Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Many of you are likely flying the friendly skies as I type this, en route to Houston, Texas for another weekend of old school metal debauchery. That’s right, it’s Hell’s Heroes time again! Like every year before it, this year’s edition boasts no shortage of rising stars and the legends of yesteryear. Falling into the latter category: Crimson Glory, Omen, Satan, Cavalera, Onslaught, and the subject of today’s essay, Saxon, just to name a few. Not only will Saxon be headlining this US metal staple for the first time, but they’ll be taking headbangers back in time to 1981, with an exclusive run-through of their legendary The Eagle Has Landed set. To commemorate the occasion, here’s our own retrospective look back on Saxon’s debut live opus.
The year is 1981. Saxon are flying high as perhaps the biggest name the NWOBHM has spawned to date, or at the very least in an arms race with Iron Maiden, who are vigilantly touring the States alongside Judas Priest. Saxon’s success hasn’t fully translated stateside yet, but they did beat Maiden to the punch, making it out to the land of the free in 1980 as the opening act on the infamous Black and Blue Tour, co-headlined by Black Sabbath and Blue Öyster Cult. As for the rest of the free world, and specifically their native U.K., Saxon mania is running wild and at an all time high.
By the time they hit the road behind their fourth album, Denim and Leather (1981), they had three consecutive gold selling albums to their name, each boasting a string of hit singles that not only received frequent airplay on the underground pirate airwaves, but Top 40 stations as well, leading to repeat appearances on Top of the Pops, England’s equivalent of American Bandstand. In other words, Saxon was a huge deal, so much so that even those out of the metal know, your typical, everyday Englishman (and Englishwoman, for that matter) were aware of these metal masters.
So how do you capitalize on such tremendous success? With a live album, of course! Admittedly, by ’81, the era of the live album had come to a close, but that wasn’t going to stop Saxon (or their management, by extension) from striking while the iron was hot, giving the youngsters something to grab off the record store shelves while awaiting their next studio assault. It would also double as a sort of “greatest hits” for those in need of a primer, and triple as not just a properly recorded introduction to Saxon onstage, but an introduction to their new drummer, Nigel Glockler. Yes, after an unexpected hand injury, Pete Gill was out, and Nigel Glockler was in, making this a “brand new” Saxon.
While the lineup might’ve been new, Saxon’s intent of unleashing pure “Heavy Metal Thunder” was anything but. Remember, in ’81, the NWOBHM is still raging strong, and wouldn’t begin to peter out come the following year. And the “Pyromania effect” that turned the heavy metal industry on its head from ’83 and beyond roughly? That was unthinkable. Keep in mind that at this time, Leppard too were just another NWOBHM band, fighting tooth and nail to be the top of the pack. Nobody could’ve anticipated how they’d achieve such, but that’s another essay for another day.
As we drop the needle on The Eagle, we’re greeted to the eager screams of thousands of young headbangers, all chanting in unison, “SAXON! SAXON! SAXON!” The energy is palpable as the sound of a revving motorcycle takes charge over the PA. Before we know it, the mania begins! Saxon kicks off their set with a blistering rendition of the song that opened Wheels of Steel just a year and a half earlier, “Motorcycle Man”. Moshing wasn’t a thing back then, but no doubt about it, the crowd must’ve been engaging in every other form of physical activity, from air guitaring and fist pumping, to jumping and headbanging like there’s no tomorrow.
The ultra-melodic “747 (Strangers in the Night)” follows, showing off Saxon’s untouchable dynamics. A lesser metal band of the era couldn’t dream of following a bruiser as lethal as “Motorcycle Man” with a “single” cut like “747”, a song that almost teeters on AOR with its dreamy chorus. And yet here’s Saxon absolutely killing it, the entire throng clapping their hands in unison and screaming along to the chorus. Any hints of accessibility are then quickly dashed with arguably the greatest song about a train ever written, “Princess of the Night”. Being the opener of Denim and Leather, it was a “new song” at the time, but received by the crowd with the familiarity of an older. Again, the crowd claps along (Biff Byford even yells, “See your hands!”), and Glockler blasts away behind the kit as guitarists Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn trade licks. Not bad for the new guy!
“Strong Arm of the Law” follows with its unrelenting boogie metal swagger and hard-grooving bassline, courtesy of Steve Dawson. Before the song kicks in, Byford exclaims, “Now listen Hammersmith. I want to see people DYING from exhaustion, ALRIGHT?!” It doesn’t get more explicit than that. While it’s still up in the air whether or not there were any casualties that legendary evening, I’m sure many staggered out by the skin of their Angel Witch shirts! Side A closes with yet another Saxon speedster, “Heavy Metal Thunder”. Like “Princess”, this too was brand spanking new at the time, and received absolutely gloriously. This was a crowd ready to fill their heads, and the rest of their bodies for that matter, with heavy metal thunder.
As we flip over to side B, the chants of “SAXON!” permeate our speakers yet again, before the band explodes with a turbocharged rendition of proto-thrasher “20,000 Ft”. This version is played at an even faster tempo than the studio rendition, bringing to mind the “coke tempo” that dominated many of the live recordings of the era. Granted, I’m not implying Saxon were indulging in the Peruvian flake at the time. I think they were high on the very energy of that hot and sweaty crowd, but considering the precedent Van Halen set for the era, I wouldn’t be surprised either.
Both the band and the crowd is given a much needed “break” after such ripping intensity. A lengthy rendition of the anthemic “Wheels of Steel” follows, and is given lots of room to breathe…lots, and lots, and lots of room. It’s dragged out to nearly 9 minutes, giving ample room for audience participation. The banter between Byford and the crowd is nothing short of legendary, and anyone with a metal heart can’t help but get chills down their spine as the sold-out crowd screams, “WHEEEELLLSSS, WHEELS OF STEEL!” at the top of their collective lungs.
The triumphant “Never Surrender” keeps the pace going, daring those both in the crowd and at home in the comfort of their metal-caves NOT to air guitar. Maybe it’s just my fading hearing, or perhaps however the album was captured, but there’s a nasty buzz to the guitars on this one that really push the riffs up front. I’m not saying it’s an Entombed HM-2 type buzz, but it’s prevalent enough that it sticks to your skull. Equally skull-sticking, or rather skull-shattering, is the absolutely atomic “Fire in the Sky”. Like “20,000 Ft”, it is unleashed at a faster tempo than the studio rendition, giving off proto-thrash vibes and, dare I say bordering on Discharge styled hardcore?
As the band storms right into “Machine Gun” for their grand finale, my mind is made up. Glockler is definitely laying down some distant relative of a d-beat, and holy hell is it getting my blood boiling. By now, Saxon are draining the crowd for all their worth, putting 110% into their instruments, and the end result is pure cacophony…literally! Oliver and Quinn wallop their whammy bars in ways that would send lesser guitarists to prison. No six-strings harmed in the process of recording this live slab of metallic excellence? Fat chance!
A snapshot in time if there ever was one, The Eagle Has Landed captures both Saxon and the NWOBHM in its denim and leather-clad heyday. Even all these years later, one can’t deny the thrill within every last riff, chorus, and proto-blast. Couple it with a stark raving mad crowd, and you’ve got one unforgettable listening experience. To those who will be treated to this iconic set in the Lone Star State this weekend, I envy you! Enjoy to the absolute fullest, and say hi to our old pal Biff for us, will ya? That is assuming you don’t drop dead of exhaustion first!
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