Death becomes them. Long-serving German power metal warriors Iron Savior ride into battle once again on their 13th full-length release — and this time the fate of all humanity is at stake. Kill or Get Killed is a concept album about an alien race attempting to wipe out life on Earth, apparently inspired by British SF author Peter Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga entry Pandora’s Star (or something very much like it). Fittingly, they come locked and loaded with a hard-charging, aggressive onslaught of chest-beating metal bombast and epic rock heroism, set to explosive old-school riffage, decorated with harmonized licks and laced with soaring, grandly harmonized vocals. It isn’t a complete victory — a few tracks misfire amid all the pomposity, and a mid-song monologue in the title cut sounds too much like Ah-nuld to be taken seriously. Still, you can’t say they aren’t fighting the good fight here.
STANDOUTS: Roaring Thunder, From Dust & Rubble, Legends of Glory.
