11/22/2023 09:19

Saxon

Saxon announce 'Hell, Fire and Damnation' album

English heavy metallers Saxon proudly release their latest album 'Hell, Fire and Damnation' on January 19th 2024, and when internationally-renowned actor Brian Blessed OBE delivers a proclamation for opening track, 'The Prophecy', expectations are automatically high. Have no fear and make no mistake, Saxon meet and exceed them on their 24th studio release, creating a superlative British heavy metal classic which strides the perfect line between confident, current power, and gloriously irreverent flexing of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal muscle which Saxon co-created.

Track listing:
1. The Prophecy
2. Hell, Fire and Damnation
3. Madame Guillotine
4. Fire and Steel
5. There's Something in Roswell
6. Kubla Khan and the Merchant of Venice
7. Pirates of the Airwaves
8. 1066
9. Witches of Salem
10. Super Charger

There is supreme confidence in every performance. Biff Byford delivers his richest vocals in years, Nigel Glockler and Nibbs Carter on drums and bass respectively lay down the rhythmic law with thunderous power, and the guitars of Doug Scarratt and Brian Tatler are fresh and fiery, a perfect complement to each other, and carrying an overall energy and fury which will have fans salivating. Lyrically, Byford enjoys investigating all areas of both history and mystery, with Marie Antoinette, Kubla Khan, the Battle of Hastings, the Salem witch trials and the fight between good and evil on the title track all in the mix. Musically, Saxon bring it all to the table. There's a furious tribute to actual heavy metal in the denim & leather coated super-sprint 'Fire and Steel', a wonderful nod to the NWOBHM's birth in the electric mid-pace 'Pirates of the Airwaves', but maybe the true treasure amidst the jewels is 'There's Something in Roswell', with the sort of expansive groove and embrace which deserves arenas. Add to this excellent production by Biff and Andy Sneap (Sneap also mixed and mastered 'Hell, Fire and Damnation') and you have Saxon's most definitive statement in years.

Biff Byford, lead singer and founder-member reminisces when asked about the title: "I've had that saying in my head since I was a small boy because my dad used to say it when he was upset," Biff smiles. "He used to say, ‘Hell, fire, and damnation, what's tha' been doing now?!’ when I was ‘messing up his cabbage patch’ or carving things into the kitchen table. It was a very ‘Yorkshire’ saying back in the day." The title track unleashed today is a superlative British heavy metal classic exploring the juxtaposition between good and evil. "There's so much music out there about hell and the devil and the occult that I just thought it's about time somebody wrote one about the battle just between good and evil!" explains Biff. "You can't sing about the devil without singing about the good guy either, and the song basically says ‘make your choice’. We all have to make the choice, are we evil or are we good? The song's about that fight."

The album was produced by Andy Sneap (Judas Priest, Exodus, Accept and Priest guitarist) and Biff Byford, and mixed and mastered by Sneap.

2024 promises to be a great year for Saxon, with the European tour alongside Judas Priest and Uriah Heep kicking-off in the UK in March, plus the arrival of the heavy metal masterpiece 'Hell, Fire and Damnation'.

HELL, FIRE AND DAMNATION WORLD TOUR (Part 1)
11 March – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (UK)
13 March – First Direct Arena, Leeds (UK)
15 March – 3Arena, Dublin (IE)
17 March – BIC, Bournemouth (UK)
19 March – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham (UK)
21 March – OVO Arena Wembley, London (UK)
24 March – Festhalle, Frankfurt (DE)
25 March – Olympiahalle, München (DE)
26 March – Volksbank Messe, Balingen (DE)
27 March – Westfalenhalle, Dortmund (DE)
29 March – O2 Arena, Prague (CZ)
30 March – Tauron Arena, Kraków (PL)
1 April – Wiener Stadhalle, Vienna (AT)
2 April – Roxy, Ulm (DE)
3 April – St. Jakobshalle, Basel (CH)
5 April – Halle Tony Garnier, Lyon (FR)
6 April – Mediolanum Forum, Milan (IT)
8 April – Zénith, Paris (FR)
13 June – Sant Jordi Club, Barcelona (ES)
15 June – Navarra Arena, Pamplona (ES)
17 June – Palacio Vistalegre, Madrid (ES)
1 July – Barclays Arena, Hamburg (DE)
2 July – Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin (DE)
4 July – Arena Nürnberger, Nürnberg (DE)
8 July – Sap Arena, Mannheim (DE)
10 July – Messehalle, Dresden (DE)
More dates TBA . Tickets: https://www.saxon747.com/

(source: Saxon)