The British heavy metal legends produce a series of alternative takes on classic favourites to herald a worthy new entry to the Saxonian Institute of Metal. There is always feral beauty in a raging beast and with Unplugged and Strung Up, Saxon’s selection of unique, fresh and adventurous interpretations of material previously heard only with raw heavy metal thunder, the point is triumphantly underscored. Unplugged and Strung Up reveals layers and pieces previously dormant in many of the 14 classic Saxon songs chosen for this makeover, thanks to some ear-catching new arrangements and mixes. Recorded, mixed and mastered with Andy Sneap in Derbyshire, UK earlier this year, Biff and co re-evaluated, re-worked and re-energized the towering likes of “The Eagle Has Landed” and “Crusader” by introducing orchestral dynamics to offer added dimension. “Frozen Rainbow” from the band’s 1979 debut, gets a stunning acoustic reprisal which transports it into a power ballad to be proud of, whilst “Red Star Falling” soars and sweeps the emotions with its orchestrally-arranged dovetail. As if this reinvention wasn’t enough, Saxon superfans and collectors can purchase a digipack version of the release which will include 2002’s storming set of full-volume, pedal-to-the-metal re-recorded hits Heavy Metal Thunder. Featuring staple Saxon stormers such as “Motorcycle Man”, “Strong Arm of the Law” and “Dallas 1pm” it is a quintessential part of any collection.
