Saxon
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
They released two more fine albums, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather, over the next year while touring relentlessly across Britain, Europe, and the U.S. Even the loss of founding drummer Pete Gill to Motörhead (replaced by Nigel Glockler) didnt slow their momentum, and a live album, The Eagle Has Landed, capped their hot streak in 1982.
Though theyd barely dented America, Saxons early success was only rivaled by Iron Maiden, and the band seemed poised on the brink of worldwide success. Then a strange thing happened. A series of unfocused, lackluster albums (Power and the Glory and Crusader) stopped the band cold in its tracks. And when they attempted to follow the trend set by other British bands like Whitesnake (who cracked the U.S. with a peroxide-fueled fashion makeover), the bands career went into an irreversible slide.
1985s Innocence Is No Excuse featured great songs, but old fans balked at the slick production and new fans failed to take notice, prompting bassist and principal songwriter Steve Dawson to quit the band. He was replaced by Paul Johnson and Saxon limped through the rest of the decade recording weak pop-metal albums in a desperate, but futile, attempt to connect with American fans while slowly corroding their European fan base. By the time they released their tenth studio album, Solid Ball of Rock in 1990, Saxon had been reduced to Spinal Tap-like dinosaur status.
Having reached the lowest low, the members of Saxon finally gave up their dreams of ever making any headway in America, dropped their pretenses, and returned to their British metal roots. This resulted in their strongest material in years: 1992s Forever Free; 1995s excellent Dogs of War (after which guitarist Graham Oliver departed to re-form Son of a Bitch with Pete Gill and Steve Dawson); 1997s Unleash the Beast; and 1999s Metal Head. The band even managed to land a new U.S. record deal with CMC International for the latter two discs, which also led to their first American tour in almost a decade.
