Saxon? The name jumped out at me like a hit from the past. It’s been a long while since I listened to any of their stuff, and the band are most linked with memories of school and my best friend. He was a metalhead, I was an ex-mod goth – we covered a lot between us. Anyway… my good friend Andy was a big fan and it’s down to him that I ever heard them at all.

A new album, their 20th, is being released on 4th March. Sacrifice was produced by frontman Biff Byford, who has plenty to say about the back to Saxon basics approach. ‘I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place’ he states. Indeed, if you were a fan back in the 80’s, you’ll find a lot that’s both familiar and classic to rediscover. If you weren’t, then you do need to be a metalhead to appreciate it fully. It’s steeped in traditions of lyric, legend and guitar that have wound themselves round several decades and albums. Listen, and ye shall find. New fans should find everything you need to know about the genre right here, given a fresh lick of amp power for the now generation.

Some release formats have extra acoustic/orchestral and re-recorded tracks, so look out for these. Saxon are on a UK tour in April and May – check out their  website for more details. There’salso an offer on there to go on tour with them. Interesting…