Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
Iron Maiden is:
Steve Harris (bass)
Bruce Dickenson (vocals)
Dave Murray (guitar)
Adrian Smith (guitar)
Nicko McBrain (drums)
Iron Maiden has achieved many things in their mammoth music career. They made VH1s Top 100 Hard Rock Bands in 24th. They've also released many great albums, like Number of the Beast, Powerslave, and this one - Piece of Mind. This album is very well known for its hit single "The Trooper". Even though it is a great song, there are many other great songs on this album as well.
The Review:
Where Eagles Dare:
Iron Maiden is also well known for their superb openers, like "Aces High" on Powerslave. This song is another one of those openers. The opener gets you pumped up for the rest of the songs, with an intense first riff and great timing with the vocals and guitars. The middle part drones on for a while, but then goes back to the intense verses and awesomes riffs that Maiden is famous for.
4/5
Revelations:
I think this song was okay. It was a little slow for Maiden's standards, but that's just my opinion. I'm not a fan of slow songs, I'd rather have songs like "Trooper" and "Powerslave" to listen to. The opening in this song has very little notes, and are fairly spread out. The vocals are below average, but the strong aspect of this song is the drumming. Still, its an okay song and is skippable.
3/5
Flight of the Icarus:
This is another one of Maiden's famous songs, and it shows. The song starts out with a great riff, which is a lot like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". This song is slow again, but the guitars are much better than in "Revelations" and the vocals blow the previous song away. The chorus is what makes this song stand out. The lyrics are really good, and the guitars are great again. Overall this song is awesome but not perfect. (but close to it).
4.5/5
Die With Your Boots On:
I thought this song was incredible. The first riff is intense and unique, and will make you come back for more. The bass is really strong in the opening as well. The singing is okay, and I know that Bruce can do better. The chorus is unlike any othe Maiden song I've ever heard. The chorus makes the song really great, as in "Flight of the Icarus", but can get a little repetitive after listening to the song a few times. An incredible song overall.
5/5
The Trooper:
Oh yeah! Iron Maiden at their best, right here! The opening, breakneck guitar is unbelieveable, and the song keeps getting better and better as it goes along. Bruce's talent really stands out in this song. The verses are filled with galloping guitars in the background, along with the verses. The guitar solo is mind-blowing, and the outro is amazing. The song is really guitar based, since the drums aren't really that loud. Iron Maiden's best song, ever(in my opinion), with everything tieing in together perfectly.
5/5
Still Life:
"Still Life" starts out rather uniquely, with someone talking backwards (not sure who it is...). After a few seconds of a rather odd opening, the slow riff starts out quietly, but the song speeds up as it goes along. Bruce's voice is quite raspy in this song, and sounds kind of poppy. Still an okay song, but skippable like "Revelations".
3/5
Quest for Fire:
It's weird that Maiden put their best song and their worst song ever into the same album. Quest for Fire is AWFUL for Maiden's standards. First of all, the subject is stupid - dinosaurs? Why dinosaurs? Second, the singing is horrific. Bruce screams like a monkey being run over by a steamroller in this song. And the guitars are incredibly bad, since the opening abruptly halts for the actual song to kick in. A very poor effort by Maiden.
1/5
Sun and Steel:
A definite improvement over "Quest for Fire", although not the most well known and greatest Maiden song. The vocals are great and the drums are awesome. The guitars are also really good, with a brilliant dualing guitar solo by Dave and Adrian. The track sounds really good after listening to the previous "disasterpiece", but it sounds a lot like a filler track. Still, a good job and a good song.
3.5/5
To Tame A Land:
Here's another thing that Maiden is good at - closers. This song is also a lot like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" since it has the Egyptian theme in it. The song is about the science fiction novel "Dune", which I'm currently reading right now (and so far a great book). The book is about a boy who is born on a planet, and is moved to a wasteland planet called Arrakis, and becomes the king of the planet (the Muad'Dib). I'm not very far in the book, but I do know about it. Anyway, the song is very good and ties in directly with the book. The guitar stands out in this song, going on for about a minute with the Egyptian riff, and then breaking into a very metalish riff. There are also some very effective wind effects in the background of this song, which goes directly with the song's theme. Very strong closer and very good song.
5/5
Recommended Tracks:
Die With Your Boots On
Flight of the Icarus
The Trooper
To Tame a Land
That's my reivew! Thank you for reading it and feel free to leave critism and comments if you like. Is strongly recommend this album to anyone who likes any kind of rock.
4/5
