Interview to Piet Sielck for IRON SAVIOR: “I like my lyrics better the way they are now”

On December this German band visited our country to present their last work Kill or Get Killed. Since then a lot of things happened all over the world, including bands. We try to know more about the current situation of the band with a new album, the near and long future plans, and their point of view on this new world situation.

THE METAL FAMILY: Hello Piet! How are you? How has been the lockdown?

Piet Sielck – IRON SAVIOR: Hi folks! Actually we are doing quite well. Of course the corona lockdown also here in Germany was not very pleasing, but I think in Spain it was a lot more worse…

TMF: We knew about Jan´s disease. His recovery is now official. How is actually him? Can he will be back to the stages?

PS: Jan’s disease was hitting us very hard in the first weeks of 2020. He was diagnosed with cancer and for a couple of weeks we didn’t know where this all was leading to. In the end his cancer was a lymphoma which is a kind of cancer that can be treated quite well. After three months of chemotherapy he was released by his doctor as completely cured. Right now he is in rehabilitation and of course still suffers from the very energy draining chemotherapy treatment. Any which way, Jan will be back on stage with us next year 100%.

…we felt welcomed by you the Spanish people all the time in a very heartwarming way.

TMF: Also you had the support on live shows of Jan Bünnig (bassist in PARAGON). How was the first impression? Which was the priority to incorporate a touring member?

PS: In February 2020 we had some shows that we couldn’t cancel so we needed somebody to fill in for Jan. Since we are very good friends with all members of paragon anyways it was a natural thing to ask Jan Bünning for this job. He did very well and it was big fun performing with him on those gigs. I think he liked it also very much and so in the end it was a great thing for all of us.

TMF: Speaking about Jan, on Barcelona’s show people could perceive complicity, not only in terms of music, but also at a personal level as could be seen with the towel prank. How many years have you been together? Is your friendship previous to Iron Savior?

PS: I started out with Jan on the very first Iron Savior record back in 1996. This is a very long time and naturally Janne is one of my very very best and closest friends I have. I am more than lucky being able to perform with him on stage for many more years!

TMF: I was seeing your show on the past month of December in Spain, specifically in Barcelona. How has been the whole tour? Any special memory that took place? The “Sala Boveda” was as hot as it seems to be?

PS: I have very great memories about the Spanish tour back in the last year of 2019. All fans in all cities that we have visited welcome uss very, very warm and friendly, and gave us a great time on stage. Also the people from our booking agency in Spain who took care of putting this tour together did a tremendous job. In the end we felt welcomed by you the Spanish people all the time in a very heartwarming way. And yes, Sala Boveda was hot…

… every man can decides to be a predator or not.

TMF: The theme and concept of IRON SAVIOR was a self-conscious spacecraft looking for Atlantis. In 1996 we were so far to this technological level. If we could reach that point, do you consider that technology will be a danger or benevolent?

PS: I can only answer this question by two popular movie themes : Terminator or Star Trek (Laughs). Technology itself is not necessarily a bad thing, it depends how mankind is using it. Of course artificial intelligence is something weird and potentially dangerous. On the other hand, building a spaceship and going to the stars most probably will not be possible without power for artificial intelligence systems.

TMF: Looking back to lyrics from Kill or Get Killed, it does not seem like an interplanetary future. It fells more like the continuous quarrels of humanity. Specially Kill or Get Killed suggest that the human race is dangerous. What is the general idea of the album? Is a critic of society? Which is its concept?

PS: Sorry, but you may have misinterpreted the lyrics here… The lyrics are about an extraterrestrial species who invades mankind. The so-called bad guys are the alien creatures not man. Of course our species also is dangerous as history shows. In the end man is a predator. But unlike other predators man has a conscious and intelligence and is able to make decisions. This means that every man can decides to be a predator or not. A predator, let’s say like a lion or a tiger, does not have this choice.

TMF: Do you think that the harms provoked to the environment can be repaired? Will the human race have a second chance?

PS: I think that mankind is not treating earth very well. I really hope that people will understand that this is the only planet we have and we will have to be more careful with it. People like Trump are dangerous because they deny the climate change. But denying and looking away does not change this bitter reality.

TMF: The setlist is focused in more modern themes, specially over the last decade, on the Landing era. Which are the IRON SAVIOR eras? Is this a way to claim quality on the songs? Will the old songs come back?

PS: After writing lyrics for concept albums four times in a row I became a little bit tired of talking about the IRON SAVIOR and Atlantis only. That’s why I opened up my mind for real live themes in my lyrics and so far I am very happy with it. This actually did not start on The Landing, it already started back on the Battering Ram album. I do like the old stuff very much but I don’t think that I would go back in history and write lyrics like I did on the very first albums. I like my lyrics better the way they are now.

I don’t think that we are running into the danger that there will be no creativity anymore.

TMF:  We are actually on a nostalgia era where the tours with original line-up are the most solicited ones, and specially tribute bands are popping out. What do you think about this?

 PS: It is OK for tours like this. Obviously you also have to keep the re-uniting of HELLOWEEN in mind.  This definitely works out for all of them and I’m quite sure they make a lot of money from that. But with IRON SAVIOR we don’t have this problem: we are pretty much in the original line-up (Laughs).

TMF: Going back to this future developed in your work, do you think that the day the humans decide to not keep making new music, they will lost their essence? Can we live on a world were everything is written?

PS: I don’t think that it will ever be possible to have all possible music written. You can paint the same tree 1000 times and each and every work will be different and individual. So I don’t think that we are running into the danger that there will be no creativity anymore.

TMF: The most recent information deals with a new IRON SAVIOR album. Could you please give us any detail or information about this?

PS: The new album is called Skycrest , it contains 11 songs + one intro. The artwork was done by my friend Felipe once again and Skycrest will be released on 4th of December 2020.

I didn’t want the album to catch any negative energy from this corona time.

TMF: The lockdown has influenced the composition or concept of the album?

PS: During the corona lockdown I didn’t feel very happy because I did not work at the album at all. I didn’t want the album to catch any negative energy from this corona time. In May, when things started to relax a little bit more, I returned to the studio, finished the song writing, and started recording lead vocals.

TMF: Did you have any inconvenience while recording?

PS: No. All recordings went very smooth.

TMF: The musical industry is suffering a great hiatus. You had to cancel your tour date for Barcia on the next August. Do you have any problem to set tour dates? Could you confirm that you will be playing at Barcia 2021?

PS: Luckily we did not have too many show dates, because we were focused on the production of the new album. Most of the shows we were booked on for 2020 had been postponed for one year to 2021. This also goes for Barcia! We hereby confirm our appearance for 2021!

TMF: Sean Peck (THE THREE TREMORS, CAGE) is a well-known fan of the UFOs. Have you ever played with him? If so, is he enjoying the IRON SAVIOR concept?

PS: I have never met him so far but when I do I’ll make sure to have a nice little talk about UFOs and Iron Savior.

This year it’s the first time for almost 20 years that I could not travel to Conil.

TMF: We know that tours sometimes bring new stories. Can we hear any of them?

PS: Not so many tours in 2020 so not too much to report unfortunately.

TMF: Another great theme is the food. Do you like Spanish foods? Where is the best country to eat? And most important, when you go back home, do you have any special dish that you would like to have?

PS: We all love Spanish food! Actually I am spending my vacation in Spain, in Conil de la Frontera every year since 2001. This year it’s the first time for almost 20 years that I could not travel to Conil. This is one of the most hardest things about all this corona shit for me. I miss the sun, the waves, the Café con Leche, the food and the Spanish people.

TMF: Before finishing, any message for your Spanish fans?

PS: We are so sorry that all shows in 2020 because of corona could not take place, but we are looking forward to return to Spain in 2021 with even more power. Thank you for your support and hope to see you all again next year on tour!!!

TMF: Thank you so much for spending some time with us, we hope to see you as soon as possible here in Spain.

PS: Thank you for taking your time to promote our new album and we also hope to see you.