British heavy metal legends
SAXON will continue their
Battalions Of Steel World Tour in the UK and Ireland in April. Confirmed dates are as follows:
Apr. 23 - London, UK - Forum
Apr. 25 - Prestatyn, UK - Hammerfest
Apr. 26 - Dublin, Ireland - Academy
Apr. 27 - Belfast, Ireland - Mandela Hall
Apr. 28 - Glasgow, UK - ABC
Apr. 30 - Sheffield, UK - Academy
May 01 - Newcastle, UK - Academy
May 03 - Manchester, UK - Academy
May 04 - Bristol, UK - Academy
May 05 - Wolverhampton, UK - Wulfrun Hall
In other news, the second fan question-and-answer session is online where
Doug Scarratt (guitar),
Paul Quinn (guitar) and
Biff Byford (vocals) tackle a few questions submitted by
SAXON fans. Watch the two-minute clip below.
The
SAXON /
ICED EARTH tour will kick off on February 1, 2009 in Paris, France.
SAXON will close all the shows on the trek, which will wrap on March 1 in Barcelona, Spain.
SAXON's new studio album,
"Into The Labyrinth", will be released on January 12, 2009 (Germany: January 9; USA: January 13). The CD was recorded at the
Twilight Hall in Krefeld, Germany, under the direction of
Charlie Bauerfeind.
SAXON laid down 13 new songs at
BLIND GUARDIAN's studio, starting with monumental opener
"Battalions Of Steel" through
"Demon Sweeney Todd" and
"Valley Of The Kings", which both cover historic events, to the final slide guitar blues track
"Coming Home" (fans are already familiar with the electric version of this track from
SAXON's
"Killing Ground" album).
"The new material was written in England and at my house in France,"
Byford explained. "Stylistically, I would describe the album as an even balance between
'Lionheart' and
'The Inner Sanctum', a mix of powerful, in-your-face rock songs and pure heavy metal tracks. We're very happy with the production and proud of
'Into The Labyrinth'."
