Video footage of British heavy metal legends SAXON playing the James Bond theme during soundcheck on June 28 in Osnabrück, Germany can be seen below.
SAXON‘s new album “Sacrifice”, was released on March 1 in Europe (except in the U.K., where it was made available on March 4) and March 26 in North America through UDR. Taking a sharper, reinvigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, SAXON have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album “A Call To Arms”. The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford, with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn‘s and Doug Scarratt‘s guitar work the best it’s ever been, while Biff‘s vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in SAXON‘s history, with the likes of “Warriors Of The Road”, “Wheels Of Terror” and “Stand Up And Fight” evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic SAXON sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as MEGADETH, as evidenced by the crunching title cut, “Sacrifice”.
The “Sacrifice” cover artwork was created by longtime SAXON artist Paul Raymond Gregory.
PureGrainAudio recently conducted an interview with UK metal festival Bloodstock founder Paul Raymond Gregory:
From where came the idea of creating the Bloodstock Metal festival? Paul: It was pretty much by accident. I was looking for somebody to do my website, this is how bizarre it is, and I found this guy. I knew he was a Metal head and he presented me the idea of putting a festival together. And I said, “Great idea”, I didn’t think about it, because to me made a lot of sense. I think is a natural progression for me as an individual to be part of something like that. And I ended up with the festival in the end. It was about four of us, but it was obviously quite a costly exercise and eventually it was just me. So I went and developed it from there.
What, in your opinion, makes the festival special? Paul: I don’t think we are any different from any other festival. Each year it gets more and more people. I think we probably have a European feel to it and that’s why people like the idea because they come to Bloodstock because we have a lot of European bands. We bring to UK a lot of bands. Blind guardian came in to England for the first time at Bloodstock. Nightwich is another band that we brought for the first time and several others I can’t think of right now. That’s probably one of the reasons, I wouldn’t say that there’s specific reason for that.
So, what can people expect from the festival? Paul: It’s just 4 days of Metal basically. We got 3 stages, the New Blood stage, the main stage which is the Ronnie James Dio stage, the Sophie Lancaster stage, and we have a smaller stage for an acoustic set. It’s just full on Metal. And is for all ages as well, you know?
This year King Diamond, Lamb Of God, and Slayer are headlining. Paul: Yeah, it’s great! Especially King. It’s the first festival he’ll headline in the UK. So we are looking forward to that. I’ve have never seen him live so it’s also a great experience for me as well.
The Festival has also become a place for young bands to develop a wider audience. A place to grow. Paul: We support a lot of young bands within the festival. We have the New Blood stage and we give bands the opportunity that they wouldn’t normally get. You know, by playing in the main stage and playing venues up and down in the UK. You never know who can become big.
The Festival has become some sort of a family affair for you. Can you tell me more about it? Paul: I brought my daughters in as directors. But there again, it was purely by accident not by design. You are not winning a lot really, not in the financial aspect. You have to be in it to win it, that’s what I say.
Did you ever imagine a decade ago that you were going to be doing Bloodstock in 2013? Paul: No. Not at all. It’s like Hamlet, the eternal optimist. I think you need to be that if you’re in a business of any kind. But is a fan thing. I never looked upon it as a money-spinner. For me was a passion that I wanted to create something that was unique and that I could see developing. So I think for me it has to be the passion of doing something you want to do, and that is how it has worked. The fans see that, they see it’s not corporate and we do it because we love to do it, and it’s just natural, organic. But we actually do try to make sure that they get value for money, not financially but in terms of what they see. We are probably the only metal festival, true metal festival in the UK.
Source: Bravewords.com
SAXON frontman Biff Byford is scheduled to appear at a special talk / book launch for Beyond Time And Place – The Art Of Paul Raymond Gregory, tonight (Thursday, November 1st) at 7 PM in London, England.
According to a press release: At this special discussion and book launch, we will be bringing together journalist Greg Mofitt,Biff Byford of legendary metal band SAXON, fellow fantasy artist Mark Wilkinson, art collector Peter Nahum, and ex chair of the Tolkien society Alex Lewis to discuss Paul’s fantastic body of work. As a self-taught artist the book takes a journey through the three key aspects of his career. The first explores the sweeping landscapes of Paul’s imagined Tolkien world. The next documents Paul’s total absorption in the heavy metal world. As a life-long rock fan, Paul’s move into album artwork had been just a matter of time. His style lends itself perfectly to the genre and he brings to it the same restless imagination which shines throughout his other work. Raymond Gregory,
Never tired of the road, SAXONrecently announced the UK leg of their Sacrifice World Tour, in support of the upcoming album of the same name. The band will play nine dates in April 2013 and they can’t wait to share their new material on stage.
Throughout the years, SAXON have been touring relentlessly and earning an excellent reputation for the quality and energy of their performances. This is documented in their Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, which is released on December 7th. As UK fans await Sacrifice with the same anticipation reserved for Saxon’s previous work, they know the spring shows will be – as always – a treat not to be missed.
Biff Byford says: “People have been asking me if this is going to be our last album and tour – we don’t know yet we’ll see how it goes.”
Tour dates:
April
18 – Leamington Spa, UK – Assembly
19 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
20 – Newcastle, UK – Academy
21 – Glasgow, UK – ABC
23 – Manchester, UK – Ritz
24 – Leeds, UK – Academy
26 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wulfrun Hall
27 – London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
28 – Bristol, UK – Academy
Tickets for all venues are priced at £18.50 except for London, where they are £20.00 (all subject to booking fee). Tickets available at Kililive.com Tel: 0844 871 8803 and usual outlets. Doors for all venues open at 7 PM.
The silver eagle has finally landed for audiences worldwide! After enjoying a limited “Fan Club Only” UK release, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, SAXON‘s wonderfully unfiltered and intimate account of their ascent to the upper echalons of heavy metal, will finally enjoy an international release this December.
The double-disc set features the soon-to-be-celebrated story of SAXON, while the second disc is packed with bonus features including a full-length performance (on St. George’s Day) from April 23rd, 2008. Rivetingly honest, and including the frank memories of every musician who has played in the band, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie pieces together the earliest incarnations of SAXON, from frontman Biff Byford’s teenage years in the coalmines of Yorkshire and SON OF A BITCH (the first incarnation of Saxon) all the way through to top 10 hits and world tours.
“Our music was more sort of machinery banging together, wheels turning, machines making noise,” says Biff of those early, industrial days, “It’s what Heavy Metal is all about. Heavy Metal is all about hard, big sounds bashing your skull in. I used to work in factories where big machinery made lot of noise and I used to sing along to the noises they made.”
It is a documentary which looks for all the world as though it’s a superbly crafted script, as much a tale of pure, honest, working class triumph as just another Rock n’ Roll story. Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie shows every facet of SAXON on their journey without once diluting the true characters who make up the band.
“We basically played every dump and shithole that there is in England over a period, probably just short of eight years,” laughs Biff. “You know classic cliché of transit van, up and down and we used to play more or less every night. One gig might be a good paying gig and the other one might be no money or ten quid but it was an obsession, you had to play every day.”
These wonderfully naïve young men sought nothing more than a great gig, a good time and maybe a nice girl, before suddenly finding themselves on tour in the US, exposed to the sorts of things which (quite frankly) Barnsley simply didn’t offer in 1980. And from that point, Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, takes the viewer on a journey on a Rock n’ Roller of a journey encompassing it all from triumphs to tears to tea-bags and beyond.
Nothing is forsaken and nothing skipped. Despite the fact that to this day there remain problems between the Byford/Quinn and Oliver/Dawson parties, everyone tells the full unedited Saxon story with heartfelt honesty and integrity.
“We do have a great legacy,” says Byford, “whether you joined the band in 1994 or (as) an original member. There’s a legacy there and I’ve tried hard to not let people demean it and to spoil it and you have to look after that thing that is Saxon.”
Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie will entertain, engage and charm fans and non-fans alike. That’s a truth as honest as the film itself…
Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie will be available on DVD Digipack (2 Discs) and Blu-ray. Further details to follow.
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