of the Gods" and the title track.) to promote the album. Reception Call to Arms has received mostly positive reviews from critics. AllMusic rated the album as 3.5/5 stars. Reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia commented that the band seems to have "stripped down" their sound. Rivadavia stated that "Surviving Against the Odds", "Chasing the Bullet" and "Ballad of the Working Man" were "refreshingly raw and direct". He also compared "Hammer of the Gods" and "Afterburner" to proto-thrash. Rivadavia ultimately said that Call to Arms can be seen as an "aesthetic cousin" to Denim and Leather from 1981. Music news website Blabbermouth.net, posted a favorable review for the album. Reviewing the North American digipack edition, reviewer Scott Alisoglu called the album "highly recommended" and said that the album would not disappoint any Saxon fan. He further described the album's title track as "epic" and called the 7-track bonus live CD "a high value bonus". Reviewer Andy Lye, on behalf of Jukebox: Metal, gave the album 3 out of 5 stars. He opined that Saxon sound like "a band out of ideas" on the album, but at the same time he praised the album's last three tracks, "No Rest for the Wicked," "Ballad for the Working Man" and the orchestral version of the title track. Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles reviewer Mark Gromen commended that Call to Arms "isn't much of a metal record" but rather "[slow], bluesy hard rock" instead. Gromen compared the album's opening track, "Hammer of the Gods", to "Dogs of War" form the 1995 album of the same name. He also compared Don Airey's keyboard parts on "When Doomsday Comes" to the patterns used on Deep Purple's 1984 album Perfect Strangers. Gromen ultimately rated the album at 7.5 out of 10. Track listing North America bonus disc "Live at Donington 1980" Charts Credits Saxon Biff Byford – lead vocals Paul Quinn – guitar Doug Scarratt – guitar Nibbs Carter – bass guitar Nigel Glockler – drums Additional musicians Don Airey – keyboards Production Biff Byford – producer Toby Jepson – producer References External links Saxon (band) albums 2011 albums