The Inner Sanctum Limited Edition

Saxon

First of all, this is a good deal, getting an album and a DVD for £15.

The movie shows the band in action on their A Night Out with the Boys tour, showcasing 80s songs (most of which toweringly quick and naturally melodic guitarist Doug Scarratt had to learn as he wasn’t a member of the band during the 80's, which also explains why other guitarist Paul Quinn takes most of the solos in this, as he’d already crafted them). Pints of Nibbs Carter’s sweat are enthusiastically flicked from his vastly wet scalp via his extraordinary hair in traditional liberal qualtities.

Turning to the audio disc, the new material is really rather splendid, with top quality chugging, wailing, aggression, superb drumming and vastly excellent production values all over this disc. The most surprising factor is that there has been a major maturing in the quality of the subject matter of these songs.

Metal demands a few anthems such as Wheels of Steel, Denim & Leather, Motorcycle Man – meaningless celebrations of boys toys or the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. That provides an explanation for the fantastic Bloodletter and for Terminal Velocity (really, a song about falling?). In the same vein, this new album offers I have to Rock (to stay alive) and Need for Speed, which recommend themselves several hours before you’ve heard them.

Yet something (not sure what) has happened to Biff Byford (vocals, lyrics) as he’s been writing for some of the other tracks. The cover image of a Celtic Cross and the booklet art which shows Corinthian columns in a rocky environment establishes what might be termed a semi-religious (or at least philosophical) theme. Here are some selected lines to consider.

• ‘Holy tower, test of faith/Sacred knowledge, State of Grace/Sacred towers standing tall/built in times of guilt (sic) and gold’ – if that’s meant to be ‘gilt’ then it’s not quite so powerful…

• ‘Listen to your inner voice… /If I was you and you were me/Would you live your life differently?’ – a tune about guncrime.

• ‘Someone’s got to help me/I’m Going Nowhere Fast’ – expressing realisation of the desperate nature of life lived without purpose.

And Red Star Falling is a song on the theme of the collapse of communism, for goodness sake!

But the best song is probably a big-gig crowd-pleaser, demanding ‘let me hear you screaming’ and the not-very good rhyme ‘On your feet/the time has come to act/come with us/let’s take it to the max’. The chorus ‘Let me Feel your Power’ puts me in mind of quite a few praise songs of the nineties, invoking the presence of God.

Nigel Glockler’s drumming is featured strongly (yes, the drummer’s name is Nigel, which doesn’t seem right, somehow – perhaps Stoker, Mad-Dog or Meat-Head, but ‘Nigel’ sounds like an accountant or curate) and provides a driving environment for the twin solo guitars.

Well worth a listen, if only for the blazing Scarratt solos.