SAXON's BRIAN TATLER Talks About His Contributions To Upcoming 'Gods Of Thunder' Album, BIFF BYFORD's Health

In a new interview with Chas Byrne of Express FM, SAXON guitarist Brian Tatler spoke about the band's upcoming studio album, "Gods Of Thunder", which is tentatively due in early 2027 via Silver Lining Music. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's all done. It's been mixed by [longtime producer and JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] Andy Sneap. It's in the can. It was sent off to the record label. So that's coming in January."

Regarding his songwriting contributions to "Gods Of Thunder" and the band's last album, "Hell, Fire And Damnation", which came out in January 2024, Tatler — who is one of the founding members of fellow New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) legends DIAMOND HEAD — said: "I think I probably try and write in a style that might work for SAXON. There's probably a few ideas I've had that I've thought, 'Mm, this doesn't really sound SAXON-ish, esque.' But I have had this conversation with Biff [Byford, SAXON singer], and he said, 'Well, it's no good trying to second-guess what I like. Just send me everything you've got, and I'll decide.' And a couple of times I've done that and thought, 'Oh, he probably won't like that one.' And then he does. He goes, 'Oh, I like that one. That's great.' So I've learned not to worry about that too much. And I think everybody writes at home, and then we pool the ideas, and Biff goes through it, 'cause, of course, he's gotta sing on it. He's gotta write lyrics. So he gets the final say as to which ones are gonna make the cut. And then we get together. This last year, we got together in Brighton and rehearsed the material before actually recording the drums and the bass and guitars and stuff. So that seems to be the process. And, of course, they've got it down to a fine art because, as you rightly say, [SAXON has] done 25 albums. That's a lot of work."

Asked if there are any of his riff ideas which would possibly work for either SAXON or DIAMOND HEAD, Brian said: "Maybe. I do think there's a style, there's a DIAMOND HEAD sort of style. I sometimes think, 'That sounds DIAMOND HEAD-ish,' and I think the same with SAXON. But, as I say, I don't like to second-guess Biff too much because he can surprise. And I think he's probably looking for something that maybe they haven't done before, something new, something original. He is a big fan of rock and metal, and he doesn't take it lightly. He's very intense. He thinks about it a lot and puts a lot of time and thought into the songs."

Asked if Biff's recent health issues have slowed SAXON down in terms of touring, Brian said: "It doesn't appear to. The only thing was — I mean, he had a triple bypass in possibly 2019. I, of course, wasn't in band at that point. Then he's had a cancer problem, and we had to cancel a bunch of dates last summer. So some of these dates got rescheduled for this year. But I think everybody was a little concerned as to how he would perform and how he would be. And when we just started rehearsing, he was, like, back to normal, back to six months ago. His voice sounded really strong, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised. And he's been great. These gigs have been fantastic.

"I get to observe Biff from just behind, and I'm amazed at his confidence and his charisma," Tatler added. "He handles the crowd, and how good he is at involving the crowd and talking to them and making the whole thing work. He's very good at that. I mean, he's had a lot of practice, but not everybody can do that."

This past June, SAXON announced the first U.K. 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.

Byford commented: "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!"

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."

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 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".