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Product arrived very sharpishly and in amazing condition. It is very much appreciated. Ta very much.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Classic album, good quality CD at a fair price which arrived in excellent time
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
By the time of the release of Piece of Mind in 1983, Iron Maiden were almost undoubtedly the biggest metal band in the United Kingdom and were well on the way to conquering the worldwide audience. This was the first of their albums to break the U.S. Billboard top twenty, peaking at number 14 (as compared to 33 for The Number of the Beast the previous year) with negligible radio airplay. Whereas American radio stations were nigh silent, the gruelling tour schedules which Maiden were undertaking were speaking volumes to the record buying public. So, a new album and a new drummer on board in the form of Nicko McBrain. Without any disrespect intended (because McBrain is technically probably a better drummer), Clive Burr's drumming always seemed more natural, lending the first three albums a more aggressive edge. That having been said, the opening track of this album, Where Eagles Dare, is almost a tour de force for McBrain providing the best possible example of his style. The track is fantastic but with an instrumental section which is just a trifle overlong (the centre section was shortened for its appearance on their 1993 tour). Revelations which follows is the first Iron Maiden track credited to Bruce Dickinson (I believe that he had a part in writing some of the tracks on The Number of the Beast, but could not be credited for legal reasons), and although somewhat plodding is nonetheless a great track (live versions of this and Flight of Icarus benefitted from being played substantially faster - check out Live After Death). Flight of Icarus was the first single from the album in the U.K., narrowly missing the top ten. This is an inspired rewriting of the myth of Icarus and Daedalus with Maiden's usual gothic overtones featuring a great vocal performance from Dickinson and two inspired guitar solos. However, this can't cover for the fact that the track seems to trudge along like an arthritic Brontosaurus. Die With Your Boots On fares a little better, and during the eighties and early nineties would appear intermittently during their setlists. Not the greatest of Maiden songs, but certainly no disappointment.Then comes The Trooper, a huge stage favourite with the fans and absolutely essential Maiden. With the trademark twin guitar melody, rampant galloping rhythm and tale of the charge of the Light Brigade this is my personal live favourite. Successive listens accentuate rather than diminish this song's appeal. Brilliant. Still Life is a tale of lunacy with a high spirited dig at the people who labelled the band (utterly wrongly) Satanists in the form of a backwards message at the beginning of the song (which loosely translated merely says 'Beware of the thing with three heads. Don't meddle with things you don't understand'). The track itself is great with a fantastic instrumental and to my mind generally underrated. Quest for Fire is a dire song about cavemen, and to my mind a strong contender for the biggest turkey of a song ever written by Maiden. Sun and Steel fares a little better but is still just outwith the border of filler material. And finally comes To Tame a Land, a seven and a half minute epic based on 'Dune' by Frank Herbert. This is a track which doesn't seem popular with fans. I love it. The instrumental does continue too long , but the first four minutes are for me the the most powerful on the album. A great album, but it doesn't have quite the same raw energy as the first three albums.Read full review
Essential fir the IRON MAIDEN fan
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Good
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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