Thunderbolt
Studio album by
Saxon
Released2 February 2018
Recorded14 September 2016 – 20 September 2017
GenreHeavy metal
Length42:46
LabelSilver Lining Music
ProducerAndy Sneap
Saxon chronology
Let Me Feel Your Power
(2016) 		Thunderbolt
(2018) 		Inspirations
(2021)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Hammer (Germany)5/7[1]

Thunderbolt is the twenty-second studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon, released on 2 February 2018.[2]

Background

On 14 September 2016, the band revealed they had begun working on a new album through their Facebook account.[3] A month later, frontman Biff Byford revealed they had written a song dedicated to Motörhead called "They Played Rock n Roll", following the death of frontman Lemmy on 28 December 2015, which ended the band's 40-year history. The song is stylistically similar and referenced their touring companionship on the 1979/1980 "Bomber" tour.[4]

In an interview alongside Airbourne frontman Joel O'Keeffe at 2017's Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, Byford confirmed that the album's title would be Thunderbolt and that the inspiration for it came from the gods of Greek mythology.[5]

Further details were revealed on various stops on their autumn tour of the US and Canada. In an interview at their Newton, New Jersey show on 22 September, he revealed that he'd finished recording his vocals on 20 September.[6] In an interview at their Montreal, Canada show on 4 October, Byford revealed that long-time producer Andy Sneap had finished mixing the album the previous day and mentioned a release date of 21 January 2018 (which later turned out to be incorrect).[7]

On 7 November 2017, the band confirmed the title and revealed the release date of 2 February 2018, track list, artwork and a short UK/European tour alongside Diamond Head, with Magnum and Rock Goddess supporting on select UK dates.[8]

On 30 November 2017, the new video "Thunderbolt" was released. The Record and especially the Motörhead Tribute Song on the Album, They Played Rock N Roll, is especially dedicated to former Motörhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke who died the previous month from Pneumonia and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease on 10 January 2018, just a month before Thunderbolt Albums release.[9] On 19 September 2018, the "Predator" video was released.[10]

Track listing

All music composed by Biff Byford, Doug Scarratt, Nigel Glockler, Paul Quinn, Nibbs Carter.

No.TitleLength
1."Olympus Rising" (Instrumental)1:32
2."Thunderbolt"3:59
3."The Secret of Flight"5:02
4."Nosferatu (The Vampire's Waltz)"5:00
5."They Played Rock and Roll"3:39
6."Predator"3:17
7."Sons of Odin"5:22
8."Sniper"3:36
9."A Wizard’s Tale"3:52
10."Speed Merchants"3:47
11."Roadie's Song"3:31
Total length:42:46
Digipak Bonus Track & Japan bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Nosferatu (The Vampire's Waltz)" (Raw Version)5:01
Total length:47:47
Special Tour Edition Bonus Tracks [11]
No.TitleLength
1."Nosferatu (The Vampire's Waltz)" (Raw Version)5:01
2."Thunderbolt" (Live in Frankfurt – Recorded on 2 March 2018) 
3."Nosferatu (The Vampire's Waltz)" (Live in Los Angeles – Recorded on 22 April 2018) 

Credits

Additional Musicians
Production

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 53
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 48
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[15] 29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16] 172
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 113
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 53
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] 181
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 10
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[22] 39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 29
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[26] 4
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[27] 2

References

  1. ^ Mineur, Matthias (2 February 2018). "Review: Saxon – THUNDERBOLT" (in German). Metal Hammer Germany. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Saxon To Release 'Thunderbolt' Album In February; Cover Artwork, Track Listing Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Saxon (Official)". Facebook.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. ^ "SAXON Singer Discusses MOTÖRHEAD Tribute Song 'They Played Rock And Roll' (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. 16 October 2016. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  5. ^ Red Carpet News TV (15 June 2017). "Airbourne Joel O'Keefe & Saxon Interview Metal Hammer Golden God Awards". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Biff Byford of Saxon – People Respect Us Because We are Still Making Great Metal Albums! Myglobalmind Online Magazine". Myglobalmind.com. 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ^ The Metal Voice (6 October 2017). "Saxon Biff Byford Interview-Talks New Album Thunderbolt, Lemmy & Rainbow". YouTube. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  8. ^ "SAXON ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM AND TOUR". Saxon747.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. ^ PlanetSaxon (30 November 2017). "Saxon – Thunderbolt (Official Video)". Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ PlanetSaxon (19 September 2018). "Saxon – Predator (Official Video)". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "SAXON: Special Tour Edition Of 'Thunderbolt' To Be Released In September". Blabbermouth.net. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Saxon – Thunderbolt" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Thunderbolt" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Saxon – Thunderbolt" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 09.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Saxon – Thunderbolt" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Saxon – Thunderbolt". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Saxon – Thunderbolt" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 6 (dal 2018-02-02 al 2018-02-08)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Saxon". Oricon. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 6: del 2.2.2018 al 8.2.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Saxon – Thunderbolt". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  26. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  27. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2018.


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