After Iced Earth it was time for the second headliner of the evening; namely NWOBHM band Saxon.
Now, Saxon is for no reason at all one of those bands I’ve never really sat down and listened to. It’s not that I don’t like them, not at all; it’s just been one of those bands I haven’t found time for is all. However, I could clearly tell from the mass of people assembled in the scenic hall of Pumpehuset that others had taken their time to listen to them, and they had liked what they heard.

“It’s good to be back with our friends in Copenhagen. We’ll fill your heads with Heavy Metal Thunder!”
- Biff Byford (vocals)

The sheer energy of Biff (Byford, vocals) and the boys was nothing short of impressive, far surpassing anything I had anticipated. Ok, so I had gathered from friends that they were a force to be reckoned with on a live stage, but hearing about it is not the same thing as living it.
Just as with Iced Earth, there wasn’t much movement in the crowd; rather, they stayed in their places and just took in the entire Saxonian metal machine. And between songs there were cheers without end.
And talking. Mr. Byford made room for a lot more talking than his predecessor Matt Barlow had done as Iced Earth had the stage, and he did it in a good way. Always making sure the audience was with him, he was a well trained and confident front-man, no question about it. Other than him, I must say I was most impressed with bassist Nibbs Carter and guitarist Paul Quinn who both had a cool stage presence about them. Nigel Glockler on the other hand was almost impossible to see as he was hidden by an enormous drumkit.

Just as the previous band, Saxon also toured in support of a new album. Theirs was Into The Labyrinth, and it was also from this album the opening track of the evening was taken; Battalions Of Steel.
Now, an interesting thing that hit me was that even though Saxon’s set was one song shorter, it still felt like they had more time on stage; I accredit this to the crowd connecting talks I’ve mentioned before. Then again, it could all be my imagination.

So, all in all, we witnessed two very professional bands this evening, Saxon definitely with the longer experience, but both very much enjoyable. Personally, I preferred Iced Earth, but this probably has as much to do with the fact that I knew them better beforehand as anything.

Setlist:

Battalions Of Steel
Heavy Metal Thunder
Witchfinder General
Demon Sweeney Todd
747 (Strangers In The Night)
Hellcat
Dogs Of War / Atila The Hun
The Letter
Valley Of The Kings
Wheels Of Steel
Power And The Glory
Crusader
Live To Rock
Princess Of The Night
Denim And Leather