Wheels of Steel
| Wheels of Steel | ||||
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| Studio album by Saxon | ||||
| Released | 5 May 1980 | |||
| Recorded | February 1980 | |||
| Studio | Ramport Studios, London, UK | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 38:56 | |||
| Label | Carrere | |||
| Producer | Pete Hinton and Saxon | |||
| Saxon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Wheels of Steel | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10 |
| Sputnikmusic |  |
Wheels of Steel is the second studio album by the English heavy metal band Saxon. It was released in 1980 and reached Gold status in the UK.
"747 (Strangers in the Night)" is about a power cut that forced planes in New York to remain in ascent in 1965 with the power outage provoking a Scandinavian flight to detour to Kennedy airport in the dark.
The title track is featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony) and Brütal Legend. It has also been covered by L.A. Guns on their album Rips the Covers Off and bears a strong resemblance to the outro riff of "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor" by Black Sabbath, although according to guitarist Graham Oliver the song was actually inspired by the Ted Nugent song "Cat Scratch Fever".
The album received very positive reviews by critics and is today regarded as being a classic metal album helping to define the genre. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic lists the album as "topping the heap of essential Saxon albums, pretty much hand in hand with its immediate successors, Strong Arm of the Law and Denim and Leather,... effectively setting the template for the band's most successful efforts". Canadian reviewer Martin Popoff regards Wheels of Steel as a "qualified classic" and "one of really two or three of (NWOBHM) building blocks"; it is "a record on a mission, willing to take responsibility as spokesvinyl for legions of English punters with a thirst for regular metal guys".Sputnikmusic's Mike Stagno praises "the solid, consistent rhythms that produce the riffy, yet accessible tunes" and Biff Byford's "powerful singing", which make Wheels of Steel "perhaps not one of metal's best albums", but "still a very worthwhile album."
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Wikipedia