History & Biography Hamburg’s Iron Savior was a speed metal band formed by Piet Sielck an old heavy metal hand with roots in the pre-Helloween days of Iron Fist. Sielck had spent part of the intervening years sound engineering. The band adopted the German speed metal sound championed by the likes of Gamma Ray, with similar science fiction concepts, and began releasing albums through Noise Records. The band’s debut, issued one year following the band’s formation, featured Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kursch on partial vocals. The band issued an EP in 1998 called Coming Home. A 1999 EP was called Interlude and featured several new songs, as well as live tracks. The album featured four new songs, five songs recorded live at Wacken Open Air and a cover of Judas Priest's Desert Plains. The CD also acts as a CD ROM, with Kai Hansen only appearing on one track. Hansen would leave the band due to time pressures in 2001. Joachim Küstner, who was a roadie for Helloween, Gamma Ray and Masterplan among others, had joined on guitar in 2000. With Hansen's departure the band would retain two guitarists.
The band was soon touring Germany and Europe with the likes of Running Wild and Grave Digger and playing at all the usual festivals. Iron Savior would release a new album, entitled Megatropolis, on June 4th, 2007 through Dockyard 1. Running Riot, The Omega Man and Flesh were among the song titles. Iron Savior issued a new album, called The Landing, on November 18th through AFM Records. Jan-Sören Eckert was back.
Sielck would join Stauch in Savage Circus in 2004. The band has repeatedly covered Judas Priest over the years. In late 2011, Iron Savior founder Piet Sielck left Savage Circus to focus on his main band. Piet assisted Japan’s Maverick with its Natural Born Steel album of 2012 when that band’s leader travelled to Germany to complete the record. Iron Savior would release a new album, Rise Of The Hero, on February 28th through AFM Records in Europe and Avalon in Japan. Megatropolis 2.0 featured new vocals and mix in 2015. The gang further released a self-cover album of re-recordings called Reforged - Riding On Fire on December 8 2017 through AFM Records. A planned Spanish tour with Airborn was postponed from January to December 2022. Iron Savior had a lyric video for the title track for the Firestar album. This album, which was set through AFM for October 6th, was taped, mixed and mastered by singer and guitarist Piet Sielck. Iron Savior was co-headlining a tour with Mystic Prophecy in November 2024. The Hellfire '24 Tour would see both bands, supported by Mad Max (with a 40th Anniversary set), playing in Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands.
Reviews IRON SAVIOR - DARK ASSAULT - NOISE
Counting members of bands like Gamma Ray, Heavenly, Lacrimosa, etc. among its members it is little surprise that Iron Savior (sic) is reminiscent of the kind of speed metal for which Hamburg is best known. Of the same ilk as the last Metalium album (see review, issue 32) with its science fiction concept of invading aliens, IS has the advantage of diversity by featuring three vocalists, four guitarists, five ...well, they sound German and deliver the metal as only Germans can. However, while being OK, the new CD is short of spectacular and only of moderate interest. What is downright annoying however is the inclusion of yet another cover song of Judas Priest. For it was only four months ago that the band released a Priest cover on an EP - and that wasn't their first one either! Enough nonsense, we are drowning in the commercialism. Stop being clones, live or die based on your own merits. Fans of the earlier mentioned bands can ignore the cover and buy based on the comparison. - Ali "The Metallian"
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