INTERVIEW: Saxon seize the day with ‘Carpe Diem’ album
Photo: Saxon, a heavy metal band from the United Kingdom, recently released their new album, Carpe Diem. Photo courtesy of the band / Provided by press site with permission.
Saxon, the legendary British heavy metal band, are back with a new album of original songs. Carpe Diem was released today, Feb. 4, with “The Pilgrimage” being the latest single off the recording effort.
This 10-song album includes such tunes as “Age of Steam,” “Dambusters,” “Remember the Fallen” and “Living on the Limit.” Bringing the metal sounds to life are Biff Byford on vocals, Paul Quinn on guitar, Nigel Glockler on drums, Doug Scarratt on guitar and Nibbs Carter on bass. The album’s origins pre-date the pandemic, but the COVID-19 crisis delayed the release of the songs for quite some time.
“We wrote the songs before the pandemic really, so I think we recorded the drums in February 2020,” Byford said in a recent phone interview. “And then did the guitars a bit later, and then the pandemic came on really hard, so we just postponed everything really and sort of came back to it at a later date. I’ve been doing lyrics and melodies and ideas for quite some time now. It’s good fun actually, something to do in the pandemic.”
Byford said the band was able to capture a sense of urgency and positive energy on the album, and he characterized each of the new tunes as “killer.” Some of the songs came about in an un-Saxon way. Rather than starting with lyrics and melodies, Byford and company started with guitar riffs.
“I wanted to bring the guitar riffs back to be more important again,” he said. “I think sometimes these days a lot of things start with the keyboards and sounds and more rhythmic stuff, so I asked everybody to send me riff ideas. We all play guitar, so just compiled a load of guitar riffs, and I picked 10 or 12 of them that really excited me. And then we decided to write the song around those riffs. That’s a little bit different than what I usually do, but I think it worked out really well actually.”
“The Pilgrimage,” the latest single, was actually one of the few new songs to be written in the more traditional Saxon manner. Byford said the song started with the melody, and the guitar riff came second. He had the idea for the tune for quite a long time, and he’s happy with the end result.
“I set things up so the band could work,” Byford said about the pandemic months. “We did an album called Inspirations, which is basically a covers album of bands that inspired us or influenced us basically from the ‘60s and the ‘70s. Then I did an album with my son. … So I kept myself and the band quite busy during the pandemic. I think the way forward, if you’re not playing live, use all that energy and passion that you have to make albums really.”
The plan is for Saxon to tour the new songs and their classic tunes around the United Kingdom in November, but Byford recognizes they have a “big hole” that needs to be filled. So there may be a North American tour as well. “We were thinking about trying to get a package together for America, but I just think the American promoters at the moment are a little bit nervous about bringing in European bands with COVID things still quite strong over there,” he said. “We’re ready to come whenever it’s possible to do a coast-to-coast tour. Then we’ll be there.”
Byford, who has been in the music business for decades, still has a strong metal voice. He credits the strength of his vocal instrument to his constant singing. He is always rehearsing in the studio, singing old Saxon tunes or sometimes covers of other bands’ songs. He’s in good shape, but he did have a health scare a while back.
“I had a rotten heart attack actually,” Byford said. “That’s what you get burning the candle at both ends, but I’m OK today, looking all right actually, feeling all right, looking all right. They caught it just in time, so I was very lucky. I had some great people that sorted me out basically.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Saxon’s new album is Carpe Diem, and it was released today, Feb. 4. Click here for more information.
