Iron Savior – Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy – The Metal Resource

7 April, 2026 John Jackson 0 Comments 1 category

Iron Savior releases a 17 song collection of covers of very recognizable pop hits and the result is one of the most fun albums of the year.

When a band has members from Helloween and Blind Guardian, you tend to expect good things and since their self-titled debut in 1997, Iron Savior has not disappointed. Since then there have been 16 or so full length studio albums and one full length live album, from the band best known for founder, vocalist, and guitarist Piet Sielck. The musicianship and songwriting from the band has always been exceptional and their ability to craft songs that seem tongue in cheek but still are crowd favorites is legendary, including classics like,“Heavy Metal Never Dies”, “In the Realm of Heavy Metal”, and “Raise the Flag of Metal”. As a band, they have released a number of unexpected covers over the years, including songs like “Craxy” from Seal and “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, so an album of covers from that era may not be too surprising.

In a move of genius, Piet Sielk started releasing some of the more well-known tracks from this album earlier in the year and definitely building anticipation, and not too long ago they dropped an ep Take on Me that contained that song along with “Relax”, “Forever Young”, and “Fame”, to further stoke interest. Seeing the collection of songs, I was a bit curious how this was going to translate to Iron Savior brand power metal, especially with many of the songs being very keyboard heavy originally and let’s be fair, some higher register vocals than Piet is accustomed to. “Take on Me” complete with video like the part cartoon A-ha original is a great track and showcases the band’s approach to these well-known songs. Obviously here Piet Sielk isn’t hitting the same vocals as in the original, but the phrasing works, the band is having fun, the backing vocals are phenomenal, and the guitars work taking the place of the keyboards. “Relax” takes on a new feeling of power with the guitars and pounding drum beat, and highlights the quality of the production and mixing as well. These were not just some thrown together covers, there was a good bit of thought and effort in keeping the original feeling of the songs that we all remember but also modernizing them and adding a metal flourish.

Two of the most interesting inclusions are “Separate Ways” from Journey and “Since You’ve Been Gone” from Rainbow, which are performed faithfully to their originals, complete with Piet adopting some of the vocal nuances from Steve Perry and Graham Bonnet, which is cool. Given the originals, these two songs were not much of a stretch for the band but it is still cool to hear their renditions.

Iron Savior long ago cemented their place at the top of the power metal ranks, and one of the things I always admired was their sense of fun. From videos of the band dancing in the studio and doing car karaoke for “Burning Heart” to their anthemic and somehow not cheesy metal anthems, one can hear the quality and talent song will hit for every listener, but the band somehow manage to keep the original feel of the songs while applying a metal voice, and that’s pretty cool. As someone who grew up with these songs, the nostalgia combined with the updated and metal approach to the songs will keep this album as one of those I can always throw on and enjoy!

Rating: 9/10

Tracklist

Fame
All I Need is a Miracle
When the Rain Begins to Fall
Maniac
Take on Me
Relax
What a Feeling
Against All Odds
Separate Ways
Suburbia
Here Comes the Rain Again
She’s Like the Wind
(I Just) Died in Your Arms
Forever Young
Since You’ve Been Gone
Call Me
Catch Me I’m Falling

Release Date: 27 March 2026

Record Label: Reigning Phoenix Music

Band Members
Piet Sielck – Guitars, Lead Vocals
Joachim “Piesel” Küstner – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Patrick Opitz – Bass, Backing Vocals
Patrick Klose – Drums, Percussion

Video for “Maniac”