| Rock the Nations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Paul R. Gregory | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1986 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Studio | Wisseloord (Hilversum) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:48 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer | Gary Lyons | |||
| Saxon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rock the Nations | ||||
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Rock the Nations is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Saxon, released in August 1986.
The album is the first not to feature original bassist Steve Dawson, who was fired from the band earlier in 1986. [2] For the recording of this album, vocalist Biff Byford, who had incidentally begun his career as a singer/bassist, recorded all the bass parts in Dawson's place. However, Paul Johnson joined the band as bassist before the album was released and is therefore credited in the liner notes.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Classic Rock |   [4] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 5/10 [5] |
| Kerrang! |  [6] |
Rock the Nations received mixed reviews from critics. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic gave the album two stars out of five and said in his review for the band's previous album Innocence Is No Excuse that "Saxon's internal chemistry was significantly unbalanced by the subsequent departure of key songwriter [Steve] Dawson -- a loss from which they would take years to fully recover." [7] in his review for this album, he said that although the album was "graced with a somewhat rougher sound more in line with the band's New Wave of British Heavy Metal early years" it was still "arguably less heavy than its predecessor" and also criticised the songs "We Came Here to Rock", "Running Hot" and the title track for being "cliché-ridden" and "Waiting for the Night" and "Northern Lady" for being "unconvincingly sappy ballads", though he did regard "Party 'til You Puke" as being "good for a laugh" and also of interest for the guest appearance of Elton John. However, he concluded that the album is one that "the Saxon faithful would likely rather forget". [3] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff found Rock The Nations "a little more full-bodied production-wise and less overtly metallic and by-the-book construction-wise" than Innocence Is No Excuse , "while still suffering for coasting on [Saxon]'s scant laurels". [5]
All tracks are written by Biff Byford, Nigel Glockler, Graham Oliver and Paul Quinn, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rock the Nations" | 4:40 | |
| 2. | "Battle Cry" | 5:26 | |
| 3. | "Waiting for the Night" | Byford, Glockler | 4:51 |
| 4. | "We Came Here to Rock" | 4:18 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "You Ain't No Angel" | 5:28 | |
| 6. | "Running Hot" | Byford, Glockler, Oliver, Quinn, Steve Dawson | 3:35 |
| 7. | "Party 'til You Puke" | 3:25 | |
| 8. | "Empty Promises" | 4:09 | |
| 9. | "Northern Lady" | 4:42 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Chase the Fade [Instr.]" (b-side "Waiting for the Night") | Quinn, Oliver | 2:32 |
| 11. | "Waiting for the Night" (7" single edit) | Byford, Glockler | 4:12 |
| 12. | "Northern Lady" (7" single edit) | 3:57 | |
| 13. | "Everybody Up" (live. In Madrid , b-side "Northern Lady", 12", 45 RPM, Single producer: Simon Hanhart) | 3:37 | |
| 14. | "Dallas 1PM, 12", 45 RPM, Single, producer: Simon Hanhart" (live, b-side "Northern Lady") | Byford, Quinn, Oliver, Dawson, Pete Gill | 6:34 |
| 15. | "Power and the Glory" (live) | Byford, Quinn, Oliver, Dawson, Glockler | 6:52 |
| 16. | "Rock the Nations" (live) | 4:49 | |
| 17. | "Waiting for the Night" (live) | Byford, Glockler | 4:34 |
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [8] | 44 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [9] | 26 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [10] | 34 |
| US Billboard 200 [11] | 149 |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [12] | 31 |
Saxon are an English heavy metal band formed in Barnsley in 1975. As leaders of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), they had eight UK Top 40 albums during the 1980s including four UK Top 10 albums and two Top 5 albums. They had numerous hit singles on the UK Singles Chart and experienced success all over Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States.
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