The Inner Sanctum

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This article is about the Saxon album. For other uses, see Inner Sanctum.

The Inner Sanctum
Saxon - The Inner Sanctum.JPG
Studio album by
Saxon
Released5 March 2007
Recorded2006
StudioGems 24 Studio, Boston, Lincolnshire, UK
GenreHeavy metal
Length47:48
LabelSPV/Steamhammer
ProducerCharlie Bauerfeind
Saxon chronology
The Eagle Has Landed – part 3
(2006) 		The Inner Sanctum
(2007) 		Into the Labyrinth
(2009)

The Inner Sanctum is the seventeenth studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon, released on 5 March 2007. It is the first album by the band to feature drummer Nigel Glockler since 1997's Unleash the Beast. A limited edition with DVD is available too.

Songs[]

  1. "Red Star Falling" is about the end of communism in Soviet Union.
  2. "Atila the Hun" is about Attila the Hun, who almost destroyed the Roman Empire.
  3. "If I Was You" is about gun culture.
  4. "Let Me Feel Your Power" is about festivals like Wacken, which Saxon have headlined twice.
  5. "I've Got to Rock (to Stay Alive)" is about rock n' roll and life. The single version features guest appearances by heavy metal musicians Lemmy Kilmister, Angry Anderson and Andi Deris.

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3.5/5 stars[1]
Jukebox:Metal3/5 stars[2]
Metal Hammer8/10 stars[citation needed]

The Inner Sanctum has received generally positive reviews from critics. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars, and commented that Saxon continued "to do their legacy proud as they move through their third decade of recording activity." He described the album's first three tracks as "frantic" and the third, "Let Me Feel Your Power" as "jaw-dropping", and also praised the "majestic" "Red Star Falling", comparing it to the band's earlier songs "Dallas 1PM" and "Broken Heroes", although he was critical towards the single version of "If I Was You", advising the listener to "make sure your CD contains the album version". Rivadavia concluded his review by saying "although it's certainly not perfect by any stretch, The Inner Sanctum is welcome addition to this band's sizeable discography, and, pound for pound, might just take the crown as Saxon's best album of the early 2000s."[1] The album was also awarded an 8/10 in the UK's Metal Hammer magazine.

However, Andy Lye of Jukebox:Metal was more critical in his review of the album, giving it three out of five stars, and criticising its opening track "State of Grace", calling it "derivative and largely boring", and also "Let Me Feel Your Power" commenting that "a great, grooving mid-section can't quite save it from its appalling lyrics and tired riffs." He went on to call "I've Got to Rock (To Stay Alive)" "as bad as you'd expect" and criticised "If I Was You" for sounding "exactly like all metal singles sound". He concluded by stating that "Against the wider metal market this is an average album (hence three stars), but against recent Saxon output it is comfortably below average."[2]

Track listing[]

(All songs written by Byford, Quinn, Glockler, Carter, Scarratt; all lyrics by Byford)

No.TitleLength
1."State of Grace"5:37
2."Need for Speed"3:08
3."Let Me Feel Your Power"3:29
4."Red Star Falling"6:16
5."I've Got to Rock (To Stay Alive)"4:40
6."If I Was You" (Album Version)3:27
7."Going Nowhere Fast"4:15
8."Ashes to Ashes"4:52
9."Empire Rising"0:41
10."Atila The Hun"8:09
11."If I Was You" (Single Version)3:06*

(*) Only in the standard edition

A Night Out with the Boys (DVD)[]

  1. "To Hell and Back Again"
  2. "A Night Out with the Boys – The Idea"
  3. "A Night Out with the Boys – Not Really"
  4. "See the Light Shining"
  5. "A Night Out with the Boys – Now It Started"
  6. "Redline"
  7. "Suzie Hold On"
  8. "Stand Up and Be Counted"
  9. "Frozen Rainbow"
  10. "Never Surrender"

Personnel[]

  • Biff Byford - vocals
  • Paul Quinn - guitar
  • Doug Scarratt - guitar
  • Nibbs Carter - bass guitar
  • Nigel Glockler - drums
  • Matthias Ulmer - keyboards

Charts[]

Chart Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[3] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[4] 39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[5] 89
UK Albums (OCC)[6] 102
French Albums (SNEP)[7] 138
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 162

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Saxon The Inner Sasnctum [CD/DVD]". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Lye, Andy (2007). "Saxon - The Inner sanctum". JukeboxMetal.com. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Saxon – The Inner Sanctum" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  4. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Saxon – The Inner Sanctum". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  5. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Saxon – The Inner Sanctum". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  6. ^ "Saxon | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  7. ^ "Lescharts.com – Saxon – The Inner Sanctum". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  8. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2007-07-09" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
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