Studio album number 23 for Saxon since their self-titled debut in 1979. Respect. Not all members are from the original lineup, but they’ve all been with the band for much longer than many bands last. Carpe Diem reminds me a bit of Unleash the Beast in style and in sound. Very energetic, upbeat, melodic heavy metal that packs a lot of punch. By now one would have expected the band to slow down and have only a few rockers mixed in with some mellower stuff but, no, Saxon are all in with this one and they hold nothing back in terms of speed and power where it’s needed, and of course there are a couple of epic-sounding tracks and Biff’s voice still sounds great. You could say it’s a safe album in that the band has done this kind of stuff several times before, but the fact that they still can release this kind of quality is notable. The band’s output has been a little uneven over the years and some of the albums are disposable, but this one here belongs up there with the good ones.
