Customer Reviews
TELL ME WHY I HAVE TO BE A POWERSLAVE - By: MrMetalheadO'Hagan, 26 Jun 2008 
This is another magical Iron maiden heavy metal masterpiece. The whole album is a classic & one of their best but it's impossible to pick a best iron maiden album. From the classic Aces High to the classic 13 minutes long Rime Of The Ancient Mariner it's all classic heavy metal. You may be reading the reviews seeing some people saying one song is bad on this album no their isn't this whole album is a masterpiece(as i mentioned already). If i had to pick some favourite songs it would be aces high, flash of the blade, powerslave & rime of the ancient mariner . This is the perfect start to Iron Maiden the albums Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind & this are the albums everyone should start off with with maiden. In fact why havnt you bought an iron maiden album yet? BUY BUY BUY BUY!!!!!!!UP THE IRONS
A Golden God - By: Ed, 01 Apr 2008 Ah yes Iron Maidenin the 80's, what a band & what an era. It's amazing how I can be so very nostalgic about a period of a band that I never got to experience first hand. Make no mistake about it Iron Maiden was THE heavy metal band of 1980's no one else comes close. Iron Maiden were without doubt the best band to come from the NWOBHM era with a level of professionalism & song craft that exposed the rest of NWOBHM as the village hall tomfoolery it was. `Powerslave' acts as another testament as to why Maiden were able to rise above the Angel Witch's & Samson's of this world & transcend into the realms of absolute greatness...It almost makes you proud to be English!
With Eddie rising from the gravein mummified form after his `Piece of Mind' lobotomy, the band continues & expands on their existing style with `Powerslave' showing a more complex & technical flair that's pretty damn proggy at times. So we have songs that are more epic & ambitious than ever before & prime slabs of pioneering speed metal guaranteed to set your pulse racing. `Powerslave' shows a healthy progression of the Maiden sound which continued throughout the 80's done with the absolute confidence & energy of a young band at the top of their game.
Some fans consider `Powerslave' to be a touch inconsistent, singling out the middle part of the album as mediocre & plagued by filler. Well, although this album is undoubtedly book ended with classics (the opening salvo of `Aces High' & `2 Minutes To Midnight' & the majestic Egyptology of `Powerslave' & Steve's mystical entrancing `Rime of the Ancient Marinere') the albums more humble tracks are certainly not lackingin charm or even some of Bruce Dickinson's fencing obsessed eccentricity. `Losfer Words (Big `Orra)' all things considered however is actually a filler track...but hold on that's exactly what its meant to be a sort of throw away instrumental just displaying Adrian & Dave's undisputed guitar prowess, making it an absolute joy for guitar fans with harmonised layers of complexity that are worth more than any of the knuckleheaded thrash. `Flash of the Blade' again has some very nice riff work & is undoubtedly the work of Bruce with its swashbuckling lyrics. Again, the guitar harmonies are some of the richest & most complex the band have ever attempted. `Duellists' again, features some interesting the harmonies as the bass actually harmonisesin 3rds the intro guitar riff rather than just following root notes, which is something very unusual. Bruce, who has been known to get his sword out for the boys, again writes about fencing making it a little more metal than it was pre-1984. `Backin the Village' is somewhat of a lost Maiden classic featuring great energised bouncy riff work & great pounding rhythms from the ever interesting McBrain `Arris duo. So the supposed `filler' just happens to be a joyous listen for any Maiden fan, not bad eh?
Of course we have the albums undisputed classic tracks, the sort which makes you realise that traditional heavy metal can never be replaced be any amount of thrash, black & death metal...its been proven under laboratory conditions, honest! `Rime of the Ancient Marinere' is based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's `Rime of the Ancyent Marinere'...funny that & it successfully captures all the mysticism, horror, splendour & erm shrieving of Coleridge's work. I'm surprised more metal bands haven't picked up on Coleridge's work as its very gothic & overall metal friendly despite blatant Christian imagery...um I suppose you teen Satanist's better stick to Lovecraft then. Anyway, to truly understand the song you best read the poemin all its seven part glory. Musically, the song is also a masterwork one of Steve's best ever. The signature gallopin E & lots of nice twiddly bits, tempo & mood changes...yes it's prog but done ever so well, please note long songs needn't be exercisesin tedium. Then we have Dave & Adrian's best ever bit of guitar interplayin what could be the most metal bitin any song ever! After a long built up, storm cloud noises & a blood curdling scream, Adrian & Dave let rip. Solos which you'll remember from beginning to end until the end of time or Motörhead which ever comes first & the coolest harmonies ever! Its full on heavy metal boner time. `Aces High'in comparison is a short sharp number that'll have you running for you cockpit only to realise that your 68 years to late for the Battle of Britain...but fret not you bought that spit fire for a reason. But its more glorious riffs, harmonies & a guitar dog fight of a lead break, that made one of the greatest concert openers of all time. `Powerslave' itself is another fine example of Bruce Dickinson's writing prowess, as with all rock bands you need at least one Egyptology themed number right? And Maiden's is a corker with token eastern riffs aplomb. Again, we have a fine use of dynamics & tension within a song with a quiet middle section then a full on rocking bit with one of Adrian's finest solos & Dave sounding like he recorded his soloin a windy desert. Another all time metal classic. `2 Minutes to Midnight' bares all the hallmarks of a Adrian Smith number, asin that it's as catchy as the clap & no where near as irritating. Just great riffs & melodies all round.
Each performance on this album is given both clarity & warmth by Martin Birch's wonderful production which is perhaps Maiden's best. The guitars are good & loud & bass overlord Steve Harris is still given weightin the mix, which is fair enough it's his bloody band. Adrian & Dave give an absolutely magical performance here, their styles are so separate & different yet undeniably complimentary, each harmony is a treat even though you get themin pretty much every song I still can't tire of them. Their voices as players are made instantly recognisable throughout with Dave taking the higher part of the harmony & Adrian the lower. Nicko once again proves that you don't need double bass to be a metal drummer, & he does itin still every fill is imaginative & expressive without taking away focus from the guitars & his tone is also worthy of note, nice & round.
This is pretty much a perfect metal album, from the iconic artwork, to the songs production & performances themselves. Looking back I can't help but feel all misty eyed & nostalgic upon a time when trousers were crotch huggingly tight, all rock bands eventually relocated to ancient Egypt & four great men played songs with twiddly guitar riffs, played stadiums & then went down the pub for a pint. God bless you Iron Maiden!
Decent album - By: Sonny Sidhu, 26 Aug 2007 
Maiden fans will definately like this album but for anyone else it may have to grow on you first. Musically it's pretty good, though shorter song lengths would have been better, the instrumental Losfer Words would have definately benifited from this.
Lyrically it is well thought out, with "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" paying homage to Coleridge by taking excerpts from the poem of the same name.
It also has the set list staple 2 Minutes to Midnight which is a brilliant song.
It is a pretty well rounded album though it may not be quite accessible to those who arn't fans of Maiden, as I wasn't very impressed at my first listen but it does grow on you.
Metal at its very best - By: Mark Simpson, 09 Aug 2007 While not as consistent as Seventh Son, this album has an equally valid claim to be Maiden't best due to the sheer quality of music on offer. Seldom better than when writing songs about war, the band kick off with two on that very theme. Aces High is as adrenaline-soaked as the lives of the fighter pilots it documents, while Two Minutes To Midnight is a suitably sinister-sounding ode to nuclear war. Losfer Words, a rare instrumental, is a nice demonstration of the band's ability as musicians, before a bit of a mid-album lull. Powerslave itself serves as a wake-up call before the final track, the truly epic Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is arguably the best the band has ever commited to vinyl. About a day & a half long, the tale of Coleridge's unfortunate seafarer features everything you would expect from a Maiden album, never mind a song - the musicianship, the vocals, the contrast between heavy & quiet - plus a brief poetry reading. It takes a few listens to truly appreciate the track's greatness, but great is the only word to describe both the song & the LP.
Heavy Metal Utopia - By: Rock Chick, 26 Mar 2007 This album has to be one of my Iron Maiden favourites. High energy, yet moody; light-hearted (Losfer Words), yet punchy (Aces High, 2 minutes). This album has it all. The epic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" stands out as an extremely clever piece of music artistry - the eerie effects midway through are magical; followed by the victorious, more upbeat phase. It is SO atmospheric! Bruce's vocals just put the icing on the cake.
This is well worth buying. I own several Maiden albums, but rate this as being one of the best. Buy it, & I'm sure you'll agree !
