. The refreshed combination of rap, hip-hop and metal had led to an entirely new wave of bands dominating the airwaves…we’d seen the creation of SLIPKNOT and nobody saw that coming; nine masked, utterly mental bastards from Iowa took the metal world by storm…the likes of LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK were going multi-platinum, conquering the charts, metal was once again evolving into something new, but, as always, Saxon stayed true to themselves and released 2001’s “Killing Ground”; another return to form…featuring KING CRIMSON cover “Court Of The Crimson King” and tracks like “Dragon’s Lair”, coupled with the passionate, heartfelt “Rock Is Our Life”…Saxon were here to remind everyone where it all comes from…[7]
They followed this up with a concept album of sorts with 2004’s “Lionheart” and sadly, we find ourselves in another dip…inspired by 12th century king of England Richard The Lionheart, it’s very based around the time and era…tracks such as “Witchfinder General” and “To Live By The Sword”, plus of course, the title track are steeped in history, a very common theme in metal, almost cliché…swords, conquests, battle, all that…it’s a solid album generally but in places just comes across as generic with everything going on around them, and again, suffers for sounding just a little bit dated. [5]
Never deterred mind you and showing true character, Saxon would bounce back once again and round off the naughty’s with a double-whammy of pure metal quality very much proving you can’t keep a good band down, and you certainly can’t kill metal! In 2007 they delved into “The Inner Sanctum” and the songs they returned with were just as much a statement as anything. New anthems like “Need For Speed” with its wailing guitars and intensity was delivered by a band far younger than their years, while “I’ve Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)” and “Going Nowhere Fast” were full of intent, Saxon were here to stay and could still duke it out with the new kids on the block [8]
Finally then, saying goodbye to another decade and without ever having compromising their core principles, with their love for true metal forever shining through countless new fads and movements in alternative music, they dropped “Into The Labyrinth” and saw out the 2000’s with a bang. Following on with prior statements, “Live To Rock” was a message, this is what they do, this is their life and they live it with pride, while “Demon Sweeney Todd” and “Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete)” further bolster an already hefty catalogue of meaty metal anthems…For many artists, releasing enough albums to put together a collection as weighty as this one is the stuff of dreams…but to think that this is just a portion of the bands material, not only missing out the earlier records of their successful heyday, but the albums they still make to this day, it’s simply impressive. They’ve been there from the beginning more or less, they’ve seen bands and entire genre’s come and go and here they are, true to themselves, true to metal and still going strong…Saxon are a real British metal institution and deserve a lot of credit for flying the flag, defending the faith if you will...if you can’t appreciate that? Metal up your ass! [8]
We start off back in 1991 with the release of “Solid Ball Of Rock” where the title of the collection comes from (albeit tweaked) and it’s an interesting era in alternative music to say the very least…the 80’s had given us glam-rock; bands focused on girls and good times, drugs, the cliché rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, it was very extravagant whereas the 90’s saw a complete transition into the dominating era of grunge…everything was down tuned, stripped back, morose, almost depressing and really the styles couldn’t be much further apart in terms of sub-genres under the big metal umbrella…for many, the 90’s WAS grunge…traditional metal was an afterthought, it was old hat…but it never went away, in part, thanks to the likes of Saxon. Tracks like “Alter Of The Gods” and “Lights In The Sky” retained elements of the previous decade during this transition, but their sound was true to their origins, and highlights like “Baptism Of Fire” proved that…we welcomed in the 90’s with an instant classic. [7]
In case there was any doubt, just a year later they were back with follow up album “Forever Free” and they had lost no sense of purpose or momentum… proving that metal was far from one-dimensional, the title track had one hell of a catchy, hook-laden chorus that was impossible to dislike while simultaneously keeping the classic approach to riff-writing and solos, by today’s standards, it’s beige but it was true to itself…the album had extra character too by means of a cover of WILLIE DIXON blues classic “Just Wanna Make Love To You” and the beautiful acoustic ballad “Iron Wheels”…it was a more diverse but no less enjoyable album. [7]
1995 saw Saxon deliver us “Dogs Of War” and here we find ourselves in our first dip…as if contending with the monumental popularity of the grunge era wasn’t enough at the turn of the decade, the year prior saw KORN practically invent Nu-Metal and ripped the alternative music landscape a new asshole…things were changing and evolving yet again, music had a whole new visceral edge and Saxon here sounded just a little bit dated with their classic hard rock approach. The album wasn’t without its highlights however, with “Hold On” and “Great White Buffalo” providing enjoyable listens. [5]
I guess you could say, they took a step back and re-evaluated what was going on around them at this point in time…with a little shuffle in the ranks, introducing new guitarist Doug Scarratt, Biff and the boys delivered one of the albums of their career in 1997’s “Unleash The Beast”…with a new lease of life this album does exactly what it says on the tin! Tracks like “Terminal Velocity”, “Ministry Of Fools” and “Bloodletter” pounding the listener with a surging urgency, this was more up-tempo and very much a statement, Saxon were back and metal was very much alive and kicking. [8]
Saxon weren’t quite done with the 90’s however, as they managed to slip in another record before the decade was up via the fittingly titled “Metalhead” in 1999…not having as much impact as its predecessor, it didn’t pack as many punches but did have some notable moments…”All Guns Blazing” was and is pretty self-explanatory; high octane, energetic metal providing an instant hit, while they also dabbled in slight progressive qualities with the eight minute epic “Sea Of Life”…also, the track “Piss Off” gets an honourable mention…purely for its name. [6]
The turn of the Millennium saw Nu-Metal hit it’s monstrous commercial peak…for Korn really had created a monster. The refreshed combination of rap, hip-hop and metal had led to an entirely new wave of bands dominating the airwaves…we’d seen the creation of SLIPKNOT and nobody saw that coming; nine masked, utterly mental bastards from Iowa took the metal world by storm…the likes of LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK were going multi-platinum, conquering the charts, metal was once again evolving into something new, but, as always, Saxon stayed true to themselves and released 2001’s “Killing Ground”; another return to form…featuring KING CRIMSON cover “Court Of The Crimson King” and tracks like “Dragon’s Lair”, coupled with the passionate, heartfelt “Rock Is Our Life”…Saxon were here to remind everyone where it all comes from…[7]
They followed this up with a concept album of sorts with 2004’s “Lionheart” and sadly, we find ourselves in another dip…inspired by 12th century king of England Richard The Lionheart, it’s very based around the time and era…tracks such as “Witchfinder General” and “To Live By The Sword”, plus of course, the title track are steeped in history, a very common theme in metal, almost cliché…swords, conquests, battle, all that…it’s a solid album generally but in places just comes across as generic with everything going on around them, and again, suffers for sounding just a little bit dated. [5]
Never deterred mind you and showing true character, Saxon would bounce back once again and round off the naughty’s with a double-whammy of pure metal quality very much proving you can’t keep a good band down, and you certainly can’t kill metal! In 2007 they delved into “The Inner Sanctum” and the songs they returned with were just as much a statement as anything. New anthems like “Need For Speed” with its wailing guitars and intensity was delivered by a band far younger than their years, while “I’ve Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)” and “Going Nowhere Fast” were full of intent, Saxon were here to stay and could still duke it out with the new kids on the block [8]
Finally then, saying goodbye to another decade and without ever having compromising their core principles, with their love for true metal forever shining through countless new fads and movements in alternative music, they dropped “Into The Labyrinth” and saw out the 2000’s with a bang. Following on with prior statements, “Live To Rock” was a message, this is what they do, this is their life and they live it with pride, while “Demon Sweeney Todd” and “Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete)” further bolster an already hefty catalogue of meaty metal anthems…For many artists, releasing enough albums to put together a collection as weighty as this one is the stuff of dreams…but to think that this is just a portion of the bands material, not only missing out the earlier records of their successful heyday, but the albums they still make to this day, it’s simply impressive. They’ve been there from the beginning more or less, they’ve seen bands and entire genre’s come and go and here they are, true to themselves, true to metal and still going strong…Saxon are a real British metal institution and deserve a lot of credit for flying the flag, defending the faith if you will...if you can’t appreciate that? Metal up your ass! [8]
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