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SAXON
Sacrifice

UDR Music (2013)
Rating: 9/10

Saxon’s latest album, Sacrifice, comes on the heels of the acclaimed Call To Arms (2011). The album was recorded in Yorkshire, England at LS Studios and is co-produced by mainman Biff Byford and Andy Sneap. As the story goes, the band dug into their back catalogue for inspiration and the result is a whirlwind album that ranks among the band’s best, a welcome surprise so late in their career.

The album opens with a predictable intro (‘Procession’) before kicking into the all-out assault of the title track. Byford practically spits the vocals over top of dirty guitars and a mid-tempo rhythm section. It’s a great way to kick off the album and as soon as the band get your blood-pumping they kick it into high gear with the more dynamic ‘Made In Belfast’. Screaming lead guitars couple with some seriously rock ’n’ roll mandolin, pounding drums and bass, and a sprinkling of machine gun riffs to take the song way over the top. You’ll be banging your head and trying to sing-along before you even get through the song the first time (and I guarantee you’ll listen again right away).

‘Guardians Of The Tomb’ and ‘Night Of The Wolf’ are big, epic slabs of metal that remind you why those in the know mention Saxon in the same breath as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Meanwhile, ‘Standing In A Queue’ and ‘Stand Up And Fight’ (a personal highlight for me) represent the band’s more rock ’n’ roll side (and the side we have seen most often in the last decade or so) and are easily on par with everything else good this album offers.

For as damn near perfect as Sacrifice is, it’s the bonus disc that really pushes this album to a nine. It boasts an orchestrated version of ‘Crusader’, re-recorded versions of ‘Just Let Me Rock’ and ‘Forever Free’, and acoustic versions of ‘Requiem’ and ‘Frozen Rainbow’.

The re-recorded songs are tight as hell and carry a punch that their originals certainly lacked. The orchestrated version of ‘Crusader’, sounded (on paper) like it’d be god-awful but it’s one of the set’s highlights for sure. It sounds huge and the orchestra brings it back to life in a way I would have never suspected. It just sounds unbelievably epic. Many, many progressive metal bands could learn a lesson or two from this rendition. The acoustic tunes are surprisingly interesting as well, both prove that Saxon songs stand really, really well without all the thunder and lightning. Byford sounds wonderful vocally and, realistically, it makes me very excited to wonder about what a solo offering might bring to the world of music.

Overall, I haven’t liked a Saxon album this well in 20 years. I can’t stop listening to Sacrifice and if that’s the case for a self-professed half-hearted Saxon fan than I can only imagine how awesome this is gonna be for the band’s diehard fanbase. If you like any kind of metal or hard rock then Sacrifice is your first must-have release of 2013.

Mark Fisher

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