A little confession is at order here. Saxon´s career went largely by me for a long time. It wasn´t until I read in an interview with singer and band icon Biff Byford that he was very into symphonic music that I thought of picking up some releases. Besides an obvious Best Of, I also got Killing Ground. For their version of King Crimson´s In The Court Of The Crimson King of course. Which is fantastic by the way. Other albums made it into the collection as well, and now it´s time for their recent Into The Labyrinth album.
Personally I truly admire Saxon for the drive to keep releasing new material and avoiding the Greatest Hits show all the time. Saxon enjoy(ed) a fair share of success but keep striving for making their best record yet. As a musician myself I think that is the way to go.
So for anyone into Saxon, this is another fine release. Yes, you already know what you are gonna get. Melodic metal that shakes the floor, riffs that rock the boat, Biff singing like he´s still in his twenties and so on. Nothing ground breaking maybe, but quality music from a quality band anyway.
And if you are unfamiliar with them like I once was, pick up a Best Of as well, and dive into this band´s history. Anyone into rock music should own at least a couple of their albums!
Personal play tips: the first few tracks will tell you what you need to know.