With a storming new stomp in their boots and a renewed, lithe swagger to their legendary sound, SAXON will release their new album, Sacrifice, on February 22nd in Europe, February 25th in the UK, and February 26th in North America, through UDR.

Taking a sharper, re-invigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, Saxon have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album, A Call To Arms.

“Less tricks, more power!”, roars frontman and founding father Biff Byford. “My brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration.”

The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn’s and Doug Scarratt’s guitar work the best it’s ever been, while Biff’s vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in Saxon’s history, with the likes of ‘Warriors Of The Road’, ‘Wheels Of Terror’ and ‘Stand Up And Fight’ evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic Saxon sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as MEGADETH, as evidenced by the crunching title cut, ‘Sacrifice’.

“It’s certainly been done from a more early ‘80s thrashier perspective,” explains Biff, “and it’s not just guitars bashing away willy-nilly, they’ve got a fresh drive, purpose and perspective.”

Besides the new material, Saxon will also be adding some unique recordings of revisited classic to certain formats of the release, also produced by Byford and mastered by Andy Sneap, including an orchestrated version of ‘Crusader’ and an acoustic version of ‘Frozen Rainbow’.

“From the songs to the production, I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place,” concludes Biff, “And living in that rawness, combined with some great classic Saxon-songwriting, has in my opinion made Saxon fresher than ever.”

Sacrifice tracklisting:

'Procession'

'Sacrifice'

'Made In Belfast'

'Warriors Of The Road'

'Guardians Of The Tomb'

'Stand Up And Fight'

'Walking The Steel'

'Night Of The Wolf'

'Wheels Of Terror'

'Standing In A Queue'

Bonus track:

'Luck Of The Draw' (iTunes only)

Bonus Disc:

'Crusader' (Orchestrated version)

'Just Let Me Rock' (Re-recorded version)

'Requiem' (Acoustic version)

'Frozen Rainbow' (Acoustic version)

'Forever Free' (Re-recorded version)

Never tired of the road, Saxon recently announced the UK leg of their Sacrifice World Tour, in support of the upcoming album of the same name. The band will play nine dates in April 2013 and they can’t wait to share their new material on stage.

Throughout the years, Saxon have been touring relentlessly and earning an excellent reputation for the quality and energy of their performances. This is documented in their Heavy Metal Thunder – The Movie, which is released on December 7th. As UK fans await Sacrifice with the same anticipation reserved for Saxon’s previous work, they know the spring shows will be - as always - a treat not to be missed.

Biff Byford says: “People have been asking me if this is going to be our last album and tour - we don’t know yet we’ll see how it goes.”

Tour dates:

April

18 - Leamington Spa, UK - Assembly
19 - Nottingham, UK - Rock City
20 - Newcastle, UK - Academy
21 - Glasgow, UK - ABC
23 - Manchester, UK - Ritz
24 - Leeds, UK - Academy
26 - Wolverhampton, UK - Wulfrun Hall
27 - London, UK - Shepherd's Bush Empire
28 - Bristol, UK - Academy

Tickets for all venues are priced at £18.50 except for London, where they are £20.00 (all subject to booking fee). Tickets available at Kililive.com Tel: 0844 871 8803 and usual outlets. Doors for all venues open at 7 PM.