Over the weekend, Iron Savior frontman / founder Piet Sielck, checked in with the news that the band has pulled out of their scheduled appearance at ProgPower USA, which will take place on September 3 – 6 , 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. The statement, which can read below in full, explained that they didn’t feel comfortable making the trip given the current political climate in the US. As expected, there was some backlash, and Sielck has responded.
Sielck’s original satement:
“Dear PPUSA community,
With the heaviest heart we have decided that we cannot travel to Atlanta this year. The reason is as simple as omnipresent: the new Trump administration and their new world order.
Trump/Vance/Musk are tearing down everything what has been build up since WW2. They rewrite history and turn around the victim-aggressor role, denying that Ukraine has been invaded by Putin with 150,000 soldiers, they call Ukraine’s president a dictator who doesn’t uphold election even though they know that elections are forbidden in Ukraine during war by their constitution, they send Vance over here telling us to start collaborating with the AfD Nazi party here in Germany, they spit on the truth and think freedom of speech means license to lie and to insult. Obviously they are about to destabilize the Western world order so they can rewrite it to their needs, to make even more money.
We are deeply worried about this and simply do not feel safe and welcome anymore in your country. Of course we know that only 50% of the voters voted for Trump and that 50% didn’t vote at all. We feel extremely sorry for those of you who think the same, but at this point we can’t foresee what will happen in the next months. Maybe things will calm down and your admin will somehow get back to their senses. Or will they proclaim the American-Russian federation? All is possible and this scares the hell out of us.
We hope to return to Atlanta some other time in a better world like now. I hope you can understand and accept our decision.”
Sielck’s follow-up to the above:
“Some of you accuse me of making a political statement on the back of the fans. This is not the case. The only reason why we are not traveling to the USA is our concern that in September things may be even a lot worse than today, and that it may be dangerous for people like us, who criticize the government openly, to visit the US. It may sound ridiculous to some of you, but looking at what has happened in just a few weeks, I cannot predict at all how far your government is willing to go. It was never our intention to make a political statement nor to hurt your feelings or insult you. We just gave you the truth of what led us to this decision.
Some of you accuse me to speak about things which are not of my concern. First of all, everything the USA does is of concern for any human being on this planet since the US actions affect the entire world. Besides that, my mother has been living for over 30 years in San Francisco, CA and is married to an American citizen. CA has been something like a second home for me for centuries, and I used to live there myself. I think this qualifies for being concerned as well.
Some of you also accuse me of being badly informed by listening to the ‘wrong’ news. I am from Germany, where the media is financed and run by the people. The media is committed to be neutral and unbiased by law. Besides that, we have also news run by commercial companies, which mostly are biased in the vein of their owners like in the US. Some of you might have a wrong idea about our public media. They are not operated by the government, nor has the government any control about the content. This is regulated by law. But since we are all human, this works not all the time 100%, but it works good enough for me to keep my trust in a more or less neutral and unbiased coverage.
Some of you also accuse the Germans, that we would forbid the freedom of speech. This is as wrong as can be. The freedom of speech/opinion is anchored in our constitution, the Grundgesetz, Article 5, which also forbids censorship. But unlike in the US, where literally everything is allowed to say, print or picture, we have some limitations. Insults, defamation / aspersion, and incitement of the people / racial hatred are forbidden by law and will be prosecuted if violated. This simply means, you can express any content as much as you want as long as you don’t insult and/or defame others, and your content is not inciting the people. We have learned that from the mistakes of the Weimar Republic, This is where the vast majority of the German society comes from and I am totally okay to sacrifice a tiny little bit of my freedom of speech having to make my points in a civilized way without hate, insult and defamation. Because those are the tools / weapons of demagogues.
Some of you also accuse me having divided the ProgPower USA metal community. I am sorry if I brought up a topic which is unpleasant, but the divide has been there long before I wrote the statement and was not made by me. The divide is made by politicians who use hate and defamation to manipulate the people to their needs. My statement just made visible what is under the surface.
Once again I would like to express my deepest regret about the current situation and having to disappoint people who are not responsible. Once again, I can only ask for your understanding and tolerance. We don’t claim to be right here, but we have to base things on what we think is right. If we are right or not… time will tell.
All the best.”
Following the release of their latest studio album, Firestar, Iron Savior, has unleashed a furious, new single entitled Raising Hell.
Firestar features a wide range of influences from hard rock to pop, all calibrated to heavy metal trademark the band is known and loved for. But sometimes pure coincidence or seemingly inconspicuous little details can turn a very good album into an outstanding release. In the case of Firestar, it has come as a real surprise even for Sielck that the new songs surpass the material of the impressive 2020-album Skycrest. In fact, the cornerstones of the current offering were already set and pointed to a successful production within the tried and tested framework, when all of a sudden everything turned out rather differently: “Just before the recordings were finalised, I was inspired by the muse, totally of the blue. I wrote two more songs out of nowhere and changed a third one on the spur of the moment. And suddenly, ‘Firestar’ turned into an even better record,” Sielck recently said, admitting that this unexpected creative surge “triggered great emotions” in him.
Iron Savior have again come up with an exceptional studio album in Firestar, enhanced by Felipe Machado Franco’s impressive cover artwork. The cherry on the cake is the powerful production courtesy of Hamburg’s Powerhouse Studio, including intelligently positioned keyboard parts and the anthemic background choirs, supported by Sielck’s 17-year-old daughter Frida and her boyfriend. Without any doubt, Firestar turned into a bonfire in many respects.
Order Firestar here.
Tracklisting:
“The Titan”
“Curse Of The Machinery”
“In The Realm Of Heavy Metal”
“Demise Of The Tyrant”
“Firestar”
“Through The Fires Of Hell”
“Mask, Cloak And Sword”
“Across The Wastelands”
“Rising From Ashes”
“Nothing Is Forever”
“Together As One”
“Together As One” video:
“In The Realm Of Heavy Metal” video:
“Firestar” video:
“Through The Fires Of Hell”:
The post IRON SAVIOR Frontman PIET SIELCK Defends Cancelling ProgPower USA 2025 Appearance – “It Was Never Our Intention To Insult You; We Just Gave You The Truth Of What Led Us To This Decision” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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Sielck’s original satement:
“Dear PPUSA community,
With the heaviest heart we have decided that we cannot travel to Atlanta this year. The reason is as simple as omnipresent: the new Trump administration and their new world order.
Trump/Vance/Musk are tearing down everything what has been build up since WW2. They rewrite history and turn around the victim-aggressor role, denying that Ukraine has been invaded by Putin with 150,000 soldiers, they call Ukraine’s president a dictator who doesn’t uphold election even though they know that elections are forbidden in Ukraine during war by their constitution, they send Vance over here telling us to start collaborating with the AfD Nazi party here in Germany, they spit on the truth and think freedom of speech means license to lie and to insult. Obviously they are about to destabilize the Western world order so they can rewrite it to their needs, to make even more money.
We are deeply worried about this and simply do not feel safe and welcome anymore in your country. Of course we know that only 50% of the voters voted for Trump and that 50% didn’t vote at all. We feel extremely sorry for those of you who think the same, but at this point we can’t foresee what will happen in the next months. Maybe things will calm down and your admin will somehow get back to their senses. Or will they proclaim the American-Russian federation? All is possible and this scares the hell out of us.
We hope to return to Atlanta some other time in a better world like now. I hope you can understand and accept our decision.”
Sielck’s follow-up to the above:
“Some of you accuse me of making a political statement on the back of the fans. This is not the case. The only reason why we are not traveling to the USA is our concern that in September things may be even a lot worse than today, and that it may be dangerous for people like us, who criticize the government openly, to visit the US. It may sound ridiculous to some of you, but looking at what has happened in just a few weeks, I cannot predict at all how far your government is willing to go. It was never our intention to make a political statement nor to hurt your feelings or insult you. We just gave you the truth of what led us to this decision.
Some of you accuse me to speak about things which are not of my concern. First of all, everything the USA does is of concern for any human being on this planet since the US actions affect the entire world. Besides that, my mother has been living for over 30 years in San Francisco, CA and is married to an American citizen. CA has been something like a second home for me for centuries, and I used to live there myself. I think this qualifies for being concerned as well.
Some of you also accuse me of being badly informed by listening to the ‘wrong’ news. I am from Germany, where the media is financed and run by the people. The media is committed to be neutral and unbiased by law. Besides that, we have also news run by commercial companies, which mostly are biased in the vein of their owners like in the US. Some of you might have a wrong idea about our public media. They are not operated by the government, nor has the government any control about the content. This is regulated by law. But since we are all human, this works not all the time 100%, but it works good enough for me to keep my trust in a more or less neutral and unbiased coverage.
Some of you also accuse the Germans, that we would forbid the freedom of speech. This is as wrong as can be. The freedom of speech/opinion is anchored in our constitution, the Grundgesetz, Article 5, which also forbids censorship. But unlike in the US, where literally everything is allowed to say, print or picture, we have some limitations. Insults, defamation / aspersion, and incitement of the people / racial hatred are forbidden by law and will be prosecuted if violated. This simply means, you can express any content as much as you want as long as you don’t insult and/or defame others, and your content is not inciting the people. We have learned that from the mistakes of the Weimar Republic, This is where the vast majority of the German society comes from and I am totally okay to sacrifice a tiny little bit of my freedom of speech having to make my points in a civilized way without hate, insult and defamation. Because those are the tools / weapons of demagogues.
Some of you also accuse me having divided the ProgPower USA metal community. I am sorry if I brought up a topic which is unpleasant, but the divide has been there long before I wrote the statement and was not made by me. The divide is made by politicians who use hate and defamation to manipulate the people to their needs. My statement just made visible what is under the surface.
Once again I would like to express my deepest regret about the current situation and having to disappoint people who are not responsible. Once again, I can only ask for your understanding and tolerance. We don’t claim to be right here, but we have to base things on what we think is right. If we are right or not… time will tell.
All the best.”
Following the release of their latest studio album, Firestar, Iron Savior, has unleashed a furious, new single entitled Raising Hell.
Firestar features a wide range of influences from hard rock to pop, all calibrated to heavy metal trademark the band is known and loved for. But sometimes pure coincidence or seemingly inconspicuous little details can turn a very good album into an outstanding release. In the case of Firestar, it has come as a real surprise even for Sielck that the new songs surpass the material of the impressive 2020-album Skycrest. In fact, the cornerstones of the current offering were already set and pointed to a successful production within the tried and tested framework, when all of a sudden everything turned out rather differently: “Just before the recordings were finalised, I was inspired by the muse, totally of the blue. I wrote two more songs out of nowhere and changed a third one on the spur of the moment. And suddenly, ‘Firestar’ turned into an even better record,” Sielck recently said, admitting that this unexpected creative surge “triggered great emotions” in him.
Iron Savior have again come up with an exceptional studio album in Firestar, enhanced by Felipe Machado Franco’s impressive cover artwork. The cherry on the cake is the powerful production courtesy of Hamburg’s Powerhouse Studio, including intelligently positioned keyboard parts and the anthemic background choirs, supported by Sielck’s 17-year-old daughter Frida and her boyfriend. Without any doubt, Firestar turned into a bonfire in many respects.
Order Firestar here.
Tracklisting:
“The Titan”
“Curse Of The Machinery”
“In The Realm Of Heavy Metal”
“Demise Of The Tyrant”
“Firestar”
“Through The Fires Of Hell”
“Mask, Cloak And Sword”
“Across The Wastelands”
“Rising From Ashes”
“Nothing Is Forever”
“Together As One”
“Together As One” video:
“In The Realm Of Heavy Metal” video:
“Firestar” video:
“Through The Fires Of Hell”:
The post IRON SAVIOR Frontman PIET SIELCK Defends Cancelling ProgPower USA 2025 Appearance – “It Was Never Our Intention To Insult You; We Just Gave You The Truth Of What Led Us To This Decision” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
