Lionheart

Like the Energizer Bunny, veteran British metallists Saxon can take a licking and keep on ticking. While their countless lineup shakeups and ill-advised career choices would have killed off most bands many a moon ago, original members Biff Byford (vocals) and Paul Quinn (guitar) continue to headbang merrily along, as evidenced by their umpteenth studio effort, 2004's Lionheart. If you lost interest in the underdog band during the late '80s (when they took a very obvious stab at cracking the U.S. market with Def Leppard-like fluff), it's a pleasure to report that Lionheart is a pure heavy metal album -- the Saxon that old-timers know and love. Such standouts as the album-opening "Witchfinder General" and "Man and Machine" would not sound out of place on such earlier classics as Denim & Leather and Power & the Glory. Too bad the chaps didn't take this approach back in the mid-'80s, when many were predicting big things for them. ~ Greg Prato