Dogs of War: this is a good release, the title track is one of my favourites. Sounds better than the classic albums, but unfortunately the songs aren't really there.

Unleash the Beast: The Saxon sound keeps improving. This is where I consider their second coming started. Probably my favourite Saxon album of them all! A real killer 'comeback' album. It's a monster of a heavy metal CD - some of favourite Saxon tunes are on this one: The Preacher, The Thin Red Line, Bloodletter, Terminal Velocity, Ministry of Fools and of course UNLEASH THE BEAST! A good selection of mostly fast songs that really work well with the more modern heavy metal sound. This could even be classified as a power metal album. 10/10

Metalhead: I had high expectations for Metalhead, but I was just never able to get into this. I like Conquistador and Sea of Life... but nothing matches up to the awesomeness of Unleash... Still good though and I play it regularly, hoping one day it will click with me.

Invasion of your Privv-ah-seeeee!!!!

Hey Sax. If you had to pick 3 albums to introduce someone to Saxon...what three would you pick?

That's a good question. I want to see the answer.

I agree with Manny!!

Nah, for a better look you need at least one newer Saxon album. Unleash the Beast or Lionheart are both awesome, so either will do. I'd go with Unleash the Beast as an excellent 'starter' album.

Denim and Leather was Saxon at the height of their success, and also contains their biggest hits (arguably). So that'd be one.

Then pick one from Strong Arm of the Law and Wheels of Steel. Can't go wrong with either one. I personally think Strong Arm is the better album, but Wheels of Steel is just as good a place to start with.

I was just trying to cover their whole career, as best as one can with only three choices.

This album is another must have with a cover song you really have to hear. Saxon makes King Crimson's, Court Of The Crimson King, their own epic and Biff really does a good job doing some different vocals on it. Other great songs are Dragon's Lair and Running For The Border which is cheese in the best Saxon tradition. Killing Ground is another classic title song which could fit in well with Denim and Leather or Wheels and all the tunes just hum along greatly making this a very consistent album. I have to mention how clean the production is on this album. I think they tried a different producer on Metalhead and while not bad, things really stand out here with Nikolo Kotzev of Brazen Abbott helping. Listen to some of the guitars on the song Killing ground and how separate they are from the rhythm section without sounding as if they're in a different room altogther. Am I repeating myself by saying how solid this album is? For an album coming out in 2001 it's nice to hear some classic sounding NWOBHM.

Killing Ground - Deluxe Edition

Disc: 2 - Classics Re-Recorded

1. Princess Of The Night
2. Crusader
3. Wheels Of Steel
4. Motorcycle Man
5. Strong Arm Of The Law
6. Denim & Leather
7. Dallas 1 PM
8. And The Bands Played On

My review: Interesting, but don't spend the big bucks this goes for. The originals are sooo much better.

Amazon's Review: As a special surprise and extra bonus for the fans, the first edition of Killing Ground will be out as a double album, with a special bonus CD: alongside with the brand-new material, the band re-recorded a dozen of their classics, eight of which will be included as a freebie with the current Killing Ground material. So all those who have been waiting for the highlights of the early releases – from the eponymous debut to Crusader – to be reissued with a contemporary sound are about to be rewarded. ”We’ve mostly stayed with the original arrangements, only a few solos have changed slightly, and the songs have been re-recorded with state-of-the-art studio technology,” Byford explains. ”We’ve frequently been asked by fans, and now we’ve fulfilled their wish.” The studio production contains a total of thirteen classics and will be released at a later point as a separate album under the title of Heavy Metal Thunder.

As every one is entitled to their opinion, my is that this recording was the rebirth of Saxon as a band creating music as strong as they had as in their heyday. Nothing too new, just solid heavy metal. You can almost hear the hunger and excitement in the recordings, none of the lackluster going through the motions that plagued their 90's output.

Every song on this packs a punch. Even the cheese ridden Rock Is Our Life has a great killer riff propelling it forward. I will say Running For The Border & You Don't Know... have a lot of sleaze groove to them and could have been on any L.A. strip bands' record. Great vocals and strong guitar work as evident in all Saxon releases is still here, it's just that there seems to be something extra to the mix and it works. And has since.


And yes, their take on "The Court Of The Crimson King" is freaking amazing.

I picked up a cheap used copy of KILLING GROUND when it was still a fairly new release, because I was surprised to see a Saxon album (ANY Saxon album!) in the used bins. Took it home and placed it in the stereo, truthfully not expecting much from it (as I hadn't heard any Saxon in years at the time) but that disc whomped some booty. Biff may be old enough to be my grandpa nowadays (as evidenced by the photos inside the booklet) but they can still crank out some powerful stuff.

Killing Ground was the 1st (and for a looooong time only) Saxon cd I owned. I think I paid a buck or 2 at a flea market for it. Some dude had a buncha copies for sale.

I had heard of these guys forever, just never heard them. After reading about them on Ult's site, it kept them on my radar for future purchases. Good stuff for a buncha old geezers and made me even more curious as to what I'd been missing.

I have them all and no matter what era they kick azz!

Wargod50

Saxon takes a break from writing to rerecord songs from their first six albums. Not changing them much but giving them modern recording gives added punch. Compare Princess Of The Night and the new recording makes is seem much more aggressive. This is a great place to start if you're new to the Saxon camp and there's a bonus disc of live stuff as well as a computer video of stuff from the Wacken Festival of 2001.

I just watched a Saxon DVD the ol' lady got me from Netflix. The one when they did all the old tunes in the clubs. :metal: :metal:

I have Heavy Metal Thunder. I guess I bought it on a whim. I don't think it's that essential and actually I think most of the songs sounded better originally. Too bad it doesn't have Redline.

I like it but it's mostly a started point if you don't have any Saxon.

Though I think Saxon had been very strong all the way back to Dogs Of War, this album seemed to be the one that a lot of people woke up and really started paying attention again. And what an excellent work this is starting with the incredible opening track, Witchfiner General, which just pounds and has Biff shrieking the chorus in great fashion. Man and Machine follows and is more of an expected Saxon song but still very nice and overall this is another rock solid album with the freak flag of classic metal being waved high. Everything is tight, the duo guitar attack is in full throttle, especially on the opening track and To Live By The Sword, Biff is just getting better with age and the rhythm section is tight. Jorg Micheal, who is best known for work with Stratovarius but has also played with Rage, Grave Digger and others, steps behind the kit here and does an excellent job fitting in to the overall sound of Saxon. Best song here is the title track and seems to me to be a sort of Crusader style song. So the boys have found themselves, the voice of Biff is like a fine wine, and they are putting out quite an array of excellent albums. Lionheart is as worthy as their first three albums of being in your collection.

Lionheart, Lionheart, wow!

An awesome heavy metal album of near biblical proportions! Possibly my favourite Saxon disc to date! Absolutely essential for all fans. Plenty of fast songs, 'To Live by the Sword' and 'Man and Machine' are highlights. But there's also epic mid-tempo Crusader-type of tracks like Lionheart. They also made a video for Beyond the Grave, which was nice.

'Justice' is my favourite track off the album. Great verses and a very powerful performance by Biff all throughout... GIVE ME JUSTICE - JUSTICE!!! 'Flying on the Edge' is a straight forward, mid-tempo, real heavy piece that I also love.

Lionheart came out at a time when I was in college and a foreign exchange student in Holland. I didn't have too many CDs with me, but this one was brand new and I packed it with me and ended up listening to it a lot. I really love it. I rank it right up there with 'Strong Arm' and 'Unleash the Beast'.

Favourites: I already mentioned them, but "Justice", "To Live by the Sword" and "Flying on the Edge"... really though, all the tracks are great, it's a spectacular disc, get it!

'Lion Heart' is an excellent album and one that can stand proudly with the earlier Saxon releases. Saxon on this album acted like grunge, pop/hair metal. thrash, and other sub genres of metal never happened, Saxon are a 100% metal band on this album.

That is not to say that the album is throw back to the early 80's, this albums modern production and almost power metal elements make this band sound like a band hunger for success than a band that has been a recording act for over 20 plus years.

'English Man O War' 'Witchfinder General' and the title track will have you busting out your air guitars and the song 'Searching for Atlantis' is an epic metal tune.

As I said earlier, what Saxon has produced in the new millennium has been incredible. The vibe they had in the early eighties is back, and this album is the evidence that the power they found for Killing Ground was no one trick pony. As heavy as they have ever done, Lionheart is the band giving it their all.

Witchfinder General is THE track to start an album, so much drive and totally rifftastic. I see every song such a intricate part of this disc that there is not one filler tune on the whole disc, just like the last c.d.

Saxon at their best, yet again.

I was pleasntly surprised when I heard "Witchfinder General" Let these guys out of my ears for awhile and this resparked serious interest in the band.