Label: EMI Records
Production: Martin Birch
Release date: September 3, 1984
Album length: 51.12 min
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 10/10
Piece of Mind finally crowned Iron Maiden as legends and the biggest heavy metal band of all time. With Piece of Mind, Iron Maiden stepped into their golden years, which lasted almost until the early nineties. It was also the record that showed how far the band had come: they had shaken off nearly all of their NWOBHM roots and almost fully developed the classic Iron Maiden sound we know from their eighties releases. But Piece of Mind also proved that the Maidens were nowhere near done, and sure enough, just when you think it’s impossible to top the best moments of the first four albums, the Maidens drop the groundbreaking Powerslave in 1984. Everybody has their eighties favorite, be it Somewhere in Time or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but Powerslave is without a doubt the essence of the classic Iron Maiden sound. The unchanged classic lineup delivered an unforgettable document of music history, one that flawlessly captures the atmosphere, magic, emotion and unstoppable power the Maidens are still serving up to this day. And it wasn’t only the band that hit a peak; after a short stay in padded cells, Eddie traveled to ancient Egypt and had himself crowned pharaoh on one of Derek Riggs’ most unforgettable covers.
Powerslave kicks off with a song so mighty and magical that only the unforgettable opener from the very beginnings of the Maidens, Prowler, can compare. Even more, Aces High might just be the best “opener” of all time! No matter how many times you’ve heard it, those opening riffs of crystal-clear guitars give you goosebumps every single time, and the aggressive, fast tempo that peaks in a phenomenal solo section and Bruce Dickinson’s blazing “air-raid” siren are pure heavy metal at its finest. The brilliant atmosphere of supersonic riffs, Harris’ deep bass, Nicko’s superb fills and one of Dickinson’s brightest moments carries the adrenaline rush of a British pilot in the first all-air battle, fought between July and October 1940, straight into the music. Aces High continues the series of war songs started by Invaders and The Trooper, and with its outstanding lyrics and unforgettable chorus this eternal classic became a live wrecking ball and a fan favorite. With 2 Minutes to Midnight, the Maidens waded into political waters for the first time at the height of the Cold War. A critical look at the corruption and amorality of politics carries a powerful message, and the title itself drives it home. It refers to the so-called “Doomsday Clock,” which marks the threat of nuclear weapons and the approaching end of humanity. The clock came closest to the end, two minutes to midnight, in September 1953, after the Soviet Union detonated a nuclear bomb of terrifying power. Today the clock stands at five minutes to midnight, and 2 Minutes to Midnight still carries a strong message. With its mighty chorus and a slightly more hard rock solo, which may hide one last trace of NWOBHM influence, it’s one of the best-known Maiden songs and a frequent live favorite. Next up is the fourth and, to this day, last instrumental the band has recorded, Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra). A perfectly solid track, but it can’t match the power of the earlier ones. It’s by no means a bad song, yet it doesn’t reach the magic of Transylvania or Genghis Khan. Maybe that’s also why it got the title Losfer Words (“lost for words”) (Big ‘Orra) (“big horror”). One of Bruce’s many talents is fencing, and that undoubtedly gave us the, sadly overlooked, classic Flash of the Blade. With a dark, atmospheric intro built on superb riffs, an excellent foundation in the verses, a great solo with harmonized thirds and, not least, fantastic lyrics about a young swordsman out to avenge his murdered family, it’s all the harder to understand why Flash of the Blade has never been played live to this day. The same goes for the next swordsmen’s anthem, The Duellist, based on Ridley Scott’s 1978 film of the same name. The film is about the never-ending feud between two French officers in the Napoleonic era. It’s a real shame The Duellist hasn’t been played live yet, since it contains one of the best instrumental sections ever, while also turning the ideals of honor, courage and love of the classic swordsmen into lyrics and music phenomenally well. Back in the Village continues the story of The Prisoner from The Number of the Beast, which is based on the cult British series The Prisoner. The lyrics draw on an episode near the end of the series, when the hero “Number 6” returns to the mysterious Village. Back in the Village also boasts a brilliant instrumental section and mysterious lyrics, but it fades a bit next to the other outstanding tracks. By then it had become Iron Maiden tradition to close a record with an epic, and Powerslave goes above and beyond here too. The whole album almost completely pales once we fight our way through to the closing epics. Yep, this time we get two colossal epics, which together run for over twenty minutes. On Powerslave, Dickinson really showed up in top form. Not only had his vocals matured a bit and often sound like he’s about to scream his vocal cords/lungs out, he also proved himself an excellent writer, with Flash of the Blade and the first of the two epics, the title track Powerslave, which is probably even his best contribution in the entire history of the Maidens. The seven-minute epic is the peak of the album, and with its spooky intro of howling wind, wolves, a heartbeat, a scream and evil laughter, it explodes into brilliant, oriental/Egyptian guitar riffs and outstanding bass lines, with Dickinson’s wicked vocals watching over the verses. The epic lyrics about a dying pharaoh, inspired by Egyptian mythology, wrap up Powerslave superbly, and it’s also one of the mightiest Maiden songs, shining in all its beauty in a spectacular instrumental section where a gorgeous, melancholic solo, two brilliant, lightning-fast solos and the incredible bass lines of mastermind Steve Harris trade places. Powerslave is without a doubt one of the greatest Maiden moments and one of the brightest points in the history of heavy metal. But then, out of nowhere, Iron Maiden pull a thirteen-and-a-half-minute epic about sailors and albatrosses out of their sleeve for the very end of the album. Rime of the Ancient Mariner remains the longest Iron Maiden song to this day, full of unforgettable, spine-chilling and mighty parts that raise a hair or two without even trying. Maybe, together with Hallowed Be Thy Name, it’s even the mightiest song in the Iron Maiden discography. A true epic in every sense of the word, it’s based on the famous 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere by the renowned Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The song, which may best show off Harris’ genius, is a real journey full of excellent riffs and fantastic Bruce vocal lines that work like the narrator’s sentences. Somewhere in the middle, the song is cut by a mystical ambient section with an unforgettably mysterious and eerie atmosphere built only from Harris’ bass, a keyboard backdrop, spoken word and the creaking of a ship’s timbers. Then the calm part gets sliced through by faster bass lines, a guitar and vocal entrance, executed so masterfully that the goosebumps show up all by themselves, and the song is carried to a completely different level. It’s a moment that can only be compared to the incredible instrumental section of the epic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. If I didn’t know the length of the song, I wouldn’t even notice it, because the constant changes of tempo and rhythm, Adrian and Dave’s playing with its unforgettable lines, and the colorful rhythm section make Rime of the Ancient Mariner so varied and diverse that it’s over in the blink of an eye. What a fitting, gigantic finish to a mighty album!
Powerslave can be described with just one word, which has already come up a few times: unforgettable! With Powerslave, Iron Maiden wrote an indelible document of heavy metal. Nobody has ever managed to top the magic of this album, the virtuoso playing and one of the best vocal performances ever; maybe only the Maidens themselves with later releases. Powerslave came out right before I was born, and sadly I never got to experience the monumental World Slavery tour, so it’s that much harder to describe my joy about the current tour, which brings the spectacle of the eighties back to life with the legendary Egyptian stage production and unforgettable classics. See you at the Somewhere Back in Time tour, then!
Author: Rok Klemše
Tracklist:
1. Aces High (4:29)
2. 2 Minutes to Midnight (5:59)
3. Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra) (4:12)
4. Flash of the Blade (4:02)
5. The Duellists (6:06)
6. Back in the Village (5:20)
7. Powerslave (6:47)
8. Rime of the Ancient Mariner (13:36)
Lineup:
Bruce Dickinson – vocals
Dave Murray – guitar
Adrian Smith – guitar
Steve Harris – bass guitar, keyboards
Nicko McBrain – drums
