Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Maiden uniteD
Label: Self-released
Released: 2012
Runtime: 50:59
Rating: 4.5/5
Maiden uniteD are a crew of quick-witted transformers of all things Iron Maiden, and they’ve got the blessing and the green light for this kind of mischief from Iron Maiden’s big boss and bassist Steve Harris himself. After the warmly received debut »Mind the Acousitc Pieces« (2010), which was the complete »Piece Of Mind« record played in an acoustic, neo-classical dress with the Celtic pastoral element magnified, yet without stripping away the tragedy, the theatrical drama and the occasional »villainously occult mood that most of Iron Maiden’s music has, and after a successful European tour that also took in Wacken Open Air and Download, they pulled out all the stops to give that debut a studio successor.
This time the band thought it through smartly once again: what, when and how. In the fall of 2012 Iron Maiden were on a North American tour with the famous stage-show upgrade of the »Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son« set, and Maiden UniteD cheekily went and named their new album »Across the Seventh Sea«. They kicked things off with Only the Good Die Young (with that opening chant of »Seven Deadly Sins…«), wedged Infinite Dreams into the middle and set The Evil That Man Do toward the tail end of the record. Although the originals chosen for covering are a mix from different Iron Maiden albums, this time the record leans heaviest on tracks from »Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son«. »Across the Seventh Sea« came out at the end of September 2012, with the new Maiden tour already in full swing. The winds were favorable, in other words: emotionally »worked-up« Iron Maiden fans were primed and waiting, and it was easy to get them hyped for anything that was connected to Iron Maiden in one way or another, the new Maiden United album included. A very smart move as far as release timing goes.
And »Across the Seventh Sea« is a better album than its predecessor »Mind the Acoustic Pieces«. Why? Because Maiden uniteD come across on it as even more polished, more confident, and even tighter as a unit. So the album simply feels more coherent. The chemistry between the members has gone up another notch, and the whole thing sounds played with even more swagger. First off, there’s the production, which is much more alive and has more colorful contrast. Second, and this one matters a lot: the songs pick up even more genuine emotion, meaning they hit harder in passion and sound more commanding. There’s even more of that firm interpretive focus, that willpower to »deliver the best you possibly can«, on this record. What surely contributed is that the song selection suits the musicians even better, especially vocalist Damian Wilson, who »blossomed« into a full-blooded performance. Damian had released a new studio album, »March Of Progress« (2012), with his Threshold mates a month earlier. So the studio was basically his second home at that point, and there’s no doubting his day-to-day vocal form. It was working at a seriously high level. Damian never delivered this much passion and this many emotions, in such a convincing light, on the predecessor, even though he did a top-notch job there too. On a nine-track album, there are many more moments where Maiden UniteD’s general rearranging approach (which hasn’t changed an inch since the previous album) ignites even more convincingly. It’s simply down to the plain fact that the song selection is so spot-on that this quality really shines through even more.
Ever imagined getting a nine-minute version of 22 Accacia Avenue, complete with a proper ultra-drama finale, and the new version not boring you for a second, but rather entertaining you in full measure? Or a nearly five-minute, strictly balladic take on Children of the Damned, where Wilson is especially outstanding? Where Maiden pour oil on the fire… it’s hard to pick which track on the new Maiden uniteD record gets more fragile, more sensual and more balladic than it possibly can, fully aware that the softer you play, the harder the passion hits when you stick strictly to acoustics. But the condition is that the intonation is spot-on throughout. Favorites are hard to find. You’ll have to pick them yourself, because this is the type of album that simply thrills from start to finish. It comes down to the sheer fact that you can deliver such a transformed face of the original that still works so perfectly!
Right from the opener, Only the Good Die Young introduces singer Damian Wilson as the master of a rare virtue! The man has an exceptionally refined, sensual knack for flexibly adapting to verses that demand many different »accents« to get the poetry’s message across. And Wilson literally feels in full what his bandmates are doing in the chosen arrangement. In the occasional softness and subtlety, Wilson is so convincing and powerful that even Bruce Dickinson himself would surely envy some of that virtue.
Maiden United brought two more elements that we didn’t get on the predecessor. The first is the integration of cello on Infinite Dreams and The Evil That Man Do, courtesy of special guest and Apocalyptica member Perttu Kivilaakso, and the second is the male multi-part vocal harmonies that go off in full force in the phenomenal closer, Wasted Years. It still holds true that you’ll recognize a song first by its lyrics, that’s how cunningly Maiden uniteD have reworked the originals in their arrangements.
This time the band really spread its wings. There are more bursts of improvisation in the instrumental parts, especially on keyboards, which didn’t get that kind of solo room on the previous album. The first victory on the album surely goes to the instrumental passage in the tail end of Infinite Dreams, where the cello adds a special mellifluous quality to how things unfold. Right alongside it comes the dramatic instrumental ending of Wasted Years, and the take on the »Number of the Beast« classic 22 Accacia Avenue stands out for those very same qualities. The number one surprise on this album, a nicely spiced-up one that you really couldn’t have expected, is the inclusion of a cover of Prowler, the original from Iron Maiden’s studio debut, which at times sounds downright cheeky in how inventive its ideas are.
We can say that with »Across the Seventh Sea« Maiden uniteD have kind of come of age. They’ve delivered a hefty bundle of brilliant covers of some of Iron Maiden’s most prominent and recognizable originals, and they’ve done it with even more confidence and a tighter, laser-sharp focus. Above all, they pumped up the instrumental passages with more solo acrobatics, kept the neo-classicism of the originals, and at the same time steered strictly clear of random jazzy detours or other »out-of-place musical excursions«, which this kind of arranging always leaves plenty of room for. The Celtic pastoral element is strongly emphasized, and at the same time the originals’ proper doom-laden, dramatic atmosphere with a whiff of the occult, the one that Iron Maiden’s music culture is known for, carries over intact. A fascinating creation that’ll entertain and thrill you every time you put the album in the player. It’ll be interesting to see which Iron Maiden material the lineup picks for its next album, if it decides to release one. It would be most welcome.
Not an essential closing paragraph, but here goes anyway. On the next release, if it comes to that, we can expect even more variety in the arrangements, thanks to more guest appearances and a wider range of instruments. There’s a danger that Maiden uniteD could fall into the trap of repeating the arrangement template. They’ve used it twice so far. For the first and the second album.
Line-up
Damian Wilson (Threshold, Headspace) – vocals
Ruud Jolie (Within Temptation) – guitar
Joey Bruers (Up the Irons – tribute to Iron Maiden) – bass guitar
Marco Kuypers (Cloudmachine) – piano
Mike Coolen (Witihn Temptation) – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Perttu Kivilaakso (Apocalyptica) – cello on tracks no. 06 and 08
Production
Maiden UniteD
Tracklist
01. Only The Good Die Young
02. 2 Minutes To Midnight
03. Prowler
04. Flash Of The Blade
05. Children Of The Damned
06. Infinite Dreams
07. 22 Acacia Avenue
08. The Evil That Men Do
09. Wasted Years
