 However, after forming Sacred Steel they were able to draw larger attention and success.After opening for bands like Blitzkrieg they were signed to Metal Blade Records in April 1997 being the first German band ever to do so.Their debut album "Reborn in Steel" was released October 1997 and with great press and fan response, Sacred Steel became one of the top German metal acts in a short time, maybe also due to the renaissance of true metal and successes of bands like HammerFall.