"Iron Maiden's restitution."
It's been years since Iron Maiden has sounded so vibrant and creative. Brave New World is a fine achievement of quintessential heavy metal songwriting; a return to form for one of metal's preeminent bands. Maiden shows considerable growth here, but the energy captured on this record is nearly concordant with their zenith of intensity (I refer to albums like Piece of Mind and Powerslave). This is the album Maiden fans have awaited for years, ever since they began to lose their fervor with No Prayer for the Dying.
So, Blaze Bailey out, Bruce Dickinson in. A good trade, to say the least, but even better with the canny melodic sense and creativity of guitarist Adrian Smith, who also returns. This ups the line-up to three lead guitarists, which might sound excessive, but it's remarkable how well they make it work. The arrangements don't sound cluttered at all, and overall the band handles this approach intuitively. If anything, they should have explored more complex guitar harmonies than they did. The production is stunning and gritty, and succeeds and isolating and preserving the ineffably energy of Iron Maiden's music.
As always, Iron Maiden is defined by the impetus of heavy metal's intensity with a shrewd melodic awareness unique among metal bands. The difference is that the band shows considerable progression here. While there are cuts that just ooze the classic Maiden sound (like "Wicker Man," "The Mercenary," and "Fallen Angel"), while others explore the band's more ambitious tendencies. Shades of these inclinations have often been evident ("Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son," "Heaven Can Wait," for instance), but here the band delves into them farther. Behold the Middle Eastern influences of the epic "The Nomad," the mix of quiet and loud passages in "Thin Line Between Love and Hate," and the lush orchestrations of "Blood Brothers." So, while the band retains their classic feel, they also expand on this with rewarding results. Truly, they are one of the most sophisticated heavy metal bands ever. (Steve Harris does enjoy many progressive rock bands, you know.)
My only complaints are that the band sometimes protracted the songs unnecessarily. "Mercenary" and "Fallen Angel" are ok, save for the fact that they are too repetitive. "Dream of Mirrors" is, again, a great song, but it should have been 2 or 3 minutes shorter because a lot of it is needless repetition. I'm left thinking that the band was trying too hard to impress at times.
Still, despite these complaints, I can't deny that this truly is a recovery for Maiden. Good job boys. (Sweet cover art, too!) Now how about another solo album, Bruce?
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