By Martin Popoff
Power metal, classic metal, retro metal or something relevant to a younger generation? I asked Biff if the band ever sit down and analyze who Saxon fans are these days.
"Well, the thing is, we are a European band. We're not American or Canadian, we're European. The thing is, our audience since 1991, has changed. I don't think there's any such thing now as an '80s audience. I think there's a very mixed thing, people who used to be fans that have come back, people who remain loyal fans, and there's new teenagers who got into the music because they're fed up with all the rest of the crap, you know what I'm saying? I think that goes for Maiden, Motorhead and quite a few other bands as well. I mean, we do spend a lot of time on our songs. It's like wine; we let them mature a little bit, and a little bit more. We write for a couple of weeks and then we leave the songs awhile and then we come back and listen, tweak a bit here, tweak a bit there and maybe throw it in the trashcan (laughs)."
Look for a cover of King Crimson's 'Court Of The Crimson King' a choice as odd perhaps as the band's ill-fated 'Ride Like The Wind' from the mired and tired mid-'80s. This time however, Saxon make sure the band make it their own. "We tried it in the studio and pretty much decided to do it then and there, really," notes Biff. "It sounded pretty good with the guitars and we're a guitar band so we thought, f**k it, let's do it, maybe surprise a few people (laughs). We added a lot to it and maybe brought it into a modern state. I mean, I love the original, I like the mellotrons and the spirit and the feeling of the original. It's actually a very dark song, and the lyrics, each line is a poem, really; it's a fabulous piece of music. We wanted to do it proud. We didn't want to do it as a gimmick. We wanted to do it as a proper Saxon song." Saxon's label, SPV have decided to add a complete free live album to the initial pressing of Killing Ground, but just where this gets released, as Biff explains, is a bit up in the air, as are plans to bring the band (and maybe the eagle rig?) over the bond to the Americas.
SAXON - British Steel Wheels Keep Rolling Page 4