Forever Free

By the end of the 80's, Saxon was in a bad way. In-fighting over musical direction and intellectual property rights had begun, compounded with the bitter knowledge that they squandered the majority of heavy metal's heyday writing bland, underperforming arena rock. With a splintering lineup, no sustainable record deal, and the scene itself crumbling around them, most metal bands would've called it quits by the turn of the decade. So 1990's Solid Ball of Rock, while nothing spectacular by itself, was a miracle given its context. Two years later, lightning struck twice with Forever Free.

With a rough, treble-heavy production and a loyal return to gutsy blue-collar riffing, I consider Forever Free one of Saxon's first hidden gems, chockful of hot-blooded riffs and decadent solos that were oh-so-crude and unbidden in 1992. From every direction, hardworking shovels set about exhuming the long-buried sound of Wheels of Steel, which may sound silly at first, but that album was nearing thirteen years old by this point. And while a rehash of past glories might not seem like the most titillating way to spend time with a band, you know what they say about gift-horses.

Tempo and aggression rarely reach a boiling point here, but there's a demonstrable return of sleazy riffs and memorable Motörhead style choruses. 'Cloud Nine', in particular, swaggers into view with brazen Strong Arm of the Law affectations, with so much more sincerity and authenticity than all the "how long must I stand out in the cold" nonsense Biff was wailing just two albums ago. 'Iron Wheels', too, is an outright personification of Saxon; an immense acoustic ballad that regards the British working class with a touching reverence. If that doesn't excite you, perhaps the lycanthropic speed metal menace of 'Nighthunter' is more your speed. Saxon's very first true blue power metal song, 'Nighthunter' is a hot tamale characterized by expert synchronous riffing bound to remind you of Dio's Dream Evil.

Despite all of this, Forever Free is still clogged with a fair bit of filler like 'Can't Stop Rockin' and 'Grind', which are overlong and recycle the same tired hard rock riffs far too much. The Muddy Waters cover 'Just Wanna Make Love to You' comes across as a well-intentioned tribute to an underrated progenitor of likeminded music, but I still habitually skip this track, because it only adds to the meandering cruisers this album already has plenty of. And because Biff croaking the song title into my ear is probably in the top ten things I'd rather never hear. Alongside a doctor telling me I have a urethral prolapse, and the last eight Slayer albums. But still, this is an enjoyable album overall, and a surefire indication that things will only get better from here on out.

...Sort of.