Call to Arms (Saxon album)
| Call to Arms | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Saxon | ||||
| Released | 3 June 2011 | |||
| Studio | Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire, Brighton Electric Studios, Brighton, United Kingdom | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 43:38 | |||
| Label | Militia Guard Music, UDR, EMI | |||
| Producer | Biff Byford, Toby Jepson | |||
| Saxon chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Call to Arms | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Blabbermouth.net |   |
| Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles |  |
| Jukebox: Metal | |
Call To Arms is the nineteenth studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon. Call to Arms was released 3 June in Europe; 6 June in Denmark, Finland, and the UK; 8 June in Greece and Poland; 10 June in France. Previously, it was due to be released on 23 May 2011. The album was released on 27 September in North America by EMI. Current Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey made a guest appearance on the album.
Saxon frontman Biff Byford stated that the band wanted to "get back to [their] roots," and aimed for a "more working-class sound" with the album.
While recording the album in February 2011, the band posted a message to its fans, calling on them to visit the band at the studio on the evening of 10 February. The reason for the appeal was that the band needed a chorus for the track "Back in '79", and decided to offer its fans the chance to be a part of the recording.
Saxon were originally supposed to appear at the Soundwave festival in Australia, but were forced to cancel their appearance due to delays during recording. The band also issued a statement apologizing to fans for the cancellation.
Two of the tracks on the album were written by Saxon for the movie Hybrid Theory.
The album artwork is derived from Lord Kitchener Wants You, a World War I-era British Army recruitment poster.
Call to Arms debuted at number 6 on the UK Rock Albums chart. In the US, the album sold about 700 copies in its first week of release and managed to debut at number 51 on the US "Heatseekers" chart.
A digipack version of the album for the North American market featured a seven track bonus disc containing most of Saxon's performance at Castle Donington in 1980.
To promote the album, Saxon have embarked on the "Call to Arms World Tour". The band headlined shows in Europe, North and South America, and Japan. Anvil and Crimes of Passion opened for Saxon in Europe, while the North American shows were opened by Borealis. HammerFall appeared as special guests at the UK shows, while Vanderbuys were presented as special guests at shows in Spain.
...
Wikipedia