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Ah, yes, probably the most anticipated release of the year (along with Slayer’s "Christ Illusion") for the always thirsty black-dressed world of metalheads ‘n hard rockers, "A Matter Of Life And Death" has now hit planet Earth with glory and an echo that is most likely to shake the foundations of even (why not) those who’ve become "diehard" nonbelievers over the last 14 years; the kind of magic only a few titans of this kind of music still possess (lasting from the old days). Proudly stated by not just a few "random" metalheads on this planet, I will start this review by (more or less) agreeing: Iron Maiden have indeed released a gem, equal - if not better - than "Fear Of The Dark" (1992) and yes, on the tail of "7th Son Of A 7th Son" (1988). Just when some may have thought that Steve Harris & Co. were getting old...
But let’s turn the clock back a bit, shall we? The journey won’t be long, do not worry. We’ll go back to the day after "Fear Of The Dark" was released, back to when a rather "weird" decade came into existence for this colossal Heavy Metal act (right after the departure of singer Bruce Dickinson), spawning releases like "The X Factor" (1995) and "Virtual XI" (1998) which created a frivolous feeling within the ranks of a major part of the band’s fans - eventually creating a serious amount of grumble which saw a lot of people raising their expectations to a rather higher and more demanding level.
Call it a wise business decision or a following of the heart, Bruce Dickinson returned during the dawn of a new millennium for the dawn of a new chapter in the long history of the British gang. Thus "Brave New World" (2000) was born, followed by "Dance Of Death" (2003), the first being good but not as good as the average metalhead would truly expect (still satisfying though) and the latter being probably the worst Iron Maiden album (save for 1-2 songs on the album) ever released with Bruce on vocals (but still better than "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI") - let aside the fact that it bared the worst cover artwork on an Iron Maiden release ever (even "Virtual XI" had a better artwork). That brings us back to today (see, the journey wasn’t that long now, was it?) and with a roll of the dice about to determine a lot of things. Do the "troopers" still have what it takes to awaken the beast that’s been sleeping for quite a while now? Will Icarus fly again? Well, it may have taken me more than 1-2 lines to get here but the answer is: YES!
"A Matter Of Life And Death" is an album that won’t be easily forgotten; it won’t be forgotten at all basically, because:
1) It consists of 10 tracks of which you will instantly love at least 7, just from the very first listening.
2) Bruce Dickinson sings his lungs out; proving once again that he IS the vocal master in Heavy Metal. He will hit those high notes like he didn’t even bother doing in the two previous Iron Maiden albums and he will go down and into softer waveforms, just like he knows best!
3) Its lyrics will take you into modern day’s battle zones, through the eyes of those who kill and get killed - all in the name of the plague called religion and the cancer called money. From there you’ll voyage through paths of mysticism but also science (the atomic bomb); always interpreted by the top-notch singing of Bruce.
4) All three guitars do (for the first time, truly, in my humble opinion) an equally magical work in almost all songs, showing us nobody’s a filler musician in this band. And of course, the crazy Nicko McBrain (drums) and leader Steve Harris do one heck of a job behind the rhythm section.
5) The album is quite progressive, compared to anything released after "7th Son Of A 7th Son".
6) It is the band’s longest studio album (72:04) and also the longest Iron Maiden album by song average (7:20 per track).
7) It contains blazing hitters like "For The Greater Good of God" (how can one be a fan of this band and not drool till he’s completely dehydrated after listening to this track on repeat for like 100 times - even if the song is almost 10 minutes long?), the totally progressive (a la Maiden of course - not Dream Theater) "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns" & "The Legacy" (the song actually has 3 different moods in it!), softer drifters like "Out Of The Shadows" or equally deep in meaning but heavier songs like "Lord Of Light".
8) Its cover artwork rocks! Even though it’s not a concept album, the few songs in "A Matter Of Life And Death" depicting on the always on-topic issue of war blend elegantly with the artwork, passing out the band’s thoughts (mainly Harris’) about the fragile "art" of killing one another in humanity’s Warfield.
9) The album both features the typical Iron Maiden sing-along choruses, we all so much enjoy (especially live at concerts) but also the progressiveness I’ve already mentioned, both music-wise and lyrically. This was (again in my humble opinion) an issue that kind of "bothered" me in their two previous releases. They were missing the feeling of a somewhat progress within the songs, making the repetition of a song’s chorus get rather boring in the end. This is not the case here (apart from 1-2 songs), to our great delight!
10) The album was not mastered, that way retaining its raw live feeling straight from the recordings - almost as good as hearing them perform live right in front of you! And for a band of SUCH chemistry among its members, this of course turned out to be something really good!
If the 10 aforementioned reasons why this album is kick-ass aren’t good enough for your wallet then I suppose you don’t really agree with me on this album. Then again, we all have an opinion on things and I’m here to just share it with you though I am pretty confident that this album is going to be liked by the majority of Heavy Metal fans throughout the globe and LOVED by almost every single Iron Maiden fan out there.
One thing is for sure. You can never really say "never"... and especially when it comes to Iron Maiden. Sure you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But are you sure you’ve seen your dog do it all?...
"And as they search to find the bodies in the sand
They find its ashes that are
Scattered across the land
And as the spirits seem to whistle on the wind
A shot is fired somewhere another war begins"
More Facts about "A Matter Of Life And Death":
- This is Iron Maiden’s 14th studio album.
- This is the third studio album co-produced by Kevin Shirley.
- First single for the album was "The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg", released on August 14th, 2006. The video for the single can be viewed online via the official Iron Maiden website.
- This is the band’s fourth studio album that is not named after a specific song on the album. The other albums were "Piece Of Mind" (1983), "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI".
- The album’s official release dates are: Italy - August 25th, Worldwide - August 28th, Canada - August 29th and USA - September 5th.
- The limited edition of the album will contain a bonus DVD with footage from the studio during recordings and also the full 7:21 minute video promo for "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg".
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