POWERSLAVE

"Powerslave" was perhaps the first Iron Maiden album to really contain progressive elements, something that would become more and more notable over the next few albums. Of course, the progressive elements are mostly only notable on the last two tracks; the title track and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" which also both stands out as some my personal favorite Maiden tracks. This album is perhaps their heaviest, but still holds a close hand to their ordinary, less-heavier sound. After several listenings, this turned out to be my favorite Maiden release ever.

This was Drummer Nicko McBrain's second album with Maiden (he replaced Clive Burr for the "Piece of Mind" album) and you can hear he has found his place in the band here, with his powerful and great drumming style. The guitar riffs are among Maiden's best ever; well- composed yet aggressive in a way without ex-aggerating in any sense. A couple of singles was made from this album as well promoting this album even further among it's already huge sales. "Powerslave" soon became one of the landmarks in the heavy metal scene, and it still is. Every track is a winner here, something that is very rare for most albums, and I would say in overall that this is Iron Maiden's best release this far.

I highly recommend this album to any fans of this band. This may be not essential in a regular prog collection, but it's definitely essential in a heavy metal collection. I really can't go under 5 stars with this one, although it only merits a 2.5 on a prog scale, It's perhaps their most perfect this far, In my opinion.