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Over 25
years and 21 albums later, the Heavy Metal Thunder is still Playing It Loud.
After having had their previous show canceled in Portugal, SAXON have finally
come back to reveal their Power and the Glory of all those anthems inspired
by a whole culture based on Denim & Leather. Metalheads around the world
hold SAXON as one of the most influential and important bands in the NWOBHM
movement. And for those who claim SAXON to be old, we will just say that the
Dogs of War are Back on the Streets and Rockin' Again. The Killing Ground for
our interview was a rather nice café by the riverside and Douglas Scarrat
kindly answered our many questions. The Eagle has landed - to Rock the
Nations! And the Beast is Unleashed. BTTG – Greetings, Douglas. How are you this fine
evening? BTTG – What do you think of BTTG – It has been a while since you last played in
Aggression – Yes. I think it was because you didn’t
have enough sales. BTTG – So what do you think the audience’s reaction
is going to be like tonight? Do they think they will be thrilled to finally
see SAXON live? BTTG – And in the Algharb the mood is completely
different – that is where the Biker reunions usually take place and all. And
I tend to associate bikers with bands like SAXON and MANOWAR.
BTTG – How about the tour? You have been to BTTG – And I thought Germany was one of the most
important SAXON fan bases… Douglas – Kind of, I guess, because over the last 15 years SAXON has
spent a lot of time in Germany. So, the German shows are really good and
really important. But the Spanish crowd – and the Swedish crowd – are very
passionate. They make a lot of noise. Aggression – And the South-American too. Douglas – Yeah, this is true. We haven’t been to South America for
maybe two years, but we’re going in the Spring. BTTG – Unlike many other bands – who tend to get
softer as they get older – SAXON are heavier than before. How do you account
for the change? Douglas – It’s a bit like going back to the roots. I think there was a
lot of pressure in the late 80’s, early 90’s for SAXON to compete with – I
mean, rock went in that direction, it went more American, more
pop-orientated. It’s very difficult not to fall into that if you’re a rock
band. Now, we don’t really give a shit. We just play the music that we
actually want to play, rather than be steered or follow any kind of fashion –
and that’s actually been the way since I’ve been in the band, which is ten
years now. It’s a bit like realising what your identity is – we are a British
Metal band. We don’t ever aim to write an album in a certain style; we just
write songs, and what comes out, comes out. BTTG – Is there a connection between this new sound
and the return to British studios after 15 years? Or the choice of producer,
or the new drummer [Jörg Michael]? Douglas – I would say not, really. Actually, all of the songs were
written before Jörg was involved in the recording of the album, because we
actually write as a 4-piece; we haven’t written with a drummer since Nigel
Glockler – Fritz [Randow – drummer before Jörg – M] didn’t write with us
either. Usually, when we write albums, Biff plays bass, Nibbs plays drums and
Paul and I are play guitar. This is how we write. After we finished writing
the album, it was then thinking: «Who will be the suitable drummer for the
style of songs we wrote?». We thought Jörg would be the man. BTTG – So how did the cooperation with Jörg Michael
come to being? Douglas – Fritz was very busy at this time, when we actually wanted to
use him, he had lots to do, he was making videos and I think there was a
SINNER reunion, so basically he was not able to put the time that we wanted
him to – and when we wanted him to. I live near Nigel Glockler, 5 minutes
away, so we’ve been friends for a long time. Even before I was in SAXON I
used to play with Nigel. Nigel recommended Jörg and a few other people as
well. They knew him anyway – before I was in the band, SAXON toured with
HEADHUNTER and Jörg was the drummer at the time, so they [SAXON] knew him
anyway. He seemed like a good choice.
Douglas – Yeah, I mean, that’s bound to have affected it a bit. But I
think this album sounds less German than some Charlie’s other albums. Biff I
– with Charlie – produced the album, so I think the guitar sounds more
English than German. BTTG – Conceptually, your lyrics strike me as rather
patriotic, in the sense that in Lionheart
you write about English characters such as Richard Lionheart and The Witchfinder General, a 17th
century witch-hunter. Am I correct in my assumptions that you are fond of
English History? Douglas – Biff is very fond of English history and History in general,
actually. And we didn’t actually set out to make a very English album –
actually it was a couple of years ago that Biif said that sometime he’d like
to write a song about Richard the Lionheart, so that was in my head,
subconsciously. When I wrote the riff for Lionheart,
I was just sitting and playing guitar when that riff came out and I thought I
could imagine the whole… – it sounded like the right riff. BTTG – Are there any other characters portrayed in the
lyrics? What function do they play in the band’s concept? Douglas – English Man’o’war
is about an English warship from about the time of Admiral Nelson; Man and Machine is about Donald
Campbell, an English guy that set out to break the land-speed record,
although it was on water. BTTG – So you are partially focussed on the Navy, in
a sense [laughs]. Douglas – Really, they’re just great things in English History that
seemed inspiring at the time to write songs about. It’s like when we made Metalhead: There’s nothing English
about that at all. Do you know what I mean? It was just the way it came, it
was just the way it worked out, really. And then we suddenly realised that
this whole album [Lionheart] is
nearly an English History lesson! It wasn’t really intentional. BTTG – Is there an underlying message to Lionheart? As in: «This is where we
stand now. This is SAXON – we are strong and we will kick your butt!» Douglas – Well, I guess there’s that! But other than that there isn’t
a guideline or a message, really. I mean, you always work with the things
that you find inspiring and Biff is definitely inspired by History in
general. On Metalhead there is Conquistador – anything that is
legendary will inspire Biff to write a song. BTTG – It is consistent with band’s name – SAXON is
also very historical. Do you identify yourself with the Saxons? Douglas – You know, Biff is always saying we’re all Vikings, and I
guess we are. Personally, I don’t really think about it. BTTG – And now for a change of subject – w hat do
you think of the new line-up so far? Douglas – I think the chemistry of the band is good. Paul and I are
very comfortable working together, I think that we make a good team, we get
on very well. We like to write together – you know, quite often in
two-guitar-player bands there is conflict, but we’ve never really had that.
We both found our space for the pair of us to get our ideas done – and it
works! BTTG – Would you say this is the ‘best’ line-up you
have had so far, given the circumstances, or is there a ‘classic line-up’ you
would like to relive? Douglas – It is very difficult for me to say, really, because the
line-up hasn’t really changed since I’ve been in the band – we’ve only
changed drummers. It was strange at first when Nigel left, because Nigel had
been involved in the writing, so he had some influence in the musical content
of the band, whereas Fritz and Jörg hadn’t. Jörg has definitely added a power
and an energy to the tracks. [Sudden
silence. Douglas lost himself – laughs]
Douglas – Well, it fits, basically. The coat of arms fits with the
whole album title – it’s the same artist that does all of our covers [Paul Raymond Gregory – M]. BTTG – He knows the chemistry, right? He knows what
you are after – Douglas – We do steer him to
what we wanted. We definitely said it was our idea to have a coat of arms on
the cover. It fits with the SAXON name; it fits with the song titles. I think
it is quite nice when things have a fairly consistent theme. It’s good, the
whole package works. BTTG – Are you satisfied with the final result? Douglas – Yeah. BTTG – Will you use this (pre)medieval graphic
imagery in the future? Douglas – I think that will probably always be there, yes. We like it. BTTG – What is, in your opinion, the current state
of affairs in the NWOBHM? You live there, you should know better. [laughs] Douglas – There aren’t very many bands – in fact, I can’t think of any
bands that are still writing ‘classic metal’. There is still JUDAS PRIEST,
MOTÖRHEAD, SAXON, IRON MAIDEN – there are still the bands that are still
doing that thing, but I can’t think of any young bands – that I know of – I’m
sure there are some, but I can’t think of any young bands that are writing
classic metal. Most young bands are more into modern metal – in England
anyway. I know in other countries – and in South America – there are young
bands that are like SAXON/ [IRON] MAIDEN cover bands, but I can’t think of a
new band with a name that everybody will have heard of that are playing that
style. BTTG – So, basically, the New Wave of British Heavy
Metal finished when the classic bands started, right? There were the
followers, but not the trend-setters. Douglas – Yeah, I think you could say that. Aggression – This is a personal question: in the
lyrics of Princess of the Night, is
it a bike or is it a train? Douglas – It’s a train. A steam train. BTTG – That was the ultimate answer to Life, the
Universe and Everything! [laughs]
Do you know Douglas Adams? Douglas [laughs] – Yes, I
do. He is good. I know The Hitchhiker’s
Guide [to the Galaxy – M] –
it’s brilliant. BTTG – We all have noticed how… peculiar British
humour can be – and we like it. Douglas – It’s all sarcasm. BTTG – Are there any other writers in Douglas Adams’
fashion that you would recommend? Douglas – In that style, he is fairly unique, I mean, there are always
these fantastic British movements in humour – from Monty Python onwards to The Young Ones – it’s basically four
students that share a flat and there is a hippie, an anarchist, etc. English
humour still gets darker and darker and more sick sometimes. [laughs] Aggression – Like The League of Gentlemen. Douglas – Actually, Nibbs and I were watching The League of Gentlemen today, on the tour bus and I hadn’t
watched it for a few years. Nibs found a video and we were watching another
English programme called Stellar Street
– it’s two or three actors that play lots of different parts, and
basically it’s like a street in London where all the LA stars meet. And all
the L.A. stars are played by these same guys, like Al Pacino, Michael Caine,
Joe Pesci…It’s pretty funny. We were watching this and then League of Gentlemen came – so yeah, we
do watch that stuff a lot. BTTG – How do you account for that sort of humour?
Is it the climate, the culture, the insularity? Douglas – It’s difficult to know where that comes from. I think
British people sometimes have the ability to just moan about things, but make
it funny, do you know what I mean? They get so pissed off that they turn
everything into a joke and it’s difficult to stop. BTTG – Well Douglas, the interview has reached the
end. I would like to thank you for your time – your torture has come to an
end. Douglas [laughing] – That
was easy to endure! BTTG – Do feel free to leave your last words or
wishes. Har har. Douglas – Do I have any?... Not really. It’s very nice that a lot of
young fans are getting into metal, so I would urge young fans to go buy the
record. I’m not a young guy, but I think our album doesn’t sound like a bunch
of old guys – I think it has an energy and a power there that’s still cool.
So I would say to any SAXON fan: «Buy the record!» Morgana
– Bogani Café Additional
questions (duly indicated) by Aggression Photos
© SPV | Stefan Malzkorn |
