"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.
Track listing:
1. Veil of Reality
2. A Quest for Vengeance
3. Rumors
4. Kingdom of the Light
5. Heroic Return
6. Tyrant of War
7. Howl of Jeronimus
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