Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Iron Savior
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2015
Running time: 84:39
Rating: 4.5/5
Iron Savior are one of those bands you can count among the bunch of German power metal acts of the so-called »first generation.« Even though they formed relatively late, in 1996, in one of the most important cradles of European power metal, the city of Hamburg, their leader, singer, guitarist, producer and main songwriter Piet Sielck is a man who belongs to the generation of musicians that founded bands like Helloween, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, and so on…
Sielck has of course been great friends with all of them over the years and has worked with them musically in various combinations. The swaps between the members of Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian and Iron Savior are well known, for example. Still, Iron Savior never had the luck to break through on the scene as strongly as the other two bands mentioned in the previous sentence. Maybe that’s partly because Sielck spent most of his career on production work, as well as running his own label, and didn’t put that much effort into planting the Iron Savior name more firmly on the international scene, or at least the European one.
Whatever. Among true power metal heads, Iron Savior are a well-known quality brand. By 2015 they had put out eight studio albums, three EPs and two singles, and the time had finally come for their first proper live document. There’s no better feeling than when the chance to record a new album comes along and you get to play a gig right in your hometown of Hamburg. That happened at the local club Knust on January 10, 2015, at one of only five live shows Iron Savior played that year.
The release runs a little under an hour and a half, and it spins a carousel of the most recognizable songs from Iron Savior’s career, with the exception of a complete snub of the songs from the album »Megatropolis (2007).« Here it’s worth mentioning that Sielck surely has special plans for that album when it comes to playing it live, since this year Iron Savior played and recorded it in the studio all over again and re-released it, because Sielck wasn’t happy with the production of the original. There’s absolutely nothing to complain about with this live document. The production has caught all of its liveliness and organic feel! It embodies the incredible club chemistry the band built up that night together with a devoted German crowd. The material is played brilliantly. Sielck sings with tremendous power. He cuts through every register with his piercing, hugely authoritative, at times manly and yet also fiercely aggressive (biting) vocals, which bring a thoroughly passionate delivery of the melodies. To close, the band plays, somewhat surprisingly, the Judas Priest song Breaking the Law. A nice tribute to their idols, but perhaps one move too many, since real fans of the band would rather have heard one more Iron Savior classic. Nevertheless, with this move for the big finale, the band got the club scene fully fired up and blew the roof off the place.
At this show the band also presented their still-current studio album »Rise of the Hero« (2014), which got a good deal of attention in the live set. That’s entirely justified, as it’s an excellent record the band can be especially proud of, and they play it live with that same attitude. Totally committed and with everything they’ve got! »Live at the Final Frontier« is a superb live document that fans of this sadly often overlooked but excellent German power metal band will be thrilled with and then some. With this release, Iron Savior prove that, despite how rarely they play live, they’re a formidable fortress on stage, still hungry for blood and delivering their material in concert in fantastic fashion.
Lineup
Piet Sielck – vocals, guitar
Joachim “Piesel” Küstner –guitar, backing vocals
Jan-Sören Eckert – bass guitar, backing vocals
Thomas Nack – drums
Production
Piet Sielck
Tracklist
DVD
1. Ascendence (Intro)
2. Last Hero
3. Starlight
4. The Savior
5. Revenge Of The Bride
6. Break The Curse
7. Burning Heart
8. Mind Over Matter
9. Hall Of The Heroes
10. R U Ready
11. Condition Red
12. I’ve Been To Hell
13. Heavy Metal Never Dies
14. Coming Home
15. Iron Watcher (Medley)
16. Atlantis Falling
17. Breaking The Law (Judas Priest Cover)
+ (additional Backstage/concert footage)
CD 1
1. Ascendence (Intro)
2. Last Hero
3. Starlight
4. The Savior
5. Revenge Of The Bride
6. Break The Curse
7. Burning Heart
8. Mind Over Matter
CD 2
1. Hall Of The Heroes
2. R U Ready
3. Condition Red
4. I’ve Been To Hell
6. Coming Home
7. Iron Watcher (Medley)
8. Atlantis Falling
9. Breaking The Law (Judas Priest Cover)
