Iron Maiden Album: “Piece of Mind”

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!

In a collection of over one thousand CDs, cassettes, and records spanning just about every genre of music, this is the one I will forever call my "Favorite Album Of All-Time". This album bursts with themes and technique most other bands just can't grasp the way Iron Maiden has throughout their entire existence. Running through the album, topics include: mythology ("Flight of Icarus"), prehistoric history ("Quest For Fire"), dual-sword wielding sumarai Musashi ("Sunlight And Steel"), fantasy/horror ("Still Life"), military history ("The Trooper"), a Clint Eastwood WWII film ("Where Eagles Dare"), the Holy Bible ("Revelations"), prophecy ("Die With Your Boots On"), and classic Frank Herbert science fiction ("To Tame A Land"). It's a dark album yet it never sounds oppressive. Every song has the trademark dual harmony guitar solos of Murray & Smith, superb bass playing from 'Arry, drumming perfection from Nicko, and the superior operatic/dramatic vocals of Bruce Dickinson - All cylinders firing and all at their creative peak. This is simply the best recorded example of what heavy metal should sound like.

WoW! Where to start? This album is just so darn good. Piece of Mind is it for me, it is the album that I cherish and listen to the most. I listen to Piece of Mind on a consistent basis and it still doesn't get old. Every song in Piece of Mind is great, but in different ways.

Where Eagles Dare opens up the album, and wow, what a way to kickoff a great album. The song opens up with nice but short drum intro. Where Eagles Dare is mostly instrumental and has some very catchy "spitfire" riffs that neatly match the song.

Revelations comes next, and it is one my favorite songs. I especially love the soft peace in the middle where Bruce sings with passion. Revelations also has some great guitar solos towards the end. Perhaps the best song that Bruce has ever written (with Powerslave closely behind).

The next track is Flight of Icarus, which was one of the big hits off of the album. The pace is slowed down a tad for FLight of Icarus, but nontheless, it's a great song that has a very catchy chorus and some great riffs that stick in your head for a long time.

Then comes Die With Your Boots on, which has one of my favorite intros to the song that consist of some catchy riffs with great bass work. The song then goes into a nice fast rocker. I especially love the two guitar solos in Die With Your Boots On, and I also love the backing vocals that are present during parts of the song, (they come from Adrian Smith I believe).

The Trooper. WOW! This is the song that got me hooked to Maiden a few years back. The dual guitar riff/harmony that is played throughout the song was stuck in my head for days. Everybody in the band shines in The Trooper. Nicko's drumming is great, Steve's bass is phenomenal as always, Dave and Adrian compliment each other really nicely, and Bruce sounds really great.

After The Trooper, comes Still Life which is sadly one of the most underrated maiden songs ever. After the opening backwards message, the song goes into a nice soft ballad-like feel. Bruce comes in and starts singing with a nice whisperish-soft tone, but then the song kicks off, and off we go! Still Life is yet another great song in a great album.

Well, next comes Quest for Fire, which is perhaps the maiden song that is ridiculed the most for having some silly lyrics. I torally agree, the cavemen lyrics are quite comical, but the instrumental aspect of the song is actually good. It's still a good listen and is not a bad song by any means necessary.

Then comes Sun and Steel, which is also a nice fast tune. It has a nice catchy sing-along chorus with great guitar work. Sun and Steel is yet another great song.

The album closes off very strong with the epic To Tame a Land. This song is quite underrated when compared to masterpieces such as Rime of the Ancient Mariner, but it's still one heck of a good song that is up there with other great Maiden epics such as Phantom of the Opera, Hallowed be thy Name, and Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

To conclude, Piece of Mind is a great album and is definetaly worth a purchase. The 15$ I spend on this album has to be on the best investments I've ever done. If you haven't purchased Piece of Mind yet, then there is huge void in your music collection. If you haven't done so yet, purchase Piece of Mind now!

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.