Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind
Released: 2007
As some bands enter the twilight of their careers, sometimes you can wonder why they don't pull the plug and slide away into quiet retirement. Other times, they just come out and plain surprise you. This is one of those times. Saxon's career has been pretty hit and miss for about 20 years, and yet they've managed to keep it together with nary a line-up change but for a couple of drummer reshuffles for a very long time. The last few studio albums had their moments without being anything amazing, and as mentioned a few days ago, The Eagle Has Landed III is better left unheard, but The Inner Sanctum is a truly stellar effort, one of their best albums in a long time and maybe ever.
This latest album from Saxon is a combination of power, melody and speed you would more usually expect from the newer breed of Swedish and German bands who grew up listening to the classic NWOBHM albums. What makes it substantially different however is that Saxon still does it heavier; really, this is like the power metal pretensions of Lionheart, but greatly improved and crossed with Denim and Leather or Power and the Glory.
"State of Grace" opens the album with an almost Helloween-ish feel, then the appropriately-named "Need for Speed" and "Let Me Feel Your Power" come in with a mixture of savagery, ball-tearing speed and a heaviness that this band has rarely matched. Biff is in fine voice and Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt fire away with scintillating dual guitar leads and melodies. After this Saxon veers slightly back toward their classic anthemic style with a trio of songs including the ridiculously catchy "I've Got to Rock (to Stay Alive)" and then head back to the more contemporary feel of the album's opening arsenal, ending with a big fat epic about Atilla the Hun.
The Inner Sanctum is an extremely solid and consistent album from a band that could very well have merely sat back on it laurels. But there's definitely life in this old beast yet and they have made a very good CD indeed.
- State of Grace
- Need for Speed
- Let Me Feel Your Power
- Red Star Falling
- I've Got to Rock (to Stay Alive)
- If I Was You
- Going Nowhere Fast
- Ashes to Ashes
- Empire Rising
- Atila the Hun
Rating: 92%
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