Iron Maiden
Piece Of Mind

THE REVIEW

Ladies & Gentlemen, this is not just a simple album by a simple heavy metal band, this is a masterpiece, it is a perfect record, it is an icon, the very essence of classy metal. A much more mature album than the previous The Number Of The Beast, both in terms of sound and especially in terms of lyrics, which walk the fine line between reality and philosophy, between epicness and disillusionment, between dream and nightmare, between epicness and reflection. The journey into the fascinating microcosm of the album begins with Where Eagles Dare, which tells of a war expedition into the mountains during a snowstorm. The atmosphere is very epic and sustained as befits an opener, a tiny flaw being its 6-minute duration, in my humble opinion 4 minutes would have sufficed. Revelations is one of the absolute pinnacles of beauty and poetry ever achieved by Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson, who had taken over the microphone from Paul Di'Anno, writes a text that is nothing short of aulic and visionary, crowned by guitar interweavings, sometimes vehement and sometimes caressing, that guide the listener on a journey to the border of day and night, among mystical and surreal landscapes, a song that changes your life. More direct but equally epic is Flight Of Icarus, an ideal manifesto of the human illusion of pushing beyond one's natural limits. The Trooper is "sneaky and deceptive" in that the song's sound might make one think of an epic metal anthem praising war, but instead, it talks about a simple soldier who is shot down and dies alone and forgotten in a Napoleonic war. Such beautiful and deep lyrics can also be found in The Aftermath, The Edge Of Darkness, Como Estais Amigo, Paschendale, and For The Greater Good Of God. I almost forgot Die With Your Boots On, a sort of 2 Minutes To Midnight in its embryonic state, especially in the guitar intro; an ironic text towards prophets of doom (if you really have to die, at least die fighting.... the lyrics say). Still Life picks up the themes of nightmare and mystery already addressed in Killers with Prodigal Son and Purgatory and in Iron Maiden with Strange World, but it is a more conventionally maiden-style song than the earlier ones in terms of sound. Quest For Fire is wonderful, a potential stadium anthem, I don’t understand why the Irons prefer the much more anonymous Run To The Hills. Here Bruce Dickinson is more epic than ever: he truly seems like a Bard as he declares the discovery of fire and the evolution of primitive man. Beautiful and very underrated too is Sun And Steel, equipped with a truly killer chorus, like the samurai the song is about. This invaluable dreamlike journey ends with To Tame A Land, with Middle Eastern atmospheres and Wagnerian power, and then just hearing old Bruce Bruce recite solemn phrases and unknown words (Muab’dib, Gom Jabbar, Kwizathch Haderach, Kaladan...) is worth the price of the album. IMMORTAL, RATING 10/10

"She came to me with a serpent kiss

and the eyes of the sun rose on her lips

moonlight catches silver tears I cried..."