Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 01:05 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Heavy Metal
Country: U.K.
Label:Silver Lining Music Ltd
Year: 2024
Saxon’s big gamble was not to write a great album, as we’ve already known for decades that they can. The point was to provide us a record that will make it impossible to ignore. Hell, Fire and Damnation accomplishes this with characteristic ease and gives a solid kick in the ass to anyone who dares to write them off! It is truly shocking that the legends from Barnsley play with such energy and passion after almost half a century of career. The secret of this revived ferocity in Hell, Fire and Damnation is the presence of Brian Tatler (legendary guitarist and composer of Diamond Head), who now makes Saxon the… national NWOBHM, a mixed group of legends of the British scene. Tatler contributes three compositions – dynamite (Hell, Fire and Damnation/Madame Guillotine/1066) and seems to have absolutely bonded with the rest of the line-up. His approach is unmistakably metal, with his dry but very melodic playing and gives Saxon the push they needed to reach the excellent Carpe Diem and in my humble opinion, surpass it. The new album enters the same class as Lionheartand & Power and the Glory meaning, just one step below their masterpieces. Hell, Fire and Damnation above all shows a band that worked hard to make each song special, ensuring the necessary variety and element of surprise that will once again capture the interest of their loyal fans and the more casual metal and rock listener. Carrying the air of a seasoned veteran, the ageless Biff and company know exactly what they are doing, starting off with a banger. The epic intro sets the tone for a new, fresh and darker side of Saxon that literally puts the foot on the gas on the title-opening track and doesn’t let up until the record-closing Super Charger. Without exaggeration, the self-titled Hell, Fire and Damnation takes us back to the Crusader era through the dark, pedestrian style of Unleash the Beast. The sound is massive, loaded and heavy, the compositions are extremely oriented to give freshness to the well-known pattern of riff/chorus/chorus/solo. Already from Madame Guillotine the surprises begin. The second Tatler-contributed song could, quite literally, be on a “Countdown to Extinction”-era Megadeth album! Melodic and energetic at the same time, it stucks as one of the most distinctive Saxon songs of the last few decades. The double killer punch of Fire and Steel and the more standard but absolutely catchy There is something in Roswell, closes the first side, leaving us with the best impressions. But the biggest trick of Hell, Fire and Damnation is that on side two… it takes off! Where you expect the speed and quality to fluctuate to the familiar levels, just then, the Brits catch you off guard and with unprecedented fury win your attention. Kubla Khan and the merchant of Venice, Pirates of the Airwaves, 1066 and Witches of Salem literally turn heads, with one excellent riff succeeding another, using atmospheric passages to set the tone and melodies that hit our heartstrings all at once. This writer tries hard to remember another classic heavy metal album with such a fiery streak. Just listen to the brutal, borderline death metal riff on Witches of Salem I dare you. Saxon didn’t make another standard album, instead they revamped their line-up and freshened up the tried-and-true recipe. They oiled their engines well, screamed at the sky and came out in full force, with the momentum and drama of a final show.
