SOMEWHERE IN TIME

The guitar synths and other plastic fantastic noises took over this album and out went the fantastic Powerslave sound. Which was very good because another Powerslave would be a suicide. Even a massive Powerslave fan like myself have to admit that. Somewhere In Time was the right album for Iron Maiden. It was also a bold step and I was one of those scratching my head.

The album opens with Caught Somewhere In Time. A good track and strangely overlooked by the band itself in the latter years although I have yet to meet a fan who does not rate this song very highly. It is never played live, as far as I am aware of. It is a good song and I rate it highly.

Wasted Years is a song I want to banished to the naughty corner and never want to hear it again. I think it is cheap and pop-metal like. The next song Sea Of Madness is decent with a good drive and more than one sniff of symphonic prog. Heaven Can Wait has a good riff and a memorable chorus. It is a live favourite.

As a man who like long 100 miles cycle tours around UK, the next song is almost my own anthem. Yes, I very much identify myself with The Loneliness Of A Long Distance Runner. The lyrics could had been written by myself when I race over one of the Scottish islands on my way to somewhere not important. I hope Iron Maiden is not going to charge me royalties for every time I sing this song loud because this will bankrupt me. I love this song and every word of it. I can feel every word of it in my tired legs. The next song is also one of my favourite Iron Maiden songs. Although a bit light-weight, Stranger In A Strange Land also has an epic feeling and a memorable tune. It is also pretty much prog rock at times with some good tempo changes and harmonies. An excellent song.

The next song Déjà Vu is an uptempo song with a catchy chorus. Not bad, but not great either. The closing song Alexander The Great is the symphonic prog rock alibi on this album. It has all the hallmarks of both a good heavy metal song and a good prog rock song. The plastic fantastic synths makes it a bit cheap and dumbed down in my view. Compare it to the title track from Powerslave and you will see my point. It is certainly not the greatest epic Iron Maiden song ever.

So, how does Somewhere In Time stacks up today ? Pretty well, actually. The sound is good and like a 2009 release. The songs is good. I am in doubt if this is a 3 or a 4 stars though. But I will go for a 4 stars rating here because I believe I will listen a lot to this album during the next decades. I also need Iron Maiden's approval to play The Loneliness Of A Long Distance Runner in my funeral. So I have to be a bit kind here. Call it a bribe. So the rating goes up from 3.75 stars to 4 stars.

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