SPV
2007
1. State Of Grace
2. Need For Speed
3. Let Me Feel Your Power
4. Red Star Falling
5. I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)
6. If I Was You
7. Going Nowhere Fast
8. Ashes To Ashes
9. Empire Rising
10. Atila The Hun
In 1997 Saxon released Unleashed The Beast and was pretty universally welcomed back to the metal fold. That one also claimed a place as my personal favorite Saxon album in fact. Since then the band has reclaimed their place in metal to some extent and have been releasing pretty solid albums. Unleash The Beast remains the measuring stick for newer Saxon albums though.
On this one they seem to have realized that on some level as The Inner Sanctum takes a step back towards that sound. Even the intro reminds me of that album with it's somber build up. From there on the sound just continues to recall Unleash The Beast as the songs have that same polished power/traditional feel with an emphasis on anthemic rocking. This is just Saxon in the sort of mold they fit best into. Really this sort of memorable anthemic sound is what made the band in the first place in my opinion. I can't imagine fans of Denim & Leather, Strong Arm Of The Law, etc being disappointed with this. This is just a great slab of no frills metal with a flavor of the old NWOBHM sound that made them. Maybe nothing incredibly new on the Saxon front but it's easily better than the last 3 releases and the best they've been in a decade. If you can't get into a fist pumping rocker like "I've Got To Rock" then may the metal gods save you.
The only track I'm not that wild about is the longest and the closer... Atila The Hun. The messy drum sound and length kinda spoils that song for me. On an album of around 45 minutes an 8 minute disappointment is a bit detrimental, but the rest of the album is solid enough for me to still rate this pretty highly.
In conclusion, any fan of straight forward, anthemic metal or NWOBHM would be advised to check this one out. It is certainly a must for Saxon fans. These metal icons can still put out some great material.
Highlights: I've Got To Rock, Going Nowhere Fast, Need For Speed, State Of Grace
Rating - 4.0/5
2. Need For Speed
3. Let Me Feel Your Power
4. Red Star Falling
5. I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)
6. If I Was You
7. Going Nowhere Fast
8. Ashes To Ashes
9. Empire Rising
10. Atila The Hun
In 1997 Saxon released Unleashed The Beast and was pretty universally welcomed back to the metal fold. That one also claimed a place as my personal favorite Saxon album in fact. Since then the band has reclaimed their place in metal to some extent and have been releasing pretty solid albums. Unleash The Beast remains the measuring stick for newer Saxon albums though.
On this one they seem to have realized that on some level as The Inner Sanctum takes a step back towards that sound. Even the intro reminds me of that album with it's somber build up. From there on the sound just continues to recall Unleash The Beast as the songs have that same polished power/traditional feel with an emphasis on anthemic rocking. This is just Saxon in the sort of mold they fit best into. Really this sort of memorable anthemic sound is what made the band in the first place in my opinion. I can't imagine fans of Denim & Leather, Strong Arm Of The Law, etc being disappointed with this. This is just a great slab of no frills metal with a flavor of the old NWOBHM sound that made them. Maybe nothing incredibly new on the Saxon front but it's easily better than the last 3 releases and the best they've been in a decade. If you can't get into a fist pumping rocker like "I've Got To Rock" then may the metal gods save you.
The only track I'm not that wild about is the longest and the closer... Atila The Hun. The messy drum sound and length kinda spoils that song for me. On an album of around 45 minutes an 8 minute disappointment is a bit detrimental, but the rest of the album is solid enough for me to still rate this pretty highly.
In conclusion, any fan of straight forward, anthemic metal or NWOBHM would be advised to check this one out. It is certainly a must for Saxon fans. These metal icons can still put out some great material.
Highlights: I've Got To Rock, Going Nowhere Fast, Need For Speed, State Of Grace
Rating - 4.0/5
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