Like the Energizer Bunny, veteran British metallists Saxon can take a licking and keep on ticking.
While their countless lineup shakeups and ill-advised career choices would have killed off most bands many a moon ago, original members Biff Byford (vocals) and Paul Quinn (guitar) continue to headbang merrily along, as evidenced by their umpteenth studio effort, 2004's Lionheart.
If you lost interest in the underdog band during the late '80s (when they took a very obvious stab at cracking the U.S.
market with Def Leppard-like fluff), it's a pleasure to report that Lionheart is a pure heavy metal album -- the Saxon that old-timers know and love.
Such standouts as the album-opening "Witchfinder General" and "Man and Machine" would not sound out of place on such earlier classics as Denim & Leather and Power & the Glory.
Too bad the chaps didn't take this approach back in the mid-'80s, when many were predicting big things for them.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Witchfinder GeneralSaxon | Saxon | Play | 04:48 | 10 MB | 36 MB |
| 2 | Man and MachineSaxon | Saxon | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | The ReturnSaxon | Saxon | Play | 01:18 | 2 MB | 7 MB |
| 4 | LionheartSaxon | Saxon | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 45 MB |
| 5 | Beyond the GraveSaxon | Saxon | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 6 | JusticeSaxon | Saxon | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 7 | To Live by the SwordSaxon | Saxon | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | Jack TarsSaxon | Saxon | Play | 00:57 | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| 9 | English Man 'O' WarSaxon | Saxon | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 31 MB |
| 10 | Searching for AtlantisSaxon | Saxon | Play | 05:53 | 13 MB | 43 MB |
| 11 | Flying on the EdgeSaxon | Saxon | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 37 MB |
| 45 mins | 103 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 334 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charly Bauerfeind | Engineer, Producer |
| 2 | Biff Byford | Executive Producer, Vocals |
| 3 | Nibbs Carter | Guitar (Bass), Keyboards |
| 4 | Paul Raymond Gregory | Artwork |
| 5 | Sandra Hiltmann | Booklet Design |
| 6 | Jörg Michael | Drums |
| 7 | Paul Quinn | Guitar |
| 8 | Saxon | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 9 | Doug Scarratt | Guitar |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |