Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Saxon Sacrifice Company: UDR Release: 2013 Genre: NWOBHM, Traditional Reviewer: EC

Saxon aren't going anywhere soon

"Sacrifice" is the perfect album title for Saxon's twentieth album to date. I can't imagine the mileage and baggage that is housed on Biff's back after decades of weary road travel and the everyday grind of being in a band. Unlike bands like Maiden and Priest I can't picture that this NWOBHM pioneer is cashing the same checks as Tipton, Downing and Harris. Yet, sacrifice is ultimately the rhyme and reason for Saxon's proverbial fountain of youth. The band have given up the normal life and its luxuries to travel the world as a working performer and year after year the group consistently deliver the goods on stage, on the road and in the studio--sacrificing a lifetime for metal fans.

This new album comes by way of UDR (Motörhead, Girlschool) and is mixed, mastered and co-produced by the esteemed Andy Sneap. The end result is a powerful sound laced with high-end technology and Biff's blitzkrieg of furious vocals. This is a stellar follow up to the monumental "Call To Arms" and gives fans a real heavy power metal album similar to "Into The Labyrinth" mixed with the speedy tactics of "The Inner Sanctum".

"Sacrifice" is firmly built around the modern Saxon sound that has flourished and thrived since 2000. The title track is laced with a driving metallic riff that builds on double bass and Biff's "Sacrifice" chants. "Made In Belfast" and "Guardians Of The Tomb" flirts with Megadeth styled thrash elements while "Stand Up And Fight" flourishes with that 80s anthemic formula. "Standing In A Queue" is simply Saxon of old, dirty British rock and roll that finishes the album off with pounding proof that Saxon aren't going anywhere soon, sure to carry on with the same intensity that fueled "Wheels Of Steel" all of those years ago.