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With 1986 proving to be a pivotal year for heavy metal, and Germany witnessing through the rise of Scorpions and Accept the growing reach of its European heavy sound to an ever-expanding audience, it did not take long for other homegrown bands to attract the attention of the metal community of the time. At the same time, German thrash metal was beginning to forge its own identity, with bands such as Kreator and Destruction providing even greater momentum and hope to those chasing their dreams. Heavy metal was no longer exclusively a British affair and had begun to take on a truly international character. Within this environment, Warlock from Düsseldorf, Germany, found themselves facing an opportunity that would change the course of their career.
With two important releases already under their belt, 1984’s Burning the Witches and, above all, 1985’s Hellbound, the band’s third album, True as Steel, released on August 25, 1986, became the crucial step toward the American market. A major role in this was played by the departure of Rudy Graf, who left for Rage, and the arrival of Niko Arvanitis from Stormwind. Together with Peter Szigeti, he formed a guitar duo that was clearly more mature and multidimensional than on the band’s previous releases. They introduced greater detail, more melodies, harmonies and more carefully crafted solos, without abandoning elements of the band’s early sound.
With Henry Staroste once again handling production and the final sonic result benefiting from Michael Wagener’s mixing, their credentials were validated on both sides of the Atlantic, in Germany and America respectively. The sound is more polished, more spacious and clearly oriented toward the other side of the Atlantic. Heavy metal remains at its core, but alongside it there are now stronger elements of hard rock, glam and melodic metal, with obvious references to the sound of bands such as Dokken, Ratt and Bon Jovi. Whereas the first two albums had a rawer and more aggressive character, True as Steel reveals a band that has matured both compositionally and in terms of production.
This becomes apparent from the very first seconds of Mr. Gold. The speed, the razor-sharp riff and Doro’s vocals, moving from aggressive to melodic, create an ideal opening. It is one of the tracks where the band demonstrates that it can combine the speed of speed metal with an accessible, almost irresistible chorus. Next comes Fight for Rock, perhaps the album’s defining song and one of the most important tracks of Warlock’s career. The riff is simple and solid, the chorus made to be sung by thousands of people, and the entire composition perfectly captures the live-oriented spirit of mid-’80s European metal. The song was, of course, destined to become Warlock’s biggest gamble in their bid to win over the American audience. Not without reason, as it received significant radio airplay, while its video—the band’s first ever—further strengthened their presence on MTV. For a band from West Germany, this was a huge breakthrough.
Love in the Danger Zone moves at a different tempo. It is a melodic, semi-ballad-like composition in which the guitars and vocals reveal the band’s more refined side. Speed of Sound, by contrast, brings back the speed and metallic drive, while on Midnite in China, Warlock attempt something even more interesting. Keyboards, a more atmospheric opening, a bluesy hard rock feel and an excellent guitar interplay between Arvanitis and Szigeti. It is one of the album’s hidden strengths, a song that demonstrates just how much further their sound could be expanded.
The second side of the record opens with Vorwärts, All Right, one of the album’s fastest and most direct moments. Here, the old sound returns, with the speed of Judas Priest, the straightforwardness of Accept and a melodic quality that makes the song instantly memorable. Next comes the title track, another anthem, this time with a more heroic and epic character. The powerful chorus and guitars turn it into a song that sounds destined for the stage from the very beginning, and one that Doro would later retain in her live setlist. Lady in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hell leans more toward hard rock and glam, while Love Song is the expected power ballad of the era. It is not necessarily the most original composition on the album, but Doro’s performance gives it character and emotional intensity. Igloo on the Moon (Reckless) continues in a lighter ’80s poser-rock direction and, despite Doro’s own reservations about the song, remains an entertaining moment on the record. The album closes with the instrumental T.O.L., a short and somewhat unusual aftertaste that brings an album full of contrasts to an end.
True as Steel is perhaps the album where Doro Pesch begins to move away from the almost constant hysterical intensity of the first two releases and reveal more shades of her voice. She remains fierce and distinctive, but now she knows when to attack and when to pull back. The layered vocals and choruses add depth, while her performance allows even the more melodic compositions to retain their metallic weight. There was, however, a darker side behind this new direction. Vertigo Records was putting increasing pressure on Warlock to produce more commercial material. According to later statements by Doro herself, even the lyrics and character of some songs were influenced by outside collaborators who came more from the pop world. As a result, songs that had been more straightforward metal in their demo versions were transformed into more commercial productions. The result, however, is not a soulless attempt at achieving success. On the contrary, the Germans manage to preserve their identity while simultaneously opening up new paths.
The commercial shift had immediate consequences. True as Steel may not have become a worldwide commercial phenomenon, but it reached No. 18 on the German charts and gave the Germans the visibility they needed for the next step. In the summer of 1986, Warlock appeared at the legendary Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in front of approximately 50,000 spectators, sharing the stage with acts such as Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead and Scorpions. Doro thus became the iconic female presence in a scene that, until then, had been almost exclusively dominated by men. The appearance was a landmark, both for her personally and for the history of European metal. This was followed by joint appearances with Judas Priest and Motörhead and W.A.S.P. followed, while the push for American recognition became even more intense. By the end of 1986, however, the band had begun to fracture internally. Peter Szigeti and Frank Rittel departed, unwilling to follow the band’s new path toward the United States. They were replaced by Americans Tommy Bolan and Tommy Henriksen, while Doro relocated to New York. A year later, Triumph and Agony would bring even greater commercial success, but it would also effectively mark the end of Warlock as a band and the beginning of Doro’s solo career.
In conclusion, True as Steel holds a special place in their history. It is not necessarily their most extreme or their most purely metal album, nor their most commercially successful. It is, however, the album of transition. It is where raw European heavy metal meets hard rock, glam and melody without yet losing its identity. A record deeply connected to 1986, yet strong enough to be listened to today without feeling like nothing more than a musical relic of its era. Above all, it is the album that captures the moment when Doro Pesch and Warlock ceased to be merely a promising German band and became part of the international history of heavy metal. It may not have been the end of their journey, but it was the moment that opened the road to everything that followed.
