Search - Saxon :: Into The Labyrinth

As usual: very good album !!!

Brice Hamon | New York, NY United States | 03/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Very good album. As usual the heavy and clear Saxon's sound ! The track 1 and 5 are dynamite. Good riff, heavy guitar, solo duet, and of course nice voice. No complain, one more fantastic album to the Saxon Saga."

Some great songs, some average songs, but still a good album

wizey | Margate, Tasmania, Australia | 12/16/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Saxon are one of the first bands that fuelled my passion for listening to heavy metal music and remain to this day one of my favourite bands, and 2009 sees the NWOBHM veterans release their latest album Into The Labyrinth. How does their latest fare? Well I like it a lot, but I also think it could have been better.

Battallions Of Steel is a great album opener in the Saxon tradition, with gothic type intro before it kicks into full pace, with killer riffs and Biff Byfords instantly recognisable voice. It has a great melodic solo midway through, then it dies down and we get that gothic/anthemic type sound again before it kicks back into full blast. Yes it's another battle song, but this type of song has become a trademark for Saxon, and perhaps only the great Iron Maiden can do war songs better. This one ranks up there with their best.

Live To Rock follows, a song they released as a single which is very reminiscent of songs like Wheels Of Steel and Solid Ball Of Rock, with more of a hard rock/metal type sound than pure metal, but Saxon has always done this style justice and this song is no exception. Simple, but I love it and you just can't help singing along with the chorus! This is perfect for a live song to get the crowd singing.

Demon Sweeney Todd comes next, with a short mellow but eerie intro before it kicks into over drive. A fast paced aggressive song with dark lyrics, a perfect balance of hard riffs and melody. In fact it reminds me a lot of the songs on Unleash The Beast and is another album high-light.

Following on we get a short acoustic track The Letter which is really the into for the song to come Valley Of The Kings. I love this song which sounds a bit more progressive in nature. The intro, the fast paced verses with a slower, anthemic type chorus, and a great guitar solo which (together with the ancient Egypt theme & lyrics) reminds me of Iron Maiden.

Slow Lane Blues is next, perhaps the antithesis of their NWOBHM classic song Strong Arm Of The Law. In that song Byford scoffs at the Police and their incompetence, but in Slow Lane Blues it's the law that has the last laugh with Byford singing about getting caught on a speed camera and having his car seized by the cops! It's an ok song, but after the great songs that preceded it, the song just doesn't seem to hit the same high level. However it's far better than the song that follows Crime Of Passion which can't be described as anything other than filler. It's not a bad song, but really there's nothing that grabs you about it at all. Pretty standard fare I'm afraid.

Premonition In D Minor is another short guitar track which is really the intro for the song which follows called Voice. This song is all about the night Byford's house in France burned down and he was lucky to escape with his family alive. Again, this song is ok, on the same level as Slow Lane Blues but not as good as the first four tracks.

Protect Yourself and Hellcat come next and like Crime Of Passion I think they are pure filler, but at least the album closes off on a high with a song as good as the first four in Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete). It's another more hard rock/metal type song with punch and a great melody.

Yes there's another song, but really it can only be considered a bonus track since it's an acoustic blues version of a previously recorded song Coming Home, and it doesn't fit in with the style of the rest of the album.

I have no criticism of the band's playing, they sound as good as ever. However I do have a gripe sometimes with metal bands in that the vocals are sometimes too far back in the mix a bit, so you can't appreciate the talent of the singer as much as you would like. I think that's the case on The Inner Sanctum too. Byford's voice should be right out there, because it is his voice together with other original member Paul Quinn on guitar that makes the Saxon sound.



So what we have here is five top quality songs that can easily stand alongside any of Saxon's best work, two songs that are good, three fillers and a take it or leave it bonus track. Plus a minor gripe about production. Hence my view that it could have been better. I just wish they had taken the time to write some more top quality songs which would have made for a more consistent album, and perhaps even a career best. Maybe next time (let's hope!).

"