- Country: UK
- Style: Heavy metal
- Label: Silver Lining Music
- Release date: 2 February 2018
Twenty-two studio albums in, Saxon have no business sounding this hungry. Andy Sneap’s production gives them real muscle: the guitars of Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt are thick and bright, Nigel Glockler’s drums punch rather than thud, and Biff Byford sounds like he’s still got something to prove. After the short “Olympus Rising” intro, the title track charges out with the Greek-myth theme front and centre and a chorus built for festival fields.
The heart of the record is “They Played Rock and Roll”, Biff’s tribute to Motörhead, and it nails Lemmy’s gear-grinding swing without turning into parody. “Sniper” and “Speed Merchants” keep the pace up, and “The Secret of Flight” is the classiest thing here, a mid-tempo builder with a real melodic lift. Not everything hits: “Roadie’s Song” is good-natured filler, and the gothic schlock of the vampire number wears thin. But for a band in its fifth decade, Thunderbolt lands with genuine force.
Best tracks:
Thunderbolt
The Secret of Flight
They Played Rock and Roll
Sniper
Author’s rating: 8.0/10
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