Biography

The seeds of Danish power metal band Iron Fire were planted in the middle of the 1990s, when singer Martin Steene, then of the band Misery, gradually began to exercise more creative control over the band. After leading the group through a few lineup and name changes (it was briefly known as Decades of Darkness), he named it Iron Fire. In the summer of 1998 the new band, taking its cues from the fast yet melodic approach of German power metal bands like Helloween, recorded their first demo CD. They sold the self-titled disc to fans while shopping it to record labels, which led to a record deal with Berlin's Modern Music. In the spring of 2000, Iron Fire released its debut album, Thunderstorm, on the label, and drew enthusiastic fans and positive reviews in the metal press; the German EMP catalogue remarked, "Thunderstorm presents a mixture of hard up-tempo songs, energetic mid-tempo tracks as well as traditional metal hymns." The album features a cover version of Running Wild track "Under Jolly Roger," further underscoring the band's allegiance to German power metal. Following the release of Thunderstorm, Steene overhauled the lineup yet again before beginning a second full-length record. Now featuring Kristian Hegelund Martinsen and Martin Slott on guitars, drummer Martin Plenge, and bass player Jakob Lykkebo, Iron Fire recorded its second album, On the Edge, with producer Tommy Hansen (Pretty Maids, Helloween, etc.) at Hansen's Jailhouse Studios. Century Media records released On the Edge in 2001. ~ Andy Hinds, Rovi