EXCLUSIVE | Saxon's Biff Byford says only established, older bands can bring a revival in rock music
Nowadays, most metal fans tend to hold the esteemed name of Biff Byford in earnest reverence. The legendary 69-year-old frontman cut his teeth as the longtime vocalist of the heavy metal pioneers Saxon, who helped usher in the new wave of British heavy metal in the late '70s. That powerful musical movement introduced us to many incredible bands like Whitesnake, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, and helped propel already-established bands like Rainbow, Motorhead, and Judas Priest further into the limelight. So when the great Biff Byford announced that he had come out with his own solo album on February 21, called 'School of Hard Knocks', which marked a distinct departure in sound from his previous Saxon efforts, naturally, we were intrigued. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) caught up with the celebrated vocalist for an interview about all things music — Excerpts:
'School of Hard Knocks' is a personal solo album — what made you decide to go down that route?
Well, I chose this path because otherwise, it would just have been another Saxon album with me singing. I wanted this album to be a little bit different — both in terms of styles of music and lyrical content. The way it came together, and the choice of tracks, it's quite interesting — there's some rock 'n' roll, heavy metal, prog-rock, and ballads. It's quite an eclectic collection of songs, and I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.
You collaborated with Opeth guitarist Fredrik Åkesson on some songs — how did this come about?
A couple of years ago, we met and discussed working together. When I was ready to record, we got in touch and came up with the two prog-rock songs 'The Pit and the Pendulum' and 'Worlds Collide'. I'm a big prog fan, so I was able to write ideas and lyrics to fit the music, really — that's what I'm good at.
Speaking of prog rock, how did you handle the passing of Rush's Neil Peart?
Yeah, he was an absolutely fantastic drummer, that was certainly a big loss. Saxon toured with Rush in America during the '80s, and I interacted with Neil quite a few times. He was a very nice guy, and pretty quiet usually. He was a talented songwriter too, with great lyrics.
What do you feel sets your new solo work apart from Saxon's material?
'School of Hard Knocks' certainly differs from typical Saxon songs — we don't really do covers or even prog-rock. It's just more musically diverse, I feel, and we had a lot of fun working with a whole bunch of different musicians. It's a nice mix of retro and modern sounds too, using ideas that we normally wouldn't do in Saxon.
Your cover of 'Scarborough Fair' is phenomenal — is it your professed love of medieval times that made you pick it?
It's a traditional folk song from Yorkshire, talking about a place where I lived as a young boy. It's a love song, so I wanted it to start off quite gentle, and then build into more rocky territory — Fredrik helped me experiment with the arrangement, and I think it worked really well.
Vocally, you still sound as good as you've ever sounded — what's your secret to such extraordinary longevity?
Well, I've used my voice a lot, so like a muscle, it's in very good condition. Obviously I hadn't been singing for a few months (Byford is recovering from heart surgery last year), so I had to retrain my voice again. I'm doing pretty good now, and getting stronger all the time.
What do you want fans and listeners to take away from 'School of Hard Knocks'?
Well, I think a lot of it is about me and my voice. I'm blessed with the ability to sing and write in different styles, from the rock 'n' roll to the folk, from the metal to the ballads, so I hope listeners can hear and appreciate my broad interest in music.
Do you have any thoughts on how today's modern music like rap, trap and EDM is eclipsing rock music?
I think young people are generally fed music like trap and hip-hop in cycles by the media. And although a handful of good bands like Royal Blood have emerged in the last few years, there hasn't really been a resurgence of rock music based on guitar riffs, unless you count the punk bands. If there is going to be a revival, it's going to be from older, established bands, not newer artists. My son's in a rock band and they're finding it difficult to compete with today's popular music. But I think if you are a musician, you're bound to be a fan of rock music — you can't ignore great bands like Led Zeppelin or Nirvana, because they were just so good. So that's always going to be there.
What is your best advice to musicians and artists who want to make it big nowadays?
Regardless of whether you're a hip-hop artist or a rock musician, you've got to have the drive to succeed — that's not something that can be taught. If you look at most successful musicians, they all started from nowhere, but they kept going, and kept trying different avenues until they made it. And most importantly, your music has to be able to capture people's ears — that's the main secret to success, and it will keep the listeners coming back for more.