Concert review - Saxon at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

Just a few weeks ago some sections of the media were cheerfully reporting that record and concert sales proved that rock was dead. A triple bill of hard rocking behemoths showed that claim for the lie it is.

Published Apr 19, 2011

Saxon

Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

Concert review and photos by Ian Harvey

Just a few weeks ago some sections of the media were cheerfully reporting that record and concert sales proved that rock was dead.

A triple bill of hard rocking behemoths took the Wulfrun by the scruff of the neck last night and showed that claim for the lie it is.

Newcomers Fury UK showed that modern British metal is still alive and vital, while Tamworth terrors Wolfsbane proved you can laugh hard and rock hard too.

Singer Blaze Bayley's routine about having not a six pack but a "one pack" was priceless, and the rapturous reception they received was more akin to headlining band rather than a support act.

Thirty five years down the line and Saxon show no sign of slowing down or taking it easy.

Opening with the as yet unreleased Hammer Of The Gods from their forthcoming album Call To Arms might seem a brave move, except that it's an instant Saxon classic, marrying a heavy riff with a superb melody, a trick few bands manage to pull off successfully.

For two hours Saxon showed why they deserve to remain at the vanguard of British metal. Biff Byford's voice still astonishes, while Nigel Quinn and Doug Scarratt's guitars mesh perfectly.

And they have have in their armoury a salvo of top drawer classics from Motorcycle Man and 747 (Strangers In The Night) to Heavy Metal Thunder, Strong Arm Of The Law and the cataclysmic Wheels Of Steel.

With Judas Priest, Queensryche, Whitesnake, the Manic Street Preachers and Magnum all heading Wolverhampton's way this year it seems that rock, in a variety of guises, is alive and kicking . . . hard.