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Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law Audio CD

A fair review of the Saxon "Strong Arm of the Law" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Saxon reviews here, or go back to the Saxon tabs.

Saxon Band: Saxon
Title: Strong Arm of the Law
Rating:
Release Date: 2009-03-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Heavy Metal Thunder 2: To Hell and Back Again 3: Strong Arm of the Law 4: Taking Your Chances 5: 20, 000 Ft 6: Hungry Years 7: Sixth Form Girls 8: Dallas 1 PM 9: 20, 000 Ft [BBC Session 1982] 10: Dallas 1 PM [BBC Session 1982] 11: Eagle Has Landed [BBC Session 1982] 12: 747 (Strangers in the Night) [BBC Session 1982] 13: To Hell and Back Again [Alternate Version][*] 14: 20, 000 Ft [Abbey Road Mix 2009] [Remix] 15: Mandy [Early Version of Sixth Form Girls] 16: Heavy Metal Thinder [Abbey Road Mix '09' [Bonus Track] [Remix]

Metal Masterpiece - reissued
Actually, once Maiden acquired Bruce Dickinson and took on the larger world stage, it was Saxon that best embodied the sound and spirit of the NWOBHM scene. Iron Maiden may be the best known band from the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene, and rightly so, but there was a time when Saxon was the dominant NWOBHM band. The speed, the frantic energy, the "denim and leather" attitude - Saxon had all that and then some.

Originally released in 1980, Strong Arm of the Law was Saxon's third album, and is arguably their best work. It's still hard to imagine the band releasing such landmark albums as Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law in the same year, but that was how prolific and high-octane Saxon was at the time. With Strong Arm of the Law, Saxon continues the hard charging, riffs n' wailing heavy metal sound found on Wheels of Steel, pounding out mammoth rockers like "To Hell and Back Again", "20,000 Feet" and "Strong Arm of the Law" as well as "Heavy Metal Thunder", one of metal's all time greatest anthems. Between the speed of the guitar riffs and Biff Byford's vocals, not to mention the pure energy of the whole thing, it's easy to see why Saxon was so influential in the early heavy metal scene. Strong Arm of the Law is heavy metal perfection.

Strong Arm of the Law is an essential NWOBHM album, an essential British metal album, and an essential heavy metal album. If you call yourself a metal fan, you need to have this album on your shelf. It's just that simple.

Edition Notes - EMI reissued Strong Arm of the Law (along with the rest of the early Saxon albums) in 2009. EMI has been responsible for some of the best-sounding classic hard rock reissues lately (see: Whitesnake, UFO, MSG and the Scorpions), and their Saxon reissues do not disappoint. In addition to the digitally remastered sound, the reissue of Strong Arm of the Law features expanded liner notes by Metal Hammer Magazine's Jerry Ewing and a hefty eight bonus tracks, doubling the original album's length. The first four bonus tracks are BBC session recordings of "20,000 Feet", "Dallas 1PM", "The Eagle Has Landed" and "747 (Strangers in the Night)". The remaining tracks are remixes or alternate versions of various Strong Arm songs. Between the remastered sound, liner notes and bonus tracks, there are plenty of reasons to replace your old version of Strong Arm of the Law.

PS - When you line up the spines of the EMI Saxon reissues they form the Saxon logo and the Wheels of Steel cover icon. I'm a total geek for stuff like that!
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You can see a complete list of all Saxon discography, or go back to the Saxon tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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