And so to the main event: House lights dimmed, and the intro track on Sacrifice, Procession played out to a capacity crowd. Saxon launched straight into Sacrifice followed by Wheels of Terror from the new album. The crowd were in fine voice, with new songs welcomed as keenly as the old classics. Classics? There aren’t many bands around today with a back catalogue of classics like Saxon. Tonight these included The Power and The Glory, Heavy Metal Thunder, Motorcycle Man, Conquistador, And The Bands Played On, Rock n Roll Gypsy and one of their most famous, the cover the Christopher Cross track Ride Like the Wind. Biff was in fine form, earning bonus points by acknowledging that there might be “few in from Wales” which was met by a massive roar from the large Welsh contingent in the audience. I always forget how heavy Saxon are live, but Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt’s guitars soon reminded me, with some brilliant soloing and riffing. Nigel Glockler’s drumming was effortless and combined superbly with Nibbs Carter’s bass lines to keep the momentum. Saxon played a very healthy number of tracks from the new album, all of which came across well in the live setting. Guardians of the Tomb, Night of the Wolf, Stand up and Fight were well appreciated. I did have to laugh at the sight of Paul Quinn with a double neck six and 12 string guitar for Made in Belfast though; He isn’t Alex Lifeson that’s for sure. You know what you get with Saxon, and sure enough, apart from the tedious drum solo which lasted about eight minutes, the rest of the set ws stuffed full of old school brilliance. Wheels of Steel, Dallas 1PM and 747 led to a killer encore of Strong Arm of the Law, Denim and Leather and finally Princess of the Night, which I’m not ashamed to say brought a little tear to my eye. A night of solid old school British Heavy Metal, performed by a band that mean so much to many UK metallers. Roll on Steelhouse. It’s going to be blinding! 10/10
And so to the main event: House lights dimmed, and the intro track on Sacrifice, Procession played out to a capacity crowd. Saxon launched straight into Sacrifice followed by Wheels of Terror from the new album. The crowd were in fine voice, with new songs welcomed as keenly as the old classics. Classics? There aren’t many bands around today with a back catalogue of classics like Saxon. Tonight these included The Power and The Glory, Heavy Metal Thunder, Motorcycle Man, Conquistador, And The Bands Played On, Rock n Roll Gypsy and one of their most famous, the cover the Christopher Cross track Ride Like the Wind. Biff was in fine form, earning bonus points by acknowledging that there might be “few in from Wales” which was met by a massive roar from the large Welsh contingent in the audience. I always forget how heavy Saxon are live, but Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt’s guitars soon reminded me, with some brilliant soloing and riffing. Nigel Glockler’s drumming was effortless and combined superbly with Nibbs Carter’s bass lines to keep the momentum. Saxon played a very healthy number of tracks from the new album, all of which came across well in the live setting. Guardians of the Tomb, Night of the Wolf, Stand up and Fight were well appreciated. I did have to laugh at the sight of Paul Quinn with a double neck six and 12 string guitar for Made in Belfast though; He isn’t Alex Lifeson that’s for sure. You know what you get with Saxon, and sure enough, apart from the tedious drum solo which lasted about eight minutes, the rest of the set ws stuffed full of old school brilliance. Wheels of Steel, Dallas 1PM and 747 led to a killer encore of Strong Arm of the Law, Denim and Leather and finally Princess of the Night, which I’m not ashamed to say brought a little tear to my eye. A night of solid old school British Heavy Metal, performed by a band that mean so much to many UK metallers. Roll on Steelhouse. It’s going to be blinding! 10/10