Music / 747
Review: Saxon, O2 Academy
Arriving in time for Hell’s set, your reviewer found the Academy already comfortably full. Hell – looking like a metal band styled by Tim Burton – performed a tight set that channelled King Diamond via some post NWoBHM / proto-death metal tropes. There were plenty of Hell tee shirts in the crowd and their set was well received, particularly after singer David Bower correctly referred to the gig’s location as “Bristle”. Pleasing to see them active after the tragic circumstances around the original line up’s demise.
By the time Saxon hit the stage, the venue was heading for uncomfortably full, with a crowd that spanned the generations, vocalist Biff Byford establishing that the youngest crowd member was nine and a quick look at the Bill Bailey-aping coiffures prevalent confirmed that there were grandparents aplenty there too. A pleasing state of affairs for a terminally unfashionable band to have virtually sold out the Academy to such a huge range of fans, and a great result for a band that has not received the critical or commercial success that they deserve.
Saxon’s set was splendidly selected for their 35th anniversary tour – a mix of old favourites (the planes, trains & automobiles trilogy present and correct, i.e.747, Princess of the Night and Wheels of Steel), along with modern material, career-spanning classics and some unexpected early cuts: Rainbow Theme / Frozen Rainbow was an unexpected surprise and was arguably the only tune to sound anachronistic. And that’s the appeal of Saxon – they have avoided the heritage metal / antiques rock revue route and have continued to release exciting new material that doesn’t chase trends and sits well with their back catalogue. They’ve also played an unsung role influencing metal itself – Biff correctly tagging Heavy Metal Thunder as British thrash metal, originally recorded whilst the Big Four were still finding their own sound – or in Metallica’s case, finding Diamond Head’s sound and converting it into a world conquering career.
is needed now More than ever
Credit to the band for their stamina, a two hour set delivered with passion and commitment, and a massive amount of audience participation. There was very little need for Biff to conduct sing-alongs, as they were breaking out spontaneously throughout the set, but then despite this being an anniversary tour, this was a typical Saxon show. Great material, genuine rapport between band and crowd and thoroughly entertaining for all involved.
Saxon are never gonna be name-checked by the hipsters nor are they likely to receive an invitation to perform on Later… but if you want a bloody good night out, don’t miss their next visit.
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