Battering Ram - a very apt title for the sixth studio album from German Metal Gods
Iron Savior. Piet Sielck and company have once again given us a terrific Metal album with loads of heaviness and melody, and songs that smack you right in the face like a, um.ram of some sort. We're not really getting anything new here; many of the melodies have that "I've heard this before" feeling to them, and the song structures are basic for the most part.
Iron Savior has never been known for their originality, but what they lack in innovation they more than make up for with heavy, powerful riffs, soaring melodies, and an overall solid package.
The album begins with the title track, and right away I knew I'd be in for another powerhouse of an album. Like many popular Metal bands of late,
Iron Savior seems to have cranked the heaviness up a notch on Battering Ram. The guitars take center stage as far as the production is concerned, and this gives the entire album a huge, powerful atmosphere. The title track is a solid opener with a great riff and a catchy chorus. The next track,
Stand Against the King, is more of the same: classic, melodic Heavy Metal with enough hooks to set it apart from other similar bands.
Tyranny of Steel is the third track, and is one of my favorites on the album. Piet Sielck has one of the most instantly recognizable voices in the world of Metal, and tracks like this are the reason. His vocals absolutely rip through your head with aggressiveness, and as harsh as they are compared to other Helloween/Gamma Ray type bands, they never lose the necessary amount of melody. Whenever I listen to this album I feel as if Piet is grabbing me by the neck and bashing my head into the wall (that is a compliment :)).
Time Will Tell and
Riding Free are my two favorite songs on the album right now. At first they both seemed very ordinary and repetitious, but after multiple listens they really grew on me.
Riding Free especially contains the most uplifting chorus and bridge on the entire album. There were a couple of days recently when I was wasn't feeling too well, and just listening to the bridge in this song when Piet sings,
"Forget about your sorrow...there'll always be tomorrow" in that grand, majestic voice of his made me feel 100% better. That song, along with the huge, soaring chorus on
Time Will Tell, are the main reasons I dig this album so much.
The lyrics aren't breaking any new ground, and for the most part they really didn't thrill me. Only a handful of songs continue the
Iron Savior storyline from the previous albums, which I do find mildly interesting, but the rest of the tracks stand-alone. This is an aspect where I feel
Iron Savior can most definitely improve upon in the future, but they do the job. Most of the lyrics just seem lifted from every other Metal song out there, what with all the talk of steel and machines and kings. I feel that their second album
Unification was the zenith of
Iron Savior lyrics. I still listen to that album and quite enjoy the storyline and crazy, spacey plot -
Battering Ram just doesn't quite measure up.
Those faults aside, you really couldn't ask for a better album from these guys than
Battering Ram. These guys do what they love - playing classic German Melodic Metal that's been kissed by Judas Priest, and you can't blame 'em, even when each new album is a tad less inspired than the last. I think it says a lot about this disc that I've had it in my car every day for the past two weeks, and I don't plan on taking it out of my player anytime soon. I can happily listen to the whole album from beginning to end, but most of the time I just loop
Time Will Tell and
Riding Free over and over. If you're a fan of the Helloween/Gamma Ray/Blind Guardian stuff, I suggest you check
Battering Ram out. You won't find anything new, just an absolutely kick ass collection of Metal songs.
Written by
Matthew Thursday, June 10, 2004
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