Review by Hugh Spence for MPM
It’s a typical damp November in Belfast as the hoards of black shirts make their way towards the beautiful Ulster Hall for a night of legends, the mighty Saxon supported by Udo Dirckschneider, original frontman of German rockers Accept.
Both bands are celebrating milestones in heavy metal history, Udo celebrating Accept’s Balls To The Wall 40th anniversary and Saxon celebrating one of their biggest albums Wheels of Steel’s 40th anniversary. This will also be the first time Udo has played Belfast in 39 years.
When Udo Dirkschneider—the unmistakable voice of Accept—takes the stage under the banner of Dirkschneider, although there is no banner, just a black backdrop hiding Saxon’s stage set and Dirkschneider and his band only have the front of the stage to work with, he is here to honour the legacy of the heavy metal anthems he forged with Accept. On this night, that legacy was distilled into one crucial hour of power as the band performed the entirety of Accept’s seminal 1983 album, Balls to the Wall. Not only is Udo an original Accept member playing tonight but Peter Baltes is also playing, having joined his buddy Dirkschneider in 2023.
From the moment the house lights dimmed, the air was thick with anticipation. The current Dirkschneider lineup is a machine, laying down a foundation of precise, crushing German metal that serves as the perfect bedrock for the main event. When the opening riff of “Balls to the Wall” slammed through the speakers, the crowd erupted. Performing the album out of sequence, or perhaps starting with its most famous track, immediately set an impossibly high standard for the rest of the night. Udo’s guttural, inimitable rasp remains miraculously intact, cutting through the mix like a chainsaw.
The true highlight of this retrospective performance, however, was hearing the deep cuts and lesser-played gems finally given their due in a live setting. Tracks like the defiant “London Leatherboys”, “Fight it Back” and the anthemic “Head Over Heels” had the entire venue singing along, demonstrating the timelessness of the band’s songwriting. Up next is “Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had”, a slower and darker song that really stands out for the longterm die hard Accept fans.
Its quickly followed up the fist pumping and more energetic “Love Child”, “Turn Me On” and “Losers and Winners” that really get the crowd going again, singing along and lapping up every moment of the lesser-played songs. Speaking of the lesser-played songs, we get a real deep cut with “Guardian Of The Night”, before these anniversary tours for Balls To The Wall this song hadn’t been played live since the 1980’s so its a real treat for the die hards to see and hear it played live.
Dirkschneider finishes off the Balls To The Wall set with “Winterdreams” (obviously), a great sing-a-long for the audience and quite the beautiful way to honour the albums legacy. The set was unrelenting, a testament to the fact that four decades have not diminished the raw power of the material. The band—flawlessly navigating the complex timing and shifts of the tracks—made sure every riff was sharp and every drum hit landed with the required force.
We have enough time left in the set for just one more song, but what could it be from the massive back catalogue that Accept and Udo has? Well it has to be a German folk song of course, the crowd love a good folk song to start off the hard hitting fast tempo of “Fast As A Shark”, one of my personal favourite Accept songs. A fantastic way to get he crowd warmed for the mighty Saxon, fast, heavy and an air puncher.
After a 30 minute change over and a quick run to the bar its time for Saxon to hit the stage, darkness falls over the hall and the air smells like sweat and leather as the band walk out on stage before the huge LED screen lights up the hall as the the guys kick off with “Hell, Fire and Damnation” from their most recent album of the same name, showcasing that their new material is just as heavy and hard hitting after all these decades.
The energy carried immediately into the 1983 classic, “Power and the Glory,” turning the crowd into a unified mass of fists and voices.
Biff then takes a moment to welcome the crowd and introduce themselves although its clearly not needed, there is only one reason the venue is sold out tonight, he then takes us back to the beginning by playing “Backs to the Wall” from their first album, 1979’s “Saxon” and then hits us with the powerful and uplifting anthem “Never Surrender” that remind you Saxon wrote the blueprint for this genre: straightforward, gritty, and fiercely melodic.
Up next is “Dallas 1pm” from 1980’s “Strong Arm of the Law”, a fan favourite that the whole audience happily sing along with as the screen behind shows clips from the JFK assination, slower and more melodic than most of Saxon’s material it still packs a punch after all these years
As the show charges on we get classic “Heavy Metal Thunder” before we enter the “Wheels of Steel” era of the set and thus begins the celebration of the classic album starting with the speed-freak favorite “Motorcycle Man,” the band felt tight, focused, and visibly enjoying themselves. Guitarists Brian Tatler and Doug Scarratt traded razor-sharp solos, laying down the foundation for Byford’s commanding stage presence. This leads us directly into “Stand up and be Counted”.
Most of the Wheels of Steel album is fan favourites and “747 (Strangers in the Night)” is no different, an all time classic that keeps the captivated audience singing. Biff always gives his all in every performance and tonight is no different, hitting every note perfectly which is quite amazing considering he just finished his chemotherapy from his cancer diagnosis only jsut last month.
After a brief, deafening cheer, Doug plays that opening instantly recognisable chord and lets it ring throughout the hall as “Wheels of Steel” hit like a freight train, the entire venue singing along to every word. This also gives Biff his chance to do his signature Facebook video as he records the audience singing, cheering and just being incredibly loud.
Its at this point that the set takes an expected dip as we hit the deep cuts, songs that keep the die hard fans happy but the casual fans are noticeable quieter when they play “Freeway Mad”, “See the Light Shine” and “Street Fighting Gang”. We then get a beautiful sing along with “Suzie Hold On” as you can hear the crowd get louder once again. Saxon then finish the “Wheels of Steel” set with “Machine Gun” as the screen behind shows us clips of war and well, machine guns, ending the set on a high. When the song ends the hall goes dark again as the band take a well deserved break for a few moments as the crowd clap along with a “Saxon” chant.
The come back on stage as Biff has a talk with us, comparing when they were younger with no internet, when you had to go to your local record store or read magazines like Kerrang to find new bands and of course word of mouth, all this is a lead into “Denim and Leather” as the bass drum hits there is about a dozen denim “battle jackets” thrown on stage by the crowd, as the band plow through the song with the audience singing every word, Biff and the guys are putting on the denim jackets that were thrown on stage, some fitting better than others. At the end of the song Biff signs as many jackets as he can before getting them back to their fans.
Unfortunately we’ve reached the end of the night with the classic “Princess of the Night”, afterwards the band is treated to loud as hell cheering and clapping from the adoring fans as they take several well deserved bows.
Like every Saxon gig I leave the venue into the rain wanting more, they would need to play a 5 hour set to even come close to satisfying my need for Saxon as their back catalogue is that large and amazing. Their performance was flawless, powerful, and utterly joyous. The Saxon iron horse continues to ride, and heavy metal is better for it.
The band are on tour through Ireland and the UK before hitting the continent, if you haven’t got a ticket then get one quickly as they are selling fast and well worth every penny.
Photography by MPM
