AFM
2014
1. Ascendance (Intro)
2. Last Hero
3. Revenge Of The Bride
4. From Beyond Time
5. Burning Heart
6. Thunder From Mountains
7. Iron Warrior
8. Dragon King
9. Dance With Somebody (Mando Diao Cover)
10. Firestorm
11. The Demon
12. Fistraiser
In a way Iron Savior is a great representation of the power metal scene as a whole. Maybe they're not the most technical/showy or the most varied band in the metal scene, but they're really great at sounding epic, powerful vocal deliveries, and energy that gets you pumped. I pretty much know what to expect from an Iron Savior album and that is to bang my head and want to sing along. They're just great at what they do and an Iron Savior song is immediately recognizable as theirs. Really, how much I like an Iron Savior album tends to come in how infectious the songs are, how epic the choruses feel, and how driving the rhythms are so it all boils down to the songwriting session. The Landing certainly had it, but it's worth noting that the previous album Megatropolis' songs just didn't grab me as much. Going into this one I was hoping the band kept up the energy level from The Landing.
After listening to Rise Of The Hero I couldn't really remember one strikingly driving rhythm or super epic chorus so that pretty much tells you what you need to know. The sound is basically still the same with it's gruff-ish vocals building to soaring/layered choruses and thick chainsaw-like guitar charging ahead coupled with the feel of a sci-fi warrior movie's soundtrack, but there's something missing. This album is lacking that magical, so called it factor. Nothing here takes any big leaps in sound and this is familiar, pretty decent sounding stuff, but it never really seems to get past the familiar. As already stated, I don't expect Iron Savior to reinvent the wheel, but I do expect them to come up with a rhythm that stands out and sticks in my head or a chorus that just makes me want to sing along. That never really happens for me as the songs seem to lack that extra bit of passion or muscle and the choruses sometimes get a bit overly light and happy. The overall sound is still good, still Iron Savior, but that's about all that can really be said of this. Rise Of The Hero is basically more Megatropolis than The Landing. I just don't hear any new songs to really latch onto here that make for new live staples or that make me want to pick this album sometimes over another, better Iron Savior release.
These are my least favorite sort of reviews to write because the band didn't do anything particularly Wrong. There were no big changes, but they didn't do anything exceptionally right either. It's almost something you need to hear to understand. In that sense this is probably worth a listen for fans, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this for a new listener. If this was the first album I heard from Iron Savior I'd probably walk away thinking they had a nice sound, but were a little too typical to stand out in the genre. For a band with a pretty predictable sound you just need those sort of nifty little moments that make the songs jump out and this album doesn't really have them. The band simply doesn't come up with any new tricks here or get quite forceful or powerful enough in the deliveries to set the band/songs apart. Honestly, the highlights listed here wouldn't be highlights on an album like Condition Red or Unification. It's albums like this that I can't get excited about reviewing and they turn into a chore because I don't have anything to write about that I particularly loved or hated.
Highlights: Revenge Of The Bride, Burning Heart, Dragon King
Rating - 3.0/5
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