German band IRON SAVIOR are one of many veteran bands out there delivering studio albums to the metal interested hordes. They were formed back in 1996, and although they have suffered a fair share of line-up alterations over the years they have still soldiered on, and from what I can understand they have done so in a quality manner throughout as well. “Rise of the Hero” is their 8th full length studio production, and was released through German label AFM Records in 2014.
Listening through this album, I was immediately taken on a ride stretching back to my late teens and early 20’s, when the greater majority of the music I listened to was metal. Heavy metal, thrash metal, some extreme metal, hair metal…just about anything with a metal tag added to the description of the music was sought out, inspected and fairly often listened to with a great deal of interest. 20 years ago I could have pinpointed just about every nuanced difference in the material of this album directly back to a specific band and probably to a specific album as well. Many years and lots of music later I’m unable to do exactly that, but that this is familiar sounding music is without any doubt at all.
Power metal is a description I have seen thrown at this band on numerous occasions, and I guess that is the best general description of the music. Galloping drums and bass are rather central characteristic traits here, a driving and energetic undercurrent beneath everything else, with occasional lapses into more frantic, hammering escapades when the band hits the pedal to the metal. Tight, compact yet edgy guitar riffs are placed on top, and the band are clever in alternating between drawn out majestic riff textures, grinding riffs, compact riff walls and some instances with more of a chugging, insistent guitar riff construction leading the way, and the addition of occasional guitar solo overlays in the vocal passages is a nice touch. Instances of bass and drums supporting the lead vocals in a more sparse arrangement another nice variation thrown into the blend of course.
While I can’t truly say that there’s a massive amount of variation at hand, for those who listen just about only to music of this kind the variation will be regarded as massive though. We have intense creations of the kind that reminds me of Helloween’s debut album “Walls of Jericho”, mid-paced creations with more of a typical and arguably more generic power metal sound, and occasional lapses into more of a distinct 80’s heavy metal sound closer to the likes of Manowar in overall sound. A more epic, atmospheric laden style is explored on Dragon King, a creation that should fit quite nicely before or after Black Sabbath’s Headless Cross on a playlist, and just about the only slight misstep for me was Dance With Somebody. A cover tune from what I understand, and due to the way the chorus has been put together one with a pop music origin to my guess. The verse section of this one functions rather well in an atmospheric laden hair metal kind of way, but the chorus section is of the kind that literally shouts that this is NOT a metal song.
This is a good album though, even if the material is familiar from the opening sounds of the atmospheric opening sequence Ascendence to the dying final notes of Fistraiser. Well performed and well produced songs see to it that all the songs are pleasant enough founded, and the subtly raspy, powerful lead vocals of Piet Sielck combined with the quality mix and production does elevate the total experience up to a higher level. If I should utter one negative word, then it would be that the chorus sections of all the songs don’t have to be of an anthem-oriented, singalong nature. Oh, and we should probably forget about the lyrics of Fistraiser as well, as they would make a Gorgonzola turn green of envy due to the extremely high cheese content, of the kind that just becomes too much for anyone that have become old enough to have and enjoy sex.
If you enjoy your heavy metal and power metal, you like bands that look to the 1980’s as the main source of musical inspiration and explore this type of music with a lot of care, affection and and ear for quality, then Iron Savior’s “Rise of the Hero” is an album you should investigate. While it does explore territories rather well known, it does so with something of a swagger, as one might expect from a band that both know and truly love the music they create and explore.
My rating: 78/100
