The impressive 'Metalhead' is the follow-up to the superb comeback album 'Unleash the Beast' and proves that was no one-off from 'Biff and the boys'. Although not on-a-par with the previous album, mainly due to a couple of less focused efforts mid album and the exceptionally poor effort titled 'Piss Off', 'Metalhead' still rocks harder than any previous 'Saxon' album and is far from short of standout material. New boy 'Fritz Randow' is welcomed into the fold following the departure of longstanding drummer 'Nigel Glockler', who was forced to put his career on hold due to a severe muscle tear.

After an eerie gothic intro, written and performed by previous drummer 'Nigel Glockler', we are thrown into the onslaught of the title track. 'Metalhead' is a nasty plodder, driven by relentless riff and rhythm work while featuring some impressive soaring vocals from 'Biff's', not completely sure about some of the sound effects but still a great opener. Superior still is the hypnotic groove of the sublime 'Are we Travellers in Time', lyrically it's pretty simple but very effective, 'Biff's' different vocal approach is nicely worked, the rhythm section are on top form and the slight Eastern sound gives it another facet- my album highlight. Following in splendid fashion is the brisk ripper 'Conquistador', which builds from a subtle 'Spanish guitar' intro to a blitzing riff driven rocker, the penmanship in my opinion is excellent and overall commandingly performed. Not quite so striking is the slightly laboured 'What goes Around' which is lyrically a tad predictable and dull, while 'Song of Evil' is promising with it's nasty swagger but ultimately just falls a little short. Back on track is the ripping 'All Guns Blazing', which has to be one of Saxon's fastest tracks to date, the chorus is hearty and effective, while the rhythm work is lively throughout and further braced by some shredding guitars. The tempo falls for the more melodic 'Prisoner' a song with potential but regrettably becomes trite and predictable, that said Biff' contributes some solid vocals, while the guitar break is finely executed. Less impressive is the awful 'Piss Off' which is lyrically feeble and easily the poorest track on the disc, we move swiftly on to the great couple of tracks that close the album. First off is the mysterious yet pulsating 'Watching You' with highlights a strong driving rhythm and hard hitting chorus featuring Biff's vocals at their finest. Lastly we are gifted 'Sea of Life' which comes a very close second for my favourite track, as it's an excellently written and performed 8 minute epic, which comprises strong vocals, superb changes from subtle to ripping and is ultimately superbly executed.

Not up to the previous album 'Unleash the Beast' and inferior to 'Killing Ground' which succeeds it, but that said if you like the revitalised 'Saxon' sound, you will take something from this release.