Certainly one of the best Maiden records and one of their best sleeves also, depicting band mascot Eddie shackled by straight-jacket in padded cell Hell. 'Piece...' is also one of the bands most musically accomplished albums, Bruce Dickinson on fine form soaring high vocally, especially on the epic 'Flight Of Icarus' with its catchy chorus, but the rest of the band provide a fiery backdrop, straight from the burning realm of the classy 'Number Of The Beast', this time the five-piece drift away from the hellish domain and focus on classic metal, daubing the anthems in gothic paint, pummelling the senses with the twin guitar attack of Murray and Smith, Harris' bass as usual galloping steadfastly along. I only own three Maiden records, this being one of them and this is certainly one of their finest, only let down by 'Quest For Fire' it boasts several Maiden classics, 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Die With Your Boots On' and the timeless jaunt of 'The Trooper'. Strange that I always thought Maiden were so dark and caustic and yet once coming out of the metal bubble in the late '80s, only then did I realise that a majority of tracks were history lessons, and far removed from Satanic murmurings. Even so, Maiden were, at times, a true metal band and their imagery always gave them a head start over so many bands, but the ride for me was only a temporary one, but the magic of 'The Trooper' lives long in the memory as those chords paint pictures of dark, dusty corridors and icy crypts. And as Dickinson's set of "oh oh oh oh oh's' rise into the night, even I have to admit that 'Piece Of Mind' is important...but give me 'Number Of The Beast' anyday, the fire there is much hotter.
8/10
2 comments:
Would agree "Piece..." is not a patch on NOTB but has some belting tunes none the less.
The Trooper is right up there along side any Maiden tune as an all time classic
...Eagles is a belting openner.
"Die With Your Boots On" is flat out Metal!
Beyond those tunes, there are lots of above average but not amazing songs by Maiden standards.
You say you only own 3 Maiden albums... this, NOTB I presume, and what else?
I'd encourage you to check out the first 2: "Iron Maiden" and "Killers". They both benefit from original drummer Clive Burr (also drummed on NOTB) and awesome bass from Steve Harris. Those first 3 albums for me are their best.
Beyond those, check:
7th Sun of a 7th Sun ('88)
Live After Death (live album from 85)
Powerslave ('84)
Dance of Death (2004ish)
I've heard all the Maiden records, but am just not a big fan, I agree the first few are decent heavy metal records and I enjoyed 'Seventh Son...'. Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated.
Post a Comment