Saxon
Sacrifice

I think that for anyone reading our webzine (widely regarded as the best in the world) Saxon does not really require any further introduction, or do they? They might be from saxony, they may no be from there but we all know they are one of the driving forces behind the six letters that made up the NWOBHM, maybe not held in as high a pedestal as bands like Iron Maiden or the Judas Priests but they still have something of a legendary status amongst the fans of the genre. Possibly you can say that they have earned this by sacrifices and hard work as the new album called Sacrifice is their twentieth studio album, quite an impressive feat I would say. And for this twentieth album the celebratory hymns has been sung loudly by the web reviewers making someone suspect that they have done something exceptional, or have they?

The music is Saxonic in style, the bluesy heavy metal stylings that made them famous with songs like Wheels of Steel and all of that stuff. An album with classical Saxon songs with Biff’s high-pitched raspy vocals and he sounds like he is in great shape. The sound is good and you cannot really fault the production of this album which is very modern and good in that regard. If you have heard Saxon before you will recognise this album as it is the same kind of blues based heavy metal with a fair bit of energy and such as it has always been when it comes to Saxon and if you want to be really mean to their creative process you can say that it sounds like nothing has really happened which of course is a truth with a slight bit of modification. It is a short and to the point album with the ten songs stopping just short of 40 minutes.

I think that they do well and it is a good album with a few songs that works quite well, but at the same time I cannot help feeling like they just do thing on routine. It is flawlessly produced and all of that which of course can be said about most albums being produced these days so that can never be said to guarantee anything. I think that fans of the band will find this album brilliant, amazing and fantastic and say it in one breath like bramaztic as it would be combined. It does what Saxon usually does and it does it well and I can agree to the fact that it is a good and entertaining album but at the same time you have to think of the fact that they have done twenty album counting this one. If this is the best they can do with 19 albums in the baggage then I have to say that it is a rather disappointing album, maybe the experience and their history is a burden rather than a benefit.

Sacrifice seems to me like an album aimed at the one who already is fanatical about the band, it offers nothing that really makes it stand out amongst their previous album making it seem kind of pointless for anyone who is not really a fan. They do what they do and stick to their selected path, they make an entertaining album and of that their is no doubt. I could have given this a higher rating had it not been for this being their twentieth album and it is not really an evolvement from what they have done before. It is a quite typical Saxon album which will be liked by the fans and sort of ignored by most others, a decent album plain and simple.

Twenty albums, that is quite impressive to have made so congratulations to your twentieth album Saxon, your fans will love it.

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