943. Iron Savior / Rise of the Hero. 2014. 4/5

While other bands out there in the musicverse seem to get a little soft in the middle regions as they get a little older or a little more comfortable, there are bands like Iron Savior. While there have been a couple of moments on their previous two albums where one could begin to believe that the above malady had begun to creep into their work ethic (and it should be mentioned that it was really only the odd moment), it appears that the band has had an epiphany. Maybe not a complete one, but the result here on Rise of the Hero is an album that feels closer to the best values that Iron Savior based their success on - speed, fire, and raise your fist and yell. It's not all M&M's and Skittles, but in general the power settles firmly throughout.

The first half of the album is what gets your blood pumping with enthusiasm for the cause. The songs all have Piet Sielck's vocals at their most energetic, climbing above the music in chorus and becoming the front half of each song, dominating with his powerful intent. This is when he sounds at his best, and when that occurs the songs can only benefit. The other pieces of the puzzle fall into place as well. It's the double kick drumming, combined with the 2/4 timing and well formed drum rolls that help to set the pace of the music, and drive it along such that it feels like that atypical power metal speed. Thomas Nack has a... well... a knack... of making this happen, and his precision is as impressive as always here in being the driving force of the music. Add to this the excellent underscored bass work from Jan-Sören Eckert, who again manages to run up and down the neck of his instrument in such a way that it improves the bottom end sensationally without over imposing itself, and the rhythm section holds together each song wonderfully well. And, as always, the duelling and harmonising guitars of Sielck and Joachim "Piesel" Küstner fill the air with that power metal magic combination.
The instrumental "Ascendence" into "Last Hero" is naturally anthemic, encouraging you to sing along with the chorus with gusto. In fact, I just did again as it was playing for this review. This is followed by "Revenge of the Bride", utilising that part of Iron Savior that I enjoy immensely, with Piet singing over just the drums and bass during the start of the verse, before the guitars bust in and help raise the roof into the solo section. Great stuff. And then by god they fly into "From Far Beyond Time", hardly stopping for breath. The mix of excess speed and standard speed in this song (yeah, that's hard to describe, but let's just say that there is a two different levels of fast power metal speed in there) is perfect, and the band shifts gears without any hiccups along the way. "Burning Heart" moves concurrently into "Thunder From the Mountains" and into the power anthem "Iron Warrior", with all songs utilising the same great techniques as the songs that came before them.
Given the excellence of the first half of the album, what comes afterwards may not be of quite the same standard, but is mostly forgivable in the whole scheme of the album. "Dragon King" isn't terribly ordinary, but the strength of the earlier tracks doesn't filter through here. The slower tempo and what sounds like a formula driven lyrical and vocal set up does tend to halt the momentum that has been created to this point. The cover of Swedish pop band song Mando Diao's "Dance With Somebody" is an... interesting piece. I don't know the original at all, but you can notice the difference between this song and the others on the album. I wouldn't say it is a favourite, but I do find myself tapping along with it whenever it comes on. "The Demon" is as close to a ballad as the band comes to on this album, and in its way it is perhaps only the first half of the song that tends this way. Still, me and power ballads... not a good combination. However, the songs directly before and after this are great. "Firestorm" rips along and is fired up by Piet's vocals, dragging the back half of the album up with its ferocity, while album closer "Fistraiser" again invokes the call to heavy metal both vocally and musically, and finishes off the band's latest work on the front foot.

Quite honestly, Iron Savior is a band whose albums I can, at any time, grab and put on the stereo, and enjoy whether loud and cranking and singing at the top of my lungs, or in the background while talking with others around. While their work would not make any "Best Albums Of All Time" lists I might make, as a collected works they would rank very highly, and this album continues that trend. Perhaps more importantly, I don't consider that they have any dud albums, and that is quite a task. If you like their earlier work, you will enjoy this thoroughly.

Rating:   "Raise your fist and set your spirit free, Heavy metal is our deal".  4/5