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Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death CD (album) cover

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

Iron Maiden

 

Prog Related

3.65 | 484 ratings

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UMUR
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars A Matter of Life and Death is the fourteenth full-length studio album by UK heavy metal act Iron Maiden. This is the third album release after the band re-united with lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith. I was very happy about their last album Dance of Death (2003) and my expectations for this album were as a consequence very high.

The music is no surprise if you´re familiar with the trademark Iron Maiden sound. Melodic heavy metal with an epic edge. As on the last couple of albums there are a few faster paced rockers on the album but most songs are mid-paced and pretty long epic tracks. Songs like the strong power ballad Out of the Shadows, the really heavy The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg and my favorite on the album Brighter Than A Thousand Suns really prove that Iron Maiden still have lots to offer even after all these years. The guitar solos and guitar melody theme work is excellent and Iron Maiden really make full use of their three guitarists Janick Gers, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. A few times I´m almost reminded of the multilayered guitar harmonies on ...And Justice for All (1988) by Metallica. The rythm section is as always impressive and tight like hell and it never cease to amaze me how powerful and commanding Bruce Dickinson sounds.

The production is powerful and really gives the music the right punch. Much like the sound on its predecessor the sound on A Matter of Life and Death really means that this album sounds heavier than what we´ve been used to from Iron Maiden in the eighties and in the nineties. I really enjoy this newfound heaviness. It makes them sound fresh and inspired.

A Matter of Life and Death is another great album by Iron Maiden. Their basis quality level is so extremely high that even though A Matter of Life and Death doesn´t really bring anything new to Iron Maiden´s sound it´s difficult to rate it with less than a 4 star rating.

UMUR | 4/5 |

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