The return of IRON ANGEL

The Hellbound era

For a long time, it seemed as if IRON ANGEL had become a thing of the past. That changed when Didy Mackel, known from Mania and Not Fragile, contacted his old companion Dirk Schröder. During a festival, he had seen many fans wearing IRON ANGEL shirts, which sparked the idea of a reunion.

Dirk got in touch with Mike Mathes, while Didy brought in the two guitarists Jojo Folta and Mitsch Meyer. In September 2014, the new line-up met for the first time. One month later, it was officially announced:

IRON ANGEL were back.

The news spread quickly. Promoters and festivals from all over the world started reaching out. Before the band played its first shows since the eighties, Mike Mathes left the band in March 2015, as the planned touring activities could not be combined with his everyday work.

After initially considering Mark Cross, the band finally recruited Alexander "Schrotti" Kokatt as the new drummer in April 2015. With that, the line-up was complete for the first live shows since the 1980s.

IRON ANGEL returned to international stages and played shows across Europe, South America and beyond. The following year, Jojo Folta left the band and was replaced by Rob Altenbach.

2017 was intended to become the year of a new album. The first songs had already been written back in April 2015. As Schrotti was no longer fully committed to the band, IRON ANGEL started looking for a new drummer and brought in Mäx Behr in April 2017.

In June 2017, IRON ANGEL entered Rosenquarz Studios in Lübeck to record the new album "Hellbound". Alongside ten brand-new songs, the album also included a re-recorded version of "Unnamed One", a song from the early Metal Gods era.

In 2018, "Hellbound" was released — the band's first studio album in almost 32 years. Numerous international live shows and festival appearances followed.

The early years of IRON ANGEL

The roots of German Speed Metal

In 1980, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal was in full force. Bands such as Judas Priest, Motörhead, Saxon and Iron Maiden shaped an entire generation of young metal fans. In Hamburg, five young musicians also found their musical direction and formed a band that was originally called Metal Gods.

After several years of playing together and with heavier influences from bands such as Venom and Bathory, the sound continued to evolve. In 1983, vocalist Dirk Schröder, drummer Mike Mathes, bassist Thorsten Lohmann and guitarists Peter Wittke and Sven Strüven decided that a new name would better fit their musical direction.

The name was: IRON ANGEL.

The band quickly made a name for itself in the Hamburg metal scene. In late 1984, one of their demos found its way to the newly founded label SPV / Steamhammer. This led to a record deal and, in 1985, to the release of the debut album "Hellish Crossfire", which is still regarded as a defining milestone of German Speed Metal.

The following year, IRON ANGEL toured as support for King Diamond and then released their second album "Winds of War". The album showed a more mature and melodic side of the band, but also moved partly away from the raw speed and darker atmosphere of the debut.

Within the band, different ideas about the musical direction began to develop. One side wanted to make the sound more accessible, especially with the American market in mind, while other members wanted to stay true to the uncompromising Speed Metal approach.

The tension grew until IRON ANGEL split up in early 1987. Peter Wittke later joined the Thrash Metal band Roots, while Dirk Schröder and Mike Mathes later became active in J.R. Blackmore's band Superstition.

In the late 1990s, Peter got back in touch with Dirk and Mike. After a few jam sessions, the idea of bringing IRON ANGEL back to life came up again. In 2000, recordings began for the album "The Rebirth", but they were stopped after the tragic death of Peter Wittke in a car accident.

The band remained inactive for several years. In 2004, Dirk and Mike again tried to find new members and work on new material. However, as no stable and suitable line-up could be found, the project was brought to an end once more.

As a kind of farewell, the EP "Back From Hell" was released, showing IRON ANGEL from a different musical angle. A few months later, Sven Strüven also passed away.