SAXON'S BIFF BYFORD - "I THINK THE SEX PISTOLS MADE A MARK ON THE NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL... VERY MUCH LIKE NIRVANA DID YEARS LATER"

Saxon's More Inspirations album is set for release on March 24 via Silver Lining Music. Following the release of Inspirations in 2021, More Inspirations is the second ‘deep dish’ serving of the influences which have fed the mighty Saxon’s immensely successful 40+ year career.

Saxon frontman, Biff Byford, is featured in a new interview with Greg Prato for AllMusic. He talks about the More Inspirations album, guitar riffs, touring, and more. Read an excerpt below.

AllMusic: Looking back at the New Wave of British Heavy Metal today, was there a healthy sense of competition between the bands, or was it unified?

Byford: "I think there's always competition in music. You're sort of fighting for your band to do well. It's the same at a festival situation where there are many bands on. Bands are always trying to be the best band on the festival, regardless of where they are on the bill – whether they're opening the festival or headlining the festival. Everybody wants to do well. So, I think there is a healthy competition there. But I think bands love each other, as well. They love each other's music – especially if it's in the same genre. So yeah, I think there was a healthy competition…but I think it's a friendly competition."

AllMusic: Do you agree that punk rock served as an inspiration for the movement?

Byford: "I think it did. From quite a few aspects. Fashion, definitely – from the leather jackets and chains and the studs. We adopted that early on – as did a lot of bands. I just think the attitude was, 'Just play the music.' I mean, some of it was very fashion-oriented, but some of the punk bands were really great – the Clash. But I think the movement was very short-lived. It was quite an aggressive music, and I think we took that side of it. But I think the Sex Pistols made a mark on the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Very much like Nirvana did years later – made a mark on how bands played and how they were perceived to be. We stopped playing long, 15-minute jams and we started writing music that was five minutes, sometimes seven minutes. But the punk movement did that – it condensed everything into three or four minutes of craziness. And we quite liked that."

Read more at AllMusic.com.

Whether getting feral with The Animal’s “We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place”, letting loose a high-octane take on Alice Cooper’s “From The Inside”, or laying down a ferocious tribute to KISS’ “Detroit Rock City”, More Inspirations is a joyous trip into the sounds which galvanized the Barnsley boys and continue to get spun on home stereos and tour buses.

Produced by vocalist/co-founder Biff Byford, with Seb Byford helping record the music alongside mixing engineer Jacky Lehmann, More Inspirations also includes enthusiastic takes on Alice Cooper, Rainbow, ZZ Top and Cream, as well as a thunderous “Razamanaz” by Nazareth, a tasty take on The Who’s “Substitute”, and a thick groove take on Uriah Heep’s “Gypsy”. Whether this is your first dance with such classic songs, or you’ve come to see where Saxon were born, More Inspirations delivers the goods and then some.  

Saxon’s More Inspirations will be available on 12” Black Vinyl, CD Digipak, digital formats and special D2C bundles; to pre-order head here.

Tracklisting:
"We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place"
"The Faith Healer"
"From the Inside"
"Chevrolet"
"Substitute"
"Gypsy"
"Man On the Silver Mountain"
"Detroit Rock City"
"Razamanaz"
"Tales of Brave Ulysses"