"They invented stainless steel there": Saxon pay tribute to Sheffield with new video for Fire And Steel

08 Oct 2024, 03:51 · louder

By Fraser Lewry
( Classic Rock )
published 8 October 2024

The release of the Fire And Steel video comes ahead of Saxon's upcoming tour of mainland Europe

(Image credit: Ned Wakeman)

British metal legends Saxon have launched a new video for Fire And Steam, one of the highlights of this year's Hell, Fire And Damnation album.

The fiery video was directed by Paul M Green, who's previously worked with Paul Rodgers, Devin Townsend, Anthrax, The Pineapple Thief and many more, while the song finds Saxon founder and frontman Biff Byford reflecting on the city of Sheffield's industrial origins.

“The original title was Fire And Steam and the song itself is more thrash than classic metal,” says frontman Biff Byford. “I was going to do it about something else, and then I had a bit of an epiphany and I thought Fire And Steel was better let’s do it about Sheffield.

"If people were eating with a knife and fork back, say, a hundred years ago, that was something that sometimes was made in Sheffield. They invented stainless steel there, and there’s still a lot of steel in Sheffield but nothing like it used to be. Sheffield was one of my big stomping grounds when I was a teenager. We used to go to Sheffield and see all the bands at Sheffield City Hall, and the clubs and pubs there that had bands on.”

The release of Fire And Steam comes ahead of a trio of Japanese shows early next month, before Saxon embark on a series of dates in mainland Europe in February and March, a schedule that kicks off with a performance at the 1700-capacity Aladin Music Hall in Bremen, Germany, on February 4. Full dates below.

“We are really excited to be heading back out to Europe early next year and wanted to do something special to mark the occasion," says Biff. "The Judas Priest tour was fantastic to be a part of and we wanted to take some of that spirit and energy into our next tour too and what better way than to play the first album that really took off for us globally, Wheels Of Steel, in its entirety.

"We will of course also be playing the usual array of hits and other fan favourites. Plus we are also excited to be playing songs from our new album Hell, Fire And Damnation too. which have been going down a storm. In all honesty, being in Saxon has never felt so good.”

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SAXON - Fire And Steel (Official Video) - YouTube

Watch On

Saxon

Nov 02: Osaka Yogibo Mega Valley, Japan
Nov 03: Tokyo Unit, Japan
Nov 04: Tokyo Unit, Japan

Feb 04: Bremen Aladin Music Hall, Germany
Feb 06: Copenhagen Amager Bio, DenMark
Feb 07: Orebro Conventum, Sweden
Feb 08: Norrköping Värmekyrkan, Sweden
Feb 09: Malmö Slagthuset, Sweden
Feb 11: Oslo Rockefeller, Norway
Feb 13: Gothenburg Trädgär'n, Sweden
Feb 14: Huskvarna Folkets Park, Sweden
Feb 15: Stockholm Cirkus, Sweden
Feb 17: Hamburg Docks, Germany
Feb 19: Prague Lucerna Music Bar, Czech Republic
Feb 20: Kraków Studio, Poland
Feb 21: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Feb 23: Warsaw Progresja, Poland
Feb 25: Munich Muffathalle, Germany
Feb 26: Milan Live Club, Italy
Feb 28: Zurich Volkshaus, Switzerland
Mar 01: Erfurt Central, Germany
Mar 02: Tilburg 013, Netherlands
Mar 04: Berlin Huxleys, Germany
Mar 05: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany

Get Saxon tickets

(Image credit: Saxon)

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.

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