Iron Savior
Iron Savior is a German Power Metal band, founded in 1996 by Piet Sielck. Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray, ex-Helloween) and Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian) both participated in the earlier albums.
Early albums focused on the story about the eponymous Iron Savior, an advanced spaceship built by the Atlantians of ancient Earth to destroy the evil mainlanders who were assaulting their island paradise, known as The Alliance. The mighty Iron Savior was loaded with an AI that was catastrophically corrupted by the Alliance, who went on to destroy the Atlantian Moon Colony, and an Atlantian strike team had to board the vessel and sacrifice themselves to send it out into deep space to prevent the devastating weapon being used against Atlantis. They programmed it to return in 350 years, in hope that by then the Alliance would be defeated. Due to an error, it was accidentally programmed to return in 350,000 years, instead. With the Alliance's temporary upper-hand gone, the situation quickly devolved into nuclear warfare, blasting both sides of the conflict back into barbarism. From which... Our world evolved.
Now in the year 2108 the Iron Savior returns to Earth and is confronted with a scenario where the civilisation of Atlantis no longer exists. All attempts to contact possible survivors failed. The advanced AI, was still paralysed from the effects of the Alliance 350,000 years ago and unable to make decisions. So the computer still in charge draws the fatal conclusion that Atlantis was destroyed by the Alliance who still exists and rules the planet. With the logic of a lifeless machine the Iron Savior carries out its prime directive: Protect Atlantis and Conquer the Alliance.
Later albums focus more on one's perception of reality and the spirit of freedom, shown in such songs as "Machine World".
Current Band Members
- Piet Sielck - lead vocals, guitar
- Joachim Küstner - guitar
- Jan-Sören Eckert - bass guitar
- Thomas Nack - drums/percussion
Former band members
- Thomen Stauch - drums (1996-1997)
- Kai Hansen - guitars/vocals (1996-2001)
- Dan Zimmermann - drums (1998-1999)
- Andreas Kück - keyboards (1998-2002)
- Yenz Leonhardt - bass (2003-2011)
- 1997 - Iron Savior
- 1998 - Unification
- 1999 - Interlude (EP)
- 2001 - Dark Assault
- 2002 - Condition Red
- 2004 - Battering Ram
- 2007 - Megatropolis
- 2011 - The Landing
- AI: The one in the Iron Savior.
- And I Must Scream: The Iron Savior is a unique combination of man and machine run by a "bio-unit" and the brain of its creator. (Or so it appears until the fourth album) It's been kept conscious for millennia while drifting through space. Watcher in the Sky is the first song in the continuity to evoke this trope.
- Atlantis
- Bald of Awesome: Piet Sielck.
- BSOD Song: Mind Over Matter, as the Iron Savior questions its own existence, realizing that it's somehow been brought to consciousness in an artificial brain.
- In Dark Assault, "I've Been To Hell", "Dragons Rising", and "Made Of Metal" collectively serve as the He's Back Song, where the Iron Savior realizes what it has done by attacking Earth in 2108 and thereby killing the descendants of Atlantis, and it resolves to return and set things right by saving humanity from the extradimensional invaders that now threaten them.
- Concept Album: The albums telling the Iron Savior story. They were a Concept Band for a while, though the main storyline has become less blatant in later albums. Megatropolis is about a futuristic city that doesn't appear to be directly related to the previous story.
- Cover Version: "The Hellion/Electric Eye", "The Rage", "Delivering The Goods", "Desert Plains", "Living After Midnight", "This Flight Tonight", "Running Free", "Headhunter", "Gorgar", "Metal Invaders", (which also had Kai on voices) "Phantoms Of Death", "Neon Knights" and "Crazy".
- Fighter Launching Sequence: Iron Savior seems to have a thing for the sound of jet fighters taking off.
- Heavy Meta: "H.M. Powered Man"
No one tells me what to do
What to think or be
I'm a Heavy Metal-Powered Man!
Right, that's what I am!
- Heavy Mithril: See Concept Album above.
- Heel Face Turn: the eponymous Iron Savior in Dark Assault. And in the next album (but earlier on in the timeline), Randor Culdranoc, the creator of the Iron Savior, who sold its plans to the Alliance.
- Hey, It's That Voice!: Hansi Kürsch guested on their first album; Kai Hansen also sang on a bunch of songs until he left after the third album.
- The Jimmy Hart Version: "Deadly Sleep" (from Unification) to Iron Maiden's "Aces High".
- Living Ship: The Iron Savior, sort of.
- Planet Looters: "Masters of Time"
They swallow up worlds
and spit out the bones
grinded to dust
and to stones
- Rated "M" for Manly: Ridiculously epic instrumentals coupled with Piet Sielck's ultra-manly voice.
- Recycled in Space: Arguably this for the late eighties German power metal scene in general and Gamma Ray in particular - not that they didn't have sci-fi songs.
- Resistance Is Futile: From "Protect The Law":
My directives are simple peace and justice for all
Your resistance is futile if you fight me you'll fall
- Self-Titled Album
- Space Opera: The story of the Iron Savior.
- The End of the World as We Know It: The storyline begins with the destruction of a prehistoric advanced civilization on Earth, eventually throwing life back into our Stone Age with its disappearance.
- Villain Song: "Protect the Law", "Protector".