About the album
Released in 2000 or 2001, this album was sort of a reunion of maiden of the ’’Number Of The Beast? era. The most prominent of these was the return of the Bruce ’’air siren’’ Dickinson, who split from the band earlier and turned to a solo career (Checkout Chemical Wedding by him. Maiden fans will like it) The line up now was Bruce, Nicko (drums), Steve Harris (Bass), Adrian smith, Janick and Murray with the lead guitar.
Four guys who really know how to use their guitars mean maiden got a really heavy profile now in the guitar section. The instrumentations are also deeper compared to the old POM and NOTB, somewhat in the style of Dream Theater. Most of the songs feature the familiar
intro
vocals
guitars in the midsection
ending with the vocals
pattern.
I got the album almost as soon as it was released in India. Right now I don?t have the original album but only its mp3, so the lyrics that I write are what I heard from the song and may contain some errors .I wrote this review as I listened to the album . It had been almost a year since I listened the whole album in a stretch. I found that my choices had undergone some changes from my initial preferences.
The cover needs a special mention, Eddy, the mascot that has appeared in all the album covers appear in the sky as a cloud over a futuristic town. Really the best maiden album cover.
Track list and rating
The Wicker Man (4:35) 7/10
Ghost Of The Navigator (6:50) 8/10
Brave New World (6:18) 9.5/10
Blood Brothers (7:14) 10/10
The Mercenary (4:42) 10/10
Dream Of Mirrors (9:21) 10/10
The Fallen Angel (4:00) 7/10
The Nomad (9:06) 10/10
Out Of The Silent Planet (6:25) 7/10
The Thin Line Between Love And Hate (8:26) 7/10
The Wicker Man
I think this was one of the singles of the album also this is the only song that I saw the video of. The song starts with a nice little guitar work and then Bruce does his stuff. Then there?s the familiar style of long guitar work in the middle of the song. Most of the time Bruce is singing ’’Your time will come?. If I heard right, the word wicker man comes only once in the song. The end is pretty good with the drums and the ’’whoaaoh’’ by Bruce. Initially I didn?t like this song but after I saw the video, I listened to it a bit more closely and found it ok. Guys not really into maiden may not like it.
Ghost of the navigator
Nice and slow guitar in the beginning of the song rises to a really heavy riff with the drums by nicko. The song has a good theme about a navigator (obviously!!). Bruce shows why blaze is no match for him with his range. A piece of lyrics is
’’The silence of the rocks, they are beckoning me....?. The drums, uncharacteristically doesn?t sync with the song and does stand out from the rest of the song. The song loses its steam somewhat in the middle.
Brave New World
Really slow start to the song with Bruce up to the task. Steve Harris does a really good work with his big bass guitar in the middle. The guitars suddenly pick up after 4 minutes. A repeat of the first portion ends the song in the same note as the beginning
Blood Brothers
The song features some prominent orchestration, pretty rare for a maiden song. Somewhat similar to BNW but couldn?t make out what the song is about.
The Mercenary
Really heavy start to this song about a killer who somehow got into trouble and ’’have to kill to stay alive’’. Checkout Bruce singing ’’watch the jungle burning bright’’ esp. the word bright.
Dream of mirrors
The longest song in the album. The song deals with nightmares and related stuff. Especially good lyrics
’’I get up, Put on the lights,
Treading the oncoming night,
Scared to fall asleep and dream the dream again,
Nothing that I contemplate,
Nothing that I can compare,
To letting loose the demons deep inside my head,
Dread to think what might be stirring,
That my dream is re-occurring,
Got to keep away from drifting,
Saving me from myself’’ -Pure genius
The Fallen Angel
Really a filler song in this album, but good enough to be the lead song of a lesser album. Bruce sings almost non-stop about being the ’’chosen one’’
The Nomad
The heaviest song in the album according to me. Brilliant intro and one of the rare moments where Bruce is eclipsed by the Guitars is in the beginning of the song. After 5 minutes, the guitars slip into some what slow rhythm.
Out of The Silent Planet
This is my least favorite song although it?s somewhat good around the 1 minute mark and around the end of the song.
The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
The only song where Bruce sounds rather mediocre. The guitars in the middle of the song and the vocals around the 6 minute mark are the only plus points of the song. There is some sort of laughter is in the end of the song that I haven?t figured out.
Verdict:
I rate this album third with Peace Of Mind and Number Of The Beast tied as the best, POM is slightly ahead due to its all good songs and NOB because of ’’Hallowed be thy name’’, ’’Number of the beast?, ’’Run to the hills’’ and ’’Prisoner’’
What this means
For those who?ve heard maiden before
Well if u loved POM and NOTB and thought XFactor and VirtualXI was pretty dull, and still haven?t heard this album, its still not too late to buy it or get it any other way.
and for those who haven?t
I suggest u listen Peace Of Mind first, which is one of their older albums.
Well that?s it. bouquets and brickbats are welcome
PS: Any maiden fans please tell me about how ’’Wildest Dreams? is.
coming soon reviews of
Killers
Iron maiden
Number Of The Beast
Peace Of Mind
Fear Of The Dark
X Factor
Somewhere In Time
Live After Death
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Sun
And any other request for albums of artists like metallica, dio, black Sabbath, dream theater, Marilyn manson, opeth, children of bodom etc.