IRON SAVIOR
Reforged- Riding On Fire
2017 AFM Records
Fans not wise enough to pick up the initial releases of German band IRON SAVIOR’s first five classic albums (which were released on Noise Records) are out of luck as they are out of print. Since the band is not allowed to reissue the original recordings due to legal reasons, they decided to re-record select tracks from them. The albums the songs on Reforged came from are the band’s first five albums, which are: Iron Savior (1997), Unification (1999), Dark Assault (2001), Condition Red (2002) and Battering Ram (2004).
These are all 100% pure classic metal albums. Honestly, you could pull any song from them and this would work. Of course, some songs are more popular than others, and there are a colossal 19 songs here – over an hour and a half of quintessential power metal. From Iron Savior, the songs “Brave New World”, “For The World”, “Watcher In The Sky”, “Iron Savior”, “Atlantis Falling” and “Riding On Fire” (which serves as the subtitle to this collection) are redone.
From Unification, “Prisoner Of The Void”, “Eye To Eye” and “Mind Over Matter” are redone. The only song from Dark Assault is “I’ve Been To Hell”. Seven songs are extracted from the masterpiece Condition Red: “Titans Of Our Time”, “Mindfeeder”, “Warrior”, “Tales Of The Bold”, “No Heroes”, “Protector” and the title track. The two tracks from Battering Ram are “Break The Curse” and the title track.
This is essentially a “best of” double album from the first half of IRON SAVIOR’s career. My only complaint is that it’s lacking a lost track, or a song they never gave the label from that era. If you’re like me and already own all these albums, it’s still worth your time to hear these classics re-recorded with modern production values. Bandleader Piet Sielck is proud of this album, and he mixed it himself. That’s reason enough to invest in it, as far as I’m concerned. The album cover features another elegant work by Felipe Machado Franco.
The album is available in 2-CD, as well as double blue and double red vinyl formats. If you have never listened to IRON SAVIOR, do yourself a favor and check out one of the best metal bands to ever exist.
5.0 Out Of 5.0
