Search - Saxon :: Dogs of War

Dogs of War
Saxon
Dogs of War
Genres: Pop, Rock, Metal
 
  •  Track Listings (12) - Disc #1

"Dogs Of War was in our opinion, our first move back to a heavier style after Solid Ball Of Rock and Forever Free. The album did have its problems, mostly with Graham Oliver, so much so that Rainer Haensel replaced his gui...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Saxon
Title: Dogs of War
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Steamhammer Us
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 2/21/2006
Genres: Pop, Rock, Metal
Style: British Metal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 693723741123

Synopsis

Album Description
"Dogs Of War was in our opinion, our first move back to a heavier style after Solid Ball Of Rock and Forever Free. The album did have its problems, mostly with Graham Oliver, so much so that Rainer Haensel replaced his guitar parts in the studio. The album was co produced and engineered by Kalle Trapp, Rainer and myself and I think Kalle got a fantastic sound and in retrospect we should have done Forever Free with Kalle. I think we had some great times with that partnership, the last concert Graham Oliver did was Bremen Aladin on the 31st of December 1994 New Years Eve. The Dogs Of War Tour was the first tour with Douglas Scarratt, who was the replacement for Graham Oliver. It was also a return to using Paul Gregory on the album artwork, you may notice one of the four horseman of the apocalypse is an Indian Warrior, we did this as a surprise for Rainer because he bred paint horses. Paul is the artist who did the Crusader cover and many more after this. I think the album was a milestone in our career because it was a fresher and heavier sounding album. I hope everybody likes the re-release and crank it up!" (Biff Byford 2005)

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CD Reviews

Classic metal amidst the grunge
Scott Hedegard | Fayetteville, AR USA | 09/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)

"If Iron Maiden and Def Leppard were the two most successful bands to come out of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal in the late '70's and early '80's, a great time for real metal fans, then Saxon probably is the most underrated, at least in the US.

Maiden has hung tough, thanks to a ferocious following, and Def Leppard ceased to be metal after their first two albums. Saxon has retained enough of a primarily European audience to remain active to this day. Metal is a strange beast - the music is the most confining in all of rock, but those who excel enjoy life spans that far exceed most any other genre.

Saxon's reissue of 1995's "Dogs Of War" defiantly retains the classic metal sound they helped forge, thanks in part to being influenced by Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy, to name a few seminal metal bands. Biff Byford's vocals and lyrics remain the cornerstone of the Saxon sound, but his voice has aged noticeably to more of a boozy Bon Scott style tone, especially on "Big Twin Rolling".

The guitars are sharp and thankfully have not copped out to the dropped "D" grunge tuning that took over damn near every heavy band in the '90's. The title track should be plenty heavy enough for anybody, and I must admit it takes balls to record a very '80's sounding pop-metal tune on "Hold On."

"Great White Buffalo" and "Walking Through Tokyo" show how bands weren't afraid to stretch their creative wings at one time, and bully for Saxon for doing it.

All in all, "Dogs Of War" is a fine latter day effort from a band that deserves much more credit than they've received over the years."