SAXON's BIFF BYFORD: We're Not Trying To Recreate The 'Wheels Of Steel' Album

Robert Williams of Metal-Rules.com conducted an interview with vocalist Biff Byford of British hevy metal legends SAXON in Austin, Texas. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On what SAXON fans can expect to hear on the band's forthcoming album, "Battering Ram":

"We made the album, so we're close to it, so it's hard for us [to say]. We love the album. It's a clash between the retro SAXON and the modern SAXON; it's a massive sound. [Producer] Andy Sneap's done a great job for us. Andy loves the '80s bands as well, so he's a great producer to get the best of both things going, you know. We're not trying to recreate the 'Wheels Of Steel' album. We're trying to move on a bit, but still have the essence of SAXON there… He [previously] engineed [2013's] 'Sacrifice', and he mixed it. And I wanted to spend a bit more time on my vocals other than producing, so I knew everything would be safe with Andy."

On the songwriting process for "Battering Ram":

"The original riffs, me and Nibbs [Carter, bass] worked a lot together. Just Nigel [Glockler, drums] was ill and staying at his house. It just worked out that me and [Nibbs] got together and did some work. There's no hidden meanings in that; it's just how we worked out. Nibbs got a few ideas he was working on, I got a few titles, and we just got together.

"I'm usually working with one guy or the other, because I'm the only singer in the band and I write all the lyrics. I'm usually working with one of the guitarists or Nibbs. Sometimes I work with Nigel, 'cause he plays keyboards. So, yeah, I'm usually working one on one, initially, when we first start. Sometimes we'll all be in a room jamming. There's no set rules. We don't have set rule, like, I think HELLOWEEN, everybody writes three songs [on each album], and that's the way they do it. But for us to keep it fresh and alive… I'm not saying HELLOWEEN aren't alive, but for us, it keeps us fresh and alive to write things fairly quickly and in a focused way, if you know what I mean."

"Battering Ram" will be released in North America on October 16 via UDR Music.

The set is available for pre-order now via iTunes, with the title cut, "Battering Ram", as the instant grat track.