It’s on par with Number of the Beast from a quality standpoint. A dystopian futuristic city sets the backdrop for the entire album. He’s gone full Blade Runner badass and looks the coolest he ever has. Going through all of them would be exhaustive. It’s filled with allusions, callbacks, easter eggs, and references to Maiden’s past. Album Art:ĭerek Riggs really outdid himself with this album art. A relic of the time period, Maiden had long been quoted saying that “synthesizers don’t belong in rock”. The whole album is devoid of filler, crap, or horrid songs. It could be seen as a concept album but the next album takes that mantle. This album 100% belongs with the pantheon set up by their previous three albums with Bruce Dickinson. For those fans out there that don’t think Maiden needs synthesizers, you can shove it. So I’m going to be a bit biased when reviewing it. This album is my favorite Iron Maiden album. They all want to see it on those setlists when the band does a new tour. Either way this one goes down in history as probably the most wanted song for Maiden fans. I can imagine that Maiden doesn’t play this one live because the lyrics would be extraordinarily difficult to sing live. Then the song picks up and you’re being told the story of the Macedonian King.Ī song that evokes the time of Alexander with the guitar tone and the lyrics. You’re transported to the feet of a Macedonian soldier marching. Starting off with masterful guitar and drum work. One that fans of the band have long clamored for them to play live. Following in that lead of “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “To Tame a Land”, and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is this song. Iron Maiden and Steve Harris have a knack for leaving their most epic and best songs for the end of their albums. Nonetheless, this album has a lot to unpack, so let’s get to it. He wrote the two singles for the album, “Wasted Years” and “Stranger in a Strange Land”.Īs for the rest of the album, the band didn’t mean to have the overall theme of time and space, it just happened that way. To pick up that slack, Adrian Smith went into overdrive. Bruce wouldn’t receive a songwriting credit on the album. Steve Harris and the rest of the band had other ideas. He felt they needed to do this or else they would just wither away and die. Bruce Dickinson, exhausted from the past tour, wanted the band to make an even better album to one-up Powerslave. The songwriting on this album was markedly different than the past three. Real fans would welcome it with open arms. So-called “Iron Maiden purists” would reject this change. Guitar synthesizers were added and it resulted in a similar sounding metal/rock sound, but with a different feel. Some of this new equipment would change the sound of Iron Maiden for the next two albums. That six-months turned into four months very quickly.ĭuring these four months, Dave Murray and Steve Harris would be experimenting with new guitar equipment. A six-month break was in store for the band. Bruce Dickinson threatened to quit if they forced them to. Their management wanted them to tour even more for the release of Live After Death. After the grueling World Slavery Tour in support of Powerslave, the band was mentally, physically, and emotionally drained.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |