STEINMETAL (7/10)

Still waiting for the hero to save us, not a guy with itching suit that might be like Spiderman, but an individual with the message of Metal to reclaim the throne for the inducement of Heavy Metal music as the chosen way to be, live and inspire. Childish uniformity or perhaps a cliché', yet it is undying and no matter age, it will remain forever. It brings me to the savior machine, interweaving with the Metal priest from Germany, an artist named Piet Sielck and his longstanding communion of steel named IRON SAVIOR, a relentless capture of the essence of true Teutonic Metal, a kind of direction that would be rough and tough, but altogether melodic, victoriously catchy and desirable. Prolonging the grandstand, IRON SAVIOR went back out there, to the far reaches of space for another metaphor, an interstellar war for survival, packed with experience and an inner principle towards music that will never surpass, "Rise Of A Hero" was forged, and yes from the same fires of 80's Heavy Metal, retaining the savior machine's consistency with a broadened view of the protect and serve routine.

Sharp as the finest blade on earth, or universe, when it comes to their ACCEPT meets GAMMA RAY sound, IRON SAVIOR kept their initial Metal pattern through "Rise Of A Hero". There aren't any distinct surprises or anything that might hint of them straying away from their doctrine of Metal. Probably their chosen cover song for the Swedish Rock band MANDO DIAO was virtually the only disaster that I could think of following my frequent entwining with this album. Musically, it was the same old shebang, a deliverance of infectious riffs for riff based tunes, traditional patterns of Speed and mid tempo Heavy Metal rhythmic thunder, cracking up with deluging melodies instigating polished loud blasting squeaks and bursts of soloing flames. Sielck's perception is carved in stone and as it would seem there will be nothing, maybe the destruction of the earth, that will led him astray from his type of songwriting. I assume that there will be those that will refer to his perpetual vision as a delusion of grandeur as for over two decades this guy hasn't really renewing anything, but keeps up the his basic form as if each album was the debut. In a matter of speaking, "Rise Of A Hero", even with his thunderous manner, explores the possibility that Sielck has its limits to what he can produce, thus remaining bound to his old forged steel. Lengthening the catchy procedures of the songs, sounding all heroic and blazing in the sun is addictive no doubt, yet there is that arrangement, traditional to some extent, that is a bit monotonic at times, only waiting for a stellar chorus to immerse and upgrade it. Sielck, as a vocalist, is still high and mighty, hoarse and filled with hunger and lust for his written material and for the message that Metal stands for.

Within "Rise Of A Hero" I found my niche rather easily, it came quite natural to me as a longtime fan of this band. Speed Metal storms railing on the eminent heroic line of the universe with "From Far Beyond Time" and the captivating "Thunder from the Mountains", encouraging an epic gravity with a flamboyant mid tempo riffery eruption sprawling the crown of the "Dragon King", a passionate type of Metallic smoldered of a possession choked ballad trailing the "The Demon" and the natural hailing for Metal in the image of the spiked leathery "Fistraiser". As you might have noticed, this album retains the protect and serve humdrum of this band, not flinching to either side just remaining steady. There are inspiring moments of German Metal bombastic flavors that would preserve your admiration for Metal, however, smoothly as it goes, there are various occurrences of a slight limitation in the songwriting.

METTLEANGEL (7/10)

Are you ready for another dark assault on the Metal mind? IRON SAVIOR - those brave new weird watchers in the sky are coming home with their eighth endeavor. These ironbound titans of our time guarantee that Heavy Metal never dies, by unleashing the forces of rage with their highest tier, reign of steel.

Even still I believe that their no guts, no glory, previous effort "The Landing" was their best attempt at riding on fire since "Condition Red". It felt to me that "Megatropolis" and "Battering Ram" were lacking that burning star spirit, borne out of frustration. Thankfully, they have recaptured that raving mind over matter mentality and the unification of power, speed, and mettle is still present on "Rise Of The Hero". With some of the best material penned in decades, these sworn protectors of Power Metal have something to prove.

Through the contortions of time, "Last Hero" honors the children of the wasteland with a burning heart. Without a warning, screaming out for vengeance, here comes "Revenge Of The Bride". Although, the stone cold "Burning Heart" is rather basic, it is still honest. With the exception to "From Far Beyond Time", the sci-fi elements have seem to taken a back seat to more fantasy-based themes, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Time will tell, but I am grateful the band seeks to reinvent themselves, and keep it fresh and still fast as ever.

Just like a battering ram, storming the gates, and bringing down the walls of Jericho, these iron warriors deliver the goods with the furious "Thunder From The Mountains", verifying that the phantoms of death know just how to break the curse of monotony and contend with the like of STORMWARRIOR.

"Dragon King" is a bit more epic, and tends to drag on too much. However, I do enjoy hearing "Dance With Somebody" a cover by MANDO DIAO. This is not too crazy considering they performed their rendition of "Crazy" by SEAL. If you recall, GAMMA RAY also attempted PET SHOP BOYS and PARAGON did an awesome version of BACKSTREET BOYS' "Larger Than Life". Overall, there are plenty of fist raising anthems like "Firestorm" "and "Iron Warrior". Also, IRON SAVIOR always validate that PRIEST is still consistently present in the songwriting process, as "The Demon" echoes the haunting shades of "Beyond The Realms Of Death".

Congratulations on other solid ball of rock, and a meteor shower of meaty power riffs, stellar soloing, and excellent song structure. I will forever support the environ of IRON SAVIOR.