New to Saxon - KILLING GROUND rocks!

[Follower of Jesus]

Call me a naive American, but I'd never even heard of Saxon before a couple of years ago, and I just decided to buy one of their albums. I heard Killing Ground recommended, so I figured, "what the heck?" and bought it.

WOW!!!! This band rocks! (news to you guys, right?) I love this disc!! My favorite songs are the title track, Shadows on the Wall, and Rock Is Our Life. But the whole CD (with the exception of the woefully average-to-bad You Don't Know What You've Got) is just incredible.

Does Lionheart sound like Killing Ground?

 

[Paxoman]

Welcome Follower.

Lionheart is a much better album than Killing Ground. If you like Killing Ground, than you are sure to like Lionheart. Unleash the beast is an album you are sure to like as well. You have a lot of catching up to do! Enjoy!

 

[Twisted Tony]

You've got alot of catching up to do. Welcome! Go and buy The Eagle Has Landed Pt II. It's one of the best live albums ever. It's got a great mix of alot of Saxon classics and some of their more recent stuff. Then go find Metalhead and Unleash The Beast.

 

[nightwar]

Welcome to the forum, Mr Jesus!
No worries about your late entrance into the realm of Saxon. I was a late starter and it was a fantastic experience building up my entire collection! You're going to enjoy it!

I completely agree with Paxo and Twisted T - 'LionHeart' is a class album. If you enjoyed 'Killing Ground', you are going to love this. I feel that LH is a stronger album by quite a way. Also, get yourself 'MetalHead' and 'Unleash The Beast'. You will be a huge fan by this time and will not hesitate in buying all the albums. If you want to try something a little older first, get 'Denim & Leather'. It is by no means a 'Heavy' album, but the songwriting is superb. Almost every track is a classic!
Twisted is correct on 'The Eagle Has Landed pt 2' - it's one of the best live albums about and is a great way to get to know a variety of songs from Biff and the lads!

Out of interest and decent conversation - what kind of music do you usually go for and what motivated you to buy a Saxon album?

ps: I can't completely agree with your dislike of 'You don't what you've got' but I can see where you are coming from. Apart from a very cool lead riff, the song hasn't much to offer and doesn't really go anywhere (nice bass, though!). It is not the best song off 'Killing Ground' but is probably more commercial sounding. My personal faves have to be 'Killing Ground', 'Conquistador' and 'Court Of The Crimson King'.

 

[Follower of Jesus]

Thanks guys. I've been into metal a long time, but for whatever reason had never heard of Saxon. I frequent a metal board called the Christian Metal Realm where people talk about all metal, Christian and non-Christian. Anyway, they mentioned this band, so I checked 'em out.

I'll be following up on your recommendations. I'm not usually one for live albums, but a lot of people, both here and at the CMR, are telling me that Saxon's live albums are very, very good.

 

[nightwar]

Cool, Mr Jesus - I will give your CMR link a shot. It's good to hear that Saxon are attracting Metal fans from all areas!

I'm not usually one for Live albums - this includes most of my favourite artists. But, 'The Eagle Has Landed pt2' is a little different.

By the way, I was brought up in a very religious environment and, although I ultimately made my own mind up in regard to all things spirtual, it is great to see that there are fans out there that have provided resources for Religious-minded Metal fans. Gone are the days of the stereo-typical 'Satan Worshipper' Metal fan, eh?

Thanks for joining and bringing a fresh perspective on all things Saxon, Mr Jesus! Keep the posts coming!

 

[Follower of Jesus]

I indeed praise God for the gift of heavy metal!!! I like many Christian bands, but there are many non-Christian bands that I like, including Saxon, Brainstorm and Hammerfall to name a few. And I'm not alone....on the "Christian" Metal Realm I referenced, there is probably more discussion about non-Christian bands.

I'm not usually one for live albums either. In fact, the only one that has ever stayed on my CD player for any length of time is Dokken's "Beast From The East". I listened to a couple of samples of "The Eagle Has Landed Pt. II" and it sounds pretty good. I'm trying to decide which album to get next...."Lionheart", "The Eagle...II", or "Heavy Metal Thunder" which is also highly recommended.

 

[nightwar]

Mmmm.....
You've provided a very tough choice!

I would initially go for 'Eagle pt2' - it indicates how entertaining the band are live and provides a nice catalogue of songs from the eraly days up until 1996.

Then I would get 'LionHeart' to see where the band are these days.

'Heavy Metal Thunder' is a fantastic idea and performed brilliantly, but you can only really appreciate it when you have heard the original song versions. Essentially, the album is like Saxon playing a live set in your living room!

Regarding Dokken - my only experience of this band was when they supported AC/DC at Birmingham NEC in 1988! I think they may have progressed since then but, then again, when you are waiting for AC/DCto play, nothing is going to sound that great!

 

[heavycelli]

I indeed praise God for the gift of heavy metal!!! I like many Christian bands, but there are many non-Christian bands that I like, including Saxon, Brainstorm and Hammerfall to name a few. And I'm not alone....on the "Christian" Metal Realm I referenced, there is probably more discussion about non-Christian bands.

I'm not usually one for live albums either. In fact, the only one that has ever stayed on my CD player for any length of time is Dokken's "Beast From The East". I listened to a couple of samples of "The Eagle Has Landed Pt. II" and it sounds pretty good. I'm trying to decide which album to get next...."Lionheart", "The Eagle...II", or "Heavy Metal Thunder" which is also highly recommended.

"Beast from the East have that one too here" MR.Scarry instrumental I like.. but I lke it more in studioversion.. nice of you Follower of Jesus that you Like Killing Ground. I can give you an advice: Unleash the Beast, Lionheart, and one from the old stuff Strong Arm of the law album

 

[Follower of Jesus]

Well, I went with "Heavy Metal Thunder". It was a very tough choice. I came *this* close to getting Lionheart instead. I'll let y'all know what I think of it after I get it.

I wish albums didn't cost money!

 

[nightwar]

Don't worry, Mr Jesus - spending money on albums only hurt when you realise you will not listen to them much. You have no need to sorry about that!

Let us know what you think!

 

[Follower of Jesus]

I've had Heavy Metal Thunder for about a week now. Its growing on me. At first I didn't really care for it. Its so different than Killing Ground and KG was what got me into this band. But the more I listen to it, the more I'm liking it. Some songs grabbed right away....The Power and The Glory, Crusader, Princess of the Night.

 

[sapator]

No one that respects itself cannot live without
Wheels of Steel !!!!!!
Strong arm of the law !!!!!!
Power and the glory !!!!!!!
Denim and Leather !!!!!!!
Saxon !!!!!!!
BBC SESSIONS !!!!!!!
Eagle 1-2 !!!!!!
HM THUNDER !!!!!!

After that it's
Solid fuckin' cock....eeerrrr Solid ball of rock
Forever free
Killing Ground
MetalHead

I DON'T LIKE LIONHEART (As someones have noticed)

 

[RicknRoll]

This is a non-related ? but are you really a follower of Jesus?

 

[nightwar]

Mr Roll - I think Mr Jesus answered this a while back.
He is a member of the 'Christian Metal Realm' - the link is above.

The uplifting thing is that people such as Mr Jesus are intrigued by Metal bands like Saxon.
In these days of poor quality and distasteful 'Top Of The Pops' material, it is good to see Rock fans have some form of solidarity!

Mr Jesus - stick with 'HMT'!
From what you've said, I think you ought to get MetalHead and Unleash The Beast for your next Saxon buys!

 

[RicknRoll]

Thanks Mr. War so I'm not the only on this board who is of christian persuasion.

Mr Roll - I think Mr Jesus answered this a while back.
He is a member of the 'Christian Metal Realm' - the link is above.

The uplifting thing is that people such as Mr Jesus are intrigued by Metal bands like Saxon.
In these days of poor quality and distasteful 'Top Of The Pops' material, it is good to see Rock fans have some form of solidarity!

Mr Jesus - stick with 'HMT'!
From what you've said, I think you ought to get MetalHead and Unleash The Beast for your next Saxon buys!

 

[valanx]

Hey im also what i would consider a christian and im totally mental for SaXoN ! and with that all that remains for me to say now is the usual "Hi, im new here etc..."

 

[macc189]

Hi Valanx, welcome to our world mate. Dont get me started on religion guys, we could be here for a while so i wont go into it!!
As regards your next purchase FoJ, id have a try before you buy on Metalhead, its a real change of direction into more harder, darker territory (still bloody good mind!!) some people think of KG as a step backwards as Metalhead was the band obviously attempting a more modern metal sound. If I were you Id harrass your record store until a copy of Unleash the Beast is in your hands, you just cant go wrong with that album.

 

[nightwar]

Welcome, Valanx!
It's cool to see so many new MetalHeads joining the forum!

Mr Roll - I will follow Macc's advice and not get to involved on the religion debate. Thing's can go on forever and ever and ever.... Amen!!

But you aren't alone, Mr Roll, Valanx, Mr Jesus etc. I was brought up with a very strict Christian code from my Mum. My Dad didn't have a care for religion.
But I think it did me a lot of good - I learnt right from wrong and the reasons why these moral codes existed. It is also probably a good reason why I got into the music that I love now - Rock and Metal themes are always inclined towards the battle of good and evil and are mainly stories of moral dilemmas, redemption, punishment and so on. All this is very kind of heavy within the bible.
Anyhoo, enough of the sermon. But it is great to know that people from all walks of life are into Metal Rock for the right reasons!

 

[Follower of Jesus]

Hey guys...yup, I'm a Christian. In the interest of respecting others, however, if you want to know more about me, please send me a private message and we can talk more about religion.

I've had others tell me that Metalhead was in the same style as Killing Ground. Man, people's perceptions are always so different!

I think Lionheart will be my next purchase. I listened to some samples on CD Universe and it sounds good, even heavier than KG.