SAXON - Killing Ground
September 18, 2001, 23 years ago
(Steamhammer/SPV)
The new, efficient, proficient, self-aware Saxon of the last three albums is very much in place, but there are new and old tricks. First off, there seem to be regular shooting smiles and knowing winks back to a na¥ve, melodic old band of rogues called Saxon. These are clear, connecting, obtusely familiar moments that warm up a franchise that seems to work great on paper these days but hasn't really handed us anthems that we've kept and cherished. Too serious, too willing to ingratiate through brute force. With respect to the new, there's a crackling vibrancy to the mix here that is halfway to Demolition by way of Crusader, open, electric, alive in deference to the real rock 'n' rolling state of the band itself. So there's an emotional identification here, a sense of down-to-earth song skills sent forward to the future, or at least the early '90s, by this fuzzy, mid, activity-drenched mix. It works well, as does the gutsy inside-out cover of King Crimson's 'Court Of The Crimson King'. Fun for the jean-jacket family: spot the musical quote from 'The Eagle Has Landed' (here's a hint: 'Ru_ning F_r The Bord_r'). Bartender, Biff me another one.
