They have reinvented themselves as a modern Heavy/Power Metal band with that album and it kicks ass🤘I remember it came out right in the middle of a Power/Traditional Metal boom and its one of the best albums of that era.
@@LuchaLibertaria Maybe some validity to this. I bought it the very same day I bought Hammerfall's debut and both albums are still very high on my list.
Coming from God's own county Yorkshire as do Saxon, I got to hear Saxon when it all kicked off. They have constantly been one of the UK's best metal bands and still they rumble on. Long live , Saxon !
My top 10: 1. Denim and Leather 1981 2. Wheels of Steel 1980 3. Lionheart 2004 4. Power and Glory 1983 5. The Inner Sanctum 2007 6. Thunderbolt 2018 7. Unleash the Beast 1997 8. Strong Arm of the Law 1980 9. Killing Ground 2001 10. Metalhead 1999 Battering Ram/Sacrifice are close. I agree on the comparison to Motorhead. Been waiting a while on this one! 😁. Thanks Pete!!
10. The Inner Sanctum 9. Call to Arms 8. Thunderbolt 7. Sacrifice 6. Into the Labyrinth 5. Power & the Glory 4. Crusader 3. Denim and Leather 2. Strong Arm of the Law 1. Wheels of Steel
This is my 10. Nr 10 Power and Glory Nr 9 innocence is no excuse.Nr 8.Thunderbolt.Nr 7.into the labyrinth.Nr 6 Inner Sanctum. Nr5 unleashed the beast. Nr 4 Sacrifice .Nr 3 Lionheart. Nr 2 Battering Ram and Bang Boom Power Nr 1 is Metalhead Thank you Saxon this was the album who take me back to be a huge Saxon fan again and since then Thank you !!!!!
A lot of these are interchangeable, but my top 3 have stayed pretty much the same for a long time: 10. Thunderbolt 9. Crusader 8. Lionheart 7. The Inner Sanctum 6. Unleash the Beast 5. Wheels of Steel 4. A Call to Arms 3. Strong Arm of the Law 2. Metalhead 1. Power & the Glory
One of my absolute favorite bands. Underrated as hell! I'm a huge fan of the newer albums which I feel have been consistently fantastic. Most of the list could change at any time honestly but roughly: 10. Unleash the Beast 9. Call to Arms 8. Strong Arm of the Law 7. Into the Labyriinth 6. Battering Ram 5. Denim and Leather 4. Thunderbolt 3. Killing Ground 2. Lionheart 1. Inner Sanctun
My top 10 favourite Saxon albums would be 10. Lionheart 9. Dogs Of War 8 Metalhead 7. Innocence Is No Excuse 6. Saxon 5. Crusader 4. Strong Arm Of The Law 3. Wheels Of Steel 2. Denim And Leather 1. Power And The Glory
I somehow missed Saxon growing up so this vid gave me a great starting point. Will be streaming a little on RUclips but will plan to add some of their many albums to my collection.
Great video! The first Saxon album btw, was basically two bands Coast (Byford & Quinn) and SOB (Oliver & Dawson) putting 3 songs each on the album and then collaborating on two songs (Stallions of t Highway&Backs to the wall) the two harder songs on the album...Those two songs both went to no. 1 on Neil Kays' "The Bandwagon" metal chart which was like a thermometor in the early days of the nwobhm. The success of those two collabs gave the band the inkling of what direction to take for Wheels of Steel, which really is the first 'real' Saxon album as a complete band. Love that we get an american perspective of this important band. Rememer, Saxon were Huge in Europe until the late 80's and I think that often get's lost in retrospect like if they were some sort of a second tier band. Not here though, since you were there from the start... Thanks!
Here is my top 10 classic NWOBHM Saxon albums: 1. Strong Arm of the Law (Masterpiece) 2. Denim and Leather (Masterpiece) 3. Wheels of Steel (Excellent Example of NWOBHM) 4. Power and the Glory (Great album) 5. Crusader (Another great album mixing a little mainstream metal) 6. Saxon (Good intro for the band and is solid) 7. Unleash the Beast (Their best album in 10 years and of the 90s) 8. Innocence is No Excuse (Good album that has some ballads and mainstream appeal but still really good) 9. Killing Ground (Another good album and one of their best modern albums) 10. Metalhead (Good album and heavy) A few honorable mentions: Destiny ( good album with a couple weak tracks that drags it down a little) Dogs of War (good 90s album with a few good tracks but rest average material) Lionheart (really solid modern album throughout) Solid Ball of Rock (a few good tracks and rest run of the mill for Saxon) Their last 2 albums I would have to revisit because I didn't have the opportunity to listen to them all the way through and I heard how good they are.
Awesome Moon Knight shirt! I gotta say that I really love 'Destiny', 'Innocence is No Excuse' and 'Rock the Nations.' The music video for 'Ride Like The Wind' was awesome too; it was so funny how Biff's girls broke him out of jail but left his bandmates to rot. I definitely agree that Lionheart is a great album, especially the title track. It does an amazing job of creating that 'medieval' feel. I mean, that song really, really makes you feel something about Richard the Lionheart's return, no matter that it was hundreds of years ago.
Great band! Saw them support Motorhead on the Bomber tour back in 1979 then our rock club booked them to play our local school hall a couple of months later in front of a couple of hundred. Great times!
I did them all... I like a few on everyone of these, but the ones at the end are certainly spotty. Some may think my Crusader ranking is criminally low, but I think it's a weak album. People love it I think because of nostalgia, the awesome title track and the great cover. Beyond that it doesn't have much for me. Top 5 are pretty solid. The next five might shift a bit. The next 9 can go up and down in that range. The last 3 never change. 22. Destiny 21. Rock The Nations 20. Crusader 19. Killing Ground 18. Saxon 17. Solid Ball of Rock 16. Forever Free 15. Battering Ram 14. Into The Labrynth 13. The Inner Sanctum 12. Call To Arms 11. Metalhead 10. Wheels of Steel 9. Innocence Is No Excuse 8. Unleash The Beast 7. Denim & Leather 6. Power & The Glory 5. Sacrifice 4. Thunderbolt 3. Dogs of War 2. Lionheart 1. Strong Arm Of The Law I discovered Saxon on Power & The Glory and soon got Denim & Leather. After that I lost touch till 2007's Inner Sanctum. I started collecting them all since then and I thought I wouldn't like the early stuff as much, but Strong Arm blew me away. I love Denim & Leather and Wheels, but think those are a little lighter. Strong Arm for me is their strongest song for song.
Funny, Saxon was a band that passed me by to an extent in the 80's. I loved songs like Strangers In The Night and all that but I totally got into Unleash the Beast and The Inner Sanctum later. Just a great example of a band that believes in itself and isn't afraid to go with the flow and commit to THE ROCK! Doesn't hurt that Biff is one of the best vocalists in metal/hard rock of course!
Saxon opened on Priest's second-to-last swing through Portland, and though they were limited in terms of stage real estate, lighting, and volume, they brought it hard. Though it was reserved seating, there was this legion of hardcores that made the area down front look like a mosh pit. Biff went balls out on "Wheels of Steel," his hair flying, and when they hit "Crusader" it was downright mythic.
Strong Arm of the Law Denim and Leather Wheels of Steel Crusader Power and the Glory Destiny Saxon Innocence Is No Excuse Rock the Nations Solid Ball of Rock
I'm a total fanatic of the albums of Saxon since 1997 till today, Iike them much more than the classic stuff. So this is my top ten: 10. Destiny 9. Innocence is no excuse 8. Thunderbolt 7. Killing Ground 6. Crusader 5. Call to Arms 4. Unleash the Beast 3. Into the labyrinth 2. The Inner Sanctum 1. Metalhead
Great ranking - I am one of those who basically thought that Saxon's career stopped after Innocence Is No Excuse, but it definitely sounds like I should be checking their new material out.
I've been a Saxon fan since 1980 and here is my ultimate top 10 1 .Innocence Is No Excuse 1985 2. Denim and Leather 1981 3. Wheels of Steel 1980 4. Power and Glory 1983 5. Lionheart 2004 6. Crusader 1984 7. Strong Arm of the Law 1980 8. The Inner Sanctum 2007 9. Killing Ground 2001 10. Saxon 1979
Awesome job guys! I'll have to rank the catalogue in full as just about everything is great from these NWOBHM masters: 22. Destiny - Quite weak only 4 songs that rate with me on this one. 21. Saxon (Debut) - 5 of 8 quality songs but hurt badly by production and just haven't captured the Saxon Sound quite yet. 20. The Inner Sanctum - I know Rich really likes this one but only 5 tunes really get me on this one. 19. Rock The Nations - The difference over The Inner Sanctum is the song Waiting For The Night, yeah it's light but catchy as hell. Love it! Party Til You Puke was their "let's do a Van Halen Joke tune cause it works for them" but this sadly failed terribly...oh Elton! 18. Dogs of War - Title cut is so awesome but overall it's not quite up to snuff. 17. Metalhead - As with DOW little more than half quality but the rest isn't quite there... 16. Call To Arms - From this point on every album has 75% or better quality tunes. Highlight here is Chasing the Bullet! 15. Forever Free - Highlight is One Step Away! 14. Thunderbolt - Highlight is Sniper! I'm not a big fan of Nosferatu, I find it rather dull... but hey that's just me! 13. Into The Labyrinth - Highlights = Live To Rock & Crime of Passion! 12. Unleash The Beast - Highlights = Terminal Velocity & Bloodletter! 11. Crusader - Best Cover in Catalogue! Highlights = Sailing To America & Do It All For You! 10. Lionheart - Highlights = Man & Machine, Beyond the Grave & Flying on the Edge! 9. Solid Ball Of Rock - Highlights = Title Cut, Requiem & Crash Dive! Great Bounce Back Album! 8. Killing Ground - Highlights = Title Cut, Coming Home & Dragon's Lair! 7. Sacrifice - So Heavy! Highlights = Title Cut, Stand Up and Fight & Walking the Steel! From here it gets VERY Tough as the rest are virtually Perfect Albums to me!! 6. Innocence Is No Excuse - Guys the cover depicts the title perfectly...Anyway Highlights = Devil Rides Out, Rock N' Roll Gypsy, Broken Heroes & Everybody Up! Only song keeping this from perfect is Raise Some Hell (good not great). 5. Battering Ram - Highlights = Queen of Hearts, Destroyer, Stand Your Ground & the Title Cut! Yeah they still got it!! 4. Power & The Glory - I Love this Album, best production of the earlier stuff Highlights = Title Cut, Redline (Fave), This Town Rocks & Warrior. Midas Touch keeps this from being a perfect album for me... 3. Wheels of Steel - Awesome Album and Song! Along with Motorcycle Man, 747 & Suzie Hold On!! 2. Strong Arm Of The Law - Perfect score on this one! Faves being, Title Cut, Taking Your Chances, Heavy Metal Thunder & Dallas 1PM! But they are truly all class tunes. Could've been #1 but one difference as follows... 1. Denim And Leather - Princess Of The Night! The greatest single song ever by this band (IMHO) which puts it over the top!! Also Love: Rough And Ready, Never Surrender, Play It Loud & Midnight Rider... but this is another perfect score album! Thanks again and Keep Rockin'!!!
Hello people, hello Pete. Nice to see Rich again. In my honest opinion Saxon are not so huge as other British bands because they never made the break to the US Market, in the way Def Leppard did (although Innocence is no excuse and Destiny are great albums for what they are supposed to be). So after Solid Ball of Rock they stayed loyal to that sound ever since. They have the respect of all metal fans and some albums (like Thunderbolt) are excellent. As for me, I cannot really rank because I love all their albums but if you're in for a Deep Cut Dive I can give you twenty songs in a minute's thought. PS. Rich I'm waiting your RW ranking ;)
Biff is one of the best singers of any genre.. i.m.h.o...Saxons longevity...from the begining to now is simply incredible...My first listening experience was Crusader...Masterpiece in my book...Many folks say Destiny was their weakest, however you won't find a bad tune on the album...and I dig it...Solid Ball of Rock is another one on my list...Innocence is No Excuse...Rock the Nations...Lion Heart...Inner Sanctum...Power & The Glory...Strong Arm of the Law...the new album...Carpe Diem...Kicks Ass...Cheers from Portugal...🇵🇹✌️🤙👍🤟
Great ranking! I love SAXON🤘💥💥...this is my personal favourite top five: 1) Strong arm of the law 2)Wheels of steel 3) Solid ball of rock (awesome masterpiece for me) 4)Denim and Leather 5)unleashed the beast/dogs of war
I’m a huge NWOBHM nerd. And I agree Saxon has gotten better with age, they really have something for everyone. Such an underrated band!!!! My personal ranking 1. Wheels of steel (classic working man metal) 2. Strong arm of the law 3. Denim and leather 4. The power and the glory 4. Crusader 5. Thunderbolt 6. Lionheart 7. Battering ram 8. The inner sanctum 9. Sacrifice 10. Innocence is no excuse
So after watching this video a month ago, having abandoned Saxon for 30 years - the only CD of new stuff I could find was "Battering Ram". This sat on the kitchen table for 2 weeks, I got this and 7th Son. This morning my brains are just blown out by this band. I have a lot of catching up to do. I see what you mean about production. I will be listening to Battering Ram a lot. Thanks.
.., amongst the gems and one of the great outfits that the NWOBHM had produced: SAXON .. .., so many great albums (since 1979) they came into my knowing, having that Denim & Leather portfolio with "Crusader" (1984) and my all-time fave: "Innocence is no Excuse" (1985), releasing much material throughout the decade that followed! .. .., the band has a vocalist in BIFF BYFORD with a unique voice and an amazing group of musicians, those in the lineup that has been present since the inception! . 🤘🏽
This will help me out, ive only been listening to Saxon after I saw them open for UFO. I like what I hear but appreciate all the input im getting here.
My top-10 (very hard to pick): 1. Innocence Is No Excuse 2. Sacrifice 3. Denim And Leather 4. Wheels Of Steel 5. Thunderbolt 6. Battering Ram 7. Lionheart 8. Strong Arm Of The Law 9. Call To Arms 10. Metalhead
I hadn't heard any new Saxon for 30 years and was persuaded to listen to Carpe Diem. Wow! Biff sounds as good now as he does then and the album takes me back to teenage years! I now have 30 years of discography to go through!
Absolutely incredible album by one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Can’t believe they sound so good! All tracks are so strong! Thanks for your review
Great video, guys! I own all (now) 24 albums in the catalog, and it would be a nearly impossible task to rank the whole catalog. My bottom 3 would be "Rock the Nations", "Destiny", and the self-titled debut. My top 5 would consist of "The Inner Sanctum", "Thunderbolt", "Metalhead", "Sacrifice", and "Lionheart" - I enjoy the latter material more than the "classic" period. But the entire catalog is great. Even my bottom 3 albums have some really good songs. The newest album, "Hell, Fire & Damnation" (2024) is another very strong release.
Excellent review of the Saxon albums. Largely I have to agree with everything said here. Killing Ground and Lionheart are my particular faves of the post millennium releases. I was a bit disappointed the band only did there tracks from KG on the tour back in 2002 but thankfully Lionheart was well featured in the 2004/5 tours. I recommend The Eagle Has Landed part 3 for a storming representation of Lionheart tracks live. Great stuff indeed.
Hi! This is My Top Ten: 01- Denim and leather 02- Wheels of steel 03- Strong arm of the law 04- Thunderbolt 05- Unleash The Beast 06- Battering Ram 07- Dogs of War 08- Innocence is no Excuse 09- Power and the Glory 10- Forever Free CHEERS FROM ARGENTINA!
My first show with Rich as co-host and he hooked me early with his “How dare you?” at Pete’s first pick. Great discussion by you two. Saxon is a band that the SoT channel brought to my attention and having listened to some of their catalogue, I was looking forward to this show to help narrow the listening field a little bit. Thanks for that.
Hair spray and spandex, candyass Metal. Few things are worse. Saxon was and will always be a hard rock band with balls and class. Nigel Glockner is a beast of a drummer. Underrated.
Ha! GREAT comment. Absolutely right, there are few things worse! And we insult that garbage, in calling it hair pop metal, mostly because of how lame, stupid and ridiculous it "looked" as well as the music sucking it. Mall chicks... Saxon is not like that, and it's one reason I dig them.
Extreme albums, that will be fun! I love "Am I Ever Gonna Change", my God I played that endlessly! Warrant Dog Eat Dog, I agree! What a surprise from them. Fun episode guys!
III Sides is a masterpiece. I hope he listens to “Don’t Leave Me Alone” which is part of III Sides to Every Story but was removed from the CD due to space
I agree with Rich that Saxon rebounded with the Solid Ball Of Rock album. Solid production that was clean but brought back an edge which was lacking a little on the past two albums and the songs overall were just better. Unleash The Beast holds a special place for me. I remember anticipating the release which came out around or on Halloween and it rocked my October. Cant' wait for their next album. Great video guys!
I'm a late newcomer to Saxon, it'll be interesting to see how I rank their albums: I will need to start with their newer stuff which I am more familiar with. But I have been trying to narrow their catalog down to ten myself, in order to set out to attain their best.
#23. Saxon - Carpe Diem (2022) best teacks: title cut, Pilgrimage, and Remember the Fallen - the top three favorites, with Super Nova, Damburster, and Age of Steam as the middle good tracks. It will be interesting to see where this good album ranks, the lead singer's vocals are extremely strong, better than most people twenty years younger. I expect this album will rank higher. #24. Inspirations (2021) this album has a good hidden gem, Hold the Line, I understand why Pete doesn't like this album if you forget these are cover tunes, you might something to like -
My Top 10 Favorite Saxon Albums (This was Hard) 10. Metalhead 9. Unleashed the Best 8. Sacrifice 7. Saxon 6. Innocence is no Excuse 5. Power and the Glory 4. Crusader 3. Strong Arm of the Law 2. Wheels of Steel 1. Denim and Leather
Finally will be able to catch a good night's sleep now that Rich made the proper correction regarding Helloween hahaha it's cool man, love your accountability! So these rankings with Rich are precisely my cup of tea. You guys are tackling the discography of my favorite bands. I discovered Saxon with Lionheart (killer title track) and been a huge fan ever since, although I really dig all their albums, I prefer their more "recent" albums, from Metalhead on. Battering Ram and Thunderbolt kick ass!
Great show, Been a Saxon fan since 79. For me their early albums had some really class tracks and a few ordinary ones and often the most popular tracks were not my favourites. Still followed them through the late 80s and early 90s but from 97s Unleash The Beast onwards every album has been excellent. Doug Scarratt has been a supreme addition to the band
My list: 1 Strong Arm of the Law 2 Denim and Leather 3 Wheels of Steel 4 Lionheart 5 Unleash the Beast 6 Power and the Glory 7 The Inner Sanctum 8 Thunderbolt 9 Sacrifice 10 Innocence Is No Excuse - 11 Carpe Diem 12 Solid Ball of Rock 13 Battering Ram 14 Metalhead 15 Killing Ground 16 Into the Labyrinth 17 Crusader 18 Call to Arms 19 Dogs of War 20 Saxon 21 Forever Free 22 Destiny 23 Rock the Nations YEAHH, their XXI century stuff is awesome!
Love about 90% of their catalogue, my favourite of the later stuff is The Inner Sanctum, only because it was the first 'modern' Saxon album I bought in '07 - played it to death for about a year. I think all the stuff since Unleash the Beast has been consistently great.
I got into Saxon at the beginning of the New Wave of British Metal. It was 1981 I was in high school and already in a band playing Judas Priest and hard rock covers. I use to go to a record store on Magazine St in New Orleans not far from the Warehouse that is legend in 70's for every famous band playing there before it was destroyed in 83! The guy use to play albums and put them in now playing frame! so you could hear any band you wanted to hear. He was playing Saxon Eagle has Landed live album! I heard Motorcycle Man and bought it! Still my favorite Saxon album but the Greatest Hits live is better just cause it has more classic songs on it. I like the original Saxon but some of their later albums are as good like Inner Sanctum and Solid Ball of Rock and LionHeart are all great. Some of the recent stuff I don't think is as good but none of it is bad if you like heavier metal than classic metal. Biff's voice was always one of my favorite non screaming singers! The original guitar team had great chemistry! Nick Glocker was one of my fav drummers of all time and I was a drummer at one time. I think this is their best albums. EAGLE HAS LANDED LIVE GREATEST HITS LIVE STRONG ARM OF LAW SOLID BALL OF ROCK WHEELS OF STEEL POWER AND GLORY DENIM AND LEATHER CRUSADER INNER SANCTUM LIONHEART
Hehe, I am one of these guys that you mentioned, who will put self-titled album on the first place. :) Totally love it - raw, gritty, some great songs, some patchy songs, but there's a lot of magic to it, at least for me. The band is rough and hungry and you can totally hear it here and sometimes that means more to me than better production and more mature songwriting. 10. Crusader 9. Innocence Is No Excuse 8. Into the Labyrinth 7. Rock The Nations 6. Solid Ball Of Rock 5. Power & The Glory 4. Denim & Leather 3. Strong Arm Of The Law 2. Wheels Of Steel 1. Saxon
Not a big fan, never been into their albums ( just heard their greatest hits) but they have one of the best (and solid) live perfomances 💪💪in the metal scene
Very enjoyable programme. The mighty Saxon are my favourite band, and I have seen them well into double figures from the first time I saw them back in 1985! With their fantastic new album Carpe Diem just out recently, where would that fit into your top ten now? 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Great review on Saxon. Show Idea : Metal and Hard Rock bands of the 00’s. Perfect for Hudson Valley Squares !!! I tend to listen to all 70’s -80’s. Need to get plugged in to present day bands. Mastodon etc... just listened to Earth Witch. Awesome new band.
Thunderbolt (2018) Battering Ram (2015) Sacrifice (2013) Lionheart (2004) Into The Labyrinth (2009) The Inner Sanctum (2007) Destiny (1988) Call To Arms (2011) Unleash The Beast (1997) Dogs Of War (1995) Power And The Glory (1983) Wheels Of Steel (1980) Denim And Leather (1981) Strong Arm Of The Law (1980) Crusader (1984) Rock The Nations (1986) Solid Ball Of Rock (1990) Killing Ground (2001) Forever Free (1992) Innocence Is No Excuse (1985) Metalhead (1999) Saxon (1979)
Last year at the Electric Fetus Garage sale in Minneapolis they cleared out their record overstock and I picked up the Saxon albums (vinyl) Innocence, Power & the Glory and Destiny (all new and shrink wrapped) for $6.99 each. Score!
Finally got my Saxon album ranking together, and since I'm way late to this boat, I'm throwing the new album Carpe Diem in there, as well. I lean heavy toward their latter-day catalog, they're even heavier than they were in the early '80s, but I love that era, too... My top 10 are really pretty set for me, just really great albums, very consistent, some are very heavy, and lots of undeniably classic songs: 1. Sacrifice (2013) 2. Thunderbolt (2018) 3. Denim and Leather (1981) 4. Lionheart (2004) 5. The Inner Sanctum (2007) 6. Carpe Diem (2022) 7. Wheels of Steel (1980) 8. Battering Ram (2015) 9. Strong Arm of the Law (1980) 10. Call To Arms (2011) The next bunch can be interchangeable for me, and I love at least a couple of songs on every one of these albums: 11. Metalhead (1999) 12. Killing Ground (2001) 13. Power & The Glory (1983) 14. Forever Free (1992) 15. Crusader (1984) 16. Dogs of War (1995) 17. Into The Labyrinth (2009) 18. Unleash the Beast (1997) 19. Solid Ball of Rock (1991) and throw a blanket over the last bunch, the weakest-sounding to my ears: 20-23. Saxon (1979 debut album), Innocence is No Excuse (1985), Rock the Nations (1986), Destiny (1988)
1. Wheels of Steel (1980) 2. Denim and Leather (1981) 3. The Power and the Glory (1983) 4. Strong Arm of the Law (1980) 5. Crusader (1984) 6. Innocence Is No Excuse (1985) 7. Saxon (1979) 8. Rock the Nations (1986) 9. Destiny (1988) 10. Lionheart (2004) 11. Killing Ground (2001) 12. The Inner Sanctum (2007) 13. Solid Ball of the Rock (1991) 14. Dogs of War (1995) 15. Forever Free (1992) 16. Unleash the Beast (1997) 17. Into the Labyrinth (2009) 18. Battering Ram (2015) 19. Thunderbolt (2018) 20. Sacrifice (2013) 21. Call to Arms (2011) 22. Metalhead (1999) P.S. I am a huge fan of the Marvel/DC Comics, I absolutely LOVE the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and can't wait to see the recent films and shows within the next few years! 🙌🏽
I really like the recent Saxon albums. Sacrifice is my favorite. I started listening to their previous albums and discovered how great they are. Saw them live with Judas Priest on the last tour which was a killer show. I actually started with their live album back in the day, which was better than the studio albums at the time and then I lost track of them. Glad they're rocking so hard now.
Great presentation as usual guys, thanks. Saxon truly are a classic band but as a British fan when first seeing their video for "Ride like the wind" with the teased hairstyles it was a real WTF !!!! moment.
@@independenceltd. HAHAHA!! Yes that was another culture shock! At that time we were all bikers and when one mate turned up looking like Turbo era KK the rest of us shaved his head !!! Happy days.
Great show as ever Pete. However, with the release of last year's excellent 'Carpe Diem' I think it's time you ranked their full discography. That would be an awesome show. 👍
Another great video, Pete. Don’t think I saw this in your playlist, so how about a series on Top 10 favorite bands for each genre (prog, metal, blues, jazz fusion, etc.)?
Great show, thanks! I love the earlier albums, it's pretty hard to rank but I would put Wheels of steel first, as the first Saxon album I bought. Of course there is Strong arm.. power and the g.. and denim and leather too. But first is first, a special kind of feeling to it. I like the first Saxon album too, very good songwriting. The best song Saxon done this far.. I would say..the bands played on..what a guitar playing..amazing songwriting and it's metal..wow!!
1) Denim and Leather 2) Wheels of Steel 3) Strong Arm of the Law 4) Power & the Glory 5) Saxon 6) Unleash the Beast 7) Lionheart 8) Metalhead 9) Solid Ball of Rock 10) Forever Free 11) Battering Ram 12) Crusader 13) Innocence Is No Excuse 14) Killing Ground 15) Sacrifice 16) Thunderbolt 17) Call to Arms 18) The Inner Sanctum 19) Into the Labyrinth 20) Dogs of War 21) Rock the Nations 22) Destiny
Those albums from '80-'83 are hard to beat. Fantastic! A lot of the more modern stuff is great, although maybe a little more non-descript. Still, aside from Rock The Nations and Destiny, the band has amassed an impressive catalog of excellent british metal. Denim & Leather Strong Arm Of The Law Power & The Glory Wheels Of Steel Crusader Solid Ball Of Rock Thunderbolt Sacrifice Dogs Of War Metalhead Call To Arms The Inner Sanctum Into The Labryinth Killing Ground Lionheart Unleash The Beast Battering Ram Innocence Is No Excuse Forever Free Saxon Rock The Nations Destiny
Apart from Biff, he is an Huddersfield lad, lived in Skelmanthorpe. When they first got together as, Son Of a Bitch. I will honk he still lives in the area, not 100% though.
In terms of pure quantity (22 albums!) Saxon possibly has the greatest discography in metal. Other bands may have more pure classics but no one has as many GOOD albums.
1. Thunderbolt 2. Battering Ram 3. Strong Arm Of The Law 4. Denim & Leather 5. Power & Glory 6. Unleash The Beast 7. Lionheart 8. Killing Ground 9. Wheels Of Steel 10. Sacrifice 11. The Inner Sanctum 12. Into The Labyrinth 13. Metalhead 14. Solid Ball Of Rock 15. The Eagle Has Landed 40
Saxon top 10 1. Wheels Of Steel 2. Strong Arm Of The Law 3. Denim & Leather 4. Power & The Glory 5. Unleash The Beast 6. Sacrifice 7. Inner Sanctum 8. Lionheart 9. Battering Ram 10. Metalhead
1. Saxon 1979 2. Strong Arm of the Law 3. Innocence is No Excuse 4. Crusader 5. Solid Ball of Rock 6. The Beast 7. Metal Head 8. Wheels of Steel 9 . Denim and Leather 10. Power and the Glory ( re recording at least one old songs weaken the album )
1. Unleash the Beast 2. Lionheart 3. Sacrifice 4. Wheels of Steel 5. Strong Arm of the Law 6. Battering Ram 7. Into the Labyrinth 8. Denim and Leather 9. The Inner Sanctum 10. Power & the Glory 11. Thunderbolt 12. Killing Ground 13. Dogs of War 14. Call to Arms 15. Metalhead 16. Solid Ball of Rock 17. Forever Free 18. Saxon 19. Innocence Is No Excuse 20. Crusader 21. Rock the Nations 22. Destiny Click here for commentary on each: rateyourmusic.com/list/Larmer28/ranking-saxon-albums/
Pete made an interesting point about Glam in the 80s. Imho 70s Glam Rock and 80s Glam Metal is different. 80s Glam Metal is a mixture of 70s Glam(Slade, Sweet etc) and 80s Heavy Rock(Van Halen etc). Saxon was never glam tho, they went for a more commercial Hard Rock sound in the 80s to get airplay on American rock radio, it didn't catch on and they got back on track with Solid Ball Of Rock. I enjoyed the discussion & Rich Catino is an excellent co-host🤘👍
Great ranking the albums. Thanks for that it was fabulous and in depth.. The Power and the Glory cover art was by Ridley Scott strangely enough. Like you said .....I love the first album. Judgment Day, Militia Guard and Frozen Rainbow are three of my favourite songs. Also picking up on the remasters comments. I have the original CDs of Strong Arm and Wheels of Steel and the remasters. The remasters are a big big improvement I would say.
1,Wheels of Steel. 2,Denim and Leather 3,The Power and the Glory 4,Battering Ram The 5th is Dogs of War I think this is a hugely underrated album a lot of great catchy tunes it almost reminds me of The Battle Rages On in similar terms.
1. Wheels of Steel 2. Unleash the Beast 3. Strong Arm of the Law 4. Solid Ball of Rock 5. Denim and Leather 6. Power and the Glory 7.Metalhead 8. Killing Ground 9. Forever Free 10. Lionheart
One of the great NWOBHM bands and one of those veteran bands still making credible music 1 Power and The Glory 2 Strong Arm Of The Law 3 Wheels of Steel 4 Denim and Leather 5 Solid Ball Of Rock 6 Lionheart 7 Crusader 8 Battering Ram 9 Unleash The Beast 10 Innocence.
Saxon and UFO are probably the 2 most underrated bands of all time.
Love the video Pete.
Throw Riot in there as well!
Riot, Angel, Ram Jam, Sir Lord Baltimore, Starz, Bang!, Tank, amoung others. Yeppers all unknown.
Love UFO🎶 I've seen them live a few times. Never left thinking I'd been better off at home listening to their albums. Take care be safe 🎶✌❤😷🎶☃️
I’m an unapologetic Unleash the Beast lover. I think it’s a masterpiece.
as if thin red line isn't a massive well known anthem!
Unleash is my favorite Saxon post-Power And The Glory record!
They have reinvented themselves as a modern Heavy/Power Metal band with that album and it kicks ass🤘I remember it came out right in the middle of a Power/Traditional Metal boom and its one of the best albums of that era.
@@LuchaLibertaria Maybe some validity to this. I bought it the very same day I bought Hammerfall's debut and both albums are still very high on my list.
YES!! I love that album!
Coming from God's own county Yorkshire as do Saxon, I got to hear Saxon when it all kicked off. They have constantly been one of the UK's best metal bands and still they rumble on. Long live , Saxon !
It’s because of you Pete that I downloaded all of the Saxon albums on my iPod. Thanks Pete. Love the channel and your videos
My top 10:
1. Denim and Leather 1981
2. Wheels of Steel 1980
3. Lionheart 2004
4. Power and Glory 1983
5. The Inner Sanctum 2007
6. Thunderbolt 2018
7. Unleash the Beast 1997
8. Strong Arm of the Law 1980
9. Killing Ground 2001
10. Metalhead 1999
Battering Ram/Sacrifice are close.
I agree on the comparison to Motorhead. Been waiting a while on this one! 😁. Thanks Pete!!
Good list.
Dogs of War is very good too.
10. The Inner Sanctum
9. Call to Arms
8. Thunderbolt
7. Sacrifice
6. Into the Labyrinth
5. Power & the Glory
4. Crusader
3. Denim and Leather
2. Strong Arm of the Law
1. Wheels of Steel
1. Strong arm of the law
2. Innocence is no Excuse
3. Destiny
4. Power and the Glory
5. Denim and leather
6. Weels of steel
7. Crusader
8. Saxon
This is my 10. Nr 10 Power and Glory Nr 9 innocence is no excuse.Nr 8.Thunderbolt.Nr 7.into the labyrinth.Nr 6 Inner Sanctum. Nr5 unleashed the beast. Nr 4 Sacrifice .Nr 3 Lionheart. Nr 2 Battering Ram and Bang Boom Power Nr 1 is Metalhead Thank you Saxon this was the album who take me back to be a huge Saxon fan again and since then Thank you !!!!!
A lot of these are interchangeable, but my top 3 have stayed pretty much the same for a long time:
10. Thunderbolt
9. Crusader
8. Lionheart
7. The Inner Sanctum
6. Unleash the Beast
5. Wheels of Steel
4. A Call to Arms
3. Strong Arm of the Law
2. Metalhead
1. Power & the Glory
Love Metalhead
Metalhead fucking shreds. Fantastic disc
One of my absolute favorite bands. Underrated as hell!
I'm a huge fan of the newer albums which I feel have been consistently fantastic.
Most of the list could change at any time honestly but roughly:
10. Unleash the Beast
9. Call to Arms
8. Strong Arm of the Law
7. Into the Labyriinth
6. Battering Ram
5. Denim and Leather
4. Thunderbolt
3. Killing Ground
2. Lionheart
1. Inner Sanctun
I love the newer records also, nice list.🤘🏻
My top 10 favourite Saxon albums would be
10. Lionheart
9. Dogs Of War
8 Metalhead
7. Innocence Is No Excuse
6. Saxon
5. Crusader
4. Strong Arm Of The Law
3. Wheels Of Steel
2. Denim And Leather
1. Power And The Glory
I somehow missed Saxon growing up so this vid gave me a great starting point. Will be streaming a little on RUclips but will plan to add some of their many albums to my collection.
Great video!
The first Saxon album btw, was basically two bands Coast (Byford & Quinn) and SOB (Oliver & Dawson) putting 3 songs each on the album and then collaborating on two songs (Stallions of t Highway&Backs to the wall) the two harder songs on the album...Those two songs both went to no. 1 on Neil Kays' "The Bandwagon" metal chart which was like a thermometor in the early days of the nwobhm.
The success of those two collabs gave the band the inkling of what direction to take for Wheels of Steel, which really is the first 'real' Saxon album as a complete band.
Love that we get an american perspective of this important band.
Rememer, Saxon were Huge in Europe until the late 80's and I think that often get's lost in retrospect like if they were some sort of a second tier band.
Not here though, since you were there from the start...
Thanks!
Rich is a good guest, really enjoyed the power metal rankings. Keep rockin!
Here is my top 10 classic NWOBHM Saxon albums:
1. Strong Arm of the Law (Masterpiece)
2. Denim and Leather (Masterpiece)
3. Wheels of Steel (Excellent Example of NWOBHM)
4. Power and the Glory (Great album)
5. Crusader (Another great album mixing a little mainstream metal)
6. Saxon (Good intro for the band and is solid)
7. Unleash the Beast (Their best album in 10 years and of the 90s)
8. Innocence is No Excuse (Good album that has some ballads and mainstream appeal but still really good)
9. Killing Ground (Another good album and one of their best modern albums)
10. Metalhead (Good album and heavy)
A few honorable mentions:
Destiny ( good album with a couple weak tracks that drags it down a little)
Dogs of War (good 90s album with a few good tracks but rest average material)
Lionheart (really solid modern album throughout)
Solid Ball of Rock (a few good tracks and rest run of the mill for Saxon)
Their last 2 albums I would have to revisit because I didn't have the opportunity to listen to them all the way through and I heard how good they are.
Awesome Moon Knight shirt! I gotta say that I really love 'Destiny', 'Innocence is No Excuse' and 'Rock the Nations.' The music video for 'Ride Like The Wind' was awesome too; it was so funny how Biff's girls broke him out of jail but left his bandmates to rot. I definitely agree that Lionheart is a great album, especially the title track. It does an amazing job of creating that 'medieval' feel. I mean, that song really, really makes you feel something about Richard the Lionheart's return, no matter that it was hundreds of years ago.
Great band! Saw them support Motorhead on the Bomber tour back in 1979 then our rock club booked them to play our local school hall a couple of months later in front of a couple of hundred. Great times!
I'm in the minority. My fave Saxon Is Innocence is no Excuse. I just love that album!!
I love that album. Also the album cover
Me too
Same here 🤘🏻
gellargod It’s my favorite as well! Just bought it on vinyl again.
Mine, too.
I did them all... I like a few on everyone of these, but the ones at the end are certainly spotty. Some may think my Crusader ranking is criminally low, but I think it's a weak album. People love it I think because of nostalgia, the awesome title track and the great cover. Beyond that it doesn't have much for me.
Top 5 are pretty solid. The next five might shift a bit. The next 9 can go up and down in that range. The last 3 never change.
22. Destiny
21. Rock The Nations
20. Crusader
19. Killing Ground
18. Saxon
17. Solid Ball of Rock
16. Forever Free
15. Battering Ram
14. Into The Labrynth
13. The Inner Sanctum
12. Call To Arms
11. Metalhead
10. Wheels of Steel
9. Innocence Is No Excuse
8. Unleash The Beast
7. Denim & Leather
6. Power & The Glory
5. Sacrifice
4. Thunderbolt
3. Dogs of War
2. Lionheart
1. Strong Arm Of The Law
I discovered Saxon on Power & The Glory and soon got Denim & Leather. After that I lost touch till 2007's Inner Sanctum. I started collecting them all since then and I thought I wouldn't like the early stuff as much, but Strong Arm blew me away. I love Denim & Leather and Wheels, but think those are a little lighter. Strong Arm for me is their strongest song for song.
Funny, Saxon was a band that passed me by to an extent in the 80's. I loved songs like Strangers In The Night and all that but I totally got into Unleash the Beast and The Inner Sanctum later. Just a great example of a band that believes in itself and isn't afraid to go with the flow and commit to THE ROCK! Doesn't hurt that Biff is one of the best vocalists in metal/hard rock of course!
Saxon opened on Priest's second-to-last swing through Portland, and though they were limited in terms of stage real estate, lighting, and volume, they brought it hard. Though it was reserved seating, there was this legion of hardcores that made the area down front look like a mosh pit. Biff went balls out on "Wheels of Steel," his hair flying, and when they hit "Crusader" it was downright mythic.
Strong Arm of the Law
Denim and Leather
Wheels of Steel
Crusader
Power and the Glory
Destiny
Saxon
Innocence Is No Excuse
Rock the Nations
Solid Ball of Rock
Really looking forward to Iced Earth and Testament albums now! When you get the time Pete! I know it's busy, but great content! Keep posting!
I'm a total fanatic of the albums of Saxon since 1997 till today, Iike them much more than the classic stuff. So this is my top ten:
10. Destiny
9. Innocence is no excuse
8. Thunderbolt
7. Killing Ground
6. Crusader
5. Call to Arms
4. Unleash the Beast
3. Into the labyrinth
2. The Inner Sanctum
1. Metalhead
Lionheart got me into Saxon,I love it. What a heavy album.
The drumming is badass
Great ranking - I am one of those who basically thought that Saxon's career stopped after Innocence Is No Excuse, but it definitely sounds like I should be checking their new material out.
Thank you for Ranking the Studio Albums: SAXON (Top 10!).🎤🎸🎵🥁
I've been a Saxon fan since 1980 and here is my ultimate top 10
1 .Innocence Is No Excuse 1985
2. Denim and Leather 1981
3. Wheels of Steel 1980
4. Power and Glory 1983
5. Lionheart 2004
6. Crusader 1984
7. Strong Arm of the Law 1980
8. The Inner Sanctum 2007
9. Killing Ground 2001
10. Saxon 1979
Awesome job guys! I'll have to rank the catalogue in full as just about everything is great from these NWOBHM masters:
22. Destiny - Quite weak only 4 songs that rate with me on this one.
21. Saxon (Debut) - 5 of 8 quality songs but hurt badly by production and just haven't captured the Saxon Sound quite yet.
20. The Inner Sanctum - I know Rich really likes this one but only 5 tunes really get me on this one.
19. Rock The Nations - The difference over The Inner Sanctum is the song Waiting For The Night, yeah it's light but catchy as hell. Love it! Party Til You Puke was their "let's do a Van Halen Joke tune cause it works for them" but this sadly failed terribly...oh Elton!
18. Dogs of War - Title cut is so awesome but overall it's not quite up to snuff.
17. Metalhead - As with DOW little more than half quality but the rest isn't quite there...
16. Call To Arms - From this point on every album has 75% or better quality tunes. Highlight here is Chasing the Bullet!
15. Forever Free - Highlight is One Step Away!
14. Thunderbolt - Highlight is Sniper! I'm not a big fan of Nosferatu, I find it rather dull... but hey that's just me!
13. Into The Labyrinth - Highlights = Live To Rock & Crime of Passion!
12. Unleash The Beast - Highlights = Terminal Velocity & Bloodletter!
11. Crusader - Best Cover in Catalogue! Highlights = Sailing To America & Do It All For You!
10. Lionheart - Highlights = Man & Machine, Beyond the Grave & Flying on the Edge!
9. Solid Ball Of Rock - Highlights = Title Cut, Requiem & Crash Dive! Great Bounce Back Album!
8. Killing Ground - Highlights = Title Cut, Coming Home & Dragon's Lair!
7. Sacrifice - So Heavy! Highlights = Title Cut, Stand Up and Fight & Walking the Steel! From here it gets VERY Tough as the rest are virtually Perfect Albums to me!!
6. Innocence Is No Excuse - Guys the cover depicts the title perfectly...Anyway Highlights = Devil Rides Out, Rock N' Roll Gypsy, Broken Heroes & Everybody Up! Only song keeping this from perfect is Raise Some Hell (good not great).
5. Battering Ram - Highlights = Queen of Hearts, Destroyer, Stand Your Ground & the Title Cut! Yeah they still got it!!
4. Power & The Glory - I Love this Album, best production of the earlier stuff Highlights = Title Cut, Redline (Fave), This Town Rocks & Warrior. Midas Touch keeps this from being a perfect album for me...
3. Wheels of Steel - Awesome Album and Song! Along with Motorcycle Man, 747 & Suzie Hold On!!
2. Strong Arm Of The Law - Perfect score on this one! Faves being, Title Cut, Taking Your Chances, Heavy Metal Thunder & Dallas 1PM! But they are truly all class tunes. Could've been #1 but one difference as follows...
1. Denim And Leather - Princess Of The Night! The greatest single song ever by this band (IMHO) which puts it over the top!! Also Love: Rough And Ready, Never Surrender, Play It Loud & Midnight Rider... but this is another perfect score album!
Thanks again and Keep Rockin'!!!
Hello people, hello Pete. Nice to see Rich again. In my honest opinion Saxon are not so huge as other British bands because they never made the break to the US Market, in the way Def Leppard did (although Innocence is no excuse and Destiny are great albums for what they are supposed to be). So after Solid Ball of Rock they stayed loyal to that sound ever since. They have the respect of all metal fans and some albums (like Thunderbolt) are excellent.
As for me, I cannot really rank because I love all their albums but if you're in for a Deep Cut Dive I can give you twenty songs in a minute's thought.
PS. Rich I'm waiting your RW ranking ;)
I'd love to do Running Wild. Ask Pete if he knows them well enough to do one
Rvnning Wild would be greeeeat!
Grave Digger as well...
Welcome RICH/ great job with you and PETE ! 👍💯
Biff is one of the best singers of any genre.. i.m.h.o...Saxons longevity...from the begining to now is simply incredible...My first listening experience was Crusader...Masterpiece in my book...Many folks say Destiny was their weakest, however you won't find a bad tune on the album...and I dig it...Solid Ball of Rock is another one on my list...Innocence is No Excuse...Rock the Nations...Lion Heart...Inner Sanctum...Power & The Glory...Strong Arm of the Law...the new album...Carpe Diem...Kicks Ass...Cheers from Portugal...🇵🇹✌️🤙👍🤟
Great ranking! I love SAXON🤘💥💥...this is my personal favourite top five:
1) Strong arm of the law
2)Wheels of steel
3) Solid ball of rock (awesome masterpiece for me)
4)Denim and Leather
5)unleashed the beast/dogs of war
Had some great nights with them as a pub band, a lot of the members still live in the area I am from.
I’m a huge NWOBHM nerd. And I agree Saxon has gotten better with age, they really have something for everyone. Such an underrated band!!!!
My personal ranking
1. Wheels of steel (classic working man metal)
2. Strong arm of the law
3. Denim and leather
4. The power and the glory
4. Crusader
5. Thunderbolt
6. Lionheart
7. Battering ram
8. The inner sanctum
9. Sacrifice
10. Innocence is no excuse
So after watching this video a month ago, having abandoned Saxon for 30 years - the only CD of new stuff I could find was "Battering Ram". This sat on the kitchen table for 2 weeks, I got this and 7th Son. This morning my brains are just blown out by this band. I have a lot of catching up to do. I see what you mean about production. I will be listening to Battering Ram a lot. Thanks.
I'd love to see GAMMA RAY ranking the albums with Rich in the future!!
So would i!!!!
.., amongst the gems and one of the great outfits that the NWOBHM had produced: SAXON ..
.., so many great albums (since 1979) they came into my knowing, having that Denim & Leather portfolio with "Crusader" (1984) and my all-time fave: "Innocence is no Excuse" (1985), releasing much material throughout the decade that followed! ..
.., the band has a vocalist in BIFF BYFORD with a unique voice and an amazing group of musicians, those in the lineup that has been present since the inception! .
🤘🏽
This will help me out, ive only been listening to Saxon after I saw them open for UFO. I like what I hear but appreciate all the input im getting here.
My top-10 (very hard to pick):
1. Innocence Is No Excuse
2. Sacrifice
3. Denim And Leather
4. Wheels Of Steel
5. Thunderbolt
6. Battering Ram
7. Lionheart
8. Strong Arm Of The Law
9. Call To Arms
10. Metalhead
This might be a controversial pick, but Lionheart (2004) is my favorite Saxon album.
It might be mine as well although I have it 3rd. One of the best old school metal albums of the 21st Century
Mine too.
Same here.. Jorg on drums is killer
I hadn't heard any new Saxon for 30 years and was persuaded to listen to Carpe Diem. Wow! Biff sounds as good now as he does then and the album takes me back to teenage years! I now have 30 years of discography to go through!
Absolutely incredible album by one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Can’t believe they sound so good! All tracks are so strong! Thanks for your review
Holy shit. SAotL is my #1. That is a classic album.
Great video, guys! I own all (now) 24 albums in the catalog, and it would be a nearly impossible task to rank the whole catalog. My bottom 3 would be "Rock the Nations", "Destiny", and the self-titled debut. My top 5 would consist of "The Inner Sanctum", "Thunderbolt", "Metalhead", "Sacrifice", and "Lionheart" - I enjoy the latter material more than the "classic" period. But the entire catalog is great. Even my bottom 3 albums have some really good songs. The newest album, "Hell, Fire & Damnation" (2024) is another very strong release.
Saxon could have a smokin' best of full of just album title track songs.
Great video! I totally dig the "Carrere Years" compilation. It has thirty something songs in it and they sound totally killer!
Excellent review of the Saxon albums. Largely I have to agree with everything said here. Killing Ground and Lionheart are my particular faves of the post millennium releases. I was a bit disappointed the band only did there tracks from KG on the tour back in 2002 but thankfully Lionheart was well featured in the 2004/5 tours. I recommend The Eagle Has Landed part 3 for a storming representation of Lionheart tracks live. Great stuff indeed.
Awesome! That viewer is me :) Nuno is such a great player. And Extreme does prog too as well as doing like Queen and Beatles.
Hi! This is My Top Ten:
01- Denim and leather
02- Wheels of steel
03- Strong arm of the law
04- Thunderbolt
05- Unleash The Beast
06- Battering Ram
07- Dogs of War
08- Innocence is no Excuse
09- Power and the Glory
10- Forever Free
CHEERS FROM ARGENTINA!
Thunderbolt and Lionheart are definitely in top5. Just have to love them.
My first show with Rich as co-host and he hooked me early with his “How dare you?” at Pete’s first pick. Great discussion by you two. Saxon is a band that the SoT channel brought to my attention and having listened to some of their catalogue, I was looking forward to this show to help narrow the listening field a little bit. Thanks for that.
You'll end up getting all of it. May as well start coming to terms with it now.
Innocence is no excuse was my introduction to Saxon, so I love that era of biff and the boys! 😛
Hair spray and spandex, candyass Metal. Few things are worse. Saxon was and will always be a hard rock band with balls and class. Nigel Glockner is a beast of a drummer. Underrated.
Saxon are pure old school heavy metal. And they're one of the best at it!
Ha! GREAT comment. Absolutely right, there are few things worse!
And we insult that garbage, in calling it hair pop metal, mostly because of how lame, stupid and ridiculous it "looked" as well as the music sucking it. Mall chicks...
Saxon is not like that, and it's one reason I dig them.
Extreme albums, that will be fun! I love "Am I Ever Gonna Change", my God I played that endlessly! Warrant Dog Eat Dog, I agree! What a surprise from them. Fun episode guys!
III Sides is a masterpiece. I hope he listens to “Don’t Leave Me Alone” which is part of III Sides to Every Story but was removed from the CD due to space
I agree with Rich that Saxon rebounded with the Solid Ball Of Rock album. Solid production that was clean but brought back an edge which was lacking a little on the past two albums and the songs overall were just better. Unleash The Beast holds a special place for me. I remember anticipating the release which came out around or on Halloween and it rocked my October. Cant' wait for their next album. Great video guys!
I'm a late newcomer to Saxon, it'll be interesting to see how I rank their albums: I will need to start with their newer stuff which I am more familiar with. But I have been trying to narrow their catalog down to ten myself, in order to set out to attain their best.
#23. Saxon - Carpe Diem (2022)
best teacks: title cut, Pilgrimage, and Remember the Fallen - the top three favorites, with Super Nova, Damburster, and Age of Steam as the middle good tracks.
It will be interesting to see where this good album ranks, the lead singer's vocals are extremely strong, better than most people twenty years younger. I expect this album will rank higher.
#24. Inspirations (2021)
this album has a good hidden gem, Hold the Line, I understand why Pete doesn't like this album
if you forget these are cover tunes, you might something to like -
My Top 10 Favorite Saxon Albums (This was Hard)
10. Metalhead
9. Unleashed the Best
8. Sacrifice
7. Saxon
6. Innocence is no Excuse
5. Power and the Glory
4. Crusader
3. Strong Arm of the Law
2. Wheels of Steel
1. Denim and Leather
Finally will be able to catch a good night's sleep now that Rich made the proper correction regarding Helloween hahaha it's cool man, love your accountability! So these rankings with Rich are precisely my cup of tea. You guys are tackling the discography of my favorite bands. I discovered Saxon with Lionheart (killer title track) and been a huge fan ever since, although I really dig all their albums, I prefer their more "recent" albums, from Metalhead on. Battering Ram and Thunderbolt kick ass!
Thanks. Correcting the Gamma Ray was a must be. Lol
Great show, Been a Saxon fan since 79. For me their early albums had some really class tracks and a few ordinary ones and often the most popular tracks were not my favourites. Still followed them through the late 80s and early 90s but from 97s Unleash The Beast onwards every album has been excellent. Doug Scarratt has been a supreme addition to the band
My list:
1 Strong Arm of the Law
2 Denim and Leather
3 Wheels of Steel
4 Lionheart
5 Unleash the Beast
6 Power and the Glory
7 The Inner Sanctum
8 Thunderbolt
9 Sacrifice
10 Innocence Is No Excuse
-
11 Carpe Diem
12 Solid Ball of Rock
13 Battering Ram
14 Metalhead
15 Killing Ground
16 Into the Labyrinth
17 Crusader
18 Call to Arms
19 Dogs of War
20 Saxon
21 Forever Free
22 Destiny
23 Rock the Nations
YEAHH, their XXI century stuff is awesome!
Love about 90% of their catalogue, my favourite of the later stuff is The Inner Sanctum, only because it was the first 'modern' Saxon album I bought in '07 - played it to death for about a year. I think all the stuff since Unleash the Beast has been consistently great.
I got into Saxon at the beginning of the New Wave of British Metal. It was 1981 I was in high school and already in a
band playing Judas Priest and hard rock covers. I use to go to a record store on Magazine St in New Orleans not
far from the Warehouse that is legend in 70's for every famous band playing there before it was destroyed in 83!
The guy use to play albums and put them in now playing frame! so you could hear any band you wanted to hear.
He was playing Saxon Eagle has Landed live album! I heard Motorcycle Man and bought it! Still my favorite Saxon
album but the Greatest Hits live is better just cause it has more classic songs on it. I like the original Saxon but
some of their later albums are as good like Inner Sanctum and Solid Ball of Rock and LionHeart are all great.
Some of the recent stuff I don't think is as good but none of it is bad if you like heavier metal than classic metal.
Biff's voice was always one of my favorite non screaming singers! The original guitar team had great chemistry!
Nick Glocker was one of my fav drummers of all time and I was a drummer at one time. I think this is their best albums.
EAGLE HAS LANDED LIVE
GREATEST HITS LIVE
STRONG ARM OF LAW
SOLID BALL OF ROCK
WHEELS OF STEEL
POWER AND GLORY
DENIM AND LEATHER
CRUSADER
INNER SANCTUM
LIONHEART
This was the right review of this Band thank you guys awesome from you thank you very good !!!!
Hehe, I am one of these guys that you mentioned, who will put self-titled album on the first place. :) Totally love it - raw, gritty, some great songs, some patchy songs, but there's a lot of magic to it, at least for me. The band is rough and hungry and you can totally hear it here and sometimes that means more to me than better production and more mature songwriting.
10. Crusader
9. Innocence Is No Excuse
8. Into the Labyrinth
7. Rock The Nations
6. Solid Ball Of Rock
5. Power & The Glory
4. Denim & Leather
3. Strong Arm Of The Law
2. Wheels Of Steel
1. Saxon
I love the box set you have of SAXON!!🎤🎸🎵🥁
Not a big fan, never been into their albums ( just heard their greatest hits) but they have one of the best (and solid) live perfomances 💪💪in the metal scene
Very enjoyable programme. The mighty Saxon are my favourite band, and I have seen them well into double figures from the first time I saw them back in 1985!
With their fantastic new album Carpe Diem just out recently, where would that fit into your top ten now? 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Great review on Saxon.
Show Idea : Metal and Hard Rock bands of the 00’s. Perfect for Hudson Valley Squares !!!
I tend to listen to all 70’s -80’s. Need to get plugged in to present day bands. Mastodon etc... just listened to Earth Witch. Awesome new band.
Thunderbolt (2018)
Battering Ram (2015)
Sacrifice (2013)
Lionheart (2004)
Into The Labyrinth (2009)
The Inner Sanctum (2007)
Destiny (1988)
Call To Arms (2011)
Unleash The Beast (1997)
Dogs Of War (1995)
Power And The Glory (1983)
Wheels Of Steel (1980)
Denim And Leather (1981)
Strong Arm Of The Law (1980)
Crusader (1984)
Rock The Nations (1986)
Solid Ball Of Rock (1990)
Killing Ground (2001)
Forever Free (1992)
Innocence Is No Excuse (1985)
Metalhead (1999)
Saxon (1979)
Last year at the Electric Fetus Garage sale in Minneapolis they cleared out their record overstock and I picked up the Saxon albums (vinyl) Innocence, Power & the Glory and Destiny (all new and shrink wrapped) for $6.99 each. Score!
Finally got my Saxon album ranking together, and since I'm way late to this boat, I'm throwing the new album Carpe Diem in there, as well. I lean heavy toward their latter-day catalog, they're even heavier than they were in the early '80s, but I love that era, too...
My top 10 are really pretty set for me, just really great albums, very consistent, some are very heavy, and lots of undeniably classic songs:
1. Sacrifice (2013)
2. Thunderbolt (2018)
3. Denim and Leather (1981)
4. Lionheart (2004)
5. The Inner Sanctum (2007)
6. Carpe Diem (2022)
7. Wheels of Steel (1980)
8. Battering Ram (2015)
9. Strong Arm of the Law (1980)
10. Call To Arms (2011)
The next bunch can be interchangeable for me, and I love at least a couple of songs on every one of these albums:
11. Metalhead (1999)
12. Killing Ground (2001)
13. Power & The Glory (1983)
14. Forever Free (1992)
15. Crusader (1984)
16. Dogs of War (1995)
17. Into The Labyrinth (2009)
18. Unleash the Beast (1997)
19. Solid Ball of Rock (1991)
and throw a blanket over the last bunch, the weakest-sounding to my ears:
20-23. Saxon (1979 debut album), Innocence is No Excuse (1985), Rock the Nations (1986), Destiny (1988)
Love your channel Pete.....
1. Wheels of Steel (1980)
2. Denim and Leather (1981)
3. The Power and the Glory (1983)
4. Strong Arm of the Law (1980)
5. Crusader (1984)
6. Innocence Is No Excuse (1985)
7. Saxon (1979)
8. Rock the Nations (1986)
9. Destiny (1988)
10. Lionheart (2004)
11. Killing Ground (2001)
12. The Inner Sanctum (2007)
13. Solid Ball of the Rock (1991)
14. Dogs of War (1995)
15. Forever Free (1992)
16. Unleash the Beast (1997)
17. Into the Labyrinth (2009)
18. Battering Ram (2015)
19. Thunderbolt (2018)
20. Sacrifice (2013)
21. Call to Arms (2011)
22. Metalhead (1999)
P.S. I am a huge fan of the Marvel/DC Comics, I absolutely LOVE the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and can't wait to see the recent films and shows within the next few years! 🙌🏽
I really like you're list, not far from mine
I really like the recent Saxon albums. Sacrifice is my favorite. I started listening to their previous albums and discovered how great they are. Saw them live with Judas Priest on the last tour which was a killer show. I actually started with their live album back in the day, which was better than the studio albums at the time and then I lost track of them. Glad they're rocking so hard now.
Great presentation as usual guys, thanks. Saxon truly are a classic band but as a British fan when first seeing their video for "Ride like the wind" with the teased hairstyles it was a real WTF !!!! moment.
Was it worse than when you saw Priest in their Turbo outfits?
@@independenceltd. HAHAHA!! Yes that was another culture shock! At that time we were all bikers and when one mate turned up looking like Turbo era KK the rest of us shaved his head !!! Happy days.
While I like "Innocence", never thought that anyone would have it in their top ten! 😱
Great show as ever Pete. However, with the release of last year's excellent 'Carpe Diem' I think it's time you ranked their full discography. That would be an awesome show. 👍
Another great video, Pete. Don’t think I saw this in your playlist, so how about a series on Top 10 favorite bands for each genre (prog, metal, blues, jazz fusion, etc.)?
Great show, thanks! I love the earlier albums, it's pretty hard to rank but I would put Wheels of steel first, as the first Saxon album I bought. Of course there is Strong arm.. power and the g.. and denim and leather too. But first is first, a special kind of feeling to it. I like the first Saxon album too, very good songwriting.
The best song Saxon done this far.. I would say..the bands played on..what a guitar playing..amazing songwriting and it's metal..wow!!
i love their recent cover of The Court of the Crimson King. heavy!
Lionheart with Jorg on drums is amazing
Hell yeah! He was also the one who made the best Running Wild albums. Also did Stratovarius. What a legend!
Pete: ok Rich what's your number 10?
Rich: Strong Arm of the Law.
Pete: Let's stop the video right now while I find a new guest.
:)
Lmao, well played
😂
Hahahaha! Right on.
Katino is a fool most of the time. And the way he forces his opinions is really kinda off putting as well
1) Denim and Leather
2) Wheels of Steel
3) Strong Arm of the Law
4) Power & the Glory
5) Saxon
6) Unleash the Beast
7) Lionheart
8) Metalhead
9) Solid Ball of Rock
10) Forever Free
11) Battering Ram
12) Crusader
13) Innocence Is No Excuse
14) Killing Ground
15) Sacrifice
16) Thunderbolt
17) Call to Arms
18) The Inner Sanctum
19) Into the Labyrinth
20) Dogs of War
21) Rock the Nations
22) Destiny
Those albums from '80-'83 are hard to beat. Fantastic! A lot of the more modern stuff is great, although maybe a little more non-descript. Still, aside from Rock The Nations and Destiny, the band has amassed an impressive catalog of excellent british metal.
Denim & Leather
Strong Arm Of The Law
Power & The Glory
Wheels Of Steel
Crusader
Solid Ball Of Rock
Thunderbolt
Sacrifice
Dogs Of War
Metalhead
Call To Arms
The Inner Sanctum
Into The Labryinth
Killing Ground
Lionheart
Unleash The Beast
Battering Ram
Innocence Is No Excuse
Forever Free
Saxon
Rock The Nations
Destiny
Great band from my home town of barnsley
Apart from Biff, he is an Huddersfield lad, lived in Skelmanthorpe. When they first got together as, Son Of a Bitch. I will honk he still lives in the area, not 100% though.
In terms of pure quantity (22 albums!) Saxon possibly has the greatest discography in metal. Other bands may have more pure classics but no one has as many GOOD albums.
I agree. I would put UFO in that category too.
I agree
I put magnum and maiden up there too
1. Thunderbolt
2. Battering Ram
3. Strong Arm Of The Law
4. Denim & Leather
5. Power & Glory
6. Unleash The Beast
7. Lionheart
8. Killing Ground
9. Wheels Of Steel
10. Sacrifice
11. The Inner Sanctum
12. Into The Labyrinth
13. Metalhead
14. Solid Ball Of Rock
15. The Eagle Has Landed 40
Saxon top 10
1. Wheels Of Steel
2. Strong Arm Of The Law
3. Denim & Leather
4. Power & The Glory
5. Unleash The Beast
6. Sacrifice
7. Inner Sanctum
8. Lionheart
9. Battering Ram
10. Metalhead
1. Saxon 1979
2. Strong Arm of the Law
3. Innocence is No Excuse
4. Crusader
5. Solid Ball of Rock
6. The Beast
7. Metal Head
8. Wheels of Steel
9 . Denim and Leather
10. Power and the Glory ( re recording at least one old songs weaken the album )
1. Unleash the Beast
2. Lionheart
3. Sacrifice
4. Wheels of Steel
5. Strong Arm of the Law
6. Battering Ram
7. Into the Labyrinth
8. Denim and Leather
9. The Inner Sanctum
10. Power & the Glory
11. Thunderbolt
12. Killing Ground
13. Dogs of War
14. Call to Arms
15. Metalhead
16. Solid Ball of Rock
17. Forever Free
18. Saxon
19. Innocence Is No Excuse
20. Crusader
21. Rock the Nations
22. Destiny
Click here for commentary on each: rateyourmusic.com/list/Larmer28/ranking-saxon-albums/
My favorites álbums: Wheels of Steel, Stong Arm of the Law, Sacrifice, Carpe Diem, Denim and leather, Crusader, Lionheart...
Pete made an interesting point about Glam in the 80s. Imho 70s Glam Rock and 80s Glam Metal is different. 80s Glam Metal is a mixture of 70s Glam(Slade, Sweet etc) and 80s Heavy Rock(Van Halen etc). Saxon was never glam tho, they went for a more commercial Hard Rock sound in the 80s to get airplay on American rock radio, it didn't catch on and they got back on track with Solid Ball Of Rock. I enjoyed the discussion & Rich Catino is an excellent co-host🤘👍
Great ranking the albums. Thanks for that it was fabulous and in depth.. The Power and the Glory cover art was by Ridley Scott strangely enough.
Like you said .....I love the first album. Judgment Day, Militia Guard and Frozen Rainbow are three of my favourite songs. Also picking up on the remasters comments.
I have the original CDs of Strong Arm and Wheels of Steel and the remasters. The remasters are a big big improvement I would say.
Sacrifice is top 3 for me.. what a great album
Nice top 10s. Unleash the Beast is one of my faves too. Would love to see a Killer Dwarfs album ranking
1,Wheels of Steel.
2,Denim and Leather
3,The Power and the Glory
4,Battering Ram
The 5th is Dogs of War I think this is a hugely underrated album a lot of great catchy tunes it almost reminds me of The Battle Rages On in similar terms.
1. Wheels of Steel
2. Unleash the Beast
3. Strong Arm of the Law
4. Solid Ball of Rock
5. Denim and Leather
6. Power and the Glory
7.Metalhead
8. Killing Ground
9. Forever Free
10. Lionheart
I just bought Wheels of Steel last weekend! Cool band!
You've got a long road ahead...
One of the great NWOBHM bands and one of those veteran bands still making credible music
1 Power and The Glory
2 Strong Arm Of The Law
3 Wheels of Steel
4 Denim and Leather
5 Solid Ball Of Rock
6 Lionheart
7 Crusader
8 Battering Ram
9 Unleash The Beast
10 Innocence.
Great show ! Denim and Leather is my number one. 👍🏼