Hailing from Spain, Mike Leprosy and his band of heavy metal loyalists, Iron Curtain, have been proudly and faithfully flying the tattered flag of true heavy metal since before their Mosh or Die demo in 2009. They began forging a style that might be described as sounding inspired by NWOBHM bands, like Warfare, Jaguar, Blitzkrieg, etc., that enter into the realm of speed metal, a la Exciter, Raven, Agent Steel, et al. Fast forward almost 15 years, through Dying Victims Productions, they’re now dropping their fifth full-length studio album, Savage Dawn.
Musically speaking, Iron Curtain isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, but their efforts do produce exquisite classic heavy metal results. Razor-sharp riffs cut and slice over top of neck-wrecking rhythms that seem expertly made for Mark Leprosy’s vocal style. For all of the grit and grime of the band’s innate sonic rawness, the album has a great sound with clear production. While it holds onto the authenticity of their approach, it presents a newer, multi-dimensional view of the band, who is clearly upping their game.
Immediately on the heels of a quick ethereal, mood-setting introduction called “The Aftermath”, the proverbial doors are blown off with the hard-charging force of “Devil’s Eyes”. It generates the same kind of rush that a band would want to start a live show off with so as to grab the audience by the throat with a steel grip within the first 30 seconds or so. It promises a ride that’s straight ahead, moving forward, only rarely taking a moment to breathe as it proceeds. Without a doubt, “Gypsy Rocker” is a focal point on the album and it stands out with a bit of a dirty, grimy rock & roll vibe that’s been cleverly integrated with the band’s natural tendency toward speed.
“Калашников (Kalashnikov) 47” is a bit of an opus, beginning and ending with clean regal guitar lines. Brief intermittent passages therein that have Maiden-esque twin guitar harmonies. It’s one of several great opportunities to hear the synergy that exists between the guitars of Mike Leprosy and Juanma Fernández. During its seven plus minute play time, there are pronounced, majestic choruses that help it achieve that opus status. Carried over from last year’s Metal Gladiator EP is a clearer version of “Rattlesnake”, though it holds onto it’s barreling locomotive-like qualities. In case it needs to be pointed out, “Tyger Speed” is one of the faster cuts on the album. Short and sweet, the chorus stands out as it’s shouted defiantly with a fist-to-the face delivery. The eventual, inevitable live favorite “Evil is Everywhere” is a blatant, sneer-inducing, out-and-out fist pounder that temporarily changes the flow up, playing at a very solid mid-paced tempo.
For as fast as the songs are, there’s equal catchiness and memorability on the album. “Devil’s Eyes”, “Gypsy Rocker”, “Kalashnikov 47”, “Rattlesnake”, “Tyger Speed”, “Jericho Trumpet (Stuka)” all have earworm choruses that beg to be shouted out at the top of the lungs with power and purpose. The album as a whole has a definite ability to appeal to a very broad audience and can really lure people in who might not’ve yet heard what Iron Curtain is about.
It almost sounds like Savage Dawn could be a collection of the best music the band had to offer this time around. With a running time of just a little over a half an hour and eight full songs in between an intro and an outro, they don’t really give themselves much wiggle room for turning in subpar material. After going through the entirety of the album a time or two, it’s evident that there isn’t any so-called ‘filler’ there to cut out. Each song is stocked with great moments, so picking the highest points isn’t so easy. With Savage Dawn, it could be argued that Iron Curtain is currently at its zenith as a band thus far. At the least, they’ve set a new standard for themselves. It’ll be an interesting and exciting thing to see what they’ve got coming next.
STATIKNOIZE 