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Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind CD (album) cover

PIECE OF MIND

Iron Maiden

 

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3.80 | 672 ratings

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UMUR
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Piece of Mind is the fourth album from Iron Maiden, and it is often forgotten as it is placed between two very essential albums in Iron Maidenīs discography namely The Number of the Beast and Powerslave. Piece of Mind is not to be forgotten though as there are many great songs on the album. Itīs the album where Bruce Dickinson began to put his mark on the songs and he even contributed to the song writing here too. This is also the first album with new drummer Nicko McBrain who has replaced Clive Burr.

The album starts with the powerful Where Eagles Dare where Bruce Dickinson sings in the very high end of his considerable register. The man is just a fantastic singer. Itīs a very good opener and an enjoyable song. Revelations which is a song written by Bruce Dickinson follows and itīs a very beautiful yet at times heavy song. I must admit I prefer the live version from the Live After Death album which is a bit faster paced but the original version on Piece of Mind is also very good. Then comes Flight of Icarus which is a very melodic and majestic song. Itīs another classic Iron Maiden song. Side 1 of the original LP ends with Die With Your Boots On. Even though this is considered an Iron Maiden classic I have always found it below standard, and itīs the song on Piece of Mind I like the least. The only thing I enjoy about Die With Your Boots On is the beautiful guitar solo.

Side 2 of the original LP starts with one of the ultimate Iron Maiden classics in The Trooper, fast paced and melodic riffing drives this song forward. Bruce sounds very inspired here. The Trooper is definitely one of the highlights on Piece of Mind. Still Life is another favorite of mine. Itīs kind of a different sounding Iron Maiden song and maybe thatīs what I like about it. It certainly helps the variation on the album. Itīs a very melodic song and it has some great guitar solos. Quest for Fire is a mid tempo song which I never thought was anything special. Itīs allright though. I appreciate Sun and Steel just a notch more, but itīs definitely not the best song here either. The last song saves the last star for Piece of Mind as I have always loved the epic To Tame a Land. Itīs another favorite of mine. Itīs a very melodic and majestic song with lots of double lead guitar action and solos. I think itīs on par with other epic Iron Maiden songs like Hallowed By Thy Name, Alexander The Great and Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

I have only positive things to say about Iron Maiden as musicians. They are all very well playing and their compositional skills are very high too.

The production is not the best Iron Maiden production, and I prefer both The Number of the Beast and Powerslavesīs productions to this one, but itīs allright and of course much better than anyone else could conjure up in heavy metal in 1983.

To sum up this is an excellent album filled with classic Iron Maiden songs. There are a few weak moments on Piece of Mind, but generally itīs an excellent album. I wouldnīt call it progressive even though songs like Revelations and To Tame a Land does have progressive tendencies. That doesnīt make it a bad album though and I will rate it 4 stars

UMUR | 4/5 |

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