Saxon, Carpe Diem Review

British Heavy Metal heroes Saxon is back with their 2022 release titled Carpe Diem. Hailing from Barnsley, UK., the band has over 35 years of touring and 13 million albums sold worldwide. The influential heavy metal band has been an inspiration for the likes of Metallica and Megadeth and a front-runner for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal sweeping the nation in the late 70s-early 80s. The band is Biff Byford, vocals; Paul Quinn, guitar; Doug Scarratt, guitar; Nigel Glockler, drums, and Nibbs Carter, bass.

Carpe Diem is ten new tracks by the band with a no-nonsense traditional British Heavy Metal sound pulsing through its core. “It all starts with the riff,” says front man and co-founder Biff Byford, “if the riff speaks to me, then we’re on our way. It’s a very intense album, and that’s all down to the fact that the essence of a great metal song is the riff that starts it, and this album has loads of them.” Those riffs start from the title track’s sounds opening the album. After a build keyboard intro, the guitars introduce the chordal riff that Byford’s distinctive vocals soar upon. “We want every album we make to go platinum,” says Biff defiantly. “We never make an album that we don’t expect to be fantastic because there are no laurels around here, and as a band, we’re always trying to do something a little bit new, a little bit daring. I love fast metal like “Princess of the Night” and “20,000 Feet”, and I try and bring that style of Saxon into the music now, but in a more modern style. We don’t sound like an old band on records because we’re not sitting back on our past success; we’re always trying to make a great album.” “Age of Steam,” “Dambusters,” “Super Nova,” and “Living On the Limit” have that upbeat meatal sound. “Remember the Fallen” has a classic British Heavy Metal sound, complete with a solid riff, screaming guitar solos, and strong lead vocals. Overall, Saxon delivers their own brand of metal on their twenty-third album. Carpe Diem has all the elements that have made them a mainstay on the metal scene, and even though the years and miles are piling up, Saxon is still full of life and passion. Each song reflects their love for writing excellent sounding metal, and you will find many high points on this album. That’s the short of it!

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