| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Welcome To The Show School Of Hard Knocks Inquisitor The Pit & The Pendulum Worlds Collide Scarborough Fair Pedal To The Metal Hearts Of Steel Throw Down The Sword Me & You Black & White Release Date: February 21, 2020 Label: Silver Lining Music Website: www.biffbyford.com www.facebook.com/biffsaxon747 |  |
BIFF BYFORD BAND IS:
Biff Byford - Vocals / Fredrik Akesson - Guitars / Christian Lundqvist - Drums / Gus Macricostas - Bass
Biff Byford - Vocals / Fredrik Akesson - Guitars / Christian Lundqvist - Drums / Gus Macricostas - Bass
When you've been rocking the world with one band for over four decades like Biff Byford has with Saxon, there comes a point where you want to do some side projects, whether it's a solo album or a side band. Sometimes, you might end up doing more than one side project. For Biff, he has been working on his debut solo album for the last couple of years, and the resulting album is School Of Hard Knocks. While touring with Saxon, working on the solo album, and Saxon's upcoming 23rd studio album, Biff had an unexpected medical episode where he needed to undergo emergency triple bypass surgery. Ever since then, he has been recovering and getting back into shape for Saxon's upcoming tour dates. As Saxon said on Denim & Leather, "Never Surrender".
Speaking about the new album, when I first heard the two singles that were released, which were "Welcome To The Show" and the title track, my immediate thought was that it was going to sound just like another Saxon record. While there are definitely tracks on this album that sound like they could just be Saxon outtakes, I was proven wrong because there are some songs on here that you probably wouldn't hear in Saxon, which I think is pretty cool. A few examples of the non-Saxon-like tracks include "Scarborough Fair", "Throw Down The Sword" and "Me & You". The latter is the love song of the album, and it sounds like the song is about Biff and his wife. Structurally, the song is built all on one riff that repeats throughout the entire song, and instead of a guitar solo, we get a saxophone solo. On the closing track "Black & White", I don't know why, but the opening clean and heavy chords instantly put Rush in my head. The heavy-chorded riff sounds a little like the opening chords to "A Farewell To Kings".
In all honesty, there wasn't really anything on this album that blew me away. Even though there's some more slower ballad-esque type tracks, like "Scarborough Fair" and "Me & You", which are a little different than what we're used to hearing from Biff in Saxon, the album as a whole is very by-the-numbers. However, that doesn't mean that Biff is slowing down. There's still plenty of more music and live activity to come from Biff and Saxon for years to come. Keep the faith!
Highs: Biff still has a lot of gas left in the tank.
Lows: Nothing really mind-blowing.
Speaking about the new album, when I first heard the two singles that were released, which were "Welcome To The Show" and the title track, my immediate thought was that it was going to sound just like another Saxon record. While there are definitely tracks on this album that sound like they could just be Saxon outtakes, I was proven wrong because there are some songs on here that you probably wouldn't hear in Saxon, which I think is pretty cool. A few examples of the non-Saxon-like tracks include "Scarborough Fair", "Throw Down The Sword" and "Me & You". The latter is the love song of the album, and it sounds like the song is about Biff and his wife. Structurally, the song is built all on one riff that repeats throughout the entire song, and instead of a guitar solo, we get a saxophone solo. On the closing track "Black & White", I don't know why, but the opening clean and heavy chords instantly put Rush in my head. The heavy-chorded riff sounds a little like the opening chords to "A Farewell To Kings".
In all honesty, there wasn't really anything on this album that blew me away. Even though there's some more slower ballad-esque type tracks, like "Scarborough Fair" and "Me & You", which are a little different than what we're used to hearing from Biff in Saxon, the album as a whole is very by-the-numbers. However, that doesn't mean that Biff is slowing down. There's still plenty of more music and live activity to come from Biff and Saxon for years to come. Keep the faith!
Highs: Biff still has a lot of gas left in the tank.
Lows: Nothing really mind-blowing.
FINAL RATING
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