Condition Red

Before I talk about this album, I want to take a minute to explain my views concerning Power Metal and the sounds embodied therein. Don't worry; I won't be too long, and I will tie it into this album.

Power Metal, with certain notable exceptions, can on the most fundamental level be broken down into two main camps: the type of Power Metal that involves more single-string and keyboard-oriented work, with soaring vocals and a "cleaner" sound, sporting bands such as Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica and Rhapsody, and the type that is more directly tied in with Thrash, including heavy riffs and a more "powerful" sound and featuring bands like Iced Earth and Gamma Ray.

Iron Savior falls into the latter category, and this album marks their ascent to the top of Power Metal. With the anthemic Titans of our Time, Iron Savior combines a thrashy base with soaring choruses to produce an epic work that marks the pinnacle of their sound. Other, more down-to-earth thrashy sounding songs including Protector and Condition Red, emphasize their thrashy roots and give them a sound very similar to a faster version of Iced Earth. This album is a hardcore masterpiece through and through, and Iron Savior has shown that there is nowhere to go from here but up.