It may well be true that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, but it’s equally true that practice makes perfect, so it would stand to reason that old dogs can certainly perform what tricks they may already know better than any young whippersnapper could.
In the game of pure heavy metal, there are few remaining dogs as old as Saxon, who mark their thirty-fifth anniversary this year. Their twentieth record in that time, Sacrifice shows them far from elderly or tired. In fact, it’s very, very much the opposite: This is a Saxon positively bursting with renewed energy, playing faster and harder and with more spirit than they have in… well… in a dog’s age.
That’s not to say, mind you, that they were struggling before – Saxon’s last handful of discs have been remarkably solid efforts, adding a slight dash of power metal bombast and symphonic touches to the band’s trademark working-class NWOBHM style. And if you disregard its instrumental intro track, Sacrifice tosses any and all pretense to the curb and gets back to the band’s best business, which is primarily hard-driving heavy metal songs about speed and all things rock ‘n’ roll.
Again ignoring the intro track, the title track opens the album proper, with a near-thrash tempo and some seriously ripping guitar riffs beneath Byford’s soaring vocals. Biff has always been an (ahem) unsung hero of heavy metal vocalists, and his voice has aged superbly, the slight bit of weathering adding depth and grit – his range is still great, his throat still powerful, and he injects a passion into his performances that only the greatest could match. The guitar tandem of Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt churn out some rock-solid traditional metal riffs that all of today’s patch-vested and eBay-purchased-Omen-shirt-wearing youngsters would kill to write. Check out that simple staccato main/chorus riff to “Made In Belfast.” It’s only three notes, but there’s more gold in that rhythm and in its simplicity than there is in a thousand arpeggiated fret-board workouts.
Of course, a great vocalist and great riffs are a great start, but it’s what you do with them that truly counts, and Sacrifice sports some stellar songs to boot. The title track and “Belfast” are both first-rate Saxon scorchers, as is the racing anthem “Warriors Of The Road.” In all ten tracks, there’s nary a dud in the bunch, just great metal tunes from a band who helped to develop the style. A few tracks don’t shine as bright, it’s true — “Night Of The Wolf” is respectable, probably a highlight on one of the band’s weaker efforts, but it falls short of what surrounds it, and the same could be said of the war-themed “Wheels Of Terror.” Still, even those two rock, if not to the same exceptional degree.
Though nothing here is high poetry, I must admit, in true Saxon fashion, the lyrics tackle both the usual metal fare (“Warriors Of The Road,” “Stand Up And Fight,” most of the record) and a couple of more interesting ideas. Byford has always had a fixation upon transportation – motorcycles, planes, ships, cars… If it rolls or floats or flies, he writes about it. This is the man who brought us “Wheels Of Steel,” “747 (Strangers In The Night),” “Motorcycle Man,” “Stallions Of The Highway,” “Redline,” “Burning Wheels,” “Need For Speed,” “Afterburner” and more… So it’s no surprise that “Warriors” is another Saxon racing tune, and a good one but largely good because of its riff and its drive. Still, on a less cliched note, “Belfast” handles its subject of ships circuitously, telling the tale the blue-collar stiffs who labored in that titular city’s shipyards at the beginning of the last century. Furthering the construction theme, “Walking The Steel” is a mid-tempo rocker that rides a groovy riff beneath a tale of high-steel workers rebuilding New York’s Twin Towers. Closing the album, the straightforward “Waiting In A Queue” might well be the best rock song ever written about… the sheer frustration of waiting in line. Again, it’s nothing absolutely mind-blowing, but at least Sacrifice sports a few ideas outside the tried-and-true realm of broads, booze, battle, bikes, and banging your head.
So this is a case of “old dog, old trick, new spark.” Sacrifice is a return to form, and a grand one at that – it’s an absolute must-hear for any and all fans of straight-ahead heavy metal. In pre-release press materials, Byford stated that the band was consciously stripping away the excess, trying to “be raw, be real,” and that’s what they’ve done, looking to their own past to find their future. Whatever inspiration they’ve uncovered, it’s working in spades. Sacrifice is Saxon playing on eleven, and consequently, it stands as their most exciting record in well over a decade.
[Note: There is a two-disc expanded edition of Sacrifice, packaged in a fancypants hardback book. This version adds an orchestrated version of 1984’s “Crusader,” plus acoustic versions of 1991’s “Forever Free” and 1992’s “Requiem,” as well as re-recordings of Crusader’s “Just Let Me Rock” and 1979’s “Frozen Rainbow.” Nothing there is amazing, but long-time fans will enjoy the different versions. There is also an iTunes-only bonus track (“Luck Of The Draw”) that comes more recommended, another simple and effective Saxon rocker that fits snugly behind the others.]
