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Besides spawning countless imitators, Helloween is responsible for several spin-off projects: Gamma Ray, Primal Fear (Ralf had something to do with Helloween's very first line-up, before Kiske), solo albums from Michael Kiske, Roland Grapow, Andi Deris, and, now, the Iron Savior project. A brainchild of Piet Sielck (vocals, bass, keys, guitars, production, songs), a former producer for Helloween, who wrote a rock opera named "Iron Savior" and enlisted his old friend Kai Hansen (guitars) to play on it. The album came out in 1997. At first, the only other member of the project was the drummer from Blind Guardian, Thomen "The Omen" Stauch, but soon other members joined: Jan Eckert (bass, back and lead vox), Andreas Kuck (keys, back vox), and Dan Zimmerman (drums, percussion). The first album was so successful that Piet & Co. carried on, releasing numerous sequels: "Unification" (1999), "Intermission" EP (1999), "Dark Assault" (2001), "Condition Red" (2002), and "Battering Ram" (2004). After "Dark Assault," Kai Hansen left. In 2005 Piet started another project, called Savage Circus, but revived IS in 2007 with "Megatropolis."
IRON SAVIOR (1997)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "Brave New World," title track, "Riding On Fire"
If you are expecting Somewhere Out In Space, Vol. 2, you are close, but not quite right. I like this album better, because it's heavier and catchier. Voice of Piet Sielck appeals to me more than the one of Kai Hansen. Sorry. Kai here concentrates on what he does best: playing guitar. The album is a rock opera, but the plot mostly takes place "outside of songs," and I never really paid much attention to it. The story revolves around a protective satellite, launched by the civilization of Atlantis before they are destroyed. This satellite, Iron Savior, was made to protect them against the evil "Alliance" (it's funny how bands choose similar names for their characters, with some variation: in Rhapsody's epics, "Alliance" represents the forces of good). Now it's back, and not hearing from Atlantis, draws a conclusion that Alliance now rules the world, and decides to destroy it. It lands the robot warriors and nearly destroys all of mankind, but remaining people resist fiercely. First 4 tracks all simply blaze: "Atlantis Falling" ("Fi-yah! In the sky!"), "Brave New World" ("Brave! Brave new world! Of bio-geneteic design!"), "Iron Savior" (my favorite: "Iron, iron savior! Godness in the skies!"), and "Riding On Fire" ("Ridin' on fi-yah! Touchin' the sky!" -- do you notice a pattern?) are all freakin' awesome heavy and fast speed metal songs. "Break It Up" is totally out of place: it has nothing to do with the album and is weak overall. "Assailant," "Children Of The Wasteland" (despite a horribly cheesy chorus), and "Protect The Law" are also solid rockers. "Watcher In The Sky" can be also found on "Somewhere Out In Space," and it's alright. "The Flight Tonight" is a weird one: something you would expect from Depeche Mode and not from metal. Yet, it's pretty cool. Overall, the album is just what metal needs: heaviness, speed, and rocking.
UNIFICATION (1999)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "Coming Home," "Eye To Eye," "Prisoner Of The Void"
One of the gems of 1999. The sequel to the Iron Savior saga is even better than Volume 1, if you can imagine that. Everything is heavy, everything is fast, everything is catchy, everything's a blast (I started talking poetry, oh darn!), and everything just friggin' rocks! "The plot thickens" (quoting John Travolta from "Face/Off"), with arriving aliens, descendants of the Atlantis race, who managed to wake up a sleeping "bio-unit" inside the Iron Savior and help mankind win this war against machines. All songs are highlights: "Coming Home" (great from start to finish), "Starborn Children" (influenced heavily by Dickinson's "Starchildren" - same chorus! - but it's still way cool and sounds like "Stubborn Children" at times :), "Deadly Sleep" (Kai sings this one very well), "Forces Of Rage" (Priest all over, gr-r-reat!), "Eye To Eye" (my favorite -- what a rocking chorus!), "Prisoner Of The Void," and others are all outstanding. Can't say enough good words about Piet Sielk and Kai Hansen. They both just keep rolling, keeping metal "music of the gods" it was meant to be. The album also has two covers: "Neon Knights" from Black Sabbath and "Gorgar" from Helloween (Kai is back to his old tricks). Album-concluding "Dragonslayer" is performed by a band Excelsis, who, apparently, won the spot on an Iron Savior CD in some contest. Not bad, but I'm not sure if that's a good way to promote young talents.
INTERLUDE (1999)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Riding On Fire (live)," "Hatchet Of War," "Desert Plains"
Regarding the concert half of this half-and-half disc: I must plea bitter disappointment. Piet Sielk must have used a TON of overdubs and vocal effects on all studio IS albums. Frankly, none of his famous powerful wails from s/t or Unification albums are present. Aside from that, the live performance is flawless. Kai rips on guitar and also does a good job on "Watcher In The Sky." So, first five (or six, if you count the video clip for "Atlantis Is Falling") tracks are live version of the tunes from the s/t album. It must have been recorded in 1998, before Unification. The song choice is great: "Iron Savior," "Brave New World," and "Riding On Fire" are my TOP 3 songs from their debut. The next four tracks add more to the continuing saga of Iron Savior. Even though it seemed like in Unification the joined forces of Earthlings and alien descendants of Atlantis have defeated the evil machine, and the future looks bright. However, out of nowhere, another threat appears: the malevolent race of "Time Masters." Looks like we're in for another portion of Star Wars. Oh, yeah, and the cover of Judas Priest "Desert Plains" is pretty good.
DARK ASSAULT (2001)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Solar Wings," "Dragons Rising," "Firing The Guns"
This is second most derivative album I've heard all year (only after PF's Nuclear Fire). The song titles should tell you it all: "Never Say Die," "Seek And Destroy," "Predators," "I've Been To Hell," and "Eye Of The World." The songs fit their titles: not one new idea on this 60 minute release. The song "Predators" has the following words: "We warn you now, you things out there, it's time to understand. We'll blow into nothingness whatever you may send." Please, visit here and tell me this is not the most blatant lyrics ripoff you've ever heard! The album actually starts out pretty neat, with some neo-techno sounds in the intro to "Never Say Die," but then it turns into another trite "heard-it-a-million-times" power riff. That is not to say that there are no good rocking tunes on this album: "Solar Wings" (sung by Kai) is pretty cool, so are "Dragons Rising" and "Firing The Guns," and all others don't really sound bad, just very repetitive. On a Gamma Ray No World Order review I said that Kai Hansen clearly ran out of ideas. The only two people who ran out of ideas faster than Kai are Piet Sielk and Ralf Scheepers. Again, I don't mean to say it's bad or anything, just grab at your own risk. Oh yeah, a mandatory Priest cover at the end ("Delivering The Goods") is REALLY good.
MEGATROPOLIS (2007)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: “Running Riot,” “The Omega Man,” title track
This album helped me regain interest in IS. It certainly sounds fresher than any samples I’ve heard from either Condition Red (condition terminal?) or “Battering Ram.” Yes, it’s still the same melodic speed metal blazer that I have known and loved 8-9 years ago. The main problem, of course, is the absence of Hansen: he used to add the whole other dimension to IS, something that its current incarnation lacks. But, ultimately, the songs are good again. The opening one-two punch of “Running Riot”/“The Omega Man” is the best I’ve heard in quite some time. The title track has some moments that remind me of Crue’s “Red Hot.” “Cybernatic Queen” is an attempt at commercial mid-paced rocker, but it still crunches well. Too bad there is hardly a voice out there that would suit a sex song LESS than that of Sielk (it’s anything but “sielky,” so to speak). The only song I actively dislike is “Flesh”: the explosions are just so annoying! Naturally, every NWOEPM album must have one song with an asinine title: this one has “A Tale From Down Below,” which is otherwise a good song. “Still I Believe” is another highlight (it sounds like something Ozzy would do back in the day). So, while not really on the same level as the first two and a half albums, this one is definitely a push in the direction of good quality. No Judas Priest covers, though? Impossible!
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