Saxon will be touring with Judas Priest and Black Star Riders across North America, beginning next month. In an interview with Dead Rhetoric, frontman Biff Byford discusses the upcoming trek. Read an excerpt below:

Dead Rhetoric: You’ll be touring with Judas Priest and Black Star Riders across North America soon. How does it feel to gain this opportunity to play for arena audiences again like you did in the 1980’s here - are you hopefully to hit multiple generations of fans, even with this being more of an older band package?

Byford: "I suppose we were out with Judas Priest and Motörhead in 2015 for a few shows in North America - we’ve done fairly good gigs with them. But there’s nothing like having a fantastic package together for the fans. You have to remember that when it comes to Saxon, the fans are the most important thing to us especially when we are touring. We just feel that this package - especially Judas Priest and Saxon - is iconic. The first tour we ever did in Europe was with Judas Priest in 1980 - so we’ve been friends with them ever since. The three bands are a great bill for the fans to see, the people seem really excited about the new album and about the tour, so we are looking forward to it."

Dead Rhetoric: Where do you see the major differences in the development of metal from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s to the current scene? Do you enjoy the variety and versatility?

Byford: (laughs) "The sub-genre thing split off quite early. Once the sort of grunge explosion had settled down, bands decided to split into the nu-metal thing. I still think a lot of those bands like Slipknot, Linkin Park, Pantera, a lot of those bands were still huge fans of the 1980’s anyway, the British bands like Saxon, Iron Maiden, and Motörhead. Some of the harder cult metal is a bit out there - if people like it, there will be an audience."

Read more at DeadRhetoric.com.

Saxon dates with Judas Priest and Black Star Riders are listed below.

Confirmed tour dates:

March
13 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
15 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Centre
17 - Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
18 - Washington, DC - The Anthem
20 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
22 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
25 - Ottawa, ON - The Arena at TD Place
27 - London, ON - Budweiser Gardens
28 - Oshawa, ON - Tribute Communities Centre
30 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama
31 - Detroit, MI - Detroit Masonic Temple

April
3 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
5 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
8 - Bloomington, IL - Grossinger Motors Arena
10 - Casper, WY - Casper Events Center
11 - Loveland, CO - Budweiser Events Center
15 - Kent, WA - ShoWare Center
17 - Portland, OR - Veterans Memorial Coliseum
19 - San Francisco - The Warfield
22 - Los Angeles, CA - Microsoft Theater
24 - Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
26 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center
28 - Dallas, TX - The Bomb Factory
29 - Sugarland, TX - Smart Financial Centre

May
1 - San Antonio, TX - Freeman Coliseum

Demon Music Group / Edsel announces the release of Saxon - The CD Hoard (Amazon Exclusive Edition), a five CD book set, showcasing four memorable tours from between 1995 and 2006, available on March 23rd. A video trailer and Amazon pre-order widget can be found below.

The front cover of the book features the beautiful painting by Saxon’s artist-in-residence, the legendary Paul Gregory. Featuring blistering live versions of all of Saxon’s classic tracks, the accompanying 24-page book is crammed with photos. This Amazon Exclusive contains four limited edition postcards.

Includes:

- CD1/CD2: The Dogs Of War Tour, 1995 (Recorded on tour in Germany) [Previously issued on CD as The Eagle Has Landed Part II]
- CD3: The Lionheart Tour, 2004 (Recorded on tour in France, England and Germany) [Previously issued on The Eagle Has Landed Part III]
- CD4: A Night Out With The Boys, 2005: The 25th Anniversary Of The NWOBHM (Recorded on tour in Germany and Sweden) [Previously issued on The Eagle Has Landed Part III]
- CD5: Rock Sound Festival, 2006 (Recorded in Switzerland) [Previously issued on To Hell And Back Again]

Tracklislting:

CD1:

Intro / "Warlord"
"Dogs Of War"
"Forever Free"
"Requiem (We Will Remember)"
"Crusader"
"Lights In The Sky"
"Iron Wheels"
"Ain't Gonna Take It" / Nibb's Bavarian Bass
"Crash Dive"
"Refugee"

CD2:

"Solid Ball Of Rock"
"The Great White Buffalo"
"The Eagle Has Landed" / Paul Quinn guitar feature
"Princess Of The Night"
"Can't Stop Rockin'"
"Denim And Leather" / Doug Scarratt guitar feature
"Wheels Of Steel / Demolition Alle"

CD3:

"The Return"
"Lionheart"
"Man And Machine"
"Beyond The Grave"
"Searching For Atlantis"
"To Live By The Sword Pt. 1"
"Unleash The Beast"
"To Live By The Sword Pt. 2"
"Flying On The Edge"
"Jack Tars"
"English Man O' War"
"Court Of The Crimson King"
"Broken Heroes"
"Dragon’s Lair"
"Rock Is Our Life"
"Are We Travellers In Time"
"Solid Ball Of Rock"

CD4:

"This Town Rocks"
"Backs To The Wall"
"Redline"
"Stand Up And Be Counted"
"Never Surrender"
"Frozen Rainbow"
"Suzie Hold On"
"Play It Loud"
"Warrior"
"See The Light Shining"
"To Hell And Back Again"
"Stallions Of The Highway"
"Wheels Of Steel"
"And The Bands Played On"
"Crusader"

CD5:

"Heavy Metal Thunder"
"Dogs Of War"
"Strong Arm Of The Law"
"Witchfinder General"
"Backs To The Wall"
"Solid Ball Of Rock"
"Motorcycle Man"
"Dragon's Lair"
"To Hell And Back Again"
"Princess Of The Night"
"Wheels Of Steel" [including Doug Scarratt solo]
"Crusader"