"Things have changed now, and we like to make Ferraris, not Mercedes."

Saxon's 56-year-old vocalist Biff Byford tells about the good times the British heavy metal godfathers are experiencing now, with the release of their brand-new studio album "The Inner Sanctum"...

Vassil Varbanov: Hello, Mr. Byford! How are you doing?

Biff Byford: Hey, it's nice to be talking to you in Bulgaria!

V. V.: Where are you now?

B. B.: I'm in France.

V. V.: Do you still live there?

B. B.: Yeah, I do, but at the moment I'm on holiday, having a little bit of a break after we finished the album and before we start the tour.

V. V.: You're British, you live in France, you release your albums via the German label SPV... What's next in the plan of Saxon's European domination?

B. B.: Yes, we're a very international band, ha-ha! Our new album, "The Inner Sanctum", shall be preceded by a single called "If I Was You", so basically... Well, we're ready to come around Europe and sort of... dominate it!

V. V.: Before that I'd ask you to tell us more about your book, "Saxon - Never Surrender (Or Nearly Good Looking)".

B. B.: Well, it tells my story with a bunch of pictures - from when I was a young boy up to now. It comes out in April and I think it's pretty good. It's very honest and it's got everything - all the good times, all the bad times, all the sex... Everything.

V. V.: You already had two concerts in Bulgaria. What do you keep in your heart from these experiences?

B. B.: I think touring in Eastern Europe is always great. We've always had a solid following there, so that's definitely one of the places we should be.

V. V.: Ok, let's focus on your new album now. "The Inner Sanctum" is a selection of ten new songs...

B. B.: Yeah, it's got different moods, combining classic rock with contemporary, modern metal. We don't like to be too old-fashioned, if you know what I mean.

V. V.: I do, although I read about a decade ago, somewhere in the European press, that you're "the most German-sounding British metal band". Do you agree?

B. B.: A-ha-ha-ha...! I think that's when we madeВ our "Metalhead"В album (1999), which sounded very modern and clean... I think those journalists meant a good thing, as ten years ago the Germans were definitely making some fantastic metal albums. However, things have changed now, and we like to make Ferraris, not Mercedes.

V. V.: The next big thing for you is the book and the tour, right?

B. B.: Yeah, and the album. We're looking forward to the tour, as it's going to be really massive - 60 dates so far and getting bigger. We're doing huge promotion, like MTV and VH1... Everything's going really well.

V. V.: Is there anything missing from the picture to make it absolutely perfect?

B. B.: No, I don't think there's anything missing at the moment. The album's great, the book is great, the tour's gonna be great, so everything's pretty cool. We've had our share of bad times, but now we're on good times.

V. V.: And which track of the new ones is your favourite?

B. B.: You know, we only finished the whole thing just three weeks ago, so I like them all at the moment. However, I think maybe the opening track, "State of Grace", is very huge and unique. I don't think any other band in the world can write a song like that.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock