Saxon frontman Biff Byford recently weighed in on the state of heavy metal today compared to its early days.
Byford was asked whether he believes heavy metal is in a better place now than when Saxon first started. He reflected on how the landscape has shifted over the decades — and why, at its core, it really hasn’t.
“In 1980, it was vinyls and magazines. It was vinyls, magazines and audience, word of mouth, radio stations. And now it’s just different, but it’s the same people,” Byford said. “The same people that love rock music, heavy metal music, heavy rock, hard rock, hardcore, death metal, da-da-da.”
The Saxon vocalist went on to describe what he sees when he looks out at audiences today, drawing a direct comparison to the crowds of the early 1980s.
“I look out at the audience and I don’t really see a difference between 1980 and now, really,” he continued. “I mean, it’s maybe a little bit darker, and people are more knowledgeable now, I think, about what they like. But I think it’s just a way of life for people, and it’s a family, isn’t it? And we’re just part of that family. We’re one of the many bands that are still around. And that’s how it is.”
Saxon is one of the pioneering acts of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The band has remained active for over four decades and continues to tour internationally.
Saxon released their 24th studio album, Hell, Fire and Damnation, in January 2024. An extensive touring cycle followed, including dates alongside Judas Priest and Uriah Heep. The run demonstrated that the band remains a fixture at the top level of the genre, not merely a legacy act coasting on past glories.
A new album, titled Gods of Thunder, is set for release in January 2027. Byford has spoken openly about the band already being deep into the writing process, with the follow-up taking shape even as the current touring cycle continues.
Through all of it, Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn stand as the only remaining original members in Saxon’s current lineup. That continuity has kept the band’s identity anchored across decades of lineup changes, genre shifts, and an industry that looks almost nothing like the one Saxon entered in the late 1970s.
“We feel privileged and lucky to still be here writing music,” Byford has said. That sentiment sits comfortably alongside his broader view that the metal community itself has never fundamentally changed. The faces in the crowd may span generations now, but the passion driving them, in Byford’s eyes, is exactly the same as it was when Saxon first took the stage.
