Saxon "Thunderbolt"

Thunderbolt is the twenty-second studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon, released on 2 February 2018.

On 14 September 2016, the band revealed they had begun working on a new album through their Facebook account. A month later, frontman Biff Byford revealed they had written a song dedicated to Motörhead called "They Played Rock n Roll", following the death of frontman Lemmy on 28 December 2015, which ended the band's 40-year history. The song is stylistically similar and referenced their touring companionship on the 1979/1980 "Bomber" tour.

In an interview alongside Airbourne frontman Joel O'Keeffe at 2017's Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, Byford confirmed that the album's title would be Thunderbolt and that the inspiration for it came from the gods of Greek mythology.

Further details were revealed on various stops on their autumn tour of the US and Canada. In an interview at their Newton, New Jersey show on 22 September, he revealed that he'd finished recording his vocals on 20 September.[6] In an interview at their Montreal, Canada show on 4 October, Byford revealed that long-time producer Andy Sneap had finished mixing the album the previous day and mentioned a release date of 21 January 2018 (which later turned out to be incorrect).

On 7 November 2017, the band confirmed the title and revealed the release date of 2 February 2018, track list, artwork and a short UK/European tour alongside Diamond Head, with Magnum and Rock Goddess supporting on select UK dates.

On 30 November 2017, the new video "Thunderbolt" was released. On 19 September 2018, the "Predator" video was released.

Track listing

All music composed by Biff Byford, Doug Scarratt, Nigel Glockler, Paul Quinn, Nibbs Carter.

1. "Olympus Rising" (Instrumental) 1:32
2. "Thunderbolt" 3:59
3. "The Secret of Flight" 5:02
4. "Nosferatu (The Vampire's Waltz)" 5:00
5. "They Played Rock and Roll" 3:39
6. "Predator" 3:17
7. "Sons of Odin" 5:22
8. "Sniper" 3:36
9. "A Wizard’s Tale" 3:52
10. "Speed Merchants" 3:47
11. "Roadie's Song" 3:31

Total length: 42:46

Recording information:

Produced, engineered and mixed at Backstage Studios, Derbyshire, UK.