At the excellent Copenhell show Saxon had played some two months earlier, they had apologised for not being able to bring their entire show, but promised that anyone who would show up at their concert at Wacken would be treated to the entire enchilada – bigger, better and louder equipment, and of course the trademark eagle light-rig!
Hence it was with anticipation we were waiting in front of the Black Stage, which for this event had been completely covered by a curtain to hide what was going on behind it...

“This goes out to the greatest fucking crowd in the world!”
- Peter ‘Biff’ Byford (vocals)

As soon as the curtain dropped we were blown away by the oncoming storm of the Heavy Metal Thunder, and it was clear to see that the band enjoyed the larger stage they had at their disposal here; there were truly more lights, especially on stage, there was more space for their backdrop, and the large stage even got Paul Quinn and Douglas ‘Doug’ Scarratt up and moving. Well, a bit anyway, but that’s still more than what I’m used to seeing!
Still, one thing was painfully clearly missing in the show – the light eagle! I know it’s a silly thing to complain about, but as they had promised it, it should be there...
Still (again), the band was doing very well, as one would expect from such experienced gentlemen, and they had the large crowd following their slightest wish – Dogs Of War saw the crowd enthusiastically applauding along to the solo (heck, I saw hands being put together as far back as beyond the sound-tower, and if you’ve been to Wacken you’ll know that’s pretty darn far away from the stage!), as did I’ve Got To Rock (To Stay Alive) which also had a pretty hefty sing-along party going on in the chorus that outlines pretty much the metal life (no wonder then that it was so popular here of all places). It was Wheels Of Steel that got the large shout-along contest though, you know the one where they stop the music and just let the crowd scream their asses off? Yeah, that surely got the crowd going, but honestly, did it have to be sooooooo long? Thirty-forty seconds tops, then you move on with the show, but no, this just went on and on!
Well, fair enough, Saxon was the headliner of the day, and with a one and a half hour long show I guess it was up to them how they spent their time...

“The last show we play before retiring, we promise we’ll play at Wacken!”
- Byford (vocals)

Speaking of time, there was of course some of it reserved for jokes and fun as well, like the time Byford tried to convince us that they had forgotten to put Crusader on the setlist (after loud shouts from the audience they promised to play it anyway), or when he in the encore said that the crowd got to chose the next song – yes, we got to chose between 741 or 747. Hard choice... Also, let’s not forget the time bassist Timothy ‘Nibbs’ Carter rode on the shoulders of one of the guards through the security pit, that was a nice touch!
There were some more seriously thought out intermissions as well, one of the most eye-catching being the drum solo after Rock The Nations, which saw the entire drum-podium being lifted into the air and the stage-lights spelling out Glockler in capital letters all across the board! Apart from that I wasn’t overly impressed by it, but a drum solo really needs a special something to keep me interested, and the only thing this one had going for it was length, which isn’t even good to begin with!
Shortly after this we arrived at the classic The Eagle Has Landed, and again my hopes for the great eagle were lit, as this would be a very opportune moment to bring it in, but again we had to walk away empty handed, and by this time I was seriously considering what the point of the whole curtain in front of the stage had been about... Sure, we were also treated to some nice, but spread out, pyrotechnics throughout the show, but there really wasn’t anything big they had had to hide away from us anywhere.

Even though this might have come off as a bit negative, I want you to know that Saxon performed well, and if you’re a fan of the band there was a lot to love about it, but personally I missed the closeness of the last time we saw them, and I had also come to expect too much of them apparently, even though it was based on what the band themselves had promised.

Setlist:

Heavy Metal Thunder
Hammer Of The Gods
Power And The Glory
20,000 Feet
Never Surrender
Dogs Of War
Motorcycle Man
I’ve Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)
Crusader
Rock The Nations
Solo (Nigel Glockler)
Battalions Of Steel
The Eagle Has Landed
Wheels Of Steel
To Hell And Back Again
Denim And Leather
Strong Arm Of The Law
747 (Strangers In The Night)
Princess Of The Night