An enviable career for Saxon, from the dawn of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal – of which they are among the main exponents – up to the present day with something like 24 studio albums under their belt. Almost fifty years of career ranging from the foundation in 1976 to the debut in 1979 up to the new “Hell, Fire And Damnation”, always with the constant presence of the iconic vocalist and standard bearer Biff Byford, with periods of great success (especially the first 80s), however never at the level of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest.
Saxon can be considered the emblem of something that has been evident for decades: classic heavy metal has gone from being a revolutionary act of rebellion (albeit hedonistic and chauvinistic) to an act of resistance, understood as the desire to still be there at truly venerable ages (Biff Byford is now 73 and in the middle of a world tour). Resist, resist, resist one could say: at any cost, indifferent to every change in the surrounding world, almost as if heavy metal were a sort of elixir of long life that requires you to never change, an infallible medicine to cheat the power that wanted you to be an underpaid and exploited worker.
“Hell, Fire And Damnation” is nothing more than that. The confirmation of an eternal youth ostentatious, where you play and write lyrics exactly like when you were twenty, with much less anger but a lot of craftsmanship. “The Prophecy” and the title track which open the album in an epic way, follow the recipe well-established in the early 80s to perfection and do it with credibility, sounding exactly as a metal fan wants. “Madame Guillotine”, perhaps the best song Maidenian, transports us to the French Revolution and has all the air of a potential hit, as does the neo-conspiracy metal of “There’s Something In Roswell”, with a catchy riff and a typical classic metal melody. Old-school aggression is found in “Fire And Steel” while “Witches Of Salem” gives us a new metal song dedicated to the famous witches, excellent for a Halloween-themed playlist.
Yes, there is no doubt that heavy metal is no longer revolutionary, but an act of resistance (and coherence in some ways). Perhaps, to ennoble the entire movement, we could steal the words of Leo Trovkij and talk about permanent revolution. After fifty years it may seem like a small miracle, so that’s fine.
04/09/2024
