Strong Arm of the Law

Aside from Angel Witch's debute, this album is definetly the best NWOBHM release by far. Ahead of its time, the album deliveres non-stop heavy metal that would influence many speed/thrash acts later on in the 80s and even today. At this time in 1980, the only other bands that could even live up to this style were Motorhead and Judas Priest, but they had already been around a while by this year and this was Saxon's 3rd studio release barely. It's so surprising to me that more speed metal bands have not covered Saxon material, especially from this album, which without a doubt is their fastest up until the late 80s. The influence that this album had on Manowar's "death to false metal" image is undeniable, considering that Saxon went on tour with Black Sabbath in 1980 in support of this album, when Joey was part of the road crew for Black Sabbath. Just give a listen to the speed metal classic, "Heavy Metal Thunder", and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Heavy Metal Thunder - Who would have ever thought a song like this would have come out in 1980?? Total speed metal, and the first song to have ever used the term "heavy metal" in the song title. This is probably the best song on the album. Either this one, or....

To Hell And Back Again - ....this killer tune! Another speed metal number that was really ahead of its time. The riffage is fucking phenominal and if I had to choose 1 song from Saxon that was the most underrated, it would definatly be this one, without a doubt. The attitude and energy makes this one an instant classic.

Strong Arm Of The Law - Man, this chorus is is catchy as all fuck! I mean, the song itself is pretty average and mid-paced up until the chorus comes along, then it'll be playing in your head over...and over and over and over......and over.....

Taking Your Chances - God damn! The riffs here are fucking awesome, groovy as Hell but fast at the same time. Since there is really no amazing solo to be hear, nor catchy chorus, I'd have to say that the riffs are the only highlight, and by the way they sound, it's enough to rank this as one of Saxon's best songs. Actually, the solo towards the end kicks a lot of ass as well.

20,000 Feet - Total speed metal, with killers riffs and awesome verses sung by one of the best. The song is about flying in a jet airplane, so there are really cool sound effects at the end, which leads us right into...

Hungry Years - ...this bluesy number. Not being a huge fan of blues, I'll just go ahead and pass this song off as average. The entire song is blues based, from the riff rythm to the solo, making the overall song decent at the most, and the weakest point on the album.

Sixth Form Girls - Now this is a really fun song with catchy riffs and an incredibly catchy chorus. Oh yeah, the lyrics are really nice as well, just read the title of the song and you'll know why... ;)

Dallas 1PM - One of the heaviest songs on the album, and also one of Saxon's all time best songs, along with the first 2 tracks on here. The song itself is about the assassination of JFK, complete with sound effects such as a gun fireing, an ambulance and radio broadcasting of the tradgedy. Saxon was suppose to perform this one live when I saw them on tour, but didn't due to the 9/11 attacks. >:(