Reviewed: April 2022
Released: February 2022, Silver Lining
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: Buddy H
There are certain things in life that are just guaranteed. Beer and pizza are guaranteed to taste good any time of the day. Political and religious conversations are guaranteed to start an argument at some point. Metallica are guaranteed to never release another album as great as Master of Puppets (Ouch, sorry). And, lastly, a new Saxon album is guaranteed to deliver fist pumping, heart pounding music that will put a massive smile on the faces of all metal faithful.
Let this sink in for a minute: Saxon released their first album in 1979. That means they have consistently graced us with high-quality traditional metal in six different decades! That is almost incomprehensible. And yet, even though they have been around for what seems like an eternity, Saxon have delivered the stunningly fresh and fiery album, CARPE DIEM, forty years into their impressive age defying career.
The music on CARPE DIEM is exactly what you would expect from a Saxon release. No new trails are being blazed. And, honestly, would you really want them to experiment with a tried-and-true formula? If it is not broken, do not try to fix it! Biff Byford’s vocals are the model of consistency. At seventy-one years old, he can still hang with the best of metal singers today. The gloriously anthemic meaty guitar riffs and solos provided by Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt fit perfectly over the solid foundation supplied by Nibbs Carter and Nigel Glockler on bass and drums, respectively. With the crystal-clear production of engineer extraordinaire, Andy Sneap, the album sounds outstanding cranked up to the maximum decibel level allowed by local law enforcement!
With absolutely no filler tunes to be found, stand out tracks include the ultra-catchy opener and title track, “Carpe Diem”, the powerful “Age of Steam”, the speedy “Supernova”, and the dark, moody, almost ballad-like “The Pilgrimage”.
I have always been a Saxon fan. They are a remarkably consistent band and always seem to deliver the goods when we metalheads need them the most. If you are not entirely familiar with Saxon, CARPE DIEM is a wonderful place to start. Packed full of the soaring vocals, chugging riffs, and thunderous rhythms that we have come to almost take for granted after all these years, this is the album to usher in a welcomed respite from the Covid dominated past two years. This will absolutely make my Top 10 of 2022!
Track Listing:
1. Carpe Diem (Seize The Day)
2. Age Of Steam
3. The Pilgrimage
4. Dambusters
5. Remember The Fallen
6. Supernova
7. Lady In Grey
8. All For One
9. Black Is The Night
10. Living On The Limit
Lineup:
Biff Byford – Vocals
Paul Quinn – Guitar
Doug Scarratt – Guitar
Nibbs Carter – Bass
Nigel Glockler – Drums
sl-music.net/en/artists/saxon/releases-saxon/992-carpe-diem
