Battering Ram

Battering Ram was the first Iron Savior album not to include an update to the storyline in its booklet, and for the first time included several songs that weren't part of the Iron Savior concept. When the next album Megatropolis was released, it included a short update describing Battering Ram's place in the story - the song comments are my own. Piet revealed on the Iron Savior forums that the working title of the album was "Metalizer", a concept that eventually evolved into the H.M. Powered Man song.

Story

In 2356, the Federation made another significant step forward in space technology. For the first time, its scientists developed a spacecraft engine to cover the abyss between the Milky Way and the Andromeda nebula. The TDD (trans-dimensional drive) was installed in the THUNDERBIRD, the flagship of the research fleet, the first spacecraft this side of the Milky Way to reach the Andromeda nebula. Here, the crew discovered various forms of life and culture, but the Andromeda people seemed to have a strange aversion, a fear even, of any kind of technology. Some seemed almost to condemn it, living totally secluded in their own worlds. Mysterious rumours of a region called REALM OF STEEL and a mysterious planet called MACHINE WORLD sparked the curiosity of the THUNDERBIRD crew. A few months later they encountered a species that told them more about this mystery: THE REALM OF STEEL was a region that the people of Andromeda had been avoiding since ancient times. Again and again, ships had disappeared there. In the heart of this region, there was a world full of machines: MACHINE WORLD. It was built in bygone times by people who constructed machines to fight their wars for them. After a fatal new weapon - developed by these machines - had killed all forms of life, the machines were alone. Without their builders, all they could do was follow their programming: survive and evolve. The emotionless logic of the machines recognised that all fighting had to cease immediately to improve their survival chances. From then on, they survived and... evolved. They evolved over millions of years. Since they had to evolve constantly, their ships roamed the Andromeda nebula... searching for new technologies. As soon as another world developed a promising new technology, it had to live in constant fear of being attacked by these machines.

In the search for this mysterious world, the THUNDERBIRD was attacked by a raiding party of machines. Their fire power was awesome, all the THUNDERBIRD could do to save itself was flee into trans-dimensional space. The signature of the new spacecraft engine, however, made this strange ship with its unfamiliar technology even more interesting for the machines. The MasterUnit - the CPU controlling all other machines - had the THUNDERBIRD searched for and conquered. Similar to the IRON SAVIOR, the MasterUnit had developed its own form of artificial intelligence. It communicated with the THUNDERBIRD, asking it to hand over its engine technology. But the THUNDERBIRD, being the flagship of the research fleet, succeeded in freeing itself from the machines in a surprise coup, startling the TDD. The THUNDERBIRD escaped and flew back to Earth, where the Federation's council discussed possible consequences and dangers. Since the machines had displayed an obvious interest in mankind and its technology, it was only a question of time before it would appear on the Milky Way. Therefore the council decided to send a large fleet, led by the IRON SAVIOR, to conduct negotiations in the Andromeda nebula. Who better to negotiate with intelligent machines than an intelligent machine...?

Storyline Songs

Battering Ram

Riding on a tidal wave of energy and sound, the Thunderbird arrives in the Andromeda nebula! In equal parts a storyline song and an anthem to the power and energy of heavy metal.

Tyranny of Steel

The Thunderbird has narrowly escaped the MasterUnit in Machine World, and a fleet sets out with the Iron Savior to confront this new threat before the danger comes to Earth.

Time Will Tell

Describes the desolate and empty Machine World after the machine weapons have exterminated organic life.

Machine World

The MasterUnit has evolved its own form of artificial intelligence, and questions the meaning of reality and its own existence. Similar to the Iron Savior, it struggles with its powers of creation and destruction.

Other Songs

Stand Against the King

A rebellion song, overthrowing a tyrant king! Arguably this could fit into the story with the Machine World robots taking over from their human masters, but the story describes the disappearance of organic life from the planet as just a consequence of weapons technology, and not a robot uprising.

Wings of Deliverance

Describes a prisoner struggling across a hot barren landscape, trying to reach home again - a theme later picked up in the post-reunion albums.

Break the Curse

A motivational song encouraging the listener to break free of their repetitive existence and track down the things that are limiting their life.

Riding Free

About wanting to escape and forget the atrocities of the real world, particularly mentioning religious wars (with the mention of the falling towers and bloodied holy land, likely inspired by the then-ongoing war in Iraq)

Starchaser

Thematically very similar to Riding Free, about wanting to break free and control one's own destiny.

H.M. Powered Man

"Heavy metal powered man" stylized with the initials H.M. A song about the spirit of metal and how it includes everyone who chooses to identify with it!