One of the leading bands of the ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’ movement, Saxon, is about to hit the U.S. shores hard once more.
On September 27th, Saxon will release their 19th studio album overall, ‘Call to Arms’ (via UDR Music/EMI), and starting the following day, will launch a Stateside tour.
And as evidenced by such ass-kickers as “Hammer of the Gods” and “Call to Arms,” the group hasn’t lost their grip on composing hard-hitting yet anthemic heavy metal with their latest offering.
Comprised of members Biff Byford (vocals), Doug Scarratt (guitar), Paul Quinn (guitar), Nibbs Carter (bass), Nigel Glockler (drums), Saxon is responsible for penning some of the 1980’s most enduring metal anthems, including “Wheels of Steel,” “Strong Arm of the Law,” “Motorcycle Man,” “Princess of the Night,” and “Never Surrender,” and along with the likes of Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, helped breath life back into a metal scene that many had left for dead at the time.
It’s been 35 years since Saxon was originally up and running, and the group can still easily hold their own with the headbanging competition.
“It’s important to keep one foot in the past and one foot very much in the present,” says Byford. “At some points in your life, whether you’re younger or older, you do have these wonderful periods of ‘state of graceness’ where everyone likes everything you write. But you can’t keep being your own tribute band, you have to try and write great new songs, and you have to try to appeal to a younger audience. Saxon has been successfully doing that for the last decade, and the result is we still have our old fan base but we also have a whole new, younger one too.”
Saxon’s latest video clip, for the song “Call to Arms,” will be premiered this Friday, August 5th at noon EST on America Online Noisecreep.
And hardcore Saxon fans will surely be interested in tracking down the “Digipack” version of ‘Call to Arms,’ as it includes a glorious bonus – a free seven-track CD, ‘Live at Donington 1980.’
Soon, U.S. fans will be able to recapture “The Power and the Glory” of Saxon all over again – with the release of ‘Call to Arms,’ and on a concert stage near you.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:
saxon.udr-music.com
‘CALL TO ARMS’ TRACK LISTING:
01 Hammer of the Gods
02 Back in 79
03 Surviving Against the Odds
04 Mists of Avalon
05 Call To Arms
06 Chasing the Bullet
07 Afterburner
08 When Doomsday Comes (Hybrid Theory)
09 No Rest for the Wicked
10 Ballad of the Working Man
11 Call To Arms – orchestral version
DIGIPACK BONUS FEATURE:
Live At Donington 1980 [Re-mixed and re-mastered from original multitrack tape]
01 MOTORCYCLE MAN
02 STILL FIT TO BOOGIE
03 FREEWAY MAD
04 BACKS TO THE WALL
05 WHEELS OF STEEL
06 BAP SHU AP
07 747 (STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT)
TOUR DATES:
9-28-11 Key Club, West Hollywood, CA
9-29-11 Last Day Saloon, Santa Rosa, CA
9-30-11 Avalon, Santa Clara, CA
10-1-11 The Boardwalk, Orangevale, CA
10-2-11 Galaxy Theatre, Santa Ana, CA
10-5-11 Club Red, Tempe, AZ
10-7-11 Sunken Gardens, San Antonio, TX
10-8-11 The Arcada Theatre, St. Charles, IL
10-10-11 Foufounes Electriques, Montreal, QC
10-13-11 B.B. Kings, New York, NY
10-14-11 Jaxx, Springfield, VA
10-15-11 Bourbon Street, Baltimore, MD
