Band : Iron Fire
Album title : To The Grave
Label : Napalm Records
Distributor : Hard Life Promotion - Suburban
Release date : 09/01/2009
Release : CD

Having been responsible for the review of this Danish True Power Metal act’s last two albums Revenge and Blade Of Triumph (posted 08/04/2006 and 10/06/2007 respectively…so now you know where to find all info about the band’s beginning years), it is with certitude that I can tell you that the quartet hasn’t changed its formula yet!

And indeed, why should they? The success of the European tour in support of U.D.O. and Primal Fear (of which the German Christmas Festival when Iron Fire performed alongside Saxon, WASP and Doro definitely was one of the highlights) sure has prooven beyond a doubt that fans all over Europe still nééd their kind of music! The quartet of Martin Steene (lead vocals & guitar), Kirk Bacharach (lead guitar), Martin Lund (bass) and Fritz Wagner (drums, joined in August 2007 as replacement Jens B whom was forced to leave due to family matters, formerly played with Ripe, Shaded Fate, RiverHead, and Mitheon) lost but little time in writing a new set of songs, which they started recording in several studios starting August 2008! Eventually the band sent the stuff over to renowned producer Tommy Hansen (with whom they already worked on Revenge) to mix the album.

There’s somewhat of a change for this album anyway, the material being slightly faster overall, and the gloomy lyrics give the whole a dark turn! Hansen’s production gives the whole a harsher, rawer sound anyway, even if the formula of keyboards-drenched guitars (keys on the album performed by one Danny Pedersen) has remained the same (should be interesting to find out how these new songs sound in live conditions). For a sneak preview of two songs off the new album (and listen to some older material or view a couple of live videos), surf to myspace.com/officialironfire (to listen to even móre material – samples, I’m afraid – off the previous albums, surf to the discography section of the band’s own website ironfire.dk). As of yet, no dates are announced, but I’m sure Napalm Records will find Iron Fire an interesting band to tour with pretty soon! Oh yeah…before I forget: fans of the band will find it interesting to know that the digipak version of the album with contain a bonus track titled “Blacksmith Of Thunder”.

88/100

Tony.