Continued Success in UK and Europe: 2009-present
Saxon released a new studio album, Into the Labyrinth, on 12 January 2009. The album received positive reviews and continued the success that The Inner Sanctum had created.The band also headlined the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany. In February, it was announced that the band were cancelling the Spanish leg of their European tour with Iced Earth, due to scheduling issues. At the start of 2009 they toured the UK with Doro, and again at the end of the year they did a UK tour. In August of that year, they played at Sonisphere. In September Saxon announced the release of Heavy Metal Thunder - The Movie, a documentary on the band's history from the very beginning.
Continuing their success in the UK, Saxon performed at the 2010 Download Festival, which took place at Donington Park between 11 and 13 June. The band played the Wheels of Steel album in its entirety as an anniversary of the album's release 31 years prior.
Saxon released their nineteenth studio album, Call to Arms, on 3 June 2011. It debuted at number 6 on the UK Rock Albums chart. In the US, the album sold around 700 copies in its first week of release. The band embarked on a massive world tour which saw them visit the US; Saxon also revisited the UK for a second leg of the tour. The band announced on their Call To Arms tour that a few fans at every venue each paying £10 could watch them soundcheck. This was donated to the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy and Childline charities.
In December, Byford joined Metallica on stage to perform "Motorcycle Man" for the band's 30th anniversary show.
The band has since started work on writing songs for their twentieth album, tentively expected to be released in early 2013. Saxon are billed as special guests supporting Judas Priest at Hammersmith Apollo on 26 May 2012. Saxon are also due to play Download Festival 2012.
On 13 February 2012, the band announced that they were releasing a new live DVD and CD package entitled Heavy Metal Thunder - Live: Eagles Over Wacken, which compiles their 2004, 2007 and 2009 performances at the Wacken Open Air across various formats. In March, Saxon were nominated for the Metal Hammer 2012 Golden God award for 'Best UK band'.
In October 2012, the band announced that their next studio album would be titled Sacrifice.
Read more about this topic: Saxon (band)
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