Condition Red is the fourth full-length album by German band
Iron Savior. The album finds the bandmembers staying quite close to their tried-and-true brand of power metal. Don't expect any drastic musical revelations here. However, don't expect to be bored either. They dish out the metal in a very entertaining manner. In short, the album rocks. It comes screaming in, and it is obvious quite early on that these guys really want to be
Judas Priest at times. That said, they are a great substitute for that classic metal band when they put their minds to it, although guitarist/vocalist
Piet Sielck is definitely no
Rob Halford (who is, though?). For those who doubt the
Priest-isms, please check out "Protector." They infuse the
Priest textures with the more power metal vocals of groups like
Manowar, though. They also throw in the neo-symphonic textures of groups like
Helloween and
Rhapsody. The limited-edition version of the CD includes a cover of (believe it or not) a
Seal cut: "Crazy" may seem an unusual choice for a metal band, but
Iron Savior makes the song its own, and puts in a very intriguing rendition. The album's lyrics for the most part continue the story of the Iron Savior (an original concept of the band and the source of its name), leading one to wonder whether there will ever be a conclusion. The overall effect of this disc is that it is a solid metal release that brings the
Judas Priest sound into a more pure power metal vein. The album definitely has some strong material, but overall suffers a bit from a certain sameness and being a bit overlong. ~ Gary Hill