Saxon – The O2 Apollo, Manchester: Live Review

By Mike Ainscoe on 9th November 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Saxon, Dirkschneider, Untamed Silence – The O2 Apollo, Manchester – Friday 7th November 2025

SAXON

Fully energised by the approval of Hell, Fire & Damnation (the album, not the domiciles), Saxon bring what was once called the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal back to the O2 Apollo. A place of pilgrimage and worship for the Saxon hordes on may occasions over the past decades. Tonight the pilgrims are queuing in an orderly fashion up the stairs towards the circle bar for the chance to grab their merch. The vintage T shirts of the faithful are also a giveaway. Motorhead, Judas Priest, WASP, Scorpions and of course Saxon and Maiden all feature strongly.

NWOBHM ICONS

We can’t really count the Vegas polish of Def Leppard, but along with Iron Maiden, themselves not averse to a bit of success and international acclaim, the frock coated Biff Byford and his team might be the last bastions of the NWOBHM. And they fly the flag with a celebration of power and colour.

The O2 Apollo is duly packed out . Not everyone might be from Manchester – amongst others even an American accent is heard extolling the virtues of Maiden – but what Biff calls the “Manchester gathering” for Saxon is a a vote for proper Heavy Metal. Alive and kicking and as healthy as ever. And let’s give Biff and BrianTatler their credit. Two figures who certainly deserve their places on the podium in the British Metal hall of fame.

HELL, FIRE & STEEL

Last time we were here, Brian was opening the evening with Diamond Head. Tonight he’s a fully fledged member of the outfit that fully deserve that title of ‘The Mighty Saxon’. He emerges from atop the drum riser striking the opening chords as the usual intro sounds are replaced by the familiar tone tone of Brian Blessed’s Prophecy into to the title track form the latest album. That album makes its mark in the first half of the set. The contrast of breakneck tempo of the title track as the band emerge in the spectacle of the explosion of smoke and light and the more measured Madame Guillotine.

Fellow axeman (some bands have guitarists, Saxon have axe players) Doug Scarratt matches the studied intensity of Tatler while its left for Nibbs Carter to expound enough energy to power the massive lighting rig. For anyone unaware of the iconic Pete Way, Nibbs is very much of the same school of shape throwing and visual presence. And then there’s Nigel Glockner, the longstanding drummer, without whom…. In and out of the band on a few occasions, it doesn’t seem right without him on the riser..

The tour isn’t named the Hell Fire And Steel jaunt for no reason. the second part of the set is dedicated, very respectfully, to a full performance of the classic album Wheels of Steel from 1980. Nineteen eighty! And along with the excerpts in the set from the debut album and Strong Arm Of The Law, tonight is a genuine nostalgia fest as we head down the time tunnel.

METAL AS GOOD AS IT GETS

In old school terms, that first side of Wheels Of Steel is about as good as it gets for heads down, inspirational Heavy Metal.For anyone who thinks metal is one paced, check out the rampant energy of Motorcycle Man, the pumping title track whose riff is as iconic as Highway to Hell or Back In Black and then Strangers In The Night which showcases a more mature songwriting with the nous for a dramatic edge.

We could say possibly or probably, but will go out on a limb and declare Denim And Leather as THE anthem of the NWOBHM. The riff and the delivery a We Will Rock You for the Metalheads. Then the lyrics (queuing for tickets and racing down the front; donning the battle vest and buying the midweek music press ) might be of a time, but a time that’s fully deserving of a bout of nostalgia. Due tribute paid by Saxon to the masses and an honest and mutual respect.

A finale from said album makes up the encore as another serving of classics hammer the message home and we’re left to admire the longevity of the band whose roots lie in Barnsley and how they can still, with no qualms, deliver the goods – forty (plus) years on.

DIRKSCHNEIDER

It’s forty (plus) years of the Balls To The Wall album by Accept and Udo Dirkschneider and his team follow the lead of the headliners in showcasing the whole record top to tail. The time tunnel once again swings into action as The Number Of The Beast on the PA sets the scene and a huge back drop unfurls to signal a souvenir photo opportunity for the phone cam toting fans.

The pumping title track is accompanied by giant inflatable balls bouncing around the stalls and into the circle as the destruction begins. Udo conducting proceedings from centre stage, even going so far as to hanging his shades from the necklaces that cover his chest. Hardly the most stereotypical Heavy Metal frontman, his band more than make up, throwing shapes and covering the ground around him, mugging up in a bass and two guitar line up.

ONE OF MY FAVOURITES

“I think you know the next one,” announces Udo as Head Over Heels switches the mood from four to the bar AC/DC to a more dramatic Dio vibe. Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had has him declaring the song as “one of my favourites.” It’s a real HM battle cry. The chugging onslaught continues with Love Child and as they head into Turn Me On, the stomping march conjures up the impression of a fledgling Rammstein sitting in their bedrooms taking it all in and forming a plan for world domination.

And if the flag waver of a finale with Winter Nights is not enough, we even get a thrash through Fast As A Shark for an encore. A great support that fits the bill perfectly that might send a handful of the crowd home to search out theirbattered copy of Balls To The Wall and the rest off to their streaming service, (or better still, their local record shop) to sort out a new pur-chase.

UNTAMED SILENCE

The new single, Long Time Dead opens proceedings as the quartet opt into the regulation black setting. The Northern outfit sound right at one with the expanses of the O2 Apollo and are delighted to be gracing the same stages as the headliners as they wrap themselves around the Dirkschneider drum kit to the front of the stage. Their short set offers up a Heavy Rock core that’s dense and bleeds with some thick funky chops and an attitude that matches that of their peers tonight.

Plugging the brand new The Great Majority album, Debbie reminds us to check out the band on the social media – a phrase you wouldn’t have heard back in the NWOBHM days. If there were a new wave of something Rock or other in ’25, Untamed Silence would be riding it.