There are few feelings quite like the buzz of an old school metal crowd that’s alive ahead of a show. That feeling has only grown over the recent years as Saxon have embodied the concept of “aging like a fine wine”. After last playing Manchester Apollo in January 2022, they brought the fans back through the grand doors for a night that many Saxon fans will have been waiting years for. Wheels of Steel played in full. On this night they were flanked by the pomp of Dirkschnieder’s 40th anniversary nostalgia of Balls To The Wall as well as the handpicked presence of Whitby’s own Untamed Silence. As just one of many sell out shows on this tour, the grandeur of the Apollo made the sense of celebration all the more palpable.
Untamed Silence
Untamed Silence were first to take the stage, and though they were the youngest name on the bill, there was nothing tentative about their approach. Opening with ‘Long Time Dead’, Frontwoman Debbie Wade said every note with their chest, and the simplicity of the track leant itself easily to a rowdy Friday night with fans in attendance pumping fists in time with it. ‘The Power’ continued this theme of attitude with David Jones masterful work on the solo in the latter half of the track leaving many in envy, as well as providing homage to the classic acts they shared the bill with. Personal favourite ‘You Are My Requiem’ and ‘Nowhere nestled in the middle of the set, with Wade having a fierce presence on stage whilst also having great control. The real hero in these tracks however is drummer Ryan Wayne Smith, as the fuel for a lot of the band’s prowess, being tucked away on stage left aside Dirkschneider’s kit. Hardship’ showcased a lot more edge in Untamed Silence’s sound, Wade’s vocals take a much more spoken as opposed to melodic approach, as well as the presence of Nigel Bennion being felt the most, always rumbling beneath this track, whilst all four showed their true best for final track ‘Deadspeak’, Wade leaning out to the crowd repeating the tracks name. By the time they left the stage, Apollo was well and truly awake.
Dirkschneider
Equal pomp could be placed on the main support of the evening, Dirkschneider. The former Accept man has more than enough acumen to draw a crowd, and judging by the reception for Udo as he follows his 4 other band members out onto the stage, he’s certainly the reason for a few ticket sales on this run. The opening number goes to ‘Balls to The Wall’, complete with large inflatable balls branded for the anniversary that get thrown to the crowd. It won’t be a surprise to many that the group play the Balls To The Wall album in exact order, which both removes some of the surprise as they rattle through ‘London Leatherboys’, Fight It Back’ ad ‘Head Over Heels’ one after another, but it also provides an even greater sense of nostalgia to take a few fans back to the first time they ever played the record. Udo and his band tore into the album like it was the 80’s again, with ‘Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had’ reminded everyone just how melodic Accept’s brand of heaviness could be, as well as galvanising how integral Udo was to that era. The sense of camaraderie is incredible on stage, with Udo taking moments with each of Dee Dammers and Alen Brentini who are of the newest names associated with the vocalist, but even more so with son Sven Dirkschneider on drums (younger than the BTTW album, btw), or former Accept bassist Peter Baltes who played on the original album. The tracklist continued to tick down, and by the time ‘Winterdreams’ closed the album section, the Apollo was just a sea of adoration for oldschool heavy metal.
Of course, Dirkschneider wasn’t done. The group returned for one final number, and it was personally surprising for it to be another Accept track. ‘Fast as a Shark’, is a lightning speed way to end a set, but also the singalog aspect of the folky sound shook the building in the strangest of ways. With all this in mind though, and Udo currently still rocking hard at the age of 73, this felt like an excellent celebration of 40 years.
Saxon
Finally, the mighty Saxon. This is a band that feels like they have found the fountain of youth for their live show, in every way apart from being able to leg it from one end of the stage to the other (apart from Nibbs Carter on bass, he really gets about). When the curtain rose to the opening riff of ‘Hell, Fire and Damnation’, the room immediately felt full with presence. Biff Byford, now well into his fifth decade of commanding audiences, has developed a trademark look of the military coat in the band’s later years, but it’s also only added to the level of respect his mere presence on stage demands. Even with the hallmark of playing an album in full, the other classics roll thick and fast to kick Manchester off, with ‘Power and the Gory’ featuring early, as well as ‘Backs to The Wall’ from 1979’s self-titled record where Doug Scarratt and Brian Tatler stand almost in arms dueling guitars during the track.
Prior to this tour, the last time ‘Back to the Wall’ was played was in this same room in 2022, (interestingly, Brian was also on stage that night, but with then-opener Diamond Head, and has since taken over live duties from the beloved Paul Quinn) while Biff also calls back to the first time the band ever played Manchester, and how the song appeared back then too. ‘Sacrifice’ is so nearly the newest material in the set, but also has appeared so regularly since its release in 2013, and marked such a strong comeback for the band that it is nearly in “classic” status in its own right. The yo-yoing of material old and new continues in the first half, with Denim and Leather’s ‘Never Surrender’ as well as ‘Madame Guillotine’ from last year’s album following one another. There’s a brief reminiscence/comedy routine from Byford about the time the next two tracks came out, that being the 1980’s, and the iconic Strong Arm of the Law album. He waxes about the time before CD’s, and very specifically “no fucking internet”, and how plenty of the crowd weren’t even born back then. It’s a damn strong testament that such a loud, and young cheer meets that statement, and the accompanying ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’ and ‘Dallas 1PM’ shows that New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands still have a strong and beating heart.
All pageantry and memories of no technology aside, the night’s centrepiece was what everyone had come for, regardless of age. Wheels of Steel in full. From the first rev of ‘Motorcycle Man’, the Apollo transformed into a cathedral of denim, leather, and nostalgia as Byford screeches down the mic with a signature whistle. It goes without saying that the track is especially easy to get into and sing along to, but the much lesser played ‘Stand Up and Be Counted’ hasn’t been dusted off since Saxon played O2 Ritz down the road during the 2010’s. ‘747 (Strangers in the Night)’ sent the crowd into full euphoria, as one of their most iconic tracks, though it paled in comparison to the song of the night, ‘Wheels of Steel’. Any other response the crowd had prior to this is completely drowned out, and crowd were at fever pitch even before Biff whips his phone out to record a video for Facebook telling Manchester Apollo to “go fucking crazy”. This is one of the most endearing aspects of the band’s show, simply because they do it every night and make a point of it being a staple in the set for literal years now. Now it has to be said, Wheels of Steel is an iconic album, but the latter half of the record has not seen nearly the same amount of spotlight as the big tracks have. The proof is in the fact that back to back tracks ‘Freeway Mad’, ‘See the Light Shining’ and ‘Street Fighting Gang’ have all been played more on this tour alone than they have in decades. That said, the response from Manchester barely wavers, and picks right back up in time for the anthemic ‘Suzie Hold On’ and final track of a golden record, ‘Machine Gun’. Honestly, with the quality of the show up until this point, you’d be forgiven for assuming the crowd were sent home happy with that.
As a result, there was only a slight pause before Saxon rolled back out, with “the engine room” Neil Glockler being the first to pop up behind the kit. Glockler has special mention from Biff as the heart of the set, and with him being the longest tenure member that isn’t Byford or Quinn, it’s hard to argue. The band then leads into another hallmark of the set, and it’s something that slowly builds throughout the set, as denim vests have slowly found their way off the backs of fans and onto the stage. Byford, Scarratt and Tatley all don a fans vest each for the always soulful ‘Denim and Leather’ as what is a final trio of songs from that album. They then kept it rolling into ‘And The Band Played on’ which features a rolling montage of album covers on the LED screen behind (and it’s hard to argue any band has a more iconic first 5 albums as Saxon do). After all this, final song honours could only go one way, to the iconic ‘Princess of the Night’ like a victory lap, though no set would be complete without it.. As Biff led the crowd through one final chorus, he pointed out that next year marks fifty years since the band first played Manchester, and in time for that there will be a new album. It’s always a good time to be a Saxon fan…
