Continuing my way through the Saxon catalog with “Hell, Fire, and Damnation”, which is the bands twenty fourth studio album and their last album up to this point. This was the first album with new guitarist Brian Tatler(Diamond Head) with Paul Quinn retiring from the band although Paul has a solo on two songs. Again Andy Sneap handled the production and mixing and the album continued to chart well hitting the charts in 14 different countries. This album released in early part of 2024 and I had just had a bad run of health and was recovering from a couple of surgeries but do remember playing this one a lot at that time and it was one of a handful of early 2024 releases I played a lot in the first few months of the year.
“The Prophecy” – Instrumental intro.
“Hell, Fire, and Damnation” – Heavy and upbeat opener with a good chorus. Full of biblical references and basically telling a story of good vs evil.
“Madame Guillotine” – Heavy and darker feel. Written from the perspective of the guillotine itself describing what it has done through history and what it will do.
“Fire and Steel” – Fast paced foot to the floor three plus minute track. Really standout guitar playing throughout. Good melody right in the middle break leading into the solos. Paying tribute to the industrial heritage of Sheffield.
“There’s Something in Roswell” – A heavy groove and good drums with melodic solos. Focusing on the UFO incident in 1947 in Roswell New Mexico.
“Kubla Khan and the Merchant of Venice” – Heavy but more melodic at the pre chorus and very cool song. About exploration and specifically about Marco Polo’s travel to the Silk Road to see the Mongol Emperor Kubla Khan.
“Pirates of the Airwaves” – Very early 80s Saxon style and good song. A tribute to the pirate off shore radio stations of the 1960s.
“1066” – Upbeat and faster paced track with a nice melodic solos in the middle that adds a different feel. About the Norman conquest of England and the fall of King Harold and the Saxons.
“Witches of Salem” – It opens with screams of women being rounded up accused of being witches and that sets the tone for this darker and creepy sounding metal track. Good solos and Biff tells the story about the Salem witch trials.
“Super Charger” – Upbeat and in your face from the first note. a good way to end the album with a faster paced song with blazing solos included. It seems to be about drag racing.
Recap: The loss of original member Paul Quinn can’t be understated but his replacement Brian Tatler is a legend in his own right and his playing adds a bit of extra fire to this album. Overall this is a very strong album and one that still sounds great more than two years later.
Favorite songs: “Hell, Fire, and Damnation”, “Madame Guillotine”, “Fire and Steel”, “1066”, “Witches of Salem”, “Super Charger”, and “Something in Roswell” but I liked every song..
