SAXON Announces 2027 'Gods Of Thunder' U.K. And Ireland Tour

British heavy metal legends SAXON have announced the first UK and Ireland leg of their "Gods Of Thunder" world tour, with further international dates set to be revealed in the coming months. Adding to the excitement, the band will revive its legendary 30-foot mechanized Eagle for all U.K. and Ireland shows, with the exception of Cardiff due to venue restrictions. Fans can also expect the return of SAXON's celebrated "Castles & Eagles" stage production, promising one of the most spectacular live presentations in the band's history.

Originally constructed in the early 1980s as SAXON prepared to tour their seminal album "Denim And Leather", the iconic Eagle was built by Midlands-based company LSD using airport runway landing lights. It made its first appearance during a pre-tour rehearsal in London before becoming an enduring symbol of the band.

Towering above audiences during SAXON's massive arena tours, the emblematic Eagle quickly became SAXON's mascot and inspired the title of their acclaimed 1982 U.K. Top 5 live album, "The Eagle Has Landed", leading to fans requesting its presence ever since.

SAXON frontman Biff Byford comments: "We wanted to make the 'Gods Of Thunder' U.K. and Ireland tour extra special. And what better way than to fly our beloved SAXON Eagle again... Get ready for take-off!"

"Gods Of Thunder" world tour part 1 (Castles & Eagles Production)

Feb. 13 - Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Feb. 14 - O2 Academy, Glasgow
Feb. 16 - Telegraph Building, Belfast
Feb. 17 – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
Feb. 19 - O2 Apollo, Manchester
Feb. 20 - O2 City Hall, Newcastle
Feb. 21 - City Hall, Sheffield
Feb. 23 - The Great Hall, Cardiff
Feb. 24 - Beacon, Bristol
Feb. 25 - O2 Guildhall, Southampton
Feb. 27 - Eventim Apollo, London

Tickets for all shows go on sale on Friday, June 26 at 9 a.m. and are available from www.saxon747.com.

In a recent interview with France's Last Ride podcast, Biff spoke about the status of SAXON's recently completed 25th studio album. He said: "I can't tell you anything about that. What we can tell you, though, is — [and this is an] exclusive — we can tell you that the album is coming out on [Friday] the 22 of January [of 2027]. Nobody knows that. You're the first person [we've told]. And you're gonna be able to order the album early September. And the first single — video and single — I think it's gonna be a seven-inch vinyl as well of the single, in September."

This past January, Biff revealed that longtime SAXON producer and JUDAS PRIEST touring guitarist Andy Sneap had finished mixing the new SAXON album.

SAXON's upcoming LP will be the follow-up to "Hell, Fire And Damnation", which came out in January 2024 via Silver Lining Music.

Last July, Byford told Riff X's "Metal XS" about the progress of the songwriting sessions for SAXON's upcoming effort: " Well, we've started writing the next album. I'm doing lyrics now. And I've got a lot of ideas from [guitarist Doug Scarratt], [drummer] Nigel [Glockler] as well, and from Nibbs [bassist Tim Carter]. So, yeah, I've got quite a lot of ideas, which I'm compiling at home in my studio."

In April 2025, Biff told Uruguay's The Dark Melody that he and his bandmates had "been writing" new music "for about six or seven weeks now, off and on. So yeah, we're coming in with some ideas and I've got some ideas for songs, for titles. And, yeah, it's coming along.

"We're probably gonna start recording in November [2025], when we finish touring," he continued. "We'll probably go in and record the drums and bass and the basic guitars and some guide vocals then. So, yeah, we're pretty much on it. We're working towards the new album. It's going well."

Last October, Byford shared a video update in which he said he had completed the final round of chemotherapy in his fight against bowel cancer.

Although Biff released a video message in August 2025 in which he implied that he underwent an operation to remove "a small tumor" from his "prostate gland", he later clarified that he was actually diagnosed with bowel cancer, which is cancer that is found anywhere in the large bowel, including the colon and rectum. Byford was later treated with chemotherapy for "a short period", resulting in the cancelation of a couple of shows and the postponement of several others.

Earlier in 2025, SAXON announced the cancelation of 10 summer shows and festival appearances while Byford was recovering from the cancer surgery.

In August 2024, Biff underwent a "procedure" to treat atrial flutter, a type of heart rhythm abnormality, or arrhythmia, that causes the heart's upper chambers (atria) to beat too quickly.

In September 2019, Biff suffered a heart attack and underwent an emergency triple bypass surgery.

"Hell, Fire And Damnation" was produced by Andy Sneap (JUDAS PRIEST, EXODUS, ACCEPT) and Byford, with Sneap mixing and mastering.

In early 2023, SAXON guitarist Paul Quinn announced that he was stepping back from touring with the band. As a result of his decision, SAXON canceled its April 2023 South American tour as well as the appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise. Quinn has since been replaced on the road and in the studio by Brian Tatler.

Brian has been touring with Doug, Nigel, Nibbs and Biff since mid-2023, but continues to be a member of DIAMOND HEAD.

Byford and Quinn are the sole remaining original members in SAXON's current lineup.

Originally from South Yorkshire, England, SAXON has gone on to sell about 23 million albums and has produced such classic songs as "Denim And Leather", "Princess Of The Night", "Wheels Of Steel" and "Power And Glory".