IRON SAVIOR release new album ‘Firestar’ on 6th October, out on AFM Records

Sometimes pure coincidence or seemingly inconspicuous little details can turn a very good album into an outstanding release. In the case of Firestar, the latest studio recording by Hamburg power metal act Iron Savior, it has come as a real surprise even for singer/guitarist Piet Sielck that the new songs surpass the material of the impressive predecessor album Skycrest. In fact, the cornerstones of the current offering were already set and pointed to a successful production within the tried and tested framework, when all of a sudden everything turned out rather differently: “Just before the recordings were finalised, I was inspired by the muse, totally of the blue. I wrote two more songs out of nowhere and changed a third one on the spur of the moment. And suddenly, Firestar turned into an even better record,” says Sielck happily, admitting that this unexpected creative surge “triggered great emotions” in him. Firestar will be out on AFM/Soulfood on 6 October 2023, with a number of singles scheduled to be released on 1 July 2023 to whet Iron Savior’s fans’ appetite for the upcoming masterpiece.

The three tracks that Sielck is referring to are the anthem In The Realm Of Heavy Metal, the title track Firestar and the final Together As One, where the basic structure had already been finalised when he changed the chorus, and the number “immediately turned into real highlight”. Mind you, doesn’t this superlative apply to every one of the eleven songs? After all, the title track is irresistible and with its incredible 176 bpm definitely one of the fastest songs in Iron Savior’s history to date. On the other hand, Firestar features a wide range of influences from hard rock to pop, all calibrated to heavy metal standards thanks to those typical Iron Savior virtues. Such as Through The Fires Of Hell with its emotionally charged lyrics dedicated to the Iron Savior boss’s wife. Sielck: “In our blended family with three wonderful daughters, we’ve gone through any number of ups and downs together. I’d go to hell and back for her every day if I had to.”

Speaking of which: To Piet Sielck and his three comrades-in-arms Joachim ‘Piesel’ Küstner (guitar), Jan S. Eckert (bass) and Patrick Klose (drums), the content of their material is much more than a mere accessory. “We have to be able to identify with our lyrics, they have to be relevant, otherwise they don’t work for us,” comments Sielck on the parameters of the words of his material, which, despite certain fantasy/sci-fi leanings, is always about the basic rules of coexistence, about respect and tolerance, about good and evil, and evidence – as Sielck puts it – “a Hanseatic view of things”. The same can be said of the four songs featuring Iron Savior’s typical Atlantis theme and to Across The Wasteland with its reference to Steven King’s Dark Tower series.

Iron Savior have again come up with an exceptional studio album in Firestar, enhanced by Felipe Machado Franco’s impressive cover artwork presenting the Iron Savior spaceship that has been around since 2011. The cherry on the cake is the powerful production courtesy of Hamburg’s Powerhouse Studio, including intelligently positioned keyboard parts and the anthemic background choirs, supported by Sielck’s 17-year-old daughter Frida and her boyfriend. There can be no doubt about it: Firestar is a bonfire in many respects!