Review | Venger – Times Of Legend

Silver Lining Music

Guitarist Doug Scarratt has been a driving force for the mighty Saxon for several decades now. Nowadays he forms the guitar attack of Biff Byford’s band together with Brian Tatler, after original guitarist Paul Quinn decided he could no longer handle the relentless touring schedule of Saxon. Despite being on the road several Saxon musicians have found the time to do other projects as well, Brian Tatler still has Diamond Head, Biff has recorded solo-material, while drummer Nigel Glockler fills in his spare time with the formation Six By Six.

CHANCE MEETING

Only bass player Nibbs Carter and Doug Scarratt did not seem to do much outside of Saxon. For Doug that changed in 2024 when he attended a concert of a band in which his son was active. He met In The Woods musician James Fogarty (guitars/keyboards) purely by chance as James introduced himself to Doug. One thing led to another. James knew some other musicians who could get involved such as singer Franz Bauer and drummer Sven Rothe. It turned out that Doug and James both were fascinated with cinema. While working out the songs they decided it would be important that each track would tell its own story based on fantasy, film with some horror elements put in there as well for good measure. As Doug had the contacts with Silver Lining Music where also Saxon is under contract it was not so difficult for the new band Venger to find a home.

THE SONG-TITLES TELL A STORY

When you look at the song-titles of the ‘Times Of Legend’ you can already have a good guess that this record is  full of fantasy stories. ,,Tower Of Babel’’, ,,Impaler Of Souls’’, ,,Pharao’s Curse’’, ,,Crystal Gazer’’ and ,,Navigate The Labyrinth’’ are all based on imaginery stories. The music fits perfectly. Melodic metal (no, certainly not in the Saxon-style) with atmospheric yet heavy elements, a bit in the vein of bands like Warlord and Fates Warning, with really some exorbitant solo-work from Scarratt. In Franz Bauer Venger has got a singer that fits perfectly in the picture. He can sound a bit ‘out there’, and desperate at times, reminding me a less-rougher version of Cirith’s Ungol’s Tim Baker. It might take you a few spins to get used to Bauer’s voice, but like I said he seems to be the right man for the Venger-job, The song that appeals to me the most is ,,Seance’’ with a brutal piece of spoken word, some subtle acoustic guitars and a monster solo that speeds up the track. A really cool song.

VENGER – THE CONCLUSION

‘Times Of Legend’ is not a typical heavy metal record, there is a lot more to it. The heavy production by Scarratt and Fogarty adds an extra dynamic (and sometimes dark)  dimension to the proceedings. It is not straight forward material, far from. On the other hand Venger is not trying to sound over complicated, the style and music is certainly very accessible. If you have an interest in the above-mentioned bands it might pay to have a listen to ‘Times Of Legend’. For a first record of a band that exists less than two years, it all sounds very mature and with thought. But then, we are dealing here with seasoned musicians, who have been around the block a few times.  As far as I am concerned a second release in due time would be welcome.

Release date: 9 January 2026