Iron Maiden
Somewhere In Time

Do not be surprised if the tones of the review turn out to be very, very high. We are talking about one of those albums that, in a hypothetical ranking of the undersigned's favorite albums, always, inevitably, and unavoidably ends up among the top 3, without giving it much thought. Not only that: in my opinion, the album you are about to read the review of is the best of the English quintet, for various reasons to which I will refer later. Let's focus now on the actual review...

"Somewhere In Time" is a turning point album for the Iron Maiden. A change in sound so evident is second only to what happened between 1981 and 1982, when, thanks to Di Anno’s departure and Dickinson's arrival, the group transitioned from a more hard-rock sound to what would be the pure and simple Heavy Metal typical of the NWOBHM. The great novelty of this album is indeed the synth instruments; other bands had already succumbed to the temptation to experiment with these state-of-the-art technologies and adapt them to their style, such as their own "rivals" Judas Priest with the album "Turbo," but the success is not remotely comparable in my view. So the English quintet found themselves in the recording studio with clear ideas: these instruments were only supposed to represent a breath of fresh air for their sound, and push even further than they had, in a sense, already done with "Powerslave," while certainly keeping their characteristic sound intact. The risk was high: the fans’ fear of seeing their idols make a likely misstep due to, even worse, the desire to draw a broader and casual audience, was definitely palpable; we must indeed consider that at the time synths in the Heavy Metal realm were certainly not well regarded by purists of the genre.

A small note on the cover. One of my favorites, with an assassin version of Eddie caught at night in an indefinite future, while on the back the references to the band's previous works abound (just to name a couple, the pub Aces High and the clock set at 23:58, those famous 2 Minutes to Midnight...). A cover that nevertheless does not have only an aesthetic recall function, but that immediately introduces us to the futuristic, almost space-like atmosphere that will await us as we listen...

Ready, set, go. The listener inserts the disc into the player and is immediately greeted by these synth instruments with the title track, a perfect soundscape for the Smith/Murray guitar duo, but also for the usual, exquisite bass work of His Majesty Steve Harris. A few seconds and off they go, McBrain also joins in behind the drums; a little more patience and the explosion we were all waiting for arrives, with the usual grand entrance of Bruce Dickinson. In my opinion, such a dazzling and successful start has only occurred on two other occasions: with "Powerslave" (obviously we are talking about "Aces High") and with "Moonchild", the opening track of the subsequent and equally fortunate "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son." In hindsight, we can already grasp the meaning of the title track, the perfect synthesis of what the album would propose: to the harder and in a certain sense immediate riffing of the previous studio works is replaced by work aimed at making the sound more evocative and majestic, with the tone of the guitars slightly softer and echoing, and with Dickinson less imperious in vocal extension, but more inspired and concrete. A personal note of merit must be made to the central solo, one of the most successful duets by the two axe men.

The next track is another, very welcome novelty, a single signed by Adrian Smith. "Wasted Years" seems indeed far too immediate and catchy by Maiden standards, but with remarkable impact and a poignant and melancholic text in which we can identify ourselves quite easily. In this case, Adrian improvises as the real lead guitar of the song, leaving the rhythm entirely to colleague Murray. It is impossible not to appreciate the fast and captivating riff, as well as not to be amazed by Adrian's solo, with a stylistic execution that borders on perfection....

We continue with the evocative "Sea Of Madness", with Murray's riff reigning for a good part of the song and with really exquisite work from Harris, in top form as usual. Excellent central solo which introduces a bridge tear-jerking for the emotion it conveys, then returning to the verse and subsequently closing another very well done track.

With Heaven Can Wait we probably reach the low point of the album. Amidst so much goodness, we rather talk about a less inspired song, but personally I am not afraid to go against the grain and say that it is a good idea realized in a not equally brilliant way, giving the feeling of being maybe a little stretched. Not bad Dickinson’s choir in the central part, excellent intro bass of Harris, good riffing but unfortunately nothing more.

No worries though. To counteract this moment of slight decline comes what, in my opinion, remains one of the most underrated songs in the band’s entire discography, namely "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner". Excellent intro, fast-paced rhythm, excellent sound-text wording, good riffing and a Dickinson who gives us a chorus that just begs to be sung along, excellently continued by the usual but extremely well-done twin guitar melody from the award-winning Smith/Murray duo. A truly brilliant song, it's a pity these are probably the six and a half most overlooked minutes of the English quintet's entire career.

Harris and McBrain set the pace and lead us into the most evocative song of the entire album: "Stranger in a Strange Land". Playing on the slow rhythm/greater use of synths opposition, the Irons give us what is probably the song that best represents their desire to push beyond the typical genre standards. A remarkable note: the central solo. Here too, as in "Wasted Years", the solo is entirely left to Mr. Adrian Smith, who contributes definitively to creating what can seriously compete for the title of the best solo of his career. The soundscape consisting of synth instruments and Harris's brilliant touches elevates the guitarist's extravagant vein, who launches into a chilling melody only to explode into a more energetic and technical but not less emotionless section. Cheers on stage.

Adrian again introduces us with a brief guitar solo to the penultimate track on the album, the controversial "De Ja Vu". The rhythm is fast-paced, Dickinson's vocal lines are inspired as usual, the riffing is precise and direct as in "Wasted Years", but it is somehow ruined by a rather banal text, far too much considering the standards to which the five English gentlemen have accustomed us. The absence of a true guitar solo also contributes to making this song even more controversial, but from here to talking, as I often hear, of a filler, it takes some doing. A very pleasant listen in any case, with a goosebumps-inducing pre-chorus.

However, all this is nothing. One of the reasons why I consider this album the group’s most successful is precisely the eighth and final track: "Alexander the Great". I am not exaggerating at all in telling you that it is a song seriously contending for the title of the best song of the English quintet. I should write a separate review just for these eight and a half minutes of pure atmosphere, stylistic perfection, variety, complexity, taste, and creativity blending with a well-written text (of course we are talking about yet another Harris-branded song) and a captivating and stimulating riffing that seriously challenges Dickinson, but highlights his vocal abilities and makes even the most skeptical understand why he is considered one of the best singers around. The duets, both in the melodies and in the solo present in the second part of the song, of the Smith/Murray duo reach a majesty that I have previously only noticed in the title track of the previous album ("Powerslave" for the record). Absolutely noteworthy is also the bridge marked by McBrain's march and Adrian Smith’s counter-time solo, apotheosis of the creativity of one of the best guitarists in Heavy Metal of the ‘80s.

The judgment can only clearly be positive: we are talking about an album that calling a masterpiece might even be reductive, here the Maidens did something truly astonishing. First of all, raise your hand whoever, after five masterpieces in five albums recorded, a monumental world tour behind them, and the awareness of being one of the most beautiful realities of the genre in question of the period, would not have released an album along the lines of the previous ones, but rather, would have tried something truly innovative like this album. Also note how, despite the sound having, in a certain sense, "softened" (less scratching and hard tones, presence of synth instruments, more evocative melodies, etc..), this work exudes Heavy Metal from the first to the last note.

This is it. This is the thought I have matured after listening to the various albums that make up the discography of the Iron Maiden, in particular the first seven, magnificent, astonishing albums. In conclusion, there are those who think "The Number of the Beast" is the top, who claim "Powerslave" is unattainable, or even that "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is the masterpiece not of a group, but of the very history of a genre. For me, the English quintet did more.

They made "Somewhere In Time".