845. Saxon / Saxon. 1979. 2.5/5

Another band that is seen as one of the early trailblazers of metal, but that I did not find until much later on, is Saxon. Though I was much later on this than I should have been, I have found the best of the band to be mighty impressive. This album, Saxon, is their debut, and like many debuts is a bit uneven in content and drive.

The opening tracks can immediately be placed in the era they were written and recorded, the sound and music being a dead giveaway. Much like Praying Mantis and Tygers of Pan Tang and Def Leppard of this era, this album sits somewhat unevenly in the realm between a hard rock or glam rock sound, and a true heavy metal sound. Over the course of their next couple of albums Saxon found their place and their sound, and as such their own place in the growing movement of the time. While this may cause some awkwardness, there is still enough to take away from this first album for the casual fan.
Looking back from this far in the future I can see how this appears to be the case. The opening of "Rainbow Theme" and "Frozen Rainbow" is an interesting start to the album, but perhaps just a bit too similar to what other bands were producing at the same time. A song like "Big Teaser" has more to do with the glam rock side of music than the emerging heavy metal side of the industry. In many ways it sounds like an early AC/DC song, and even Biff's vocals sound a bit like the Bon Scott of that era.
"Judgement Day" even moves off in an experimental way more in line with a Led Zeppelin song, not really gaining any momentum until not long before the conclusion of the song. There's a nice showcasing of the guitar virtuoso skills of Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn, but as to anything else there doesn't seem to have been much going on.
Perhaps the first semblance of Saxon as a harder proposition comes with the Side 2 opening track "Stallions of the Highway", and the band's first genuflecting towards motorcycles and those who ride them. As such, the track moves along at a faster pace emulating riding on one of the beasts, and provides an opportunity t see the real Saxon in action for the first time. This energy continues through with "Backs to the Wall", where the tempo is kept high, the rhythm section of Pete Gill on drums and Steve Dawson on bass keep tight and fast, while Biff Byford takes on the lead role with distinction, crying forth with his vocals in a way that now sounds like he means it, unlike what transpired on the first half of the album. "Still Fit to Boogie" reverts back to that early AC/DC sound in both music and vocals, which works fine enough but is slightly disappointing after the progress made in the previous two songs. The album finishes with "Militia Guard", which again comes closer to a more unified Saxon sound.
It would be unfair to disparage this album from such a different era, given what grew from the seed planted here. To have been able to cotton on to the band at the time this was released would no doubt have made this an album I feel much more strongly about. As it is, it is an average album which shows the signs of what was to come further down the line.

Rating:  Switchblade's gleamin', engine screamin', I'm laughin' at fate, I'm living to hate.  2.5/5