Bands like IRON MAIDEN and MOTORHEAD seem to release a live album every five minutes and about half of the material each and every one of them contains exactly the same songs, just a different live performance! Think about it Maiden fans, how many live versions of ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ do we need?

The great thing with SAXON’s ‘Eagle Has Landed’ series is that a conscious effort is made to ensure the tracklisting is completely different to the previous Eagle albums. All of the material on the first disc is pre 1985, but only 3 of the 15 songs have appeared on either of the 2 previous ‘Eagle’ records.

Passive fans may find it hard to believe there’s a SAXON album on the shelves without the likes of ‘747′, ‘Princess of The Night’ and ‘Motorcycle Man’ present, but if you wanna here the SAXON favourites, the solution is simple - go out and buy The Eagle Has Landed Part 1!!! This is a release for the real fans who will be delighted to hear live versions of a whole raft of rarely performed live tracks, the vast majority of which have certainly never been released in the live format.

The performance is top drawer as usual from frontman Biff Byford who sounds like he’s having the time of his life singing the oldies, his voice still not showing any signs whatsoever of deterioration. The majority of the recordings on disc one come from SAXON’s 2005 tour in celebration of 25 years of NWOBHM, a tour which was initially delayed due to the tragic fire at Biff’s home earlier that year - which makes it all the more pleasing to hear that he’s still in fine voice!

The thunderous biker anthems ‘Redline’ and ‘Stallions of the Highway’ particularly impress while ancient tracks ‘Suzie Hold On’ and ‘Frozen Rainbow’ show a more melodic side to SAXON’s early days that many may have long forgotten after their dreadful record company influenced attempt at melodic AOR in the late 80’s. The highlight though has to be the ultra rare live performance of ‘Warrior’ - a blistering metal riff, battle charged lyrics and an anthemic chorus - SAXON at their very metal best!

The second disc is a collection of recordings from SAXON’s touring activities in 2004, concentrating purely on material from chapter 2 of SAXON history with music from 1986’s ‘Innocence is No Excuse’ through to the most recent studio album, ‘Lionheart’ - particularly focussing on the impressive ‘Lionheart’ as it was the ‘Lionheart’ tour after all!

Again, the performances are first class, and ‘Lionheart’ highlights, ‘Man and Machine’, ‘Beyond The Grave’ and the title track itself all confirm their positions as instant SAXON live classics. ‘Broken Heroes’ also stands up well and is certainly the most memorable track from the latter half of the 80’s SAXON material - and unsurprisingly it’s the only track present from that very era!

The only disappointment with this album is the below par production. In 2006 you expect a live album to shake you out of your seat and in particular bring the older material to life. 4 years ago, SAXON re-recorded a number of their classics for the album ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’ where the production was perfection, awesome guitars and drums which simply leapt from your stereo and pounded you in the chest. Unfortunately, this time around none of those production qualities are here. An awfully thin drum sound is the worst contributor and at times the recording simply sounds like an completely unproduced live radio broadcast! - a shame indeed, as the performances certainly deserve better.

‘The Eagle Has Landed Part III’ certainly has a fitting ending as the metal extravaganza is closed off with ‘Solid Ball of Rock’, one of five tracks on the album recorded from the band’s amazing headline performance in front of 43,000 people at 2004’s legendary Wacken Festival - proof that in parts of Europe, SAXON are more popular than ever!

All in all, ‘The Eagle Has Landed Part III’ is a great live platter to keep everyone happy. This is a band who despite their ps and downs, have now returned to their 100% metal routes and have re-built and gathered a huge worldwide following of both old and young fans alike. Youngsters will enjoy rocking out to live versions of the new material on disc 2 while the oldsters won’t be able to help themselves pumping up the volume on disc 1, dusting off their denim jackets and shaking their heads to the forgotten classics! Boys and girls, make no mistake, if you want a definition of pure heavy metal, SAXON is the place to start.

Rating 4.5/5.0    

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