SAXON Begins Work On New Studio Album

British heavy metal legends SAXON have commenced work on the follow-up to last year's "Battering Ram" album for a tentative 2017 release. The group's 22nd studio LP is once again being produced by Andy Sneap, who has previously worked with MEGADETH, ACCEPT, TESTAMENT and EXODUS, among others.

In a new Facebook post, SAXON frontman Biff Byford wrote: "Started work on new album with producer Andy Sneap, sounding great. As usual the brakes don't work so we're not slowing down!"

"Battering Ram" was released last October in North America via UDR Music. The album featured Byford alongside Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt on guitar, Nibbs Carter on bass and Nigel Glockler on drums.

Byford described "Battering Ram" as "a bit more metal" than some of SAXON's recent efforts. He added: "Yeah, but there are some really melodic bits in there, like classic SAXON. But, I think, the riffs are very heavy — like 'Princess Of The Night' or 'Heavy Metal Thunder', really; they're heavy as well. So I think it's a bit more focused, this album. It's less of a mixture between hard rock and metal, if you know what I mean. It's more focused, and we like it."

In a 2013 interview with Metalholic, Biff spoke about SAXON's longevity and continued desire to make new music. He said: "We don't really bother too much about years and birthdays and how many albums, we just get on with it, basically. We just have a passion for the music. That's one of the secrets. We love to make new albums and sort of move on. We try and get new fans and get old fans back, and entertain ourselves as well as the fans. There's a passion for our style of music. That's the secret, I think."