Kill For Metal!
Let's face it 'Iron Fire' is crap name for a band but their previous efforts 'Misery' and 'Decades Of Darkness' weren't much better so 'Iron Fire' is perhaps the best of a bad bunch. This Danish power metal outfit have been churning out low key music since 1995 as well as revolving the band member's door rather more than is healthy. Considering at least fifteen members have been and gone through the Iron Fire ranks in just over a decade the fact they're still going is a testament to their bullishness and unwillingness to lay down and crumble. Such instability can lead to eruptions and loss of chemistry so it's a wonder the band are still with us and releasing new material, especially as their new material is of a high quality.
As mentioned in my recent Grave Digger review there's a hell of a lot of power metal in the world with new bands emerging all across Europe and The States. For a band to lift themselves above the pack they have to produce an album that is of excellent quality. Grave Digger's latest opus fell short whereas Iron Fire have delivered an album that is instantly likeable from the opening minute. It's a little difficult to pin down the reason why 'Into The Grave' works over many new power metal albums. The production is tidy but nothing exceptional, the musicianship is no better than any other power metal band and the cover is just as rubbish. I think it all boils down to the simple fact that Iron Fire can pen a mighty fine tune and have the ability to deliver it with ease. It helps to have an excellent vocalist in your ranks. Martin Steene has a very melodic voice and injects a lot of real melody in to the songs without shouting or screaming. He's not operatic just melodic along similar lines as Niklas Stalvind from Wolf.
Because of the high melodic content in this album you'll find yourself singing along within a couple of spins. But this isn't melodic power metal similar to such acts as Insania and Power Quest, it's heavy power metal that is laden with hooks and memorable choruses. 'The Beast From The Blackness' is a superb example of this genre and the anthemic 'Kill For Metal' is just as great and cheesy as anything Dream Evil could produce. The title track is worthy of having the album named after it and 'The Battlefield' completes an excellent four song opening attack.
Unfortunately after the first four songs the quality does dip slightly and the band do resort to some terrible opening riffs namely in 'March Of The Immortals' and 'Hail To Odin'. But after the singing has kicked in the songs seem to change and the bad taste the opening idea created is forgotten. There isn't an actual bad song on 'To The Grave' just generic riffs that blossom when the songs open up. After several listens this issue melts away allowing you to enjoy the whole thing from start to finish. If you're a power metal fanatic and haven't picked this up I suggest you do so straight away, it ticks all the right boxes and is instantly likeable. If the band could come up with some more memorable opening riffs then Iron Fire could be one of the all time great power metal bands, but as it stands they're already doing a good job.