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SAXON
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Well, that’s what I would’ve said to Biff in 1995, anyway. It’s too late now. I will grant ‘em some stunning guitarwork in places, and Byford’s vocals sound impressively ragged and Bon Scott-ish in places, but their abject refusal to acknowledge the passage of time and trend means this one is strictly for the hardcores. But hey, if you’ve ever wondered what rock n’ roll would be like if Nirvana (or hell, Guns N’ Roses, too) never happened, than just unleash these Dogs of War. I dare ya. ________________________________________________________ |
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-Sleazegrinder |
Here’s
the amusing-slash-alarming thing about this Saxon reissue. “Dogs
of War” was originally released in 1995, and even then, it
sounded at least ten years out of touch. Saxon have always split their
guts on a double-edged sword, because their core fans never wanted them to
sound like anything except for “Denim and Leather” (1981), and
everyone else just thought, “Christ, are these crusty old fuckers ever
gonna join the rest of us in the 2oth century? (or 21st,
they’ve been around a LONG time.) As evidenced by this one, jet
screamer Biff Byford and the fellas have always, always
chosen the former. The songs on Dogs of War are pretty
evenly divided by bombastic chuggers like the headbanging title track and
the full-tilt boogie of “Wheels of Fire”, and the
ever-hopeful stabs at commercial success. Hokey teenage love songs like
the reedy “Hold On” and ‘blues-y’ flash metal vamps like “Demolition
Alley” are such woefully out-dated throwbacks to the 80’s I
practically expected the Lost Boys to swoop down in their longcoats and
whisk me away to the video arcade. We have lived this life once before,
and it was ok, but let’s leave the teen traumas and hairspray dreams to
the actual teenagers now, eh, Biff?