Customer Reviews

Heavy metal thunder

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not a single dud here. A great compilation from the great survivors. Long live the Eagle and may it keep on landing. Great for old fans who want all the classics under one roof, or for newbies who what to see how it's done.

Saxon gets no respect, no press, and few breaks, but still writes the book on metal, and has earned a place along Priest and Maiden as the kings of NWOHM.

This one is no disappointment on Disc One, which delivers classic songs with an updated sound and traditional energy. Nothing has been lost by old Biff on the singing voice, even if he rasps when he talks on Disc Two.

The highlight of highlights is the title song "Heavy Metal Thunder" which jumps out of the speakers like a Texas Tornado. "Motorcycle Man" becomes a speed metal masterpiece, full of echo and rumble. "Wheels of Steel" rolls along like a locomotive. And "Dallas 1 P.M." is a prime chugger.

The bonus video of the band's Wacken show in 2001 is a cool addition, but the bootleg stuff from San Antonio could have used a little more volume on the crowd. No complaints about the songs.

Buy it. Play it. Wear it out.

Let there be no mistake - this is no ordinary "best of" compilation and Saxon could not have given it a more appropriate tiltle than "Heavy Metal Thunder" because this album almost explodes out of the CD player!
Re-recording classic songs is a risk which could have disasterous effects on the bands crdibilty with their fans if they make a hash of it, but thankfully this is not the case with "Heavy Metal Thunder" because Saxon have nailed it.
All these 13 songs are classics and it is hard to pick any as stand-outs. It is very clear though that the current Saxon line-up has recorded these songs from the bands early 80's albums with a lot of enthusiasm, and I like it that they have not changed the songs too much at all from the way they were originally performed.
However, they play them with a power and aggression that is very refreshing and give the whole album a modern sound. I have been very pleased with the more aggressive, heavier (yet still melodic) style that Saxon have gone with on their albums from "Dogs Of War" to "Killing Ground", and this album is also recorded in that style.
The guitars are ripping, the bass is thumping, and the drums are pounding, but all have a clarity of their own which have been woven together masterfully to create a "solid ball of rock" crashing out of your speakers. Riding high on top of this is Biff Byford, who's vocals on this album are very impressive. He sings like a man possessed!
The bonus CD with the 5 live audio tracks and 1 live video track is also very pleasing, a great inclusion for the fans.
I have been a big Saxon fan since I first heard them when a mate played me their "Power And The Glory" album at high school. Unfortunately I have never had the opportunity to see them live but I have got every album Saxon have released since then and the ones before it.
I once had a cassette of Saxon called "Strong Arm Metal" which had a lot of these tracks on it and I played it so much that I wore it out.
I don't think that CD's can wear out, but if it is at all possible to do so then I may have to buy this CD again sometime in the future!
So if you are a long time Saxon fan like me or if you have just become a Saxon fan since their later albums -GET THIS CD!
Or, if you are just a fan of great heavy metal - GET THIS CD because it truely is "HEAVY METAL THUNDER"!

Longtime HM fan of the early 80's...Priest, Maiden, Saxon. Stumbled on this CD and said why not. Hoping that it was just remastered, to my surprise, it was re-recorded! And blows away the original recordings. Biff is pushing mid 50's and sounds better now than he did 20 uears ago on this CD. Dallas 1PM was what early 80's metal was all about, and this version kicks some serious a$$!

I hope that more of the early metal bands follow this lead and re-record some of their vintage works because this was definitely the best $14.95 I spent all year.

This cd got me back in to heavy metal.What a great band,I am surprised that Saxon is not more popular in the USA.I just cant get enough of songs like Crusader,And the bands played on,Te eagle has landed,747,Dallas 1pm,and many more on this disc.This is what rock and roll is all about.With great songs like these its no wonder they are still around today,while alot of bands are gone and forgotten.Awesome,my neck got a good work out,from banging my head,if you know what i mean.

Excellent remake of old classics. Paul Quinn's playing is
great and Biff's singing is very good. I feel the "Princess
of the night" version with more power, "747 Strangers in the
night" sounds amazing and I kind of sense new arrangements on
that.The solo on "Dallas 1 PM" is a liitle different than the
original but melodic. The opener "Heavy metal thunder" will
blow you away. Saxon sound has always been very powerful, backed
with Nibbs Carter (bass) and Fritz Randow, a german drummer
who got in the band in 1999 when Nigel Glockler hurt his
shoulder. The live CD is good, I enjoyed the "20,000 ft."
version and the "Broken heroes" where Biff pays tribute to
the September 11 people.

First off i will start by saying that this isnt exactly a best of saxon, although it does have there biggest and best songs, all of them have been modernized and re-recorded to optimize quality.
This album is excellent because it puts a new spin on great old songs like "And the band played on" and "Princess of the night". The instrumentation has changed for the better, allowing such things as rhythm guitars and bass to come in much clearer are more powerful than ever was apparent on the older records.
Each song is not better than its origional, nor is it worse, it is just different, though on some songs like "Never surrender" i did wish the Biff keep his shouts and wistles to himself.
This album is a definite must have for anyone who loves metal music, but if this is going to be your first Saxon CD then i recommend also listening or buying any of their first 5 albums as to fully appreciate Saxon at their finest.
There is only one downside to this album, and that is the special second disc, that contains a few live songs from a tour in Texas, they are good songs, but the quality is crap and there are too many problems. Biff even says himself on one track that they were going to do a drum solo but the equipment broke. But you wont be buying this album for the live stuff!!

I haven't listened to a lot of Saxon since the 1980's, but I bought this cd a few days ago and the band still sounds great! Biff still has it going on, too! Re-recording the songs is a great idea, but I think I still prefer the originals. Or maybe that's just nostalgia talking ... it's a killer cd!

I've been a Saxon fan for two decades but I was somewhat reluctant to buy this since I have all the original versions of these songs. After 10 seconds of the opening track the hair on the back of my neck was standing up (literally). The sound quality and passion of the performances make this a "must have" for Saxon fans. Any metal fans who haven't heard Saxon will be totally blown away because this just destroys all the nu-metal crap out there today. Biff's voice is still amazing after all these years and all the musicians on these discs play as if their lives depended on it. Great CDs...stop reading and buy this!

Jerry

i've been a fan of Saxon since the early 80's. i admit i wrote the band off after their greatest hits live release in the mid 90's. i thought Biff and the band sounded a bit worn out, at the end of their ropes/career. i moved on and ignored subsequent releases...

i recently picked up a copy of Heavy Metal Thunder from Amazon (after reading rave reviews from fans of the band). within two tracks of disc one, i was floored by what i heard: Saxon arguably sounds better now than in my high school days 20 years ago!

"can you fell the power?!", lyrics from track 3's Power and the Glory. this line from one of their many great songs pretty much sums up disc one's 13 track redo of some their early classics (this easily could have been a two disc set doubling that number).

i am extremely impressed with saxon's longevity and their professional musicianship. if you are or were a fan of this band, you owe it to yourself to pick up this CD. an absolute gem and must have for HM enthusists or lovers of top notch musical craftsmanship.

what's missing (not counting disc 2's live tracks): 20,000Ft, This Town Knows How to Rock, A Little Bit of What You Fancy, Sailing To America...

next stop: the eagle has landed 2...

A remarkable effort that has not left my CD player yet! The production and mixing (on CD 1) are awesome, Biff sounds great, and Doug Scarrat and Paul Quinn play like demons. I like almost all of the re-recordings better than the originals, save for "Wheels of steel."
Cd 2 is good, although it's mixed much lower volume wise than Cd 1. I also couldn't get the Video track of "Killing Ground" to play in my CD rom or DVD, don't know what's going on there. An overall must have!!!