On Monday 11th June, EMI released a new Saxon box set in the UK covering the entire second phase of the band’s career.

Following a first set, ‘The Carrere Years’ box set (released in April), EMI have now released ‘The EMI Years’, a four disc set containing a complete set of studio recordings issued by the NWOBHM stalwarts between 1985-88.

While ‘The Carrere Years’ represented a great purchase for the curious and more casual listener, it omitted most of the bonus tracks issued on the seven separate releases, making it redundant for most hardcore fans.

‘The EMI Years’ caters for both the casual listener and long-term fan. Not only does it contain the ‘Innocence Is No Excuse’, ‘Rock The Nations’ and MTV-friendly ‘Destiny’ albums in their entirity, but also includes all the bonus tracks issued on the previous remasters.

More importantly, the box set contains the CD debut for a 1985 BBC live concert, recorded at Hammersmith on the ‘Innocence’ tour (previously only ever available as a download).

Both ‘The Carrere Years’ and ‘The EMI Years’ box sets are available now at a budget price.

Earlier in 2012, Saxon released a 2CD + DVD set of live material entitled ‘Eagles Over Wacken’. Reports also suggest the band are working on an acoustic album, set for release early in the new year.

Read a review of ‘Saxon’ here.
Read a review of ‘Rock The Nations’ here.
Read a review of ‘Heavy Metal Thunder: The Movie’ here.
Read a review of ‘Call To Arms’ here.
Watch a video interview with Biff Byford here.