Iron Age - Concussion Of The Brain (Remastered + Bonus) (2026), 320|FLAC

Golden Core Records, CD, remastered, 16 page booklet with liner notes, memorabilia, and many rare photos, first reissue of a German underground gem from 1995 with the unreleased second album as a bonus

IRON AGE was formed in 1990 in the quiet town of Elmshorn and can be considered part of the Hamburg scene. Very early on, they were playing gigs almost monthly at clubs and youth centers in Schleswig-Holstein. Drummer Ines Baum handled the management, and soon the band’s tour dates were being featured in Metal Hammer and Rock Hard. Even though the band’s name comes from a MOTHER’S FINEST album, their influences couldn’t be more diverse. They cite Death, Queensryche, Motörhead, Voivod, Dio, Helloween, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Steve Vai, Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, Gamma Ray, Rage, and Megadeth. This makes it clear: they are diverse, yet never stray from the traditional spectrum. And what is normal today was still unusual in the early nineties: a mixed lineup consisting of women and men. A demo was released in both 1993 and 1994, then the band decided to produce an EP with the small label Crossroads (Hamburg), which was released as “Concussion Of The Brain.” The CD was recorded half analog, half digital. Semaphore handled distribution, and it was followed by very good reviews in the relevant magazines, as well as many shows in and around Hamburg. Work on the first full-length album began following a lineup change, also at the Crossroads Records studio. The material was even more ambitious and would have had a real shot at success in 1998. Unfortunately, internal tensions arose, partly due to the wide range of styles among the individual musicians, leading to the departure of Jan Eichelbaum, whom the band claimed could not be replaced. This marked the end of IRON AGE. Thanks to this re-release, the EP now gets a second chance, and the unreleased album is now available to hear for the first time (as a bonus).