Iron Maiden Album: “Brave New World”

THE BAND: Steve Harris (bass/keyboards), Bruce Dickinson (vocals), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar), Nicko McBrain (drums), Janick Gers (guitar).

THE DISC: (2000) 10 tracks clocking in at 67 minutes. The disc contains a 14-page booklet with band pictures, lyrics and thank you's. Recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, France. Bassist Steve Harris once again is the creative force behind the album - co-producing and writing or co-writing each of the 10 songs. Each of the other band members (except McBrain) contribute in the writing of at least one song as well.

COMMENTS: Most of what Iron Maiden put out in the 1990's was horrid, so I came apon this album with hesitation. Exit Blaze Bailey, re-enter Bruce Dickinson. Seeing the original line-up from the 1980's back in tact (plus Gers), I decided to absolutely chance it... having only been kept alive on Dickinson's solo work throughout the 90's. "Brave New World" (BNW) is a pleasant surprise. Gone are the bass and guitar synth's that were present on "Somewhere In Time" and "7th Son"... BNW features voice, drums, driving guitars, and an occasional stroke on the keyboard. This is easily their best studio album in 12 years (7th Son...), maybe more. Bruce Dickinson is back and sounds great. Although I do miss his high piercing vocals (like on the classic "Where Eagles Dare")- and I really didn't hear it until the last song ("Thin Line Between Love & Hate"). I have a slight problem with the title of the last song - an Iron Maiden tune with the word "Love" in it? It just doesn't sound right. The band sounds very tight on "Brave New World". They have obviously taken their time to do things write on this album. Nicko sounds like he has a new drum kit. The snare drum sounds a bit higher pitched than normal. That's okay tho, it sounds good. Track 1 "The Wicker Man" is one of those classic "2 Minutes to Midnight" type songs, fast from the get-go. The title track has a nice slow intro and then the rest of the band kicks it up a notch. Track 4, "Blood Brothers" has a Jethro Tullesque feel to it (no problem). "The Mercenary" and "The Fallen Angel" are the hardest rocking tunes on the disc - and they kick some seious tail. "The Nomad" is a marathon of a song at just over 9 minutes. I like it's irregular guitar chords and story line. The album ends with "The Thin Line Between Love & Hate" - this song has it all... It's fast, it's slow, Bruce is all over the place (a good thing) and the song has a great melody. At the very end you'll hear one of the band say "I missed it". If any of them missed something, I don't know what it is. The song is a strong one - the whole album is STRONG. "Brave New World" gets my vote for best metal album of the year in 2000, and 'Comeback Artist' of the year as well. Up the Irons! Great disc.

PERFECTION. This is the first word that comes into my mind every time i listen to this masterpiece. Everyone up to the release of this album either considered Maiden to be a thing of the past or dead. But here they come to prove everyone wrong. Bruce performs like he did in his previous solo records (Accident of birth, Chemical wedding etc) Murray, smith and gers sound amazing together, haris brilliant as ever and finally after the seventh son Mcbrain demonstrates his talent. All the songs are so powerfull that makes it really hard to pick up a favorite one. Ghost of the navigator, fallen angel, the nomad and out of the silent planet are definately some of the best ever written my the band while the thin line between love & hate is something they haven't done before with amazing vocals and a vast number of guitars in the end of the song (like savatage do sometimes). Fan or not of Iron Maiden don't miss this one. Up The Irons....

Iron Maiden has always occupied a strange place in the world or heavy metal: virtually no acknowledgment outside the metal community, yet within that hailed as one of the forms most potent, challenging, and ground-breaking bands. Their work in the early to mid-80s set standards that will never be equaled, so to see them reform their classic line-up in 1999 was to question their very existence. Then, they put out this album--within the metal community the buzz was high, because they had a huge legacy to live up to.

After a short, well-received tour last year, Maiden went back to the studio to produce an entirely new album, "Brave New World." And to the relief and delight of true metal fans the world over, it's a scorcher, filled with everything that made Maiden great in the '80s.

It's dense, rich, filled with a sense of loss and melancholy. The songs have come to life, insinuating themselves into my head to rival classics like "The Trooper," "Hallowed Be Thy Name," and the rest. It combines the best of all their greatest work: the SF cosmic sound of Somewhere in Time, the complex arrangements of Seventh Son of a Seventh Song the hooks and metal attack of The Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind and the epic historical scope of Powerslave.

Bruce Dickinson's voice has never sounded clearer, more emotionally wrought, or more convincing. His voice carries the album, double-tracked at times to great effect. He means every word, soaring transcendently, growling with menace and then dropping to a heartfelt, world-weary croon. His voice is showcased best on "Out of the Silent Planet," "Dream of Mirrors," and "Blood Brothers." These songs are melodramatic powerhouses, with choruses sure to move you in a way Maiden never has. Remember the longing and regret of "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Wasted Years"? Those feelings are even stronger here, lending a sadness and maturity one does not expect from Maiden.

"There are times when I feel I'm afraid for the world/ There are times when I'm ashamed of us all," he sings on "Blood Brothers," the chorus of which seems to lift off this world. In the album's longest song, "Dream of Mirrors," the band builds and builds slowly, the chorus bolstered by fat riffs and mid-tempo drumming, finally releasing all the pent-up feelings, Dickinsons growls, "Lost--a hell that I revisit/Lost--a nightmare I retrace," and then they're off, Smith, Dave Murray, and third guitarist Janick Gers trading some serious harmonies with Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain holding down the backbeat. "The dream is true," Dickinson sweetly sings as the tune comes to a quiet resigned end. Whew!

As for historical scope, "The Nomad" evokes a real sense of mystic, ancient desert wastes, legendary figures that wander this earth alone. The long musical interlude, including Harris on keyboards, is marvelous. You can lose yourself in it, just like in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son."

Other fantastic songs include "Out of the Silent Planet," "Ghost of the Navigator" and the title track "Brave New World"--as Huxley intended, ironic--wherein Bruce sings: "Dragon kings dying queens/Where is salvation now/Lost my life lost my dreams/Rip the bones from my flesh...Dying to tell you the truth/You are damned in this Brave New World."

These are songs that reflect upon loss, death, dashed hopes and an ache for understanding and knowledge that will probably never come. Plus they're all catchy as hell, with muscular, brutal riffs and headbangin' drumming.

The musicianship and songcraft is superb, rivalling anything from the mid-80s. This is not recycled Maiden, but a true, honest continuation of their greatest and most unique talents.

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. The production is stunning, 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 great, 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?

More than twenty years in the business is a lot for a band or any musician for that matter. The trend these days is to produce gimmick artists that are here now and gone tomorrow. These artists should be as volatile as the audience that listens to them. How do you explain it then that a band of more than 20 years still has the ability to turn heads and receive much appraise in a music medium considered these days as good as dead. This is Iron Maiden, perhaps, the greatest metal band to ever grace the industry since their inception in bassist Steve Harris's mind.

Their new album comes fresh off their last somwhat brooding two albums. It seems with their classic vocalist of more than 10 years, Bruce Dickinson, IM tried to break new ground with a different singer, that can be considered the opposite coin of Bruce's, Blaze Bayley. While Bruce was optimistic, Blaze was down right brooding. When Bruce was operatic, Blaze was churning through as if menacing in catacombs with the dead. This change received great downright reviews for the band, which the band answered back in their song Virus.

Harris knew that things were not going too well with his little band of misfits. Harris loves what he does and loves what his band has achieved throughout and just did not want to see everything wasted through that. He somehow tries top cajole Bruce back and it works. I don't know why Bruce left Maiden to continue as a solo artist, but bringing him back sure brought the magic. Bruce has matured in his own stance and was ready to bring on the needed, "fresher" blood into the band that made him famous to this day. The ace under Bruce's sleeve was to bring in old bandmate Adrian Smith, who has been touring with him during his last couple of albums into the foray of IM once again. The band already had Janik Gers as a member and kicking him out just because Adrian was coming showed a sign of disrespect to an artist that has witnessed IM's up and down and been with them in their hour of need. This brought a tally of three guitars in the band.

Their new album, Brave New World, is vintage Maiden. It has the right amount of melody, the right amount of riffs and the right amount dedication by all band memebers. All of them, with the exception of Nicko, played a role in devising the songs and though Harris is credited more than anyone in that album, it was great the amount of time and dedication the old new members were dishing out. This produced an album that takes off slow and progresses into a jamming 67 minutes that just can't be topped. There are people who say that Maiden's album is not classic as their old ones. It may seem true at the beginning, but these songs' lyrics have a much more mature tone to them. The band had the creative control of bringing out the best sound of metal at a time when the once old speed metal bands were experimenting with hard rock/pop.

The highlight of the album can very well be the song NOMAD, which hold a very strong connection to POWERSLAVE. The middle piece of guitar is beautiful sounding that it can pump you up or relax you according to whatever you are feeling at the time. It sends you on a feeling that you're on a horse and ready to go at it and take names later.

All in all the album is great, music wise and lyric wise. The downside of everything is the fact that people tend to compare all the guitarist and hold a negative look upon Gers. All the guitarists have their own styles and though Dave and Adrian go well together with their solos, Gers just is the most spontaneous and willing to break new grounds with his music. He is very underrated in the eyes of many IM fans and have him as the reason for the band's downfall, where he truly did not. Most of the albums songs were written by him when compared to those written by the other guitarists.

The boys still have a lot more in their heads that can insure us that there will be many great albums to come. These guys love their job and most of all they love their fans. I have never seen band/fan interaction better displayed in any other band that's better than IM's. They hold great respect for them and know full well how to please them. Same they have been doing for the past 20 years or so. By making us feel good.