Heavy Maytal - Iron Maiden's "Powerslave"

One of the most amazing things about this band is how they released their most classic albums only a year apart, recording them in between tours. This was brought to its pinnacle as the most finely tuned musical machine imaginable with their most aggressive and epic album to date, "Powerslave". It rips open with the rapid fire of "Aces High," which has a chorus that takes flight in a manner not unlike the subject of the lyrics. The slow down to a more deliberate pace for "Two Minutes to Midnight". "Losfer Words' is the ironically named instrumental, which feels like it has a heavier drive than the previous instrumentals released by the band, though some of the stign was taken out by the melodic solos.

"Flash of the Blade" is about Dickinson's love of fencing. The verses follow a similar formula employed earlier in the album as they race along to build into an anthemic chorus. This album is much more high-energy, with none of the songs leaning towards a power-ballad direction. This high-energy tempo can also be heard in "The Duellists." I think this more aggressive style of writing was perfectly timed as it coincides with the rise of thrash.  They keep the momentum with "Back in the Village."  This song is the lyrical sequel to "the Prisoner". It is one of my favorites on this album.

Despite the album cover, the title track is the only Egyptian-themed song, and even then, it's a metaphor for how Bruce felt about being a rockstar. The most deliberate and powerful song on the album. The sprawling epic "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." It speeds up into more of a gallop, which was mid-paced for them on this album, but to be a song that was such a grandiose prog metal sonic spectacle, the vocal melodies are all catchy as hell. They let things linger in the atmosphere midway through the song before building into a thundrrous climax.This album also goes up to an 11, so that is the score it gets reserved for only the rare upper tier albums, that are flawless classics.  

8.9

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