Iron Maiden Album: “Piece of Mind [Limited Edition]”

The first time I heard this record,I was about thirteen. It had already been out for about four years,and in that time its acclaim had grown to the point where it was already widely regarded as a classic. Once I heard the brief drum solo that opens lead track Where Eagles Dare, it was easy to hear why. There was something so fierce about Piece Of Mind. Perhaps it was the production of Martin Birch, or the primal screams and powerful wails of Bruce Dickinson. Maybe it was nine-round axe duel between Adrian Smith and Dave Murray or the masterful rhythm section of Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain at work. I think it was all of those, but most importantly, it was the songwriting that made this album the highlight of metal's most creatively stellar year,1983.

Listen to the aural acrobatics of the aforementioned Where Eagles Dare which features one of the best examples of daring riffery and acrobatic melody the metal genre has to offer. Even the album's weakest track, Quest For Fire, thrusts, dodges, lunges, and parries with proud cunning. Every composition on Piece Of Mind broke ground, and the album as a whole could not have been written by any other band. Piece of Mind is one of those records that always seemed to be not unlike an anthology of self-contained, yet vaguely related stories. When reading the acknowledgements, it comes as no surprise that the band thanks Alistair MacLean and Frank Herbert for the inspiration that their novels brought to their work. My young mind was engrossed in the richly British escapism of the lyrics and still is to this day. Where Eagles Dare sent us on a mission to infiltrate a castle in the Austrian Alps. The intricate dirge Revelations told a tale of Biblical intrigue. Flight Of Icarus brought the myth of one who tempts fate with man-made wings to a whole new generation. Die With Your Boots On gave us warnings from Nostradamus. The Trooper, with its rousing, galloping twin-lead riff, put us right onto a battlefield during the Crimean war. Still Life told us a ghost story. Quest For Fire took us back to a prehistoric time that never actually was. Sun And Steel took us into the mind of Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and finale To Tame A Land thrust us far beyond our universe to Frank Herbert's desert planet Arrakis. Never before or since has a album taken me to so many fantastic realms in such a short period of time. This, combined with everything else I have written, is what makes Piece Of Mind the definitive Iron Maiden experience. All in all it remains a swashbuckling thriller of sound and fury that has withstood the onslaught of Father Time long enough to become my favorite album ever.

Iron Maiden released "Piece of Mind" in 1983 and the big change this time was a new drummer. Nicko McBrian replaced Clive Burr and although I personally liked Burr better, McBrian is still pretty excellent. Bruce Dickinson of course returns and is as excellent as ever. Adrian Smith and Dave Murray do the epic dual solos. Finally Steve Harris has some of the best bass work in metal! There are many Maiden favorites found here like "The Trooper" being the most famous song on this album and one of the best Iron Maiden songs ever! There's also the epic 7-minute long "To Tame a Land". "Die With Your Boots" on is another awesome track as is the classic "Where Eagles Dare". This might come second to "The Number of the Beast" which is still my favorite Maiden album. Awesome work!

This is the first Iron Maiden album I ever got. When I heard "Revelations" on one of the music channels I was hooked. Truely an awesome album.

These guys must have had so much energy to keep putting out quality metal. Here we have the most popular Maiden lineup of Bruce Dickinson (vocals), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar), Steve Harris (bass), and Nicko McBrain (drums). Nicko is the newest addition here, coming from the french band Trust. This album also stands out because of the production. Songs like 'Flight of Icarus' and 'To Tame a Land' have an epic nature about them that is brought out by the professionalism of the recording. For example, when you hear the line "When the sun breaks above the clouds/an old man stands on a hill," you can actually picture this environment in your mind. I feel like the three Maiden albums before this one were more on the 'raw' side while this recording sounds like a little more time and money were put into it.

My favorite song on this release is 'Die With Your Boots On' - I like it for it's heavy nature and catchy chorus. It is also a fan favorite at live shows. Another great tune is 'Still Life' which has a catchy guitar harmony up until the first solo which is right on the money. It's truly an air-guitar classic!

The more popular songs here are 'Where Eagles Dare' (which is based off a movie), 'Flight of Icarus,' 'Revelations,' and 'The Trooper,' the last of which is the most famous, and take it from a guitarist - It's fun to play. I remember the video for this song; it was full of clips from old black and white cowboy and indian movies.

I agree with another reviewer that 'Quest For Fire' is the only bad song here. Once you hear the line, "At a time when dinosaurs walked the earth...," you know it's going to be corny. My friends and I used to joke that the song is probably about someone who was searching for a lighter or matches in the middle of a nicotine fit!

When an individual like myself gives just about every maiden album *5* stars, it is difficult to recommend one over the other. That should tell you that this is a consistent band when it comes to putting out quality music. With that said, you should definitely own this album, as well as most of the other stuff in this band's catalogue. I can't say which album to get before or after this one...just make sure you own it!

Piece of mind blew me away the first time I listened to it, and it still does to this day. Truly one of the best albums ever made by any band. I still think that Powerslave has a slight edge over this one, but not by much. This is a must have for anybody who knows what good music is.

1) Where Eagles Dare

2) Revelations

3)Flight of Icarus

4)Die With Your Boots On

5) The Trooper

6) Still Life

7) Quest for Fire

8) Sun and Steel

9) To Tame A Land

I rank Piece of Mind above Number of the Beast, and slightly below Powerslave. I still recommend anyone new to Iron Maiden to start off with Number of the Beast and work forward. Make Piece of Mind your second purchase, and enjoy.