Biff Byford , vocalist of Saxon, commented on what he thinks about his band being widely cited as an inspiration for other heavy metal bands.
To Dioses Del Metal , he replied (via Blabbermouth ):
“I think it’s great that bands say who influenced them. It helps us because, by doing so, some of their fans also come to hear us. So, we’ve gained a lot of fans from Metallica and some of the other bands that have declared their influences. That way, people are checking us out all the time, especially the younger audience. “It’s good to know that names like Metallica and Machine Head say that we influenced them, and some other bands as well.”
According to Biff Byford, not only Saxon, but bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest also served as an influence on most American rock bands of the 80s, as is the case with Mötley Crüe .
“Many American bands like Mötley Crüe and some of the rock bands from the 80s looked to us [Saxon] for influences, as well as names like Motörhead , Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. So, I think it’s good to be among the top five British metal bands, really.”
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