SAXON — Saxon (review)

SAXON — Saxon album cover Album · 1979 · NWoBHM Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Unitron
Saxon's self-titled debut is the epitome of a band's first album that doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Saxon aren't the heavy metal motorists they would become just a year later, in fact there's only a couple metal songs on this album.

Instead this album leans more towards that weird kind of rock that sits in between prog rock, boogie/blues rock, and has just a slight hard edge. Think bands like Queen, Wishbone Ash, and maybe early Scorpions; that's the sort of sound to expect here for the most part. However, Biff Byford's signature rough yet melodic vocals makes it clear that this is indeed Saxon, similar to early Scorpions still sounding like Scorpions with Klaus Meine's distinct voice.

There are a couple great songs here that are a display of what was to come, particularly Stallions of the Highway. If Highway Star is heavy metal's song for road rage, Stallions of the Highway is heavy metal's song for cruising down the road with the wind blowing in your face. That's followed by Backs to the Wall, which follows in a similar adrenaline rush of metal.

Despite being such a short album, Saxon's debut ends up being pretty boring with the exception of the aforementioned tracks (Still Fit to Boogie is good too). If someone's a fan of the aforementioned bands, this might be their favorite Saxon album, but for someone looking to get into Saxon, listen to Stallions of the Highway and then skip to the next album.
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