Space Commander Piet Sielck is back with a brand new Iron Savior album called Battering Ram. This is the fifth studio album from this German heavy/speed metal band. Kai Hansen left the band a long time ago ... but Iron Savior was always the project of Piet Sielck (lead vocalist, guitarist and ... producer).

The first song - Battering Ram - is a classic Iron Savior track : heavy, fast, epic sing-along choruses, melodic lead guitar, double-kick drums. The bridge and the chorus get printed in your brain in no time and the solos invite you for an "air guitar show" in front of your mirror. Piet Sielck's production is once again perfect, but that's logical considering Piet's talent as producer (Wizard, Persuader). The effects applied on the vocals & the guitar represent the trademark of Iron Savior (the sound is powerfully truncated using the echo effect). The second track - Stand Against The King - is another classic Iron Savior track : speedy guitar riffs, powerful choruses, melodic solos sending you directly to Helloween, Blind Guardian, without forgetting Grave Digger's epic trademark. Welcome to German Heavy Metal Universe :)

The third track - Tyranny Of Steel - continue the roller coast : fast, in your face melodic guitar solos and the usual punchy chorus. Nothing to say ... expect this is great stuff. Of course, at this stage, I recognize that there is almost no difference between Helloween, Gamma Ray, Iron Savior, Grave Digger and Primal Fear music. The voice of each singer makes us believe there is a kind of difference, but except may be Grave Digger, we are listening to classic melodic heavy/speed metal like we use to since ... Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I & Part II. The remaining point to judge "differently" these bands is their song-writing and you will agree with me that Iron Savior (Piet Sielck) knows how to write catchy and hunting melodic songs. Consequently, Piet Sielck's voice is really cool and the "spacy production" used for Iron Savior albums generate the difference with the legions of Helloween's copy-cat bands.

Time Will Tell (another roller coast song reminding you Gamma Ray), Break The Curse (a typical Judas Priest track with a classic Iron Savior chorus), Riding Free (another melodic heavy/speed metal song taking you back to Helloween or Gamma Ray), Starchaser (a kind of power metal song "à la" Manowar), Machine World (much heavier, much slower, escorted by a powerful chorus) constitute the skeleton of Battering Ram. There are no weak track on this fifth album... but there is also nothing new on the horizon : the sound is the same since Unification, the melody reminds you always another song, another album, another band. However, as I mentioned it previously, the quality of the song-writing is once again there. At the end, I find myself hand banging from the beginning until the end of the record. In other words, I enjoy the music released by my cd-player.

Similarly to Running Wild, Iron Savior delivers ... typical Iron Savior music. Thanks for your dedicated perseverance Mr. Sielck's as I feel affection for this type of music. Of course if you are looking for something new ... pass your way. On the other hand, if you like the above-mentioned bands or if you like Unification or Condition Red, don't miss this album. That's simple as that ;)

Aaah these German metalers ...