Saxon

In the vanguard of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal stood Saxon, sharing early prominence with Iron Maiden and Def Leppard while briefly eclipsing both acts. The group coalesced in 1977 and secured its first major commercial breakthrough via the landmark second album, Wheels of Steel, issued in 1980 and certified platinum in the U.K. Follow-up releases Strong Arm of the Law (1980), Denim and Leather (1981), and Power & the Glory likewise performed solidly on home soil, the last of these crossing into the Billboard 200, yet a string of missteps, misfortunes, and internal tensions eroded the band’s trajectory by the close of the 1980s. Saxon nonetheless maintained a steady schedule of recordings and live performances well into the twenty-first century, ultimately earning widespread acclaim within the heavy-metal fraternity, especially across mainland Europe. The veteran outfit delivered its twenty-third studio album, Thunderbolt, in 2018. Two covers collections paid tribute to formative influences before Carpe Diem propelled the band into the U.K. Top 20 in 2022; their twenty-fourth album, Hell, Fire and Damnation, followed two years later.

Barnsley, South Yorkshire, served as the birthplace for Saxon in 1977, when vocalist Peter “Biff” Byford united forces with guitarists Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn, bassist Steve Dawson, and drummer Pete Gill—each of whom had already logged professional or semi-professional experience dating back to 1970. Originally performing under the name Son of a Bitch, the musicians adopted the streamlined Saxon identity and, like many aspiring British heavy-metal acts of the era, struggled to secure a contract in post-punk England before finally aligning with the French label Carrere Records. Their self-titled debut, released in 1979, suffered from thin production values, yet relentless touring across Britain alongside Motörhead and Nazareth helped cultivate a loyal audience. Momentum carried into the pivotal sophomore release Wheels of Steel in 1980, whose heavier, more appropriate metallic sound properly showcased future standards such as “Motorcycle Man,” “747 (Strangers in the Night),” and the title track. Fans and critics immediately hailed the record as an essential N.W.O.B.H.M. statement, positioning Saxon for continued ascent.

Two additional near-flawless albums followed in rapid succession: Strong Arm of the Law in 1980 and Denim and Leather in 1981. The group maintained an exhaustive touring regimen throughout Britain and Europe, where Ozzy Osbourne’s emerging Blizzard of Ozz served as support. Even the absence of meaningful traction in the crucial American market—where Carrere’s distribution shortcomings grew increasingly apparent—and the departure of founding drummer Pete Gill (replaced by Nigel Glockler, who later joined Motörhead) failed to halt progress; a live document, The Eagle Has Landed, captured the peak period in 1982.

A sudden reversal soon set in. Successive efforts Power & the Glory (1983) and Crusader (1984) struck many listeners as less inventive and occasionally repetitive, while relations with Carrere deteriorated amid the label’s inability to replicate the Stateside breakthroughs achieved by fellow N.W.O.B.H.M. survivors Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. Saxon therefore switched to EMI and aimed higher with 1985’s Innocence Is No Excuse, which many regarded as the strongest and most varied collection in years, though its glossy production and the band’s updated image—complete with tailored clothing, voluminous perms, and peroxide—alienated some longtime supporters and still fell short of major commercial breakthrough. Founding bassist and principal songwriter Steve Dawson departed in the aftermath; replacement Paul Johnson joined, yet the back-to-basics Rock the Nations (1986) failed to rekindle widespread interest. The remainder of the decade saw the band gradually lose ground with British and European fans, culminating in the glossy pop-metal detour Destiny (1988), which featured short-term drummer Nigel Durham and a cover of Christopher Cross, in a failed bid for American acceptance. By the time tenth studio album Solid Ball of Rock appeared in 1990—marking Glockler’s return and the debut of bassist Nibbs Carter—Saxon had largely receded from view.

From that nadir, the members once again defied expectations by embracing their British metal origins rather than chasing further U.S. success after glam metal’s decline. The shift yielded some of the strongest and heaviest material in years, beginning with the revelatory Forever Free (1992), continuing with the excellent Dogs of War (1995, after which Graham Oliver exited), and maintaining consistent intensity across Unleash the Beast (1997, introducing guitarist Doug Scarratt), Metalhead (1999), and Killing Ground (2001, the latter two featuring German drummer Fritz Randow). A new American deal with CMC International accompanied the final pair of those releases and enabled the band’s first U.S. tour in nearly a decade, albeit in smaller venues.

Back in England, Saxon reconnected with longtime supporters while simultaneously expanding audiences and commanding substantial fees for festival appearances across continental Europe. A consistent sequence of studio albums, among them Lionheart (2004, featuring Teutonic journeyman drummer Jorg Michael), The Inner Sanctum (2007, marking Glockler’s third stint), and Into the Labyrinth (2009), sustained this resurgence, though not without complications. A legal dispute over the band name arose after former members Graham Oliver, Steve Dawson, and Pete Gill reconvened in 1994 under the original Son of a Bitch moniker and began touring a competing version of Saxon; courts ultimately required the splinter group to perform as Oliver/Dawson Saxon, a name they retain to this day. Meanwhile, the principal lineup led by Biff Byford and Paul Quinn participated in the reality-television project Get Your Act Together, which attempted to broaden mainstream exposure through the commissioned single “If I Was You,” though the venture did not achieve its intended reach. Subsequent years brought greater autonomy, evidenced by the independent release of both the nineteenth studio album Call to Arms and the self-produced documentary Heavy Metal Thunder: The Movie in 2011. The muscular Sacrifice followed in 2013 and Battering Ram in 2015. Re-teaming with producer Andy Sneap, the band issued its twenty-second album, Thunderbolt, in early 2018, including the Lemmy tribute “They Played Rock and Roll.” The covers collection Inspirations appeared in 2021, revisiting material by the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and additional classic acts. Original songs returned on Carpe Diem (2022), which reached number 17 on the U.K. albums chart. Another covers set, More Inspirations, surfaced in 2023, followed in early 2024 by Hell, Fire and Damnation, the direct successor to Carpe Diem. Although Quinn performed on both records, he subsequently announced his retirement from touring.