Somewhere around South Yorkshire, UK there was a band that started life as SOB during 1976 with founding members Graham Oliver and Steve Dawson. This band joined forces with another local band, Coast, featuring Biff Byford on vocals and Paul Quinn on guitar. The two bands then finalized with a line-up comprising of the then 26 year old Graham 'Oly' Oliver, Steve 'Dobby' Dawson (27), Paul 'Blute' Quinn (26), Pete 'Frank' Gill (27) and Peter 'Biff' Byford (27). The name of the band was Son Of A Bitch. That name was dropped a few years later and the band re-christened themselves Saxon. They were at this time playing the usual rock clubs and concert gigs supporting The Ian Gillan Band and Heavy Metal Kids, amongst others, playing all their own material. Demo tapes were recorded at Tapestry Studios, with producer John Verity (ex-Argent singer/guitarist). They hawked these round the usual record companies only to be ignored as the New-wave was at its height at this time. After a few months the band finally gained a favorable reaction from EMI man Peter Hinton. He had come up to Barnsley to see the band play at the town's Civic Hall. He was very impressed and recommended Saxon to Claude Carrere as candidates for his new label on the British scene, Carrere Records. Claude decided to offer them a contract, after hearing the band's demo tapes. The rest, as they say, is history, as the band quickly became a huge part of the rising NWOBHM movement.

STRONG ARM OF THE LAW (1980, 2009) EMI

Saxon was one of the most important bands in the NWOBHM. It was also one of the most known metal bands that I never really got into back in the day. Thus I never owned, or even heard, a copy of 'Strong Arm Of The Law', the bands 3rd full-length album, and the second one released in 1980 (!), 'til 2009.

I think my initial disinterest in Saxon is due to the simplistic nature of the bands music. I'm not going to even try and convince anyone that all the bands I listen to are musical masterminds. And Lord knows I love some no-frills, in-your-face hard rock 'n' roll. However, when the songs fail to grab my attention, I'm just reluctant to try over and over again to like them. Still, I thought it was time to finally get a little more familiar with one of the spearheading bands of the NWOBHM movement.

And why not start with 'Strong Arm Of The Law', by many considered to be the bands crowning achievement. Starting with the self explanatory "Heavy Metal Thunder", the album opens on a strong note. You can all but smell the excitement of the band members being leaders in this metal uproar through this song. A Heavy Metal strongpoint, indeed! "To Hell And Back" follows up with more metal clichés in the making. And when the mid-paced title track kicks in, you know you're listening to a heavy metal classic. How did these bands crank out 2 albums a year, and still uphold the high standard they did back then? Saxon's music might not have been original, even back when the genre was still young, as other British bands like Motörhead and Judas Priest had already been doin' this for years. But it was still very effective. Threading down the same rural working-class offspring, twin lead guitars and pummeling rhythmic path, Saxon still managed to become highly popular, and created their own sound, largely due to Biff's coarse, glass shattering voice.

'Strong Arm Of The Law' gives the overall impression of a young band. Most of the album is packed with full-on heavy metal. Yet a song like "Hungry Years" sports that AC/DC, bluesy power chord variety. In contrast, most noticeably on "Dallas 1 PM", we hear a more mature songwriting style emerging. This almost epic feeling song deals lyrically with the assassination of John F Kennedy, and shows a side of the band that would be more and more common over the years, with songs like "The Eagle Has Landed" and "Battle Cry".

The 2009 remastered version of the album comes with 8 bonus tracks, extensive booklet and liner notes from Biff Byford. 4 of the bonus tracks are from a BBC session recorded in April 1982, and seems to be the first time Saxon performed "The Eagle Has Landed" live. These live in the studio versions are great! Other bonuses includes an alternate version of "To Hell And Back", a previously unreleased songs, "Mandy" (an early version of "Sixth Form Girls"), and 2 tracks remixed in Abbey Road Studio in 2009.

Killer tracks: Heavy Metal Thunder, To Hell And Back Again, 20,000 Ft, Hungry Years, Dallas 1PM

CRUSADER (1984) EMI

I've never bothered that much to start a Saxon collection. And that is somewhat strange, as this band was the first band I ever bought an album from, with my own money.

Many fans regard this as the start of the bands downfall, and rate it as one of their lesser efforts. Well, I never have listened to naysayers, and I'm not about to start now. That said though, I do like only about half of this album. Songs like "A Little Bit Of What You Fancy" and "Bad Boys (Like To Rock 'n' Roll)" must have been attempts to jump on the L.A. strip bandwagon. And I don't think Saxon did this too well. But you also get stronger tracks like "Crusader", "Sailing To America" and the cover of Sweet's "Set Me Free". I've always liked this bands ballads, and that is the case with the ones presented here too. All in all a nice album, although not a their greatest one.

Killer tracks: Crusader, Sailing To America, Just Let Me Rock, Do It For You

ROCK THE NATIONS (1986) EMI

Admitting that you like this album is almost like committing heavy metal heresy! Still that is exactly what I do. Of course nostalgia might be a huge factor in my love for 'Rock The Nations', an album most Saxon fans regard as the bands worst. You see this is the very first album I bought myself, on my own, with my own money, on cassette. After borrowing tons of cassettes and LP's from my older brothers, and getting into heavy metal as a result, this was my own personal choice in buying. And as an 11 year old metalhead, there was nothing wrong with this album in my ears. And truth be told, I still like most of the songs in 2007! Yes, the sound is polished. And this might be an attempt at making a radio friendly commercial album. But who cares as long as the songs rock? The title track, "Battle Cry", "We Came Here To Rock" are all great heavy rock tunes. And "Northern Lady" is as good a ballad as they came back in the mid 80's. I think the mindset of not liking this album has more to do with a narrow minded view some metalheads had at the time. They just hated anything even slightly popular, and wanted all their bands to be just theirs. The mass public was not allowed to like their music, as that took away the rebellion in listening to metal. But the fact of the matter is that heavy metal was a big industry during the 80's, and it was apart of the mainstream scene back then. It may have come from the underground, but it didn't stay there. So I'm going to keep digging this album, as it has a special place in my metal heart, and in my collection. Also look out for an obscure cameo by Elton John on "Party 'Til You Puke".

Killer tracks: Rock The Nations, Battle Cry, We Came Here To Rock, Empty Promises, Northern Lady

Biff Byford guest appearences:

HammerFall - 'No Sacrifice, No Victory'

Helloween - '7 Sinners'

Related artists:

Stratovarius, Running Wild, Rage, Unleashed Power/U.P., Axel Rudi Pell, Sinner, Grave Digger