MUSIC REVIEW: Iron Maiden - Brave New World

"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?

MUSIC REVIEW: Iron Maiden - Live After Death

"Live heavy metal at its finest."

A live recording cannot capture the intensity of a heavy metal concert. Comparatively speaking, however, Live After Death does it better than any other live metal album. The raw sound quality belies the fact that this album was recorded in the mid-80s (it sounds better than 99% of all modern live metal recordings). Even better though, is the fact that this concert comes from a time when Iron Maiden, the quintessential metal band, was young and full of energy. I wasn't there, but I can tell that this show was a blast.

Song selection is perfect, encapsulating most of the band's best songs from their preceding studio albums, and each one is impeccably performed, often with greater intensity than the studio counterparts. The mini-epic "Powerslave" definitely gains something special when the crowd screams at Bruce's stylish entry. "Hallowed Be Thy Name"'s tempo is jacked up a bit and the song gains more intensity as a result. This version of "The Trooper" makes the studio version seem tepid in comparison. Then there's "Phantom of the Opera," which is simply incredible with Bruce's sinister intonations.

It's awesome. If you don't buy it, you suck.

Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth

"Bruce in top form; heavy metal done brilliantly."

Accident of Birth perfectly encapsulates everything that heavy metal should be. Fine musicianship, soaring vocal deliveries, fervent aggression, and enthusiastic performances brimming with intensity. The follow-up to "Tattooed Millionaire" and "Balls to Picasso," AoB is more of an overtly fiery metal album, with better, more intense arrangements yielding stronger results on the whole. TM and BtP were good, but more in the vein of hard rock sensibilities and not exactly what one expects from Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. I find AoB's musical approach more interesting and better in the end.

Bruce's panache for writing brilliant lyrics based on mythological tales and historical elements are intact here. More importantly, Bruce's phenomenal vocals are better than ever. They retain the utmost intensity of his finest days with Maiden but have developed considerably, becoming more visceral and husky. Songs are gritty and harrowing, and this album shows that Bruce's songwriting was clearly on a roll. Over the course of an hour, this album covers plenty of ground. "Darkside of Aquarius" is a classic the likes of which Maiden wishes they could have done in their time without Bruce. "Taking the Queen" is a chilling, slow heavy song that is incredibly evocative. "Man of Sorrows" is like a power ballad about Aleister Crowley. "Road to Hell" is a catchy, fast-tempo cut. The album ends with the beautiful elegy "Arc of Space," with nylon string guitar, violin, and cello, a touching song from an artist you wouldn't expect to write something like this. And that's just the beginning, because all the other songs are good too. But it's wonderful. Bruce's reunion with Adrian Smith was definitely a good choice. Smith adds an important melodic element that makes the songs so much better.

A great album; it really shows you how good heavy metal can be.

Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding

"A work of genius."

While Iron Maiden was facing with mixed results with their non-Bruce albums, Bruce Dickinson was enjoying a lucrative solo career that proved proved he was not only a tremendous heavy metal vocalist, but a solid songwriter as well. That said, Chemical Wedding is undoubtedly the peak of his solo career. Furthermore, it is arguably better than anything he did with Maiden as well. I love Maiden, so I don't say this lightly. Bruce's vocals have matured considerably over the years, and have reached a more dynamic quality while not sacrificing his youthful intensity. Lyrically, the album is an evocative, thought-provoking concept album that proves to be incredibly rewarding once its theme is revealed. [Chimp Note: This is actually not officially a concept album, but I find it hard to interpret it to be anything else.]

By comparison, this album is heavier sonically than any of Bruce's other work or any of Iron Maiden's discs. This was clearly a conscious decision as they customized their guitars to make this album heavy as hell. You won't hear a guitar tone like this elsewhere, and that gives the album a dirty, gritty quality that has no comparison. Roy Z and Adrian Smith are one hell of a duo, and if Bruce's vocals weren't so dazzling, they'd steal the show. Clean solos slice through the mix, and poignant riffs are ceaselessly launched at the listener in wave after wave of heavy melody. Guitar interplay weaves and merges in an engaging manner, made all the more enjoyable by the clean, heavy production.

But while the guitars are excellent, they never take focus away from Bruce. Never before has his adopted a broader sense of dynamics as with this album. Listen to the sinister verses in "Book of Thel", or the soaring octaves in the chorus of "Trumpets of Jericho", or the constantly shifting dynamics of "The Alchemist." As always, the vocals are etched with Bruce's trademark intensity and vigor. Over the years, Bruce's voice has been refined to an ideal timber, and in my opinion he sounds better than ever. He is more than the heavy metal "air raid siren" -- he is a well-rounded vocalist.

As for my interpretation of the whole "concept that is not a concept": The album is a (non-story) concept album that deals with man's relationship with God (at least that's my interpretation of it). Ultimately, the meaning of the lyrics are one of the album's best points, but less lyric-oriented listeners will enjoy the lyrics from a superficial level as well (stuff about the devil, mythology, religious stories, etc. -- all the stuff that makes for good metal lyrics). Still, understanding the lyrics is an important, rewarding part of this disc, so I encourage all listeners to think about it for a while. (To understand what Bruce was trying to say, only the relationship between tracks 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10 must be understood.) The only problem with this album is that the chorus of "Killing Floor" is kinda of annoying sometimes. But it's a minor complaint, as I enjoy the rest of the song.

I regard this as one of the best metal albums of the 90s. Even this year's hailed and laudable Maiden album "Brave New World" (which I enjoy) has nothing on the power, originality, and brilliance of The Chemical Wedding. I encourage any heavy metal fan to pick this one up.