Saxon – Into the Labyrinth – 180 Gram Gold Vinyl Record

Description

Saxon – Into the Labyrinth – 180 Gram Gold Vinyl Record

Saxon begin Into the Labyrinth with ‘Battalions of Steel,’ a broad, emphatic opener that gives the album an appropriately large entrance. Originally released in January 2009, the record captures the British heavy-metal veterans working with a strong sense of their own sound. Biff Byford’s commanding voice sits above the guitars of Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt, with Nibbs Carter on bass and Nigel Glockler on drums. The songs move between weighty, dramatic pieces and more direct rockers, leaving room for several changes of atmosphere across the thirteen-track program.

‘Live to Rock’ follows the opener with a more immediate approach, built around the straightforward pleasure of a forceful riff and a chorus meant to be remembered. It provides a useful contrast to the darker ‘Demon Sweeney Todd’ and the more expansive ‘Valley of the Kings.’ Saxon have often made narrative subjects and rock-and-roll enthusiasm sit comfortably together, and that combination is prominent here. The album has enough personality in its individual songs to move beyond a uniform run of fast tempos and tightly packed guitar parts.

Recorded at Twilight Hall in Krefeld, Germany, with producer Charlie Bauerfeind, Into the Labyrinth gives the band a clear, substantial sound suited to its dual-guitar arrangements. The playing can be busy, but the vocal lines and central riffs remain easy to follow. ‘The Letter’ is a brief interruption in the first side’s larger pieces, while ‘Premonition in D Minor’ creates another short passage on the second. Those compact moments alter the pace and help distinguish the heavier songs around them, giving the sequence a little more shape than the track count alone might suggest.

‘Crime of Passion,’ ‘Voice,’ ‘Protect Yourselves’ and ‘Hellcat’ carry the second side through a varied stretch before ‘Come Rock of Ages (The Circle Is Complete).’ The finish is especially distinctive: ‘Coming Home’ appears in a bottleneck version, turning toward slide-guitar blues rather than ending with another full-scale metal charge. The song had appeared earlier in electric form on Killing Ground. Recasting it here makes the closer feel connected to Saxon’s own history while giving the album a change of texture at the point where a more obvious finale might have been expected.

Into the Labyrinth sits between The Inner Sanctum and Call to Arms in Saxon’s studio catalog, offering a substantial example of their later work for listeners who know the early classics. Its strength is the balance between the familiar identity of Byford’s voice and the different directions taken by the arrangements. This Music on Vinyl reissue presents all thirteen tracks on one gold-colored 180-gram LP, with a four-page booklet. The original album dates from 2009; the gold pressing belongs to the later reissue, carrying that complete program into a distinct edition.

Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic

Release Details

Artist

Saxon

Album

Into the Labyrinth

Format

180 Gram Gold Vinyl Record

Media configuration

1 LP

Original album release

2009

Label

Music on Vinyl

Vinyl color

Gold

Vinyl weight

180 gram

Track Listing

Battalions of Steel

Live to Rock

Demon Sweeney Todd

The Letter

Valley of the Kings

Slow Lane Blues

Crime of Passion

Premonition in D Minor

Voice

Protect Yourselves

Hellcat

Come Rock of Ages (The Circle Is Complete)

Coming Home (Bottleneck Version)