Saxon launch Gods Of Thunder album and release epic title track. “A mighty tale of Celtic mythology, packed with the spirit and power of true heavy metal”
NWOBHM veterans Saxon have announced Gods Of Thunder, their 25th studio album, due for release on 22 January via Silver Lining Music. The record follows 2024's Hell, Fire and Damnation, and its title track has been released as a single, described by frontman Biff Byford as "a mighty tale of Celtic mythology, packed with the spirit and power of true heavy metal." The announcement matters as a milestone for one of the genre's longest-running bands, arriving alongside confirmation of a UK and Ireland tour.
The album was produced by Byford and mixed by longtime collaborator Andy Sneap, who has worked on every Saxon record since 2013's Sacrifice, and marks the second Saxon album to feature Diamond Head guitarist Brian Tatler, who joined as a touring guitarist in 2023. It is available to pre-order now in various physical editions. Saxon will tour the UK and Ireland across February, playing eleven dates including Wolverhampton, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton and London, with further international shows to be announced.
- Saxon announce 25th album Gods Of Thunder, out 22 January
- Title track released as single; produced by Biff Byford
- UK and Ireland tour confirmed for February, more dates to follow
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Saxon are a British heavy metal band formed in the late 1970s, part of the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" movement that also produced acts like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. Fronted by singer Biff Byford since the band's inception, they have built a decades-long career and a loyal following within the metal scene, releasing albums steadily up to their most recent, 2024's Hell, Fire and Damnation.
The band's line-up has evolved over the years, and one notable recent addition is guitarist Brian Tatler, who is also known as a founding member of another veteran metal band, Diamond Head. Tatler began touring with Saxon in 2023 and has since become a more permanent part of the group's recordings.
New Saxon material tends to be of interest mainly to established fans of classic heavy metal, given the band's long history and standing within the genre, though album releases and tours can also draw attention from the wider rock and metal press.