Iron Savior - Condition Red (2002)

Oh wow.  I've always liked Iron Savior without really liking them, but this album, the band's fourth, blows all their earlier ones out of the water.
Starting and finishing with two absolute crackers in "Titans Of Our Time" and the Star Trek-inspired "Thunderbird", this has these Germans (or, more accurately, leader Piet Sielk) finding melody to a standard they never have before, but without forsaking their speed and fury. Indeed, this is an exhilarating listen, an almost breathtaking thrill ride through their continuing story of the giant Iron Savior and... well, I'm not sure how the story goes since, not for the first time with some of these CDs, it's not easy to read the liner notes and find out what is happening!
But the music can hardly be faulted. With other highlights including "Walls Of Fire" and "Tales Of The Bold", Condition Red is a terrific album, and one of the best power metal releases of 2002.

****1/2