Staffan from LAW&ORDER Fanzine wrote excellent review of ITG Soultraveler 7″.
After loving Iron to Gold’s demo tape, and seeing them live in Wroclaw in September, this 7” came to be my most anticipated record in 2011. Now in the end, it was actually not sent out until early 2012, but that is beside the point. It was during the fall of 2011 that I kept bugging singer Patryk with questions regarding when the record would be out.
If you check out my footage from Wroclaw on YouTube, or the insane video from the grandma shed in Holy City (Czestochowa), you’ll hopefully see what I see: that band that wraps it all up, that has come to define time and place but also defy limits and exceed expectations. When there is a hardcore scene as dynamic and thriving as the one in Poland at the moment – at least from my outside perspective – bands like Iron to Gold will surface and will be something great. Often, it will be the work of kids who live it for the first time and ride on a wave of initial inspiration and passion, youthful and untainted energy if you will. In Iron to Gold’s case, just like in Hårda Tider’s ditto in Sweden in recent years, it’s however a matter of veterans acting in a dialectic relationship with the blossoming scene, re-invigorated, re-liberated, from soul to soul. I am sure the Sunrise guys would have done something to make use of their musical creativity no matter what the state of the scene, but likewise, I am certain that Iron to Gold wouldn’t have been as incredible if they weren’t in the middle of an environment that encourages it, that lifts them up and allows them to be THAT BAND. For when a band like that steps forward, they will get the love and passion from the rest of the scene that they deserve. Like several of my friends from various countries commented after playing in Poland during the autumn of 2011, before having heard them: the ITG Warsaw straight edge hoodies were everywhere, THIS BAND MUST BE SOMETHING SPECIAL.
I’ve been spending a lot of time pondering on just what it is that makes Iron to Gold as great as they are. I am not sure I have a definite answer, as parts of the explanation might just lurk somewhere in unexplainable territories. You can’t always say what it is that sparks that fire inside; you just know that it’s there and that it sets the tone to the rhythm of your life, to quote another band with such skills. What Iron to Gold surely does though, is to prove that you don’t have to be Insted to be posi, and you don’t have to roar out meaningless rants about negativity and the world’s unavoidable demise to play hardcore that is HARD. I guess I could add more qualities, such as proving that you don’t need actual religious references to provide spiritual guidance: you can do it by simply setting the example, or as Iron to Gold puts it: “now I live this change.” This is music that empowers, that enables, that creates space where we can dream and grow and love and get it all out there, skin to skin.
The music dwells in a territory where Judge meets Inside Out, which makes perfect sense since Iron to Gold have covered both bands live. As this mix is sort of what once made the first Strife LP great, before they roughed it up and beat the crap out of everyone on the second, that reference is also not far away. The overall speed is slightly increased compared to the demo, and Patryk’s vocals slightly harsher, which is icing on the cake.
A lot of hardcore EPs these days are good, solid, enjoyable, but also easily forgotten about. There’s an avalanche of releases and bandcamps and hardcore has become a product that often comes and goes without leaving any mark, without anything that will have you truly hooked. Honestly, most new bands you hear, how many of them will you even remember in a few years’ time? And if you happen to pick out any of their records in 2020, will they give you the feeling they once did? Probably not. That doesn’t mean they can’t be enjoyed in the moment, in the context in which they were active and contributed to the totality of hardcore. But once in a while there is a record that you can instantly feel has what it takes to follow you through life, that won’t disappoint you as your life changes and puts you in a different place than where you first enjoyed it.
For me, “Soultraveler” is exactly that kind of EP. It is also an overall beautiful package (with a cover shot that will get at least all Swedes to think of the last Outlast 7”), released on sweet labels. Everything about it seems to work in its favor.
As it seems, quite a lot of people had caught up with the reality of the situation even before the 7” was released, and by the time this is printed, you’ll be lucky to find any leftover copies. But you need to try.
“Clean sounding words feed the fire that I uphold, as words become deeds I turn iron to gold/…/Soul to soul, we live, soul to soul.”
– Staffan Snitting, Review of the issue, Law & Order Fanzine #4
