IRON SAVIOR USA

Iron Savior was formed in Germany in 1996 by veteran headbanger Piet Sielck, a multi-faceted singer, guitarist, producer, engineer, and keyboardist who had been in a very early lineup of Helloween back in the early '80s. It was in 1996 that Sielck (who has no problem singing and writing in English despite growing up in a country where German is the primary language) recruited singer/guitarist Kai Hansen (of Helloween and Gamma Ray fame) and drummer Thomen Stauch (who had been with Blind Guardian).

Along the way, Iron Savior has had its share of lineup changes. Both Hansen and Stauch have since left the band; another ex-member is drummer Dan Zimmerman (who has also been with Gamma Ray and Freedom Call). Reportedly, Hansen left Iron Savior on friendly terms with Sielck; after deciding that trying to split his time between Iron Savior and Gamma Ray was way too demanding, he opted to simplify his life and concentrate on Gamma Ray exclusively. In 2002, Iron Savior's five-person lineup included Sielck (lead vocals, guitar), Joachim Kstner (guitar, background vocals), Jan Soren Eckert (bass, background vocals), Andreas Kuck (keyboards, background vocals), and Thomas Nack (drums, percussion).

Piet Sielck took September of 2004 out of band activities to act as producer for Swedish act Persuader's 'Evolution Purgatory' album. Iron Savior then got back into motion, drafting new bassist Yenz Leonhardt, previously rhythm guitarist for Kingdom Come, in December. The revised band unit entered Karo studios in Brackel, Germany during early 2004 to record a new studio album billed as 'Battering Ram'. Sielck took on further production duties, crafting a new album for Australian band Black Majesy in November.

Following the 2004 release of Battering Ram, Iron Savior have set a 2006 release date for their next album release.