Princess of the Night

Saxon – Princess of the Night


Saxon is a great classic metal/NWOBHM act that is well-adept at crafting catchy numbers with plenty of melodic infusion and a ‘fun’ approach and sound that I for one enjoy. This single is no exception – a decent effort featuring the more melodic ‘Princess of the Night’ and the fun yet pacey number ‘Fire in the Sky’.

‘Fire in the Sky’ on the b-side of this release is a great yet often overlooked classic Saxon cut with a fun yet ‘metal’ feel to it and a rather thundering pace. What drives this one along nicely are the rather heavy drums, which are definitive of the Saxon sound. It’s got as much heaviness and pace as any Saxon from this classic period, yet for some reason isn’t a song you hear talked about, like the title track for example.

‘Princess of the Night’ is a great Saxon classic – a track that is always included in their live set and gets a guaranteed place on ‘best of’ releases. This tracks pretty darn typical of the majesty of Saxon – a fun, rock n roll infused blend of melodic hard rock in the 70’s tradition, with a distinct metal edge. Saxon’s guitars have always been great, with some great touches here. Melody and a very metallic, almost proto-thrash sound (typical of great NWOBHM acts) combine in this piece to make it a winner. ‘Princess of the Night’ is a song about an old steam train, which the protagonist had a fixation on as a young boy. It’s kind of odd subject-matter in a way – not something you’d expect to encounter, especially given the title of the song. I remember Biff saying in an interview once that he’d have little Japanese girls running up to him saying “I am the princess of the night!” to which he would quip something along the lines of “Do you way 90 fucking tonnes? I don’t think so.” – Hilarious.

Anyway, this great little single features two strong numbers. A true Saxon classic in ‘Princess of the Night’ – with great lyrics in “ninety tonnes of thunder” and “iron scraping metal” – thoroughly metal. ‘Fire in the Sky’ is a more metallic piece about some Armageddon-ish themes that’s well-done. This release is strong and classic and is well-worth a listen. Would serve as a pretty good introduction to the band.

-DeathRiderDoom