Dark Assault

New millennium, new band, right? Well, not entirely – although keep an eye for lineup changes over the next couple of albums – but Dark Assault does show Iron Savior ready to take on the challenges that come with the change of seasons... mainly through doing what they did on Unification. But hey, why bugger with a working formula, right? Well, I will say that Dark Assault is a pretty strong album on its own terms, maintaining a lot of the scale Unification had while pushing out some killer speed metal.

But here’s the thing – as good as it is, it’s not as good as it could’ve been. I listen through the album, I dig the hell out of it, the production’s even more razor-sharp than before and it’s got some fuckin’ banner good riffs… but compared to Unification, it’s just not that great. This is Peter telling Lois she’s his silver medal. Songs like “Never Say Die”, “Seek and Destroy” and “I’ve Been to Hell” do riff hard at the best of times, the compositions are fairly punchy, and the choruses can be catchy. “Never Say Die” has this slick build-up to an explosive riff while “Seek and Destroy” has a real booming chorus, and “I’ve Been to Hell” has a ton of crunch in the riffs. Hansen’s vocals in “Solar Wings” definitely gives it that Gamma Ray vibe, sounding like a B-side from No World Order. “Predators” has this cool trade-off between Sielck and Hansen for the first few verses. Kuck provides some neat atmospheric keys in “Made of Metal”, adds a moodier composition to “Dragons Rising” and gives “After the War” some real zeal – going off of what made “Forevermore” work back on Unification.

Lots of cool moments, with the songs themselves largely hitting a lot like they had before. Admittedly, “Predators” is a rather underwhelming track on its own terms aside from the trading vocals and only a moderately memorable chorus, and “Seek and Destroy” – despite its under-4-minute runtime and despite an otherwise memorable chorus – feels like it goes on forever since they ride a rather middling riff to the ground. Everything else is still enjoyable at a basic level. I’ve already explained the first four songs’ appeal, and they extend to a higher extent to three of the last four tracks. “Firing the Guns” hits like a firing squad, while “Eye of the World” has this galaxy-sized chorus. There’s certainly a lot going in the album’s favor and it does kickstart their transition to the new millennium rather well.

But you go beyond some regular ass power-infused speed metal to a few of the longer cuts on the album. “Dragons Rising” shows a more broad compositional style as everything seems to build off one another, with mid-paced riffing building to a layered chorus, climaxing with the previously mentioned keyboard part. This ends up a rather epic mid-point in the album. It’s about the same sort of thing for “Made of Metal” – a part of the story that can also double as a “brothers of metal, unite” kind of deal. Sielck’s stomping riffs, Hansen’s melodious playing and Kuck’s flourishing keyboards result in a rather strong anthemic deal. The album ends on a damn high note with the emotionally-climactic “After the War” and the excellent cover of “Delivering the Goods”. Covers are usually superfluous, but here, they give the song a more modern makeover to make it even more enjoyable than the Priest classic – and like yeah I say modern, but the album’s like 20 years old, you know what I mean.

Dark Assault is one of highs and relative lows. I mean, much of the latter is more in comparison to the prior full-length album than on their own terms, although some of it is through a couple of absolutely not-great songs. Still, it’s with the highs that the album can stand rather tall. Three albums in and the Hansen/Sielck tag-team have proven the strength and utility of Iron Savior’s punchy melodic speed metal.

Sometimes I'm not sure what to make of this one. There are many cool ideas that are unfortunately not always fully developed. Strangely, these misdirections are confined to the first two-thirds of the album. After that, every fleeting peek of greatness comes together. Yes, the last four songs of Dark Assault could have been the greatest power/speed metal EP ever made.

There are many aspects, even in the weaker first 2/3 of this album, that I really like. Chief among them is the vocal variety. Iron Savior's singers (there are three who contribute on this album) more often use a husky type of voice typical to the 2000s power metal style, much like the late Tony Taylor of Twisted Tower Dire. And I love that sound as much as the next guy. But on Dark Assault they bring in a fantastic theatrical 80s type wailing on "Solar Wings" that is not only technically demanding, but also a perfect fit for the escapist theme of the song. That high Juan Gallardo style returns for some line-by-line trade-offs in the first two verses of "Predators". This is a great decision, adding the only significant energy to an otherwise unremarkable song.

That last line captures the minor but ongoing flaw of most of this album: peeks of greatness scattered among... let's call em detours. Even Iron Savior's great vocal variety isn't immune to this defect; as they take it too far on "I've Been to Hell". The voice in this song is far too heavily processed to give it a far-off vibe. Look, I get what you're going for, but it just drains the human emotional depth from the song. I can also do without the cheesy "beast" altered vocals in "Solar Wings". Would have much preferred that one left as an all-out high-pitch 80s fantasy assault.

The other thing that irks me about Dark Assault is the misuse of very talented keyboardist Andreas Kuck. Two of the three slower, longer epic type songs are just not what they could be. "Dragons Rising" is inexplicably soft - the key melodies, while as always expertly played, sound sad and introspective rather than, well, anything reminiscent of dragons rising! On the other hand, "Made of Metal" is instrumentally a stunning anthem, especially that bit where keys and guitars take turns playing the bridge passage. Despite all that, the goofiness of the song's metal brotherhood lyrics completely swamps the instruments' powerful effect.

Now, pick up all the best bits mentioned in the preceding songs, and mix them together properly, and you get the last four songs. "After the War", from the triumphant intro, to the gorgeously wistful keyboard-backed verses, to the tastefully layered chorus vocals, to the fifth minute's striking guitar solo; gets my nod for power metal song of the century. "Back into the Light" brilliantly succeeds everywhere "Predators" and "I've Been to Hell" almost worked: guitar and vocal effects that highlight rather than hinder the musicians' intent and atmosphere - along with the catchiest chorus on this album. Catchy choruses were conspicuously absent until this one and its predecessor "Eye of the World".

Finally, and I know this may get me some flak, I absolutely love Iron Savior's cover of Judas Priest's "Delivering the Goods". I've always felt like this should be a workmanlike song I could play while unloading crates at the dock; and Piet Sielck's beefier vocals deliver that feeling much more readily than those of Rob Halford. Their punchier modern guitar sound really serves the song well too.

Dark Assault was a great speed-power metal album waiting to happen. It took most of its running time to really find its feet, but once it did, it was worth the wait. Even the weaker moments on here were far from crappy; more like a frustrating teaser of the band's best, which you know is almost in reach.

2 years after the brilliant musicians that made up the classic Iron Savior line-up has assembled to create their magnum opus, they have provided us with yet another astounding feat of brilliance. There were some slight changes on this album from the last, but for the most part this is exactly the same genius that brought about "Unification".

One difference is the change over from current Gamma Ray drummer Dan Zimmerman to former Gamma Ray drummer Thomas Knack. Knack's drumming style is very similar to Zimmerman's, although the sound he gets out of his set is a bit more dense, particularly the more bass-like character of the snare.

Another difference is the slightly less active presence of the keyboards, and this is one of the primary reasons why I gave this album a slightly lower score. Andreas Kuck is an element of the band that helps to distinguish Savior from their inspiration Judas Priest, in addition to an excellent keyboardist, and his skills should be maximized, not downplayed.

One notable difference that probably added to the more heavy feel of this album on several tracks is that bassist Jan Eckert co-wrote about half of them. This is a positive by all standards, as it helps to give this album a needed contrast from it's predecessor.

Other than the lack of a narrative or an instrumental to turn it into a 12 song concept album, rather than a 11 track one with a cover to make it 12, the album is mainly the same. Many of the tracks bear similarities found on ones in the previous two albums, and some sound completely new, such as "Back Into the Light" and "After the War". And as with their last effort, each individual song deserves attention.

Never Say Die - We kick off the song with another cosmic sounding intro, though this one is a bit less haunting. We follow with another up tempo ride through a barrage of riffs and lead fill ins. The verses are a bit more distant sounding than the ones found on it's Unification equivolent "Coming Home", but otherwise it is structured very much the same, with a brilliant solo duel between Piet and Kai.

Seek and Destroy - High speed insanity similar to "Starborn" from the Unification album, though alot heavier sounding. Piet's vocal delivery has alot more grunts, adding to the thrashy feel of this blistering rocket ride. Thomas Knack's drumming is unbelievable, rivaling most of Zimmerman's work to date.

Solar Wings - This is Kai's lone compositional offering for this, and he does not let us down. The intro guitar riff is another brilliant hommage to Painkiller era Judas Priest, and the vocal deliver is loaded with high pitched wails that would make Rob Halford proud. Excellent lead work and some riveting lyrics as well.

I've Been to Hell - Another fast one with probably one of the most powerful choruses on the album, probably the reason why it was the single that precedes this release. Plenty of lead treats here as well, as Piet takes the helm on guitar again.

Dragons Rising - This is one of the more progressive sounding tracks on the album, containing some good keyboard work. The lyrics are also a bit more metaphorical than they usually are, combined with another ingenius vocal delivery.

Predators - The opening riff to this one sounds like a jazzed up version of "Electric Funeral" by Black Sabbath, although the feel is a bit closer to a more mid-tempo Judas Priest cooker. On this song we are also treated to a duet trade-off during the verses between Kai and Piet, one of my favorite parts of the Classic Savior era. One final note, 3rd guitarist Joachim "Piesal" Kustner plays a brilliant solo on this track, which is an important preview as he will be picking up the slack left by Kai's departure soon after this album.

Made of Metal - This song is probably the closest thing to an epic track on this album, flirting with the 7 minute mark. Some nice changes in this one, although it doesn't quite match the drama that was present on "Eye to Eye" off of Unification.

Firing the Guns - Another blistering speed track bearing some similarity to "I've been to Hell", though the riff is a bit heavier. Kai takes over lead duties here, but the chorus is the real point of interest.

Eye of the World - This song sounds almost like a hybrid of "Protect the Law" from the debut and "Prisoner of the Void" off of Unification. A really powerful chorus here and some hard hitting changes. Point of interest here is another great solo interchange between Kai and Piet.

Back into the Light - This is where the album starts to sound less like a continuation of Unification and more like it's own beast. The verses are extremely haunting, between the galloping bassline and the distant string synths and guitars, and fully realized by Piet's quasi-spoken whisper vocals. Although the song is dominated by this galloping feel, there are some heavy textural contrasts that make it quite complex. The chorus is, as usual, the focal point of the song.

After the War - Another highly progressive track that gives a slight impression of combining the power of "Unchained" and the haunting ballad attributes of "Forevermore". Here we are given yet another brilliant duet between Piet and Jan Eckert, this time they almost seem to be trying to outdo each other. Piet, in my opinion, rips out his most amazing guitar solo ever during this track. Great closer to an amazing album.

Delivering the Goods - Another Judas Priest cover to complement the amazing concept story that preceded it. As with all the other Priest covers they do, the primary contrast is the increased heaviness in the production and the different interpretation Piet gives it vocally.

In conclusion, this album rivals it's predecessor, but doesn't quite beat it. This is definitely a MUST HAVE for any fan of traditional or power metal, particularly those who want to hear something post Painkiller with some serious balls to it. Unfortunately this would be the last release with the full classic line up of Iron Savior, and as such it's become a keepsake for me amongst my metal collection.