Their debut album Hellish Crossfire was released in 1985, which received critical acclaim and became known in the German speed metal scene.
In 1986, bassist Thorsten Lohmann departed the band and was replaced with Günther Moritz as their temporary member for the tour with King Diamond in Germany, prior to the next album Winds of War, which was released in June 1986.
[1][2] After a small jam session between Peter Wittke, Dirk Schröder and Mike Matthes, Iron Angel reformed in 1997 as a 4-piece band, with the addition of Günther Moritz as the new member.
They performed at the Headbangers Open Air and in South America in 2015 to great success, and at the Metal Magic Festival in 2016.
[6] Iron Angel's musical approach is influenced by bands such as Motörhead, Slayer and Judas Priest, according to former drummer Mike Matthes, "We wanted to try to connect speed metal with melodic elements, what was not asked at the time yet, unfortunately, but later it was done by bands like Helloween and then was also accepted by the fans.