Thursday
Jan132022
Saxon, 'Remember The Fallen' -- New Video
Thursday, January 13, 2022 at 12:11PM
From the new album Carpe Diem, Saxon has released a video for their song "Remember The Fallen." The track is about the ones we've lost from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is powerful stuff. A great song about a horrible situation.
Reader Comments (10)
And this could have come off as far more opportunistic if not for the fact that it is Saxon, a band as working class and meat and potatoes as you are gonna get. Never got the attention they deserved. Then again, they just stuck to what they do best: straight ahead rock.
Good on them!
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Completely side-topic discussions:
(1) Why couldn't Sneap get Priest to sound this good? I am a life-long Priest fan. But, seriously, not much after Halford came back has measured up . . . and their output before he left was starting to get more and more hit-or-miss. Heck, at this point, I wouldn't even mind something that is closer to _Point of Entry_.
(2) And, why oh why, did they ditch him and decide to go as a four piece? Sure, I'd prefer KK (yes, I know the backstory). But, in a pinch, Sneap warmed up to his role and really helped their live sound . . . you know, the two guitar thing.
Jeff, to each their own, right? I can certainly understand people digging the new stuff. But, for me, it pales in comparison. And I think that is a version of what all of us do when we are really locked in and fans for life with a band . . . sometimes, we give them a pass when others won't. Then again, I consider myself a fan too. So we are just on different sides of the Priest coin on this one.
I also have to admit that, as cheesy as it is, I am a fan of KK and his new outing (in small doses, even as I bought the LP, CD, and the signed poster). I think KK got a raw deal in all of this. And I think he fell victim to the machinations of both Halford and the lovely duo of Tipton & Andrews. I didn't bring that up previously because it is so old hat to mention the 'woman' who spoils things. But, then again . . . .
I also thought KK's book was more honest and readable than Halford's. While he did skirt around his failings (a bit) as a business man, he was also quite candid about his issues and his own failures generally. Halford seems to have taken the caricature route more and more these days. He's the Metal God. We get it. Ian is a quiet guy who tends to stick to the back, even if he is now relishing his role as the last original member standing (forgetting to mention that the KK/Atkins connection is what got them the name).
All the while, their manager works things behind the scenes, and with the blessing of Tipton (sad lot he was dealt). And one must assume Halford, who really didn't do so well as a solo act (partly because he was all over the place before settling in to basically being Priest under his own name).
I am also a clear-eyed enough fan to note (and I did this before) that Priest could be pulling Maiden-level numbers live. But they don't. I wonder why? I also fault Maiden's catalog since Dickinson came back. But they still do gangbusters when it comes to live events. So what is Priest missing that the Metal God can't solve? And how is dropping the double guitars, a signature of their sound, going to help? As someone said on a dish-rag site the other day, it sounds like a monetary issue. If it is, that is sad. If it isn't, what gives?
To my stupid ears, the last truly great (and it was leftovers) album by Priest was DotF. Granted, there have been some pretty stellar high point since then, But consider this: how does the title track off Firepower stack up against the title track off DotF (again, leftovers)? Or "Heavy Duty"? Again, it is all a bit cheesy. But there is something missing these days, like a facsimile of a facsimile that, over time, sounds paradoxically better produced but more and more rehearsed. And I say all of this while still being happy that Priest is out there live and making music.
KK’s Priest is cheesy. There’s good music in it though and I am certain in an even smaller venue than JP will play KK will be hungry to Deliver The Goods!
Peace!
I bet seeing KK in a club would be an amazing experience, no matter how cheesy those lyrics are! And Ripper can sing, even if those stupid hats (flat-brimming should be a crime), multiple bands, failed businesses (hey, he and KK can commiserate!), and occasionally 'iffy' worldviews are problematic. Hell, "Cathedral Spires" off _Jugulator_ is a treat!
And, again, I love me some Priest. Saw them a few years back at an amphitheater with Deep Purple and they sounded very, very, very tired (last date of the tour if I recall correctly). Then I saw them the following year with Heep opening in a mid-sized club in SF. They were much more energized. Like I said, glad they are an ongoing concern. And glad they decided to get Sneap back into the live fold. It's not KK. But it will have to do with all the drama.
That said, for me, lyrics are a part of the whole package. Otherwise, I would switch to instrumental albums. Not a lot of those in Glam or Metal, yes? Sure, we had the 'shred' albums of our youth. Vinnie Moore's _Mind's Eye_ come to mind. Great slab of metal. So, too, Racer X's _Second Heat_ (which I wish didn't include Jeff Martin singing!).
And cheesy lyrics operate on a spectrum. The overall performance can make or break the song. Consider: Crue's "Rattlesnake Skake." That is a juvenile song. But it works. Why? Well, the song is a throwaway (in an endless sea of Crue throwaways). But the music is on point. Moreover, Neil sells the stupidly salacious stuff. So there you have it.
Final point: Priest have operated on the cheese scale since they stopped doing folk rock and started wearing studs and leather. Actually, they were cheesy when they were doing the folk thing (even if I love their cover of Joan Baez). But, come on! "The Rage" vs. "Ram It Down"?!?! No comparison. Like I said, cheese exists on a spectrum. And, more and more, Priest have indulged in hurting those of us with a lactose intolerance to cheese for the sake of cheese, lyrically-speaking.