1988 - Destiny

by **The ripper** Mon 4 Sep - 15:04

Released 20 june 1988

by **The ripper** Mon 4 Sep - 15:14

- Comment from a buyer from Amazon -

This album is ultimately the antithesis of what Saxon is known for; this is polished, glossy, melodic metal with really catchy hooks
rather than the (as it says in the insert) "meat and potatoes" brand of metal for which saxon are best thought of representing.
Many of the songs on here could be big hits for hair metal bands here in the U.S.
(I shelled out the extra dough for the import copy): their cover of "Ride Like The Wind," as well as "Where The Lightning Strikes,"
"Calm Before The Storm," and "Song For Emma."

Four more sound like more polished versions of something they would have done on their previous pair of albums,
Innocence Is No Excuse and Rock the Nations: "S.O.S.," "For Whom The Bell Tolls," "Jericho Siren," and "Red Alert."
Finally, the songs that may be hardest to digest are the two that could easily pass as arena rock hits:
"I Can't Wait Anymore" and "We Are Strong."
First time I heard "I Can't Wait Anymore," the first band that popped into my head, I dare say it... Journey.
To think that I could possibly be making comparisons to Journey with a song by Saxon seems just plain... weird.
I liked it from the get-go, but it was hard to believe it was Saxon.
And honestly, "We Are Strong" was just... bad.
That is honestly the cheesiest thing Saxon has ever cut, it was as painful as listening to the Judas Priest song
"Out In The Cold" for the first time.
I had heard my share of synths on this album already, but this one kinda crossed the line on the whole deal.
That is the one song I must say I do not particularly care for here.

However, considering what kind of negative reviews are often brought upon this album (one star from allmusic.com),
this is a much better album than it gets credit for, and one weak, almost unbearable track on the bunch does not hinder
a good album.
It does take away its chance at a perfect score, but is overall not a big deal because there are far more pluses than minuses
heard on this album.

The sound is interesting, even if the drums are rather non-descript and bland.
The bonus tracks are definitely worth having the album for: an alternate version of "I Can't Wait Anymore"
(which sounds even MORE like Journey), monitor mixes of "Ride Like The Wind" and "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
(stripped down and very interesting to listen to), and live versions of "Rock The Nations," "Gonna Shout," and
"Broken Heroes (Where Are They Now)." A good, solid listen.

by **The ripper** Mon 4 Sep - 15:17

- Comment from a buyer from Amazon -

Finally we get to the late 80's Saxon albums - the ones many a Saxon fan wishes they'd never heard.
The band was one of the breakout stars of the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene,
but by 1985 the band just wasn't the same hard-charging young "denim and leather" crew.
Saxon's post-NWOBHM albums may have been more commercial and overly polished, but they still rocked.

Originally released in 1988, Destiny was Saxon's ninth studio album.
Saxon scared some of their metal-minded fans in 1985 with the commercial-sounding Innocence Is No Excuse,
but came roaring back in 1986 with the hard-hitting Rock the Nations.
Sadly, the band opted for an even more commercial sound with Destiny.
The band saw the balance of popularity shift from traditional metal to "hair metal" and decided to capitalize on
that with a lighter sound (keyboards, synth guitars, and power ballads abound) and bigger hair.
The results aren't pretty.

If you forget nearly every other Saxon album, Destiny isn't all that bad.
I happen to love this kind of wimpy melodic rock, and the songs on Destiny are very polished,
very melodic and probably could have been hits by any other band (I'm thinking Treat or Bonfire).
But Saxon isn't an AOR band, and you do have to compare this album to what went before,
and Destiny just doesn't fare that well alongside metal milestones like Wheels of Steel and Strong Arm of the Law.
It's decent, but dammit, this is not what a Saxon album is supposed to sound like!

Yes, it's the weakest of Saxon's 80's era output, but Destiny is still a solid melodic rock album
that should appeal to fans of the 80's British melodic rock sound.
Metal purists will want to avoid this one, though if you do you won't be able to spell out the whole Saxon logo
when you line up all of the reissues!

Edition Notes - EMI reissued Destiny (along with Innocence Is No Excuse and Rock the Nations) in 2010,
completing their run of Saxon reissues. Once again, the remastering is incredible.
In addition to the digitally remastered sound, the reissue of Destiny features expanded liner notes by Metal Hammer scribe
Jerry Ewing and six bonus tracks.
The bonus tracks include an alternate mix of "I Can't Wait Anymore," monitor mixes of "Ride Like the Wind" and
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" and three live songs from that era.
Between the remastered sound, liner notes and bonus tracks, there are plenty of reasons to replace your old version of Destiny.