Ranking the (Studio) Albums: Saxon (Part I: #23-19)
One fan's analysis
Saxon, by and large, has remained consistent in their approach over the last 40-plus years, retaining the general ethos that made them figureheads of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Of course, consistency in approach does not always translate to consistency in quality, and Biff Byford, Paul Quinn and crew have weathered their share of ups and downs over the course of 23 albums. As a result, the gulf between their finest work and their smelliest steamers is wider than one might expect.
But the interesting thing about ranking Saxon albums is that, given the ebbs and flows of their history, they are in the rare position of delivering some of their all-time best work in more recent years, while some of the supposedly classic early records may have actually been somewhat overrated. The middle stretch, however… that can be rough going.
So, with all of that out of the way…
This series of articles will rank Saxon’s studio records from worst to best, with each post covering a thematic cluster, from the "oof, that wasn’t great” to the “eh, it’s alright I guess” to the quite good to the all-timers. Because these are highly subjective qualifiers, not every cluster has the same number of records, and one could argue that the top one or two record in each bracket might actually belong in the next cluster. But that’s just way fan rankings go…
Let’s get to the duds:
#23: Rock the Nations (1986)
Saxon’s greatest embarrassment would come a bit later (more on that below), but Rock the Nations was especially pathetic in its pandering. This was presumably meant to be a return to heaviness after the mainstream rock overtures of Innocence is No Excuse, but everything from the clattering production to the obvious and inane writing (“Party ‘til You Puke”? With guest piano from Elton John???) showed the guys just had no idea. As was the case with every Saxon album, there was at least one enjoyable moment, and the title track optimistically opened the record with a bang and anthemic chorus. But it was all downhill from there. More than merely being bad, this was hapless.
Rating: 2/5
#22: Destiny (1988)
This was actually Saxon’s greatest embarrassment, a cheap and sad attempt at pop metal and clumsy balladry, and many would immediately slot it as the band’s worst record. The reason it ranks slightly higher here is that as clueless as Saxon was in the back half of the ‘80s, Destiny at least had a clear sense of purpose, misguided as it was. And while “I Can’t Wait Anymore” was straight-up pitiful (and Biff’s whiny mewling was laughable at best), there were signs of life scattered throughout, notably “When the Lightning Strikes”, “Jericho Siren” and “Red Alert”. To everyone’s benefit, Destiny was enough of a commercial disaster that Saxon lost their deal with EMI (they’d already been shunted off to the tiny Enigma subsidiary in America) and were forced to rethink everything, and the silver lining was that once they gave up on mainstream success they reasserted their metal bonafides across a shockingly consistent series of records, and haven’t really looked back since.
Rating: 2/5
#21: Saxon (1979)
It’s a little unfair to heap too much scorn on Saxon’s debut, as the guys were clearly inexperienced in the studio and had minimal support from the tiny French label Carrere. But that same lack of experience showed in the writing, and that was less excusable as they had been a band for 4 years by the time they went in to record their first record. As such, this was the sound of a band that hadn’t defined themselves, though that would happen soon enough. And “Stallions of the Highway” and “Militia Guard” showed that while Saxon wasn’t quite there yet, they were clearly on to something.
Rating: 2.5/5
#20: Battering Ram (2015)
Battering Ram carried the more aggressive approach of the preceding Sacrifice forward, retaining Andy Sneap as producer and generally being heavier than Saxon had been in quite some time. The issue was that the writing wasn’t as inspired, and the band’s penchant for putting out new material every 2-3 years (this was their 21st album!) was bound to result in diminishing returns every so often, and that’s what happened here. Battering Ram really wasn’t that bad, it was just that it wasn’t really necessary after the slamming Sacrifice. “Stand Your Ground” and “Destroyer” still rip, though.
Rating: 2.5/5
#19: Crusader (1984)
It might be controversial to some diehards that not only is Crusader not ranked higher, but it is among the lowest on the list. And to be sure, the marching title track remains a concert staple to this day, while the album itself is retrospectively remembered as Saxon’s last indie release before their ill-fated attempt at major label stardom (not coincidentally, it was their first record to receive halfway decent distribution in America). But Kevin Beamish’s production was too slick, and the songs were all over the place: for every burner like “Crusader” or “Run for Your Lives” there was meathead nonsense like “Just Let Me Rock” and "Bad Boys (Like to Rock N' Roll)". So without the nostalgia factor, Crusader was ultimately a mixed bag that with as many stultifying lows as banging highs.
Rating: 2.5/5