Saxon, 'Thunderbolt' -- New Video

Saxon just released a video for the title track of their upcoming album Thunderbolt. That album is due February 2. You can pre-order the album now on Pledge Music.

Comments

[Him]

Nice to see a band like Saxon still raising the traditional NWBHM flag.

Thing is, their particular niche has been their blessing and their curse (and their attempts to broaden their range . . . largely seen as a failure). I think of them as Anvil with talent (and I mean that as a compliment). When they stick to what they know, they do it well. But what they know and do well also helps to explain why they, unlike some of their better known peers, never managed to break big in the States.

Not that breaking here is the be all/end all. But I think a host of other explanations (some offered up by them . . . bad management, trying to chase trends, ditching members, etc.) all lie somewhere below the obvious one noted above; to wit (and to repeat), they play basic metal really well. And calling it basic isn't a slam either.

Now, I need to return to getting my denim and leather laundered.

[Shawn]

@Him well said!

[Metalboy!]

Look, what’s truly great about these guys is they are the original Spinal Tap, so much so, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer shadowed them for research for the script and pre-production notes.

To me, their greatest moment is also their most heavily criticized by the diehards — “Destiny”. Truth be told, one of the main reasons Saxon never really made it big in the U.S. is Biff Byfords’ wobbly occasionally off-key vocals.

[Him]

True enough, Metalboy! BB's vocals are, as it is with many metal singers, an acquired taste. But if that was the standard by which we chose our metal heroes, we would have a much smaller hall of heroes, no? [By the way, have you won the lottery yet? And where is that prize you promised me???]

[Him]

. . . and thanks for the nod, Shawn!

[Metalboy!]

Haha!!, HIM! You’re right! I still gotta get your gift! I thought I could get away without sending it to you since you disappeared. Now that you’re back, I will get it to you asap!

That said, you’re wrong about Metal bands with bad vocalists. Saxon is usually thrown in with The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands but the majority of their peers in that revered ether of a genre either have or have had killer singers with way more b*lls (i.e. Priest, Maiden, Leppard) than Byford.

[Him]

I suppose I was branching out and about and thinking about Udo and Lemmy and others. But you are on point here as well. The other bands had better vocalists. Still, I stick to my central point: they are good band with a limited range, regardless of the vox. Thank God, though, that BB is still carrying the torch.

[Metalboy!]

Indeed about Byford, HIM, in terms of keeping it going.

On the other hand Saxon’s music is hardly limited.

Paul Quinn is as good or better than any of their competitors’ guitarists and I’ll take their catalogue over Maidens (surprise, surprise) any day.