Yes, I’m a rocker from the 1970s, so it’s back to those times! It’s hilarious since I see the same faces whenever I go to a play at The Plaza in Orlando. It was amusing when one elderly man entered the packed restroom and exclaimed,
“I’m tired of seeing all you old guys at these shows!” Returning to the performance now, Saxon was founded in 1975 in Barnsley, England. Along with bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, they were among the forerunners of British heavy metal in the 1970s and 1980s. With multiple Top 40 albums to their credit, Saxon enjoyed great success in the United Kingdom. They were successful in Japan and Europe as well.
but less so in the United States. The beginnings of Uriah Heep date back to 1969. They were major pioneers in the hard rock and progressive rock movements; occasionally, they made me think of Deep Purple. Naturally, they continue to have ardent supporters in the Balkans, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Finland, and Scandinavia. Despite the fact that heavy metal music was phased out of the mainstream in America thirty years ago, heavy metal music is still consumed with fervor throughout Europe and Asia.
Saxon was the first act to perform, and they struck a formidable combination of flying v guitars and Marshall stacks. Their sound quality and the fact that they were performing with actual Marshall amplifiers really astonished me. Nowadays, a lot of their peers utilize modeling amplifiers via public address systems, which does not provide the audience with the same intense, visceral guitar sound that comes from actual tubes and rows of amp cabinets. They opened with two songs off their recently released album, Hell, Fire and Damnation: “There’s Something in Roswell” and the title tune, Madame Guillotine. They also performed songs from their past, including “Wheels of
Steel”, “747 (Strangers in the Night)”, “Heavy Metal Thunder” and “Denim and Leather”. I had never been a big follower of Saxon just because USA AOR radio really didn’t play much of their music. However, with that said I am a fan now as the metal sound waves took me over! After an intermission break Uriah Heep took the stage, however with only one original member left in the band which is guitarist and founder Mick Box. Demons and Wizards was the most successful album they had released in America reaching #23 on the Billboard Top 200 charts in 1972. They ripped into fan favorites as, “Gypsy”, “Easy Livin'”, “The Wizard”, “Sweet Lorraine”, and “Stealin'”. The singer Bernie Shaw had a set of pipes on him that really took the songs to a higher level. In contrast to Saxon, their amps were not to be found on stage, assuming they were going through amp simulators. Still the energy was good in the crowd, however a little less on fire than Saxon’s set earlier. All the same Uriah Heep put on a good show and it proofed to be a real double header of UK 70’s hard rock!
