09. Saxon Wheels of Steel 1980 (Carrere)
Heavy Metal
I’ve got a 68 chevy with pipes on the side.
Overview
Formed in Barnsley South Yorkshire several years earlier, Saxon would quickly emerge as one of the leaders and principal highlights of the NWOBHM explosion that occurred in 1980. This wave of fortune was largely due to the truckload of heavy metal anthems, that the band seemed to have in abundance throughout the pivotal metal years of 1980 and 1981. In fact this creative explosion by a metal band in just two short years, has hardly been equalled since by another metal band and given the enduring quality that this material still has, it was certainly an oustanding feat by the band. Saxon though as a band, hadn’t really started that much on a high, as their debut album the simply titled Saxon and produced by ex-Argent vocalist John Verity had been a well below-par effort, which like a number of debuts from this period, was largely an un-focused set which revolved too much around what had inspired the band and would fall well short of what the band were truly capable of achieving, also the simple image of a saxon on the album cover didn’t help much either! Before choosing the name Saxon, the band had started their career back in 1976 under the name of Son of a Bitch and they were obviously listening to too much Nazareth here. But by the time of their debut album they had their principal line-up in place of Biff Byford-Vocals, Graham Oliver-Guitar, Paul Quinn-Guitar, Steve Dawson-Bass and Pete Gill-Drums, and they spent some of their time touring as support to the likes of both Motorhead and Nazareth. Saxon also initially suffered like many other fellow heavy metal bands in securing a record deal, but finally landed one surprisingly with French label Carrere to record their debut album and then onto their following breakthrough albums
Wheels of Steel and
Strong Arm of the Law (all quite ironic really how something so obviously British had to go French in order to get a break) By the time of their second album
Wheels of Steel, the band had sensibly obtained a quality producer in Pete Hinton, who was aware of how to produce the metal anthems that the band had written, along with being able to cope with the energetic speed thrust of the band. Saxon were also quick to realise that not only were album covers vital to a new metal band’s success, but also having an image that fans could identify with. Iron Maiden of course would have ‘Eddie the Head’ and Saxon would have a great eagle that would be known as ‘Biff’s Budgie’. Saxon as a band symbolized everything that would be associated with the NWOBHM both aesthetically and musically. Aesthetically they revolved around denim, leather, booze, bikes and birds! Musically they had spiralling riffs, tight drumming, rampant vocals and a collection of heavy metal anthems and all this would be laid down on the
Wheels of Steel album to stunning effect. Saxon around this time would demonstrate along with Motorhead, that they were a pivotal piece of the soon to be speed metal genre to boot as well.
Verdict
Wheels of Steel would be an album that would symbolize everything essential about the NWOBHM in 1980 and it would also have a metallic sheen to match the quality of the scorching content within. From the word go,
Wheels of Steel was designed to burn rubber and that quickly becomes obvious on the album opener “Motorcycle Man” where the band quickly set the metal world alight, as they scorch their way proto-speed metal style through all four minutes of the song! Then there is virtually hardly any let-up in the pace, as the band then tackle the second track “Stand Up and Be Counted” with its killer riff reverberating throughout the track. The speed continues in earnest on the b-side of the album, with the frenzied attack of songs like “Freeway Mad” “See the Light Shining” and the strongest of the three the excellent “Street Fighting Gang” and then finally onto the album closer “Machine Gun”. The band were pretty hot as well, when it came to mid-tempo tracks that were more focused on heaviness than on speed and none came any better than the title track “Wheels of Steel” one of the band’s most famous tracks and a stellar highlight of the album. The band though were not just about irresistible testosterone powered speed and heaviness, but also about melodic metal tracks built to last like the memorable “747 (Strangers in the Night)” with its haunting ambient and the much later almost ballady “Suzie Hold On”. As for the band
Wheels of Steel sees vocalist Biff Byford pretty much kicking butt throughout most of the album and the rest of the band don’t miss a beat.
Wheels of Steel as an album is constantly focused around the band’s theme of bikes and cruising down freeways, and this can be heard to great effect on songs like “Motorcycle Man” “Wheels of Steel” and “Freeway Man” to name just three, and on two of those songs the band use freeway themed sound effects to their advantage. Despite the high praise I’ve heaped upon
Wheels of Steel, the thinness though of some of the band’s compositions can be exposed and these are songs which often rely on the speed and the blistering guitar work of both Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn to cover things over, as at times they can be found wanting and they don’t quite pull it off and this is evident on tracks like “Freeway Mad” and “See the Light Shining” two songs which fall short of what’s expected on a classic metal album. This slight lack of quality, would ultimately be an area that leading NWOBHM rivals such as Iron Maiden and Def Leppard would end up being more proficient in, making them more durable and most importantly able to adapt their brand of metal to a wider audience as a whole. Saxon were basically metal for true metalheads and bikers and they should’ve gone down a delight on the other side of the pond, as their music was surely designed for the American market to be played while cruisng down a freeway, but sadly for the band this never happened.
Biff Byford- Vocals
Graham Oliver- Guitar
Paul Quinn- Guitar
Steve Dawson- Bass
Pete Gill- Drums
Production- Pete Hinton/Saxon