Every Power Metal fan should at least have heard of IRON SAVIOR. They are for a long time one of the most popular German Power Metal bands, and anyone who knows a couple of Teutonic bands besides BLIND GUARDIAN and HELLOWEEN has probably heard of them. They were actually founded by former lead singer of the latter band Kai Hansen, who teamed up Piet Sielck, who is the lead singer now (Kai wasn't the lead singer from the start and has left the band later). IRON SAVIOR have a sound that I really like: they play melodic, hook-driven songs, but there is a certain steely toughness to their sound. Although very melodic they have strong 80s Heavy Metal influence - JUDAS PRIEST can be certainly cited as an influence and the band likes to cover their songs too - which gives them up then many STRATOVARIUS-inspired Euro-Power Metal Bands. They can be corny, but they are also undeniably bad-ass. Their lyrical content and album concepts are strictly Sci-Fi and they've released some absolutely killer albums - I'm familiar with their second ("Unification") and third one ("Dark Assault"), both of which are fantastic and I really enjoy revisiting them.

"Kill or Get Killed" is a twelfth addition to their album discography, and comes after a string of good to great albums, so of course I wasn't expecting anything less then another collection of catchy, steely anthems. And indeed, the band doesn't fail to hit the mark. Most songs have driving melodies, explosive choruses and overall are very catchy. The opener and title song has an anthemic chorus about life and death struggle, and a synth-driven middle section with a dramatic voice narrating the story.  The "Eternal Quest" chorus comes after a less intense bridge which makes it feel very explosive, the catchiness of the chorus is increased by nice twin guitar harmonies. I like the 80s Hard Rock/Heavy Metal sounding "From Dust and Ruble" - the song has some ACCEPT vibes and makes me nostalgic for good old Teutonic Speed/Power Metal. The album ends with a bang: "Legends Of Glory" is a typical steely anthem with a heavy, crunchy verse riff and a triumphant chorus. The guitar playing is really playful, the guitars work in some nice BLIND GUARDIAN-isms too.

The album seems a bit front-loaded to me, there are some songs that I'm not completely enthusiastic about, like "Never Stop Believing" (it's by no means bad, it just feels to me like it's trying to be catchy a little bit too hard), but overall this is a quality release. Once again, IRON SAVIOR doesn't disappoint, the whole album feels a little bit less effortlessly great than their early releases, but a band can't be expected to produce a classic with every release.