Destiny

With the three albums preceding Destiny, which are Crusader, Innocence Is No Excuse, and Rock the Nations, Biff Byford and Crew attempted to simplify and commercialize much of their sound in order to attain further mainstream success for the band, but they didn't see much fruit becoming of their labor. Given these circumstances, before them, they probably saw two choices: to go back to their traditional heavy metal roots and attempt to emulate the classic sound of their first four records, or further descend into the dark cesspool of glam and pop rock. To the chagrin of their fans at the time (and for our amusement today), Saxon chose to go all-in into sappy bubblegum music in one final attempt to revitalize their career. Destiny, the ultimate culmination of Saxon's lust for this furthered mainstream success, was born... and it flopped. Of course, Saxon would move onto greener pressures soon after Destiny's release and regain their metal edge, but the fact is that they had just released a fancy drink coaster that would forever be the single largest blemish in their career, being seen as on par with such masterpieces as Cold Lake and Stronger Than Ever by Celtic Frost and (Grave) Digger, respectively. With this reputation in mind, Saxon's Destiny is an album that I feel somewhat embarrassed about liking.

Truthfully, Destiny shares very few characteristics with its predecessors. For one, Destiny contains very little in the way of true metal riffage, with most of that being found on its second side. Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver predominately play either simple picked notes or basic melodic hard rock chords; the guitars are no longer in the forefront of the sound of the music. Consequently, much more focus is put onto Byford's vocal melodies and synths. And of course, these synths have probably the most cheesy and syrupy sound imaginable; I can see where Sabaton got their samples. This is really the deal breaker for most who listen to Destiny, and I agree, they can be mildly annoying. Case in point has to be "We Are Strong." The verses are energetic and lively enough, but that chorus, man; it's like late 80's Europe on steroids laced with mozzarella and gorgonzola. Even after stating this though, I must admit that cheese suites my palate, and so I still kind of like this song. That's the most I'll admit, anyway. Vapid in a completely different way though is "Where the Lightning Strikes." You'd expect a song about electricity and, well, lightning (at least figuratively) to be vivacious. The listener should feel that three hundred million volts of electricity hitting their body, but no, "Where the Lightning Strikes" is feckless, slow, plodding, and wastes your time (4:18 seconds, to be precise) getting to the rest of the album. I suppose Byford wants to be where the lightning strikes, as detailed by the chorus, but he isn't at this location, which would explain the sluggishness of the whole ordeal.

Now, there are other songs in Destiny that share this air of cheesiness, but unlike the two aforementioned tracks, Saxon did a good job with the other ones made with this line of thinking. Two tunes that do sappiness correctly are "I Can't Wait Anymore" and "Song For Emma." Yes, these songs are slow, overly maudlin ballads that many individuals will still find kitsch, primarily due to the presence of the synths. Despite this, I still can't help but enjoy them. Perhaps it was ironic amusement at first, but I actually believe they are well done ballads with punchy through lines and catchy melodies. Byford is a lot more versatile a singer than he is given credit for, and he sings these tracks with conviction and sentimentality. "S.O.S" and "Calm Before the Storm" are more rocking tracks more like "We Are Strong," but they aren't nearly as repugnantly "happy" as that particular tune, which makes them much better. The latter especially really sees Byford soar over the verses in a really memorable way. And I haven't even mentioned the opener, "Ride Like the Wind." The original song was some pop rock/disco song by Christopher Cross, you know, some really appealing stuff (okay, it isn't that bad). Luckily, in perhaps Saxon's best decision having to do with Destiny, they refined the song into a brisk and catchy hard rock anthem; it's difficult to tell that this isn't even an original song by the band.

Now, as to not completely alienate their long-time fans (hahahaha), Saxon did throw in some faster numbers on Destiny, which are focused on Side B (three songs, to be precise). These songs were mostly spared from the tyranny of 80's glam rock, but oddly enough the best of the trio is the one with the most of this influence, "For Whom the Bell Tolls." It's the slowest out of the bunch, but the dramatic chorus with all the vocal layers is an ear-worm, and the lyrics being about the regrettable split between West and East Germany adds a nice touch to the song. The other two quicker tunes, "Red Alert" and "Jericho Siren," are more in the line of earlier Saxon, both being more straightforward, having jumpy riffing sections, and more shreddy guitar solos. Much like the rest of the album, however, there still is more attention being put on melody rather than aggression here, so they don't quite have the same intensity as some of their earlier Saxon brethren. Yet, they are still solid songs, and end of the album on a high note.

I, for one, am rather glad that Saxon eventually found their way once more and did not completely die by the end of the 80's due to Destiny's cold reception. Much of their later material is better than Destiny could ever aspire to be really, as much as it absolutely pains me to declare (of course their earlier albums are better as well). This album is much like Rush's Presto in that while there is not much I really loathe on each record, they simply do not compare in scope or ambition to the popular albums of each band, respectively. I am not going to sit here and claim everyone is wrong about Destiny, and anyone who dislikes it isn't a true fan of the band. Destiny is reviled for a reason by metalheads; it is the band's ultimate sellout, cash-grab record. I will claim, however, that it is verily a well-written and performed sellout record. If you don't mind glam rock or pop rock, you'll probably like the record as whole. If not, then avoid all that sucrose, and hopefully at least you'll enjoy the faster tracks.