Nowadays there are only rarely true grandmasters - grandmasters of craftsmanship, art or music. This means true greats who have shaped their special profession like no other before. But when you hear or read the name Saxon, it's immediately clear which caliber it is: none other than one of the great pioneer bands of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which has shaped this incredibly classic genre of Metal strongly. And it was exactly this size that came to the Neue Theaterfabrik in Munich on September 21st 2018, in order to still be on the ball after 39 years and have released their 22nd studio album "Thunderbolt". As support Y&T and Raven were there, who fit in stylistically well into the overall picture.

All in all, this Friday evening proved to be an interesting evening from many points of view. On the one hand, because the Neue Theaterfabrik is a relatively new concert and event location in Munich and it is exactly this kind of visit that makes you feel a little strange in your own city. Furthermore, the audience showed a colorful variety of people, but above all generations, as you rarely meet them at comparable concerts. On the other hand - and this is of course the essence of the whole evening - Saxon are not rusty even after such a long time, but still understand their craft very well. You could get this impression from the first second and couldn't get rid of it. Despite their very impressive career so far, Biff Byford and his men showed no signs of fatigue at all. To the point and like many years ago the British performed new as well as old songs and convinced all along the line. They are simply old hands who know how to inspire their fans: with authenticity. This is exactly what makes the band approachable, which is why a few people from the audience dared to throw their jeans robes on stage. The exact intention of this action was not quite clear, but Biff grabbed one after the other frock, put it on, played a song with it and signed it afterwards. An incredibly sympathetic action, which gave this evening the special touch. Besides that the music was in the foreground of course, which was once again of the finest quality. Saxon is not only one of those many NWOBHM bands that all feel the same and get boring after 5 songs at the latest. Saxon know how to breathe life into this genre and to fire up their show accordingly. It didn't matter if it was a new or old song - Saxon just consistently delivered and left a happy crowd after a really extensive and impressive show.

Photo: Manuel Miksche

Setlist:

• Thunderbolt
• Sacrifice
• Nosferatu (The Vampires Waltz)
• Motorcycle Man
• Predator
• Strong Arm of the Law
• Battalions of Steel
• Power and the Glory
• Solid Ball of Rock
• The Secret of Flight
• Dallas 1 PM
• They Played Rock and Roll
• And the Bands Played On
• 747 (Strangers in the Night)
• Sons of Odin
• Crusader
• Princess of the Night
• Heavy Metal Thunder (Zugabe)
• Wheels of Steel (Zugabe)
• The Eagle Has Landed (Zugabe)
• Denim and Leather (Zugabe)

Text: Conny Pläsken