Get some denim and leather and go back to the main SAXAWN page! Venom & Weather Overall Album Score: 7.2 out of 10 If Strong Arm of the Law can be considered Saxon's breakthrough album, then Denim & Leather can be considered their weaker follow-up. What's unfortunate about Saxon (and I'm sure we've all gathered this about them from the start) is that even though they have the skills to make a rollicking heavy metal song, they don't have enough artistic integrity to make it interesting beyond the generic boundaries of 80s heavy metal. The only way that a Saxon song could possibly be any good is if it is exciting (or, as I put it in my review of Strong Arm of the Law, butt-whomping)! Denim & Leather has a few exciting songs, but overall I'm rather disappointed with it! 80s (new wave of) heavy metal is supposed to be dumb, pompous, pretentious, and hella fun! ... It has the dumb, pompous pretentious stuff down to the 't,' but it lacks a little bit on the 'fun' part. I still want to reiterate that Saxon was basically a band that was ahead of their game. They had wonderful abilities with their instruments, solid melody-writing capabilities ... they didn't always have such good taste (such is present even in their "peak," Strong Arm of the Law). I think Denim & Leather is an album that is above many other heavy metal albums ... but who cares? I want something that's really fun! Even some of the 'spankin' electric guitar solos don't quite carry their weight. Many of them are quite 'spankin,' but many others sound like whoever the lead guitarist is (...Graham Oliver...) was sleepin' on the job. Just the same, I've got to count my blessings. This is a heavy metal album that doesn't suck. That's all I need. (This would only be recommended to people who can't get enough of Strong Arm of the Law.) Overall Album Score: 7.2 out of 10 (While, I'd still call Denim & Leather an enjoyable album overall, it's not nearly exciting enough.) Average Song Score: 7.6 (It's a strong collection of tunes ... most of them I enjoy with very mild enthusiasm.) Album Tilt: 7.0 (This is much less exciting than Wheels of Steel. It's kind of a disappointment, but then again, Saxon was too cocky to stay on top of their rock-and-roll heap for too long.) Artist Rating: 7.0 (Clearly, this is calculated and commercial ... it needs much more emotion and butt-whompingness!) Track Reviews Princess of the Night 7/10 It's cheesy, pretentious and not emotionally effective ... but it's fun! It has a workable tune (it could have greatly used a better one, though) ... but, as I've been saying throughout their Strong Arm of the Law album, the lead guitar work is excellently good! If you respond well with insanely cool 80s metal guitar solos, then you'd have no problem liking this. Unfortunately, the song overall is calculated, and it's nothing to get excited over. Never Surrender 8/10 This one has a little bit more energy, which is exactly what "Princess of the Night" lacked. Again ... this is another cheesy metal anthem ... with some pretty talented instrumentalists. The melody is okay. It's not great. (The electric guitar solo is a tiny bit sub-par here ... it'd be cool just to have electric guitar solos and scrap stuff like the chorus or whatever ...) Out of Control 8/10 Again, this is a pretty good 80s heavy metal song. It's well played, well written (for the most part) ... It's even mid-tempoed and not exciting due to its SPEED! And it's not even tedious or boring in the slightest because of that. Yes ... Saxon were pretty darn good! I just can't imagine why I'd want to sit down and listen to this again! Rough and Ready 7.5/10 For heavy metal, this is strong ... I mean, the lyrics were never great (...sometimes I think part of the appeal to 80s metal is the dumb lyrics ... I really do enjoy listening to them!) It's basically well written, well played ... it's just too calculated to really mean anything. I do like it, though. (The electric solo here in particular sounds calculated here. That's a bit of a disappointment!) Play it Loud 6.5/10 Blah blah blah blah blah! This one is rather boring and monotonous! Eeek! That riff is so dull and repetitive! ... The only saving grace is the electric guitar solo ... which, incidentally, sounds exactly like the one that was on "Rough and Ready." Oh, pooie. And the Bands Played On 8.5/10 Ooooooooh ... this is a short song (that's under three minutes). Why is this song so awesome, then? ... I mean, it's no freaking "A Whole Lot of Love" by Led Zeppelin ... but this is everything I've ever needed from a cheesy heavy metal band. The melody is pretty good ... the chorus is nice ... the electric guitar solos come at the right times and sound pretty good. I might wish it were more butt-whomping, but this is entertaining. Midnight Rider 8.5/10 Pretty good, this one! I wish it were a bit SHORTER, though. This one's almost six minutes! ... But at least it doesn't sport a tedious melody or riff or something ... this is something they certainly could have extended for so long! I like this song ... I just feel a bit distant toward it. (I enjoy the electric guitar solo, particularly ... it's not nearly as generic as they have been lately.) And this is still too long. Fire in the Sky 7.5/10 Good! This is a little more butt-whomping this time! (One day, I'm going to have do define "butt-whomping" for all of you.) Unfortunately, I don't like this melody at all. And the instrumentals are slightly sup-par now. But ... that's okay, I guess. It's butt-whomping! Denim and Leather 6.5/10 Where was I in '79??? ... Dude! I wasn't even born yet! ... Um ... By the way this song sounds ... all athemic and all that ... it seems they wanted this one to be the biggest and bestest song on here. But I find it rather boring and VERY calculated! The melody is really quite stupid. What are you wearing big boy? If it's denim & leather, then leave me a comment about this album here!

All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. He needs a pair of tweezers real bad.