Since their inception in the mid-90s, IRON SAVIOR have been an iconic name in German power metal. With more than twenty years behind them and a new record about every two years, these guys are still going as strong as ever.
“Kill or Get Killed” is business as usual: cranked bass, hooky hooks, and gloriously-heavy guitars. With a method and style that have remained all but unchanged for almost their entire career, IRON SAVIOR are great at doing what they know and executing it masterfully. The rhythm section is about as beefed up as Ronnie Coleman in his heyday (but has aged way fucking better) and the choruses retain their familiar, catchy melodies.
The band continues to play with the same vitality and vigour that it always has; there is no limit to the power behind Piet Sielck’s mountainous bellows, which, for a guy who’s half a decade from sixty, is quite the feat. Conversely, Joachim Küstner’s exquisite shredding has only grown finer with time. There are no real highlights on this record because most of the songs have the same formula and structure. Despite the blatant and intentional lack of variety, this metal is hard as Hell, which is all I really care about at the end of the day.
In the originality department, “Kill or Get Killed” gets a zero-and-a-half. However, nobody expects anything new from these guys. They have their shtick and it works really fucking well, so why bother trying to break new ground? It’s evident that these guys are in it for their undying love for metal and their passion is in the forefront of every song.
This album is great, plain and simple.
Originally written by Kane for powerthorn.com.
