The once mighty (early 1980s) Saxon have had more than their fair share of ups and downs during their illustrious career, which has continued for over 30 years. No matter what, they have kept plugging away and are currently enjoying a new period of popularity. This, their 18th studio album, won't win them a whole new audience, but it will certainly do them no harm either. It features all we've come to expect from the band and yet it's also quite a diverse album. There's epic power metal ("Battalions Of Steel"), more commercial "arena" rock tracks ("Live To Rock"), classic heavy metal ("Demon Sweeney Todd") and slower, more grandiose anthems ("Voice"). Not all of these will grab you on first listen, but give them another go and they might just grow on you. There's a nice surprise at the end with the bluesy acoustic bottleneck version of "Coming Home", a song which originally appeared on Saxon's Killing Ground (2001) album. Charlie Bauerfeind's production is spot on, the guitar work is impressive enough without being overelaborate and Biff Byford's voice has only slightly lost a bit of its power, but is definitely still potent enough to provide a good delivery and some of the melodies are quite memorable too. Make no mistake about it - this is classic Saxon, it's old school heavy metal/rock so don't expect much innovation. Take it for what it is and you won't be disappointed.