Crusader

There has been a strong consensus that somewhere around the time that thrash metal became the ascendant answer to the metal question that its NWOBHM forerunners began a rather rapid decline into commercial hard rock mediocrity. In Saxon's particular case, fingers are often pointed at their 1983 slight commercial pivot Power & The Glory as being the point where they lost the metallic plot, though this sentiment becomes all but unanimous with regard to their even more rock-based 1984 follow up Crusader. But objectively speaking, while the sort of prototype speed/thrashing characteristics of their early 80s offerings definitely hold an obvious edge in terms of intensity, the maligned status of both these albums as commercial sellouts seems more a product of their release being in closer proximity to their arena-oriented mid-80s shift via Innocence Is No Excuse than any lack of metallic content. To be clear, this 1984 opus is still a far cry from the Denim And Leather sound, let alone the previous two offerings, but it would still fit in quite nicely with the majority of NWOBHM offerings of the earlier days and is still a bit heavier than those offerings that tended a bit closer to the 70s rock sound that helped birth the movement.

While previously exhibiting a strong presentation from start to finish, Saxon has generally put their best foot forward during the opening moments of each album, and this proves to be doubly so in this album's case. The haunting ambient sounds of wind howling, horses neighing and battle cries sounding to the tune of war horns lay the groundwork for what is one of this band's more iconic metal anthems and title song "Crusader", emerging from a droning, folksy clean guitar intro that may well have inspired the signature epic intros often employed by Running Wild to a crushing, militaristic march reminiscent of Black Sabbath's "Heaven And Hell" with about double the heaviness factor. Everything about this song is on point from the sense of tension and buildup between the verse and chorus sections and Biff Byford's raunchy yet tuneful vocal delivery, perfectly embodying that sort of heroic heavy metal visual that would continue to be a staple of the style in subsequent decades. Truth be told, this song's greatest flaw is that it is so iconic that is steals much of the remainder of this album's thunder in a manner fair'y similar to how the massive title song of Rush's 2112 did to an otherwise respectable collection of songs that followed.

That being said, most of what occupies this album is a respectable exercise in rocking heavy metal that is fun, catchy, and still possessed of that needed edge to get the heads banging. More swift-paced anthems that admittedly lean a bit heavy on the rock cliches such as "A Little Bit Of What You Fancy" and "Set Me Free" have plenty of bite to go along with the excessive degree of bark, with the latter showcasing a highly enthralling lead guitar display to rival Brian Tatler's best work with Diamond Head. Things veer a bit into power ballad territory on the elongated, mid-paced anthem "Sailing To America", complete with Biff cleaning up his voice a bit and indulging in some heavy vocal overdub work to get a massive vocal backdrop accomplished that might be construed as quasi-glam rock in demeanor, but even here there is a strong emphasis on the guitar and a solid working class feel to keep it from becoming too much like Dokken. Truth be told, apart from a lyrical emphasis on partying and rock 'n' roll, much of the mainline rocking material like "Bad Boys (Like To Rock 'N' Roll)" and "Rock City" aren't too far off from the rugged feel of Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot, save maybe for the heavy employment of arena-oriented gang chorus segments.

Opinions may vary as to whether Saxon's lighter late 80s sound was solid or poor, but it's a pretty massive stretch to lump this album in completely with what followed it. True, that early days rawness that had a degree of influence on Metallica is almost completely absent from this album's presentation, but it's no less a metal album than, say, Diamond Head's Lightning To The Nations or Tokyo Blade's debut from the previous year. It could be said that a lot of hopes were dashed over this album not sticking with the epic feel of the opening for at least a few more songs and much of this having a bit more of a party hearty sound rather than a soundtrack to Christendom retaking the holy land in a conceptual package, but this seems more a product of historical revisionism regarding the NWOBHM rather than a true assessment of what it was, namely a gradual evolution of metal out of the confines of its hard rock roots. Saxon seemed a bit more prone to return to their rock roots rather than shed them as the 80s unfolded, but it's definitely a mistake to lump this in with the material that would follow, or to treat it as anything other than a solid collection of fist-raising anthems that, while not as impact-based as their seminal material, are definitely worthy of the Saxon legacy.