by Justin Gaines
– Senior Columnist —
Long-running German Power Metal band Iron Savior has been quite productive this year. It’s only been a year since they released their last studio album (the most excellent Rise of the Hero), but they’ve delivered two new releases that are sure to please their long time fans. The first is their 3-disc Live at the Final Frontier set, and the second is this re-recording of the band’s 2007 album Megatropolis. The band – specifically singer/guitarist/founder Piet Sielck – was never happy with the way their sixth album was mixed or the way the vocals sounded, so they corrected that on what they’re calling Megatropolis 2.0.
The original Megatropolis album was a concept album with a science-fiction theme, much like previous Iron Savior releases, but dropping the original storyline. It’s kind of a Power Metal Blade Runner, which worked better than it should. It was a really heavy album, especially compared to what Helloween and Gamma Ray were doing at the time, and even though Sielck was unhappy with the vocals, he turned in yet another powerhouse performance.
Megatropolis 2.0 is a newly remixed version of the original Megatropolis album, and features newly recorded vocals. And we’re not just talking lead vocals. They’ve added in layers of backing vocals that were apparently left off the initial album, giving it a grander, more epic Blind Guardian feel, which is definitely not a bad thing. They’ve also tacked on a pair of bonus tracks – the anthemic “Hammerdown” and “Iron Watcher,” which sounds a lot like something off the Iron Savior debut.
You can argue whether the average Iron Savior fan had any problem with Megatropolis in the first place, but the album has been out of print for a while, so if Megatropolis 2.0 makes the band happy and gets this album back out there, that’s a win-win. We’ll call Megatropolis 2.0 the “Director’s Cut.” It’s probably not going to be considered an essential Iron Savior release, but the die hard fans will absolutely want to get their hands on it.
Genre: Power Metal
Band:
Piet Sielck (v) (g)
Thomas Nack (d)
Joachim Kustner (g)
Yenz Leonhardt (b)
Track Listing:
1. The Omega Man
2. Megatropolis
3. Flesh
4. Cybernetic Queen
5. Running Riot
6. Cyber Hero
7. A Tale From Down Below
8. Still I Believe
9. Hammerdown
10. Farewell and Goodbye
11. Iron Watcher
Label: AFM Records
Website: www.iron-savior.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10
