Their album has been out since July, but it is never too late to ask something more about it. One thing is sure, the band is far from original, but the music they play is first class and still gives me a lot of pleasure. If you think that Iron Maiden and Judas Priest didn't make a decent album in the last 10 years, you better try this one. I'm almost sure you like the music. Beneath you find the answers to some questions I asked the band. Please introduce the band Iron Fate to our readers. Jan: Well, Hello to the Netherlands then. We are Iron Fate of the Kaiserstadt Goslar. My name is Jan, I play the bass. Denis: I am Denis and I am the front singer. Jan: Not present are Harms and Martin, our guitarists and Sascha, our drummer. We established in 2004 and planned from that very moment on to walk the way of traditional heavy metal. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are definitely the biggest influences, aren't you afraid of being accused of copying them? Denis: First of all, thank you very much for the compliment. But we definitely aren't a Judas Priest clone. They are amongst our major idols and in some way it surely is an honour to be compared to them. But we do not want to copy anything or anyone. We create the songs in the way we feel it is right and not because we think "That's how Priest would have done it". And we did plan to bring in more originality for the next production. Denis, your vocals sound a lot like Rob Halford, especially in the higher notes, and Bruce Dickinson in the lower parts, is that on purpose or is it just natural. Denis: It's absolutely natural. I never got singing lesson or something. I'd like to music and try to find out some techniques the interprets uses. And I think it worked (laugh) Playing this style, you can expect that the press is going to compare your music with the bands I mentioned, doesn't that bother you? Jan: No! Not at all!! It's an honour I think. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are great bands and if people mind the bands while they listen to Iron Fate music, is it great for a band like us. We are all big fans of traditional heavy metal. Those bands you mentioned are prime examples for this genre! Personally I don't mind that your music sounds a lot like the 2 biggest metal bands ever, how are the reactions on your new record 'Cast in Iron' so far? Jan: The critiques are consistently positive worldwide and we are happy too with the result. Who is responsible for the song writing? Jan: Most of the lyrics are written by me. Denis and Harms composed the music for the songs. The intro "Arrival", has it something to do with science fiction, or is it just a nice intro? Jan: Certainly it got something to do with a kind of science fiction. We want to bring back some classic heavy metal, so we invented this nice short story and boxed it in this demonic intro. Are there deeper messages behind the lyrics? Jan: Some are for example based on something personal and others simply go with the metal-cliche's. The Song "Painful Sorrow" is very personal and private, while "Iron Fate" would rather be put in the cliché drawer. Your first record being issued by Massacre Records, not the worst label to be part of, how did they get interested in Iron Fate? Jan: We applied at Massacre. We did not send a demo, though, we only sent the finished production, which we recorded in the Pure Sonic Studios before. When we got the offer from Massacre, we didn't have to think about it for very long. *laughs *
The next thing is going on tour? I can imagine that there is a big market for your music in Germany, do you think Iron Fate will succeed outside your home-country too? Jan: I hope so. We would like to play outside Germany and the critiques show that we can succeed worldwide. With the record-sales going down, you probably can't get food on the table by just playing music, do you all have other jobs and what is it that you all do? Jan: Of course we all have got jobs. Denis is a car lacquerer, Sascha works as a metal worker, Martin, our pet of the family, is a schoolboy, Harms is a programmer and I am a chemical worker. We all have accepted that we can't live on the music exclusively. What are in your opinion the 5 records that every metal fan should own? My personal Top 5 are:
1: Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
2: Sanctuary - Refuge Denied
3: Judas Priest - British Steel
4: Iron Maiden - Number of the Beast
5: W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol Did you play a lot of gigs before recording your debut and could you tell us the weirdest thing that happened during a gig? Jan: There were some gigs in the past, and all it were so different. But the release gig was greatest one because of the sold out house and the 'autograph session' on the boobs of a female fan *laughs* Anything else you want to share with our readers? Jan: Primary, we want to thank you for the interest in Iron Fate. It looks really good again for traditional Heavy Metal at the moment. So, go back to the roots and listen to Cast In Iron. I think, everyone who likes the old school stuff will enjoy our album. Thanks for answering the questions, hope to see you somewhere on the road! Interviewed by Reinier de Vries | 
