939. Iron Savior / Live at the Final Frontier. 2015. 4/5

For those of us who have followed the course of Iron Savior's career, it has been an enjoyable and enthralling ride. No doubt those who live on the continent have also had the please of seeing the band live, but for those of us stuck on a huge island in the south of the planet, we have not had that pleasure. So the release of a live album - along with a live DVD of the same performance from Hamburg in January 2015 - at least finally gives us a taste of how the band translates their excellent material from the studio to the stage.

Recorded on the tour to promote the Rise of the Hero album, this album contains work from throughout their career. The set list perfectly represents the new material that the band is touring to promote, as well as the better material from the past, the songs that are the lifeblood of the band. The opening intro of "Ascendance" flows straight into the anthemic "Last Hero" which starts the album off on the right foot. Other songs from the latest release here are "Revenge of the Bride" and "Burning Heart" which both come at the front of the set list, allowing a progression to the material that the punters know so well to come through in the second half of the set. Perhaps a little surprisingly, there are actually five songs here that come from the previous album The Landing, on which the previous tour would have been based around. It is a strange occurrence in the modern touring cycle for this to happen, but that is not to say that the songs don't deserve their place. "The Savior", "Starlight", "Hall of the Heroes", "R.U. Ready" and the ready made anthem "Heavy Metal Never Dies" are all the basis of the strength of that album, and all are performed here with gusto. The older material is made up of the songs that have stood the test of time, and demand their selection within the set list, the ones all fans know, such as "Condition Red", "Break the Curse", "I've Been to Hell", "Coming Home" and "Atlantis Falling".
I must admit that I am a bit ambivalent about certain medley's, and the one here, entitled "Iron Watcher" gets me too. Two of the most important songs in Iron Savior's history are from that debut album, and happen to be "Iron Savior" and "Watcher in the Sky". And yet here we only get half of each, pasted together. OK, so maybe we want to concentrate on the recently released songs, but these are synonymous with the band. Anyway, it's a small gripe, and it still sounds great.
The vocals from Piet Sielck and Jan-Sören Eckert blend terrifically well here for the most part, giving us at least a piece of the multi-layered harmony that exists on the studio albums. Piet's vocals come across here very well, and while some criticism has existed that he is too one dimensional when it comes to his voice, I personally think he knows what he can do with his voice and he makes the maximum capacity from that. It's a unique voice, one that is instantly recognisable. He sounds great on this recording. Both are also very good on their respective instruments, as are guitarist Joachim "Piesel" Küstner and drummer Thomas Nack.

As a fan I find this an enjoyable outing, showing that the band can back up their excellence in the studio by playing it live as well. Perhaps it isn't as ground breaking as some other live albums through the past 40 years or so, and it probably won't be one that is brought up in conversation as such. But as a testament to the band in question, it provides an excellent riposte in the career of this hard working and perhaps undervalued group.

Rating:  "I'm a watcher in the sky, I see universes' die"  4/5.