The first band to play the IndigO₂ venue at Metal Hammers Golden Gods award-show was their countrymen in Saxon.
As this was an award-show and not really concert oriented, the bands only got about 15 minutes of stage time each, but Saxon was without a doubt the band which managed this time in the best way.

Already before they came on, the crowd was already loudly shouting their name over and over again, and the enthusiasm did not lessen when they started out with playing Battalions Of Steel from their latest album Into The Labyrinth.
This response was obviously to the bands liking (how could it not be?), and they displayed an unprecedented amount of energy as they rocked the stage. Biff Byford was the epitome of a seasoned frontman, still the real energy package of the band came in the guise of Nibbs Carter, their bassist. He was completely off the wall with his headbanging and running around. It apparently got him so hot he felt the need to lose his shirt already before the second song.
Both Doug Scarratt and Paul Quinn were a bit calmer in the start, but loosened up during the set.

“Do you want a fast or slow one? Ah, fuck it, we’ve got time for two…”
- Biff Byford (vocals)

Saxon was the only one of the four first bands (the last, Trivium, had a longer time to play) who managed to squeeze four songs in instead of three; and as Demon Sweeney Todd came on people went wild and a loud shout-along started up.
After the show was done an enthusiastic fan threw a Saxon shirt up on the stage, and this brought a big smile to Byford’s lips.

Not that it has been too many yet, nut out of the times I have seen Saxon live I count this as their best show to date, all things considered.
Tonight, Saxon had gone on and proven to everyone that they were truly worthy of the Spirit Of Metal award they would win later in the evening.

Setlist:

Battalions Of Steel
Heavy Metal Thunder
Demon Sweeney Todd
Princess Of The Night