Saxon

Barnsley’s behemoths hit the seaside

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

As Biff Byford explains from the stage, this date was intended as a warm-up for Saxon’s tour with Motörhead: “Sadly, the warm-up has become the only fucking show, so this one’s a bit special.”

Indeed. The 500-capacity Old Market House is the ideal venue in which to pin our ears back with two hours (“We shouldn’t really play for this long at our age,” chuckles Biff) of heavy metal thunder, while filming the proceedings. The setlist cunningly toggles between classic tracks and heavier post-millennial delights. Unlike some bands who sheepishly infuse their set with one or two token tracks from their latest record, Saxon are clearly proud of last year’s Battering Ram (“Our best-selling album since 1992!”) and air half of it, including tremendous moments like the title track and The Devil’s Footprint.

Saxon continue to look forwards

Saxon continue to look forwards (Image credit: Will Ireland)

Sure, some of Saxon’s latter-day material is a touch generic, but like Judas Priest, they deserve admiration for updating their sound. The 5050 split between old gems like Wheels Of Steel and more recent heavyweights like Sacrifice ensures the show never feels like a static museum piece. In a 2003 interview, Biff was asked how much longer Saxon could last. He replied: “We should probably stop in four or five years.”

During an encore packed with hits like Denim And Leather, Strong Arm Of The Law and 747 (Strangers In The Night), everyone present is deeply relieved he was kidding himself.

Jason Arnopp
Freelance Writer

Jason Arnopp is a veteran metal scribbler, with a passion for thrash metal, horror movies, vinyl and VHS. He's also the author of scary novels like The Last Days Of Jack Sparks (2016) and Ghoster (2019). Runs two YouTube channels, including Possessed By Metal. Guess what that one's about, eh?