IRONGUARD — Fire Empire (review)

IRONGUARD — Fire Empire album cover EP · 2011 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Time Signature
Heroic return...

Genre: power metal

"You can't have power metal without cheese" is a well-known adage. I beg to differ, and so do Danish power metallers Ironguard, whose debut EP "Fire Empire" has all the good stuff that power metal has to offer, but lacks any cheesiness altogether.

Rather than drawing on the happy puppy approach of much European power metal, Ironguard seem to find their main inspiration in the likes of early Iced Earth as well as Helloween and Blind Guardian's first couple of albums. Thus, the big and catchy choruses are there as is the focus on melody and overall epicness - so, yes, this definitely is true to the power metal genre. However, like early Iced Earth, early Helloween, and early Blind Guardian, Ironguard add an injection of speed metal and thrashiness to their music, which results in a dimension of aggression that suits the music extremely well. I, for one, appreciate Ironguard's move to draw on thrash and speed metal rather than Euro-happiness. Another aspect of the EP that scores points in my book is the use of more traditional heavy metal riffage that appears side by side with the power metal and speed metal elements.

In other words, Ironguard's "Fire Empire" is one of those releases that help put the power back in power metal.

Unlike many other power metal releases, Niklas Heide Andersen's vocals are not exaggeratedly operatic, but are placed in a comfortable mid range cadence. This makes them quite easy to listen to for me, but I can imagine that some power metal aficionados might have to give the EP a couple of spins for the vocals (and the slight Danish accent in which they are sung) to sink in. The musicianship is far from amateurish, and the production is unpolished and has a refreshingly retrospective and organic feel to it.

Ironguard's "Fire Empire" is a release from a band who shows a lot of potential and it stands as a solid power metal release in its own right. Fans of power-thrash, US power metal, speed metal and melodic thrash metal as well as traditional 80s metal should definitely check it out.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.com)
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed