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Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
Music CD CoverArtist: Iron Maiden Edition: Music CD Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered CD Release Date: 2002-03-26 Music Label: Sanctuary Records Soundtracks: - Where Eagles Dare
- Revelations
- Flight of Icarus
- Die with Your Boots On
- The Trooper
- Still Life
- Quest for Fire
- Sun and Steel
- To Tame a Land
Free Music Notes for Piece of MindFree Music Review: Another classic disc from the heavy metal gods Hit: 5 Stars
Piece Of Mind (1983.), Iron Maiden's fourth studio album
Iron Maiden are without doubt one of the main bands which epitomises the heavy metal genre; furthermore, they are definitely one of the most influential. The band were one of the more successful artists of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal Scene (NWOBHM) at the start of the 80's. They proved they were well on top of the NWOBHM scene and the heavy metal genre in general with their 1982 masterpiece, 'Number Of The Beast'. The album was a colossus of timeless and deftly executed songs which have easily stood the test of time. Following this, the band had to start from scratch for their next studio album and trust me, following up 'Number Of The Beast' was no easy task. In early 1983, following the replacement of drummer Clive Burr with the infamous Nicko McBrain, the band jetted off to Compass Point, Nassau in the Bahamas to cut their new album. The album, depicting band mascot Eddie locked in a padded cell was relased in May 1983 and has gone on to become one of Iron Maiden's most revered works. So is 'Piece Of Mind' a revelation?
Bad puns aside, this album is another awesome effort from the band and is fully deserving of a 5 star rating. The band definitely matched their legendary 'Number Of The Beast' album with this work. I'm not sure whether I would say it was better - both albums are so good that it's hard to decide but it is easily an album which is up there with the best. Like it's predecessor, the album succeeds more than anything with brilliant song writing. The songs are filled with plenty of fantastic, racing and heavy riffs. At the same time though, plenty of the songs, such as 'Flight Of Icarus' and 'Die With Your Boots On' have plenty of catchy hooks and choruses which make the music all the more fun to listen to. In fact that is one of the qualities I really admire about Iron Maiden's music is their ability to write groundbreaking, complex, heavy tunes whilst at the same time giving their music that great listenability and memorability. The album is also full of classic Iron Maiden themes; sure, some lyrically are a bit cheesy, such as mythical themes in songs like 'Flight Of Icarus' and 'Quest For Fire' but others catch some intersting themes like that of war in 'Where Eagles Dare' and 'The Trooper'. Bruce Dickenson makes all of the lyrics stand out anyway and gives a classic vocal performance throughout the album - he also plays a good hand in the songwriting himself on this album. All in all, 'Piece Of Mind' is another classic installment of the heavy metal juggernaut that is Iron Maiden.
Not too long ago, the Iron Maiden catalogue got totally remastered and improved. Hence the 1998 remasters are the way to go. The remaster job is great and all of the songs shine through with no sound glitches but also the recent version features and excellent accompanying booklet. The CD itself also has an enchanced multimedia section and you can view video footage of the 'Flight of Icarus' and 'The Trooper' songs from your PC.
Battle commences on the 'Piece Of Mind' album with the opener 'Where Eagles Dare'. This epic starting song, with its WWII Air Combat theme features rallying choruses from Dickenson and plenty of racing, gritty riffs. The instrumental interlude is particularly special, where the sounds of machine guns are incorporated around some great guitar work from Smith and Murray. The slower and more stately 'Revelations', penned by Dickenson himself follows. This 6+ minute song is one of the highlights of the album. The song has plenty of brooding verses contrasted by pounding choruses. Again, the song has another awesome instrumental section; also listen out for some stellar bass work from Steve Harris. Hit single, 'The Flight Of Icarus' is next up. Eventhough I'm not as crazy about this track as a lot of fans are, I still think it's a great song. The chugging guitar riffs from both guitarists really compliment each other and Dickenson's vocal operatics work really well on this song. The catchy, and for me quite underrated, 'Die With Your Boots On Follows'. The snappy chorus with its emphatic build up really shines through on this great track.
Then we come to 'The Trooper'. This is definitely one of Iron Maiden's finest ever songs. From start to finish, all 4+ minutes of this song is full layered guitar onslaught. The racing descending riff is a sound to behold. The song also has a great dramatised verses, where Dickenson's shouts are responded by snapping guitar chords. Oh, and did I forget to say this song is amzingly catchy as well! 'Still Life' follows. Another criminally underrated song. It has a weird, warped voice over opening which runs into an introspective opening verse. The songs stays quiet for a while but you feel the energy building then, you guessed, the song goes into full attack with the 'Nightmares' chorus. An amazing song. Next up is 'Quest For Fire'. A song attacked by some for cheesy lyrics; that aside, it has a great riff to it and a good bass driven chorus. 'Sun And Steel' is similar in that regard. By no means as strong as some of the songs on the album, it is by no means a poor song and is well worth the listen, with it's classic driving riff. Then, we have the epic in 'To Tame A Land' closing the album. This is a great song, with a mysterious opening riff that builds into a downcast but powerful melody. It is epic in the mold of 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' but at the same time, the song shows signs of Iron Maiden's later direction, most notably with the concept album, 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son'.
'Piece Of Mind' is a powerful work from Iron Maiden. The album has some classic songs and is more importantly, very consistent and no tracks are sub-par or average. For me, this album is every bit the equal to 'Number Of The Beast', it's predecessor. The early-mid 80's saw Iron Maiden rise to become one of the great bands of all time and it's not at all surprising given the classic stuff they did in this period. 'Piece Of Mind' is a must for any Iron Maiden fan and for any heavy metal fan in general.
MY RATING: 9/10
Piece of Mind PosterEnhanced CD-Rom version of the original. Includes full-length videos, band biographies, photo galleries, and internet links, all encased in a slip-sleeve. - 1998
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