Saxon
The Inner Sanctum

THE REVIEW

"The Inner Sanctum" is the seventeenth studio album of Saxon, an English heavy metal band. In this amazing work, released under the Steamhammer/SPV label, the hard work was put in by lead singer Peter "Biff" Byford, guitarists Doug Scarrat and Paul Quinn, bassist Nibbs Carter, and drummer Nigel Glockler.

Let's analyze the album now: it begins with a bang with "State Of Grace", a masterpiece featuring an opening with very dark choirs; soon after, the drumbeat slowly comes in and then Biff starts singing. The drumming in this song is very oppressive, and what about the solo? Perfect, in every way, and it's played at a point where the track's speed is much slower compared to the frenetic pace of the chorus riff. This first track bodes well for the rest of the album: "Need for Speed" is a great piece, very fast, with excellent drumming. Here, Biff's voice appears melodious in the verses and more "gritty" in the chorus. Indeed, his voice sounds very driven. Again, the solo is very fast, excellent due to Paul Quinn's good work. "Let me Feel Your Power" presents, like the previous two tracks, an incredible, oppressive, and majestic drumming rhythm.

In "Red Star Falling" there are acoustic parts where Byford’s voice is much more relaxed compared to the other songs, only to become much sharper in the chorus. However, the song is much less "hard" than the previous ones. Next is "I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)", with terrifying riffs in perfect harmony with the guitars. "If I Was You" is one of the weaker songs of the album, by far worse than the others. The only positive note of the track is the solo, which is very beautiful. "Going Nowhere Fast" is a track with a very heavy riff like the old days of Saxon: indeed, this is a very classic track, with very hard and aggressive drum parts. In "Ashes To Ashes", the opening is with drums, with the alternation of bass drum - crash - toms, with the guitarist subsequently playing a good riff. In the song, during the chorus, there are Accept-style choirs. "Empire Rising" is a prelude, an instrumental introduction that anticipates the following song, "Atila The Hun", a perfect song, with majestic drumming and Biff's very driven vocals, alongside a very tough riff and a spectacular solo.

These are the ten tracks that are part of this new work by Saxon: very beautiful CD, however different from Saxon's previous albums. Undoubtedly it has deserved a full five; this rating, however, for me is worth double, considering the rather advanced age of the band members, now destined to remain in the history of contemporary music.