Strong Arm of the Law

by Ed Rivadavia

A mere six months after releasing their stunning sophomore album, Wheels of Steel, Saxon managed to top themselves with Strong Arm of the Law. All the ingredients fell into place with this record and though it lacked the obvious hits of its predecessor, its greater consistency from start to finish marks it as the band's definitive work for most fans and critics. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find any New Wave of British Heavy Metal Top Ten that doesn't include both these albums. Opening in bombastic fashion with the embryonic thrashing of "Heavy Metal Thunder," side one races by at breakneck speed with "To Hell and back Again" and "Taking Your Chances" and only slackens the pace somewhat for the ever-popular title track, based on the band's true-life experience of being pulled over during their first American tour. The band had spent much of the precious year touring in support of Motörhead and it shows, as "20,000 Ft" introduces side two with another thrashing onslaught. The band falters momentarily on the unimpressive "Hungry Years" but soon races off once again with "Sixth Form Girls" before closing with the JFK assassination-based "Dallas 1 PM." In a way, these last two tracks serve as a preview of things to come, as the band says goodbye to their tongue-in-cheek British origins in order to embrace America with pompous arena rock -- a move that would ultimately spell their doom.