Iron Maiden – Powerslave
Album Rating – 5
Iron Maiden is a British heavy metal band, and consists of Steve Harris on bass, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray on guitar, Nicko McBrain on drums, and singer Bruce Dickinson.
The album Powerslave is a Maiden classic. The songs are all listenable, and some will keep you hooked for weeks. This album even includes one of Iron Maiden’s instrumentals, which is a rarity.
The album starts out with one of Maiden’s signature openers. This opener was turned into a single (I think) and goes by the name of Aces High. The song starts out slow, and is well-related to the World War II theme, with some military-like drumming and a very catchy riff. The real song kicks in when after about half a minute, with a killer guitar riff. When you first hear Bruce sing, you know that the album is going to be good, since his singing is superb in this song and throughout the rest of the record. The singing is fast-paced and the background guitars display a great amount of talent. The best parts about this song, however, are the solos and the chorus. The chorus is filled with emotional lyrics about flying to live and living to fly. The solos hit you like a tsunami, and are guaranteed to rock your socks.
The song ties in directly with 2 Minutes to Midnight. Opening with a catchy riff, and filled with an awesome chorus, the song was also turned into a single. The song starts out almost like a pop song, but then quickly turns into a masterpiece once Nicko kicks in with the drumming. The song sounds a little like Aces High in terms of layout, but still manages to be unique, and will keep you addicted to it for days. After 2 Minutes to Midnight is Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra), the instrumental of Powerslave. The song is a good song and a superb instrumental if you compare it to others, but somehow sounds a little filler (I was never a real instrumental fan). It is still listenable, however, and filled with outstanding guitar riff.
Once Losfer Words is over, the album starts to falter. Flash of the Blade opens with a juicy high-pitched guitar riff, and soon Dave and Adrian are playing it at the same time. The song just doesn’t flow very well, and is somewhat a disappointment for Iron Maiden (even though it has an awesome name). The next song is weak as well. Duellists is mediocre for Maiden’s standards. The opening riff sounds exactly like Losfer Words. There isn’t anything special about Duellists, and sounds very filler.
Back is the Village is an okay song. It opens with a difficult sounding guitar riff. The verses are great and are about being, well, back in the village. The chorus isn’t the greatest, but the verses. The song is underrated, however. It is a great song, and, in my eyes, doesn’t receive enough recognition. Anyway, the song’s strong points are the drums and the bass. Nicko manages to keep a nice steady beat throughout the whole song, and Steve is very well heard. The solo is awesome, and they could probably put it in a Nintendo game.
The next song gets things back on track. The title track, Powerslave, doesn’t mess around with poppy guitar intros or anything like that. Pure metal is what this song starts out with, and sound a lot like Flight of the Icarus from this album’s predecessor, Piece of Mind (which is also an outstanding album). The vocals are also very creepy, with small echoes in the background. The chorus is outstanding (Tell me why I have to be a powerslave…) and has a very heavy guitar riff after each singing portion. The song slows down with some clean guitar work, which is extremely talented. The song closes with tons of drumming, and displays great talent by Nicko. After Powerslave comes the thirteen-minute epic Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It ties in directly to the title track, but is more upbeat. The vocals are incredible, and, like Powerslave, are creepy in the middle, with the mariner talking about what happens on the ship. The song tells a compelling story, and you probably will be telling your friends about the adventures of the mariner.
Thank you for reading my review! Feel free to leave criticism. If you’re a fan of any kind of rock, then you should check this album out!
Recommended tracks:
Aces High
2 Minutes to Midnight
Powerslave
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
