PIECE OF MIND

By now Iron Maiden had become one of the biggest metal-acts of the globe and expectations were high for the fourth release. Iron Maiden changed their style a bit by excluding the rock'n roll/punk of the Paul Di'Anno era. Also Nicko McBrain enters the band, giving Iron Maiden some new grounds to explore. The band originally named the album 'Dune', but they didn't get the rights to do so.

Where Eagles Dare is an interesting track with great drums of McBrain and atmospheric guitar parts. Still this track isn't as convincing as other Iron Maiden opening tracks. Revelations is however one of my favorite track ever. The track was written by Bruce Dickinson and has a very un-orthodox form. There are many instrumental and vocal parts and a lot of extrovert vocals by Dickinson. The clean-guitar with melodic bass-line part in the middle and ending of the song is memorable. Love this one! Flight of Icarus had been released as a single, but turns out to be a great Iron Maiden song. The guitar solo's on the end are great! Die With Your Boots On is great metal-track, but not as appealing as others. The Trooper needs little introduction: It's an Iron Maiden anthem with great instrumental parts (and a perfect two-part guitar solo in the middle!) and aggressive vocals by Bruce. Still Life is even better with it's nice atmospheric and fearsome vocals and melodics parts. Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel are two less inventive tracks and the reason some discard this album. The songs are fun, but just not as good as other songs. To Tame A Land is however one of the best Iron Maiden epics with perfect instrumental parts and inventive songwriting. The bass is very good on this song.

Conclusion. This album has some of Iron Maiden's best songs and some mediocre tracks. Still it is a very good album for fans but perhaps less interesting for others. I will give it three stars, but my personal opinion of the album is higher. Essential for fans, interesting for metal fans and perhaps a good addition for others. For those who embrace the digital era I recommend to listen to To Tame A Land, Revelations, Still Life and The Trooper.

* I've listened to this album some more, and I must say it is worth at least four stars. There are to many favorite Maiden tracks on this one.

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