The Book of Souls

The Book of Souls, the first double disc based on the Mayan topic, includes a completely dark Eddie with clear characteristics of the inhabitants of the Mesoamerican pre-Columbian civilization. But just like Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, here we have a semi-conceptual album as it carries adverse themes in the lyrical aspect. Like Seventh Son, this is also the most experimental post-reunion album. I also consider it their best album after Brave New World and Dance of Death, behaving very well next to classic records like Piece of Mind or The Number of The Beast.

The opener, which Bruce Dickinson originally wrote for his solo project, also brings a pragmatic reference to the main theme of the album. Right at the beginning of the song, the lyrics mention the Shaman, who in various indigenous towns, including the Mayans, was a type of priest who could contact the spirits through a ritual. If I'm not mistaken, it must be one of the few tracks to have an acoustic outro along with "The Prophecy". With an introspective intro, the bass plays a single note serving as a climactic base for the inspired guitar strumming on The Great Unknown which offers a metaphorical air about humanity. It's actually a catchy yet rare cut because of the dominant bass at the beginning and end, and how the final solo ends abruptly.

Now make way, because I dare to highlight my favorite song from their last 30 years: The Red And The Black feels like a continuation of "The Angel And The Gambler" since in this song we once again have the topic proposed, like the gambling addiction, specifically to card games. We clearly realize how Harris wanted to represent life as a game, in this case a card game, demonstrated through two decks of cards. This song begins with a Spanish-based bass solo that gives way to some excellent riffs that remind the first minutes of Rime of the Ancient Mariner, nothing rare considering that both share the same length. You feel that at any moment Bruce is going to sing "The Albatross begins with its vengeance...", but instead of playing the unforgettable misty interlude with the creaking of the ship's wood, we get into a crazy instrumental development with continuous successions of notes in crescendo. An interesting fact to note is that the name was also used by the French writer Henri Beyle in his book "Le Rouge et le Noir" (The Red and the Black, 1830). Interestingly, the central character of the book, Julien, goes through moments of heartbreak, betrayal, hypocrisy, love, and death... points that are also found in these lyrics. Some other moments of the song replicate the events of the book, but there's nothing quite concrete to find as Steve Harris's text opens the way for many interpretations.

Speed of Light, When The River Runs Deep, Death or Glory, and Shadows of the Valley are dynamic, playful songs that help to digest the density of the album, and without being something outside this world, they offer us the opportunity to verify something that will be a constant in the following minutes: that the trio of guitarists designed spectacular flourishes and oceans of solos, being Janick Gers more participatory than ever. Of course, the album also achieves dramatic and original moments, as is the case of The Man of Sorrows since it recreates a dramatic intro similar to the one they recreated in “Deja-Vu”, not to mention the exchange of plucks from Gers, Murray and Smith. In fact, my other favorite moment on the album is precisely the end of this song since not many songs in their catalog include this kind of coda.

Empire of the Clouds, the longest song ever recorded, is not an entire masterwork but rather entertaining music that is still competent and it's about the tragedy of the British airship R101 which at the time was the largest aircraft in the world ever. At this point, when we're aware of how they accustomed us to the live experience in many of their songs since 2000, having three or four minutes to spare is not a surprise at all. Nonetheless, you can still find the 70s prog rock influences as long as you analyze those 18 minutes (you find some Genesis, some Yes, some Jethro Tull, and some Emerson, Lake & Palmer influences, both in structural aspect and instrumentation with piano and cello).

The Book of Souls is the work with the most live experience, unlike the previous four albums which have the feeling of being previously rehearsed but without being endowed with the variety that is found here. Surely things have slowed down in the new millennium, and it took three times as long to complete another piece in their puzzle. We all know that a single vocal line from "Infinite Dreams" can have more value than everything they did from Brave New World onwards, but no one can’t deny that there's still some good material. They've probably handled the layout of each song already, but getting into the studio and recording quickly gives it even more merit. With all that being said, I still prefer the studio version of The Red And The Black due to the rawness it contains, but I can agree with fans that the other songs sound better live.

Iron Maiden's first double-album arrived at an era in which the band would be highly unlikely to fill 90 minutes with the sort of immortal, quality material that marked their ascent through the 80s, but the hope is that you can pick through all of its bloated carcass and find a few bits of tasty meat within, which you can then carve away from the fat. After years of trying, I can't seem to find enough of that choice protein. The Book of Souls is no hit machine, but rather the sort of record one grows to appreciate merely because of its experiential qualities. A good 90% of the material present on these two discs is harvested from similar and superior songwriting from across the band's past, but reconfigured just enough to feel like it still might be relevant, and the result is a pretty pleasant chunk of Iron Maiden lite that is well suited to background aural radiation...but you see, it's still Iron Fucking Maiden, and that matters.

I enjoyed this one for what it was when it first dropped, but admittedly had it shelved for years before deciding to finally draft up some thoughts on it. Listening now, it's much as I felt back then, professionally and competently executed Maiden with all the trademarks: mid to slow, plodding, majestic rhythms that occasionally stir an emotional response, Bruce Dickinson's distinct pipes sounding as well oiled as they've been in the 21st century, and a lot of interesting subject matter to inspire its lyrics. Toss in a production so clean that you could sniff Eddie's mummy dust off its surface without contamination, and add to that a rather simplistic but effective cover with the mascot looking his creepy best. Being an hour and a half of content with 11 tracks, there are bound to be a lot of overstuffed songs, and few of them really warrant the riffing and arrangement to justify that; but even if you take "The Red and the Black" at its 13 minute whole, there is still enough of the dreamy escapist quality to their classic material circa Somewhere in Time or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son or even Brave New World to not hit the Skip button. "Empire of the Clouds" at 18 minutes seems a little more adventurous, akin to a "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", sans the excellent payoffs and narrative quality of that track.

When they do occasionally manage to pick up the pace for chunks of "When the River Runs Deep" or "Death or Glory", you immediately perk up, because it just stands out from the more gleaming, polished melancholy that comprises so much of the remainder. Both of these tunes are worth hearing extracted from The Book of Souls as a whole, but even then if I were to compare them to the classics of yore, they still tend to come up short in terms of having legendary choruses. The leads throughout the album are serviceable, but again you rarely get anything past 'just alright', and Iron Maiden is never a band that should settle for 'just alright', or anything less than excellence. I've seen other refer to this album as Iron Maiden 'covering' themselves, and I don't know that I agree with that, it all seems genuine enough, only played too safely, like the well of ambition behind these legends has run dry, and they've sealed it off rather than wait for that rainfall of ingenuity to arrive again. The Book of Souls gives them something more to tour on, to rally around, to churn out a bunch of non-challenging, acceptable tunes, but I'd much rather they tried to kick us all in the proverbial balls again (in a good way, not a Virtua XI way) and fail, then summon up another lukewarm offering like this one.

This album does manage to squeak by on my scale, hitting all the superficial chords I expect, with decent lyrics and production, but there's just no "Wicker Man" here. No "Can I Play With Madness?". No "Powerslave". And hearing how obviously competent the band remains, I think they could still pull such glories off, it's just going to require a little more pickiness in the writing phase, and a long look in the mirror without the shave.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

In the midst of a run of albums that seem to stretch songs and ideas just a bit too much, The Book of Souls seems to be Iron Maiden at the peak of their output and ability to create music that stands as exceptionally well-written and emotive enough to retain your attention despite the extremely long song lengths. I can say with full confidence that this is their best release since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. With unparalleled riffs and melodies on this record that manage to stay consistent, it isn't really a competition with the exception of A Matter of Life And Death. Why do I hold The Book of Souls in such high regard? Well, right from the beginning of the opening track, it's noticeable that the band are now able to show fluent substance and fresh concepts without relying too much on over-repetition. If Eternity Should Fail is the perfect opener for this mammoth of a release, and it may be my favourite Iron Maiden song. The use of a flute and triumphant synths over a dramatic vocal delay effect immediately show the influence of the Mayans on this album's general theme. When the actual rhythm section kicks in, the track explodes into one of the absolute best examples of how Iron Maiden revolves a simple riff and gallop over amazing melodies. The chorus is excellent, the solos are amazing, and the spoken-word outro coupled with the acoustic guitar truly solidify If Eternity Should Fail as Iron Maiden finally nailing their ideas perfectly.

While the rest of the album doesn't exactly match the perfection of the opener, this is to be expected. There is a surprising mix of shorter, catchier songs and longer, more ambitious songs on here, with Speed of Light and Death Or Glory acting as flashbacks to classics like Flight of Icarus and Tailgunner. These songs are admirable in that they show off great riffs with surmountable energy and a great atmosphere, adding to the songs' memorability. The production is very muddy, but the guitar tone has been severely improved, and there is a much wider range of dynamics with an EQ that gives each instrument more clarity. Steve Harris' performance in particular is a highlight, and while it's shocking that he only wrote one song, The Red And The Black, this track shows his skill as a bass player and composer. On the subject of this song, it is another highlight of the album, with an epic and consistent structure. Bruce's frantic vocals on this song, mimicking the guitar melody is utter perfection. Add a great wordless chorus to this, and you have a track that will be viewed in the same league as Rime of The Ancient Mariner and Hallowed By Thy Name in 10 years.

While it does seem like the record's runtime is consistent with the massive gaps in quality between these songs, the music generally never falls below the standard of excellent, with the primary cause of this inconsistency being that the longer tracks naturally contain much more content, while the less grand songs definitely refrain from being filler, still nailing these key elements but in a more simplistic way. The album as a whole exudes a very heroic and powerful nature. With that being said, this is probably the only Iron Maiden album where the longer tracks exclusively are the highlights, but somehow the band manages to sustain this quality throughout songs that fall well over the 10 minute mark, and would be mind-numbing slogs had they been written at any other point in the band's career. There is an emphasis on rhythm in this album, the iconic gallop is present on every song and instead of the drums and bass following the lead guitars, it's something of the other way around.

Feeling much less contrived than The Final Frontier, as well as featuring a major increase in the average tempo, there has definitely been rejuvenation in the writing process of the band's material. However, the closer and possibly the most iconic song on this record, Empire of The Clouds, is mostly slow. Just as If Eternity Should Fail was the perfect opener, the closer is perfect too. Empire of The Clouds is fitting as it symbolises Iron Maiden at the absolute peak of their progressive ideas and their most ambitious right at the end of their run of 2000s/2010s albums before Senjutsu would come along as a spanner in the works. Epic motifs and a prominent use of piano fill the 18 minute runtime of this song. The sheer scale of Empire of The Clouds in every aspect, from the lyrics to the huge dynamics to the constant change in atmosphere, make it a mind-blowing listen. The Book of Souls is amazing from start to finish, and while a few tracks overshadow the others, it proves to be one of the most interesting and thought-provoking metal albums ever made, never becoming boring despite being longer than the average film.

It would be fair to say that the 5 (soon to be 6) albums that Iron Maiden have released since the return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith in 1999 have been met with divided opinions among their fans. While some have welcomed the addition of a 3rd guitarist to their music and appreciated their delve into more progressive territories, others seem to prefer Maiden being a 5 member band and playing shorter, heavy metal anthems in the same way that they did in the 80s. My preferences when it comes to Iron Maiden have always laid towards the former. I see Maiden as a triple-guitar attack as much as a double-guitar attack, I have always identified myself to the trinity of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers more than to the earlier version of the band where the latter is absent, and I have always seen their progressive leanings as a natural step in the bands musical evolution. One can argue that this evolution culminated in 2015 with the release of their 16th studio album: The Book Of Souls.

The Book Of Souls takes Iron Maidens progressive leanings to infinity and beyond. For the first time in their 30+ years long career, the band decided to scrap their old formula and release their first double album. Clocking in at over 90 minutes and containing 3 tracks over 10 minutes, including their longest song to date, the 18-minute epic Empire Of The Clouds, The Book Of Souls remains their longest album to date, and regardless of wether you like it or not, you have to admit that it takes a lot of balls to release an album of this size this far into your career. However, releasing a double album is always a risk. The risk for a bloated, pompous mess is always there and you have to be very alert and very smart if you want an album like that to work.

Luckily, Maiden are Maiden and their smartness shines through The Book Of Souls from the first song to the last. Unlike other metal bands who have released albums of this size (Judas Priest, Dream Theater, Blind Guardian), Maiden didn't go for any bloated, rock-operatic approach when they wrote this album. Instead they used their traditional tools and wrote songs in the same way as they have always done. No short interludes, no 20+ number of tracks and no exaggerated, orchestral arrangements. Just 11 songs of pure and simple Iron Maiden music! For that reason alone, the album never loses neither steam nor focus, making these 90 minutes feel like 50-60 minutes, Already there Iron Maiden showed that they were capable of releasing albums of this size.

The songs on this album never cease to amaze me. One of the main strengths of this album is that it contains a lot of variety, both length-wise and genre-wise. You have 3-4 shorter, straight-forward rockers like "Death Or Glory", "Speed Of Light" and "Tears Of A Clown", you have a semi-ballad in "The Man Of Sorrows", you have 2 lenghy epics in "The Red And The Black" (13,5 minutes) and the title track (10,5 minutes) and you have a full-blown mini metal-opera in the afro-mentioned "Empire Of The Clouds" (18 minutes), which happens to contain strings and a piano-driven base played by none other than Bruce Dickison himself. There are also a lot of tributes to tales of old on this album. The title track, for example, has a second half that seems to be taken right out of Powerslave and the intro to "Shadows Of The Valley" is an obvious nod to "Wasted Years" from Somwhere In Time. As a whole, all these factors contributes to create a 90+ monster that pretty much sums up Iron Maiden as a musical act. This album can easily be seen as an Iron Maiden candy bag. There are a lot of flavours and if you listen you will probably find at least something that suits your taste.

For my money the highlights of this album are the big boys! While the shorter, straight-forward songs are good and serves their purpose, this album wouldn't have been worth a s**t for me without it's epics. Both "The Red And The Black" and the title track are among my favorite Iron Maiden songs of all time. The first one is more or less a melodic party with a lot of guitar harmonies and a very memorable sing-along chorus. I absolutely adore the part where the title is sung, and the drawn-out instrumental phase in the latter half of the song can easily be described as a highlight in Maidens career overall. The title track has, as I said before, more of a Powerslave-ish vibe and contains some really cool, melodic breaks and an absolutely sledgehammer main riff. Considering it's Iron Maiden we're talking about, it can only be described as a dark and brutal riff! Holy shit! "Empire Of The Clouds" is more of a novelty song for me than a pure highlight though. Even though I don't listen to the song that often, I definitely respect it and think it earns it's place in the cataloge of Iron Maiden, and when I actually listen to the song it always hits VERY hard! I just need to be in the right time and place to have that effect!

Despite all the praise I'm giving I will admit that the album has it's flaws (length is NOT one of them!). According to the members of the band, the album was written very spontaneously and you can clearly notice that in some of the songs. "The Great Unkown" has a lot of cool riffs and vocal melodies but it abruptly ends before it goes anywhere, leaving a sour taste and a song that feels like a wasted, disjointed mess. There are also a few awkward passages in "The Man Of Sorrows" that could have been easily edited after taking a closer look. The opening track,"If Eternity Should Fail", is probably my 3rd favorite song on the album after "The Red And The Black" and the title track but even that song is drawn back by some major issues. That spoken outro is absolutely awful and should had been left of the album at all costs. And why doesn't that song have a proper guitar solo? It feels empty without a solo and it makes the song lack that "it"-factor that some other songs on the album have. That's a real shame because the song is an absolute monster apart from that with it's moody, synth-driven intro, awesome melodies and barnstomer chorus. The production has also been criticized for being muddy and noisy, and while I don't mind it I can at least understand those who criticize it. There are parts of the album that I feel are way too muddy for their own good and could have benefited from a more pollished approach. On the other hand, there are some parts of the album that I think sounds absolutely amazing and where the production really benefits the song. So it's a mixed bag for me when it comes to the produciton. I like it more on some songs than others.

Despite all these issues, I still think Iron Maiden shall be praised for this album. Considering how hard it is to make a double album, I find it absolutely mindblowing that they managed to do it with such a successful outcome. The best songs and parts on the album compensates for the issues tenfold, making The Book Of Souls a very impressive album that benefits from it’s enormous length and manages to feel shorter than it actually is.

That's what I thought when I read the track "Death or Glory" and the simplistic black cover art. By the way, that song is the only one that doesn't convince me at all, so yeah, could have been almost perfect if not for that futile filler. No, I don't think that Empire of the Clouds is a masterpiece at the level of Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and no, I'm not a fanboy who "defends the indefensible". It's just a nice experience to listen to this album because many problems that other albums suffer had been fixed here. One of those problems was the excessive use of acoustic intros which I had a hard time familiarizing with, case of Brave New World, A Matter of Life and Death and to a lesser extent, The Final Frontier.

This record clearly reflects how they learned from the mistakes of previous years. The instrumental parts are much more varied and entertaining than in Brave New World and the choruses, although they are repeated X4 excessively, at least they have more elaborate lyrics than the simple ones in Brave New World (again). There's no "In a brave new world" thing over and over. One thing that did not convince me a bit is the production, since here they try to sound too heavy, more than they ever can do. There are riffs and moments when the guitar tone wants to sound like AC/DC, Metallica's Black Album or Megadeth's Cryptic Writings. This album could be a masterpiece if it has the same sound and mixing as the last three tracks on The Final Frontier, which are eargasmic to me.

Regarding the songs, some results a real surprise for me, and others a small disappointment, like the opener "If Eternety Should Fail", which should have been more dynamic, compact and with faster choruses. Bruce really sound tired here. By the way, those who say that Iron Maiden covers Iron Maiden only for the wink to Wasted Years in "Shadow of the Valley", I must tell you that it is a simple detail, since there is nothing in the later content of the song that reminds the single of Somewhere in Time. The other disappointment was "Death or Glory", a song with the most cliché title and lyrics you can find anywhere; it's like Judas Priest's "Heavy Metal" (you don't say). They really should have discarded this futile filler and saved it as a draft in order to improve and release it in a single or compilation.

The biggest surprise are the three amigos epics because they have constant rhythm changes comparable to Infinite Dreams. "The Red and the Black" and the title track are easily classics, while "Empire of the Clouds" offers a cinematic experience, although if you cut the riff repetition a bit, the running time would be 15:20 instead of 18:05, but overall, it even isn't that long. I don't think is that great, in fact, I enjoyed Final Frontier more at first listening. It's already often said but they could really cut back some riffs. On the other hand I like their proposal to go against the current. Many bands would like to release such album, so ambitious, without failing miserably. We have Maiden for many years to come, that's for sure.

The most recent Iron Maiden record is the only one that I can tell the story about my retrieving it on release day. How I had to run between classes in college to get to the mall and back in time before the next class started. But I'll spare you the rest. With five years to let this beast of a double-album digest, it removes all sense of bias. Despite The Book Of Souls being the longest record by Steve and co. to date, I actually think it managed to pack in a better ratio of good:boring songs than either of the records preceding it. Because of it's immense length, I've probably only heard this in full about five times, with a visit each year, and it certainly holds up every time.

Continuing on doing away with quick catchy openers, "If Eternity Should Fail" is still an incredible opener, keeping things epic and intricate while maintaining a strong chorus that hooks you in. On the opposite side of the opposite disc is where this is drawn to the greatest length the band have ever reached, with the infamous "Empire Of The Clouds." The piano lick at the beginning hooked me from the start, and that pattern is what grasps the attention from beginning to end. The way that it goes through phases like multiple songs is incredible. Everything from the softness of the first six minutes, to the chaotic and discomforting center, to the resolution at the end takes Iron Maiden to new heights.

But in between these massive bookends lies plenty of different approaches. There are admittedly some boring snoozers that you have to sit through, which is basically a promise on such an effort. I find songs like "The Red And The Black" to be way too blown up for their own good, not utilizing the long runtime to any real advantage. "The Great Unknown" is a great letdown, aiming for that slow crawl with a resolving chorus that just doesn't land. Songwriting aside, there are also times where the mix feels a bit off, with Bruce's vocals struggling to top some of the layers of guitar. Nothing overly offensive of course, but I also can't ignore it.

Thankfully, there are also some that are as memorable as they were the first time I heard The Book Of Souls. "Tears Of A Clown" is one of the most overlooked Iron Maiden songs ever, and I stand by that. You get your catchy bangers that rely on mass appeal, like the simplified "Speed Of Light" with its chorus and blunt riff work. "Death Or Glory" also opens the second disc with the same bombastic energy, despite how simple it is. The title track is also a pretty triumphant tune and manages to remain interesting, pulling off what "The Red And The Black" strives for. The dispersed solos and fret-hungry backing carries everything sturdily.

So really, it's a bit of a mixed bag that mostly has good rather bad. I think a lot of the ideas on this record were showing themselves in the three albums preceding it, and this is where all of those came together. This is not a record that you play on repeat. This is a record that you listen to once in a blue moon, take it all in, and then shelf it for a while.

'The Book Of Souls' is remarkably good. Opinions on the band's output after reuniting with singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith have divided their fan base, but while 'The Book Of Souls' follows the same pseudo-progressive formula as its direct predecessors, the fire and vigor of classic Iron Maiden is heard more than occasionally throughout the album.

Sure, some of the songs are still too long - 'The Red And The Black' has about seven or eight minutes of interesting music, which is a bit meager for a thirteen and a half minute track - but nowhere near as overlong as the embarrassing 'When The Wild Wind Blows' from 'The Final Frontier' or just about any track from the tired and overblown 'A Matter Of Life And Death'. The main difference is that the longer tracks waste less time building up through overlong clean passages. They're more evenly distributed over the album this time around as well.

Apparently, one reason for the end of the songwriting stalemate is the decreased involvement of bassist and band leader Steve Harris, as two of the album's absolute highlights are Dickinson compositions. The eighteen minute closer 'Empire Of The Clouds' will probably be the main talking point for many reviewers and for a good reason: it sounds unlike anything Maiden has ever done before. It tells the story of the R101 aircraft departure and ultimate crash through a dramatic suite with a surprisingly prominent role for the piano. I'm choosing the word "suite" here, because the sections of the song don't all go together fluently, but are rather like chapters in a book.

Even better is 'If Eternity Should Fail'. With its dark atmosphere, driving mid-tempo rhythm and a fantastic vocal performance even by Dickinson standards, it is easily their best opening track since 'Moonchild' over 25 years ago. Another highlight - both musically and lyrically - is the heartfelt hard rock of 'Tears Of A Clown', which also contains what is likely the finest guitar solo on the album. The title track has strong melodies and a nice doomy vibe before it builds towards a faster triplet-driven part - we are dealing with Iron Maiden here, after all - and 'The Man Of Sorrows' is a powerful, elegant epic. In the end, even the less remarkable tracks like 'The Great Unknown' and 'When The River Runs Deep' capture that classic Iron Maiden spark.

Looking at personal performances, two men have outdone themselves on this record. Nicko McBrain is well in his sixties now, but gives the performance of a lifetime here. His drumming suggests that he's been reborn, as his creativity and power rival even his work on 'Piece Of Mind'. Bruce Dickinson also amazes. In recent years, I feel he's been forced to sing slightly too high and as a result sound a little strained. Because his melodies are just slightly lower this time around, he sounds mighty and stately. Adrian Smith deserves another special mention; while Dave Murray and Janick Gers deliver like they always do, Smith's typical melodic themes are all over the album, most notably in the delightfully energetic 'Death Or Glory'.

For every overlong moment and occasional self-plagiarizing passage - the intro to the fine 'Shadows Of The Valley' sounds so much like 'Wasted Years' that it's ridiculous - there's a strong, engaging song on 'The Book Of Souls'. That alone makes it the band's best effort since 'Brave New World' with any shade of a doubt. While 'The Final Frontier' had a few songs I was quite fond of ('The Talisman', 'Mother Of Mercy'), this one ups the ante in terms of composition and especially performance. The smaller number of repetitive choruses helps as well. If this will turn out to be the last studio album Maiden ever releases, I would definitely say they're ending on a high note.

Recommended tracks: 'If Eternity Should Fail', 'Tears Of A Clown', 'Empire Of The Clouds'

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog

Let's put the conclusion first: some will never come to like latter-day, "newer" Iron Maiden, and that's perfectly understandable. (What's less understandable is giving an album a rating in the zero-percent range, which should be reserved for utter crap devoid of any musical or instrumental skills, just because you're still butthurt over a band slightly altering their sound; that's another story though.) For those who like post-reunion Iron Maiden, however, The Book of Souls rivals the equally good A Matter of Life and Death as Maiden's best release in the new millennium. Some have gone as far as calling it the band's best outing since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but naturally that sort of judgment must first pass the test of time.

Let's leave such musings aside and discuss the album artwork instead. Apparently it's inspired by Mayan art and myth and while the front cover may be a tad too simplistic, it gets the job done and is easily the band's most decent front cover since at least Brave New World. It also helps that the band's original logo is brought back and that the booklet contains some more pretty cool drawings. As for the sound quality, The Book of Souls sports a better production than, for instance, The Final Frontier or Dance of Death. It's still far from perfect, but it's good enough not to get annoying after a while. Especially the guitars have that classic "warm" Stratocaster sound that was also present on many of the band's vaunted releases from the 1980s.

Alas, on to the actual music. The first thing that jumps out is of course the overwhelming duration both of the album as a whole and of most of the songs. Two CDs, 92 minutes of music, three tracks surpassing ten minutes in length – wow, just wow. As both CDs are long enough to be considered full-length albums, a case could be made that this is actually The Book of Souls parts one and two, which just so happened to be released at the same time.

Keeping that in mind, let's delve right into the musical content of this Book of Souls, the centerpiece or culmination of which is of course the overlong "Empire of the Clouds". It's a somewhat atypical composition for Maiden, featuring some highly emotional piano sounds as well as a rather unconventional song structure. At 18 minutes long, it certainly passes as the band's most daring song to date, a bold and epic – an overused word that still fits perfectly here – attempt at cinematic storytelling that ends up a complete success. Listening to this track, you can almost see the tragic events unfolding before your very eyes. It's quite an accomplishment to write an 18-minute long track that, despite its length and complexity, is gripping and entertaining from beginning to end, and Bruce, who gets sole songwriting credits for this one, pulls it off perfectly. It also helps that his vocals sound amazing (as they do on most of the album) and that the entire band seems vibrant and energetic, another aspect that makes The Book of Souls fresh and exciting. Another atypical track is "Tears of a Clown". It's rather direct and to the point and therefore slightly reminiscent of the material on the much maligned No Prayer for the Dying. It works very well though, thanks to some great riffs and hooks and a contagious chorus. But it's really the long tracks that are Maiden's strong suit nowadays, and with "The Red and the Black" and the title track, The Books of Souls has two more fine examples in stock. The title track speeds up toward the end, which is a nice touch, and both are simply excellent songs with many diverse parts, good riffing, extensive fluent soloing and epic choruses.

"Death or Glory", on the other hand, is a relatively concise track, a strong and heavy cut much in the vein of older songs with lyrics on aerial combat, like "Aces High" or "Tailgunner". It would be even better if it were just a little faster, but it's still among the best songs on The Book of Souls. Unfortunately, other "short" (a very relative term in the Maiden context) tracks such as "Shadows of the Valley" and "The Man of Sorrows" are among the weaker moments on either CD: the former a rather typical by-the-numbers example of postmillennial Iron Maiden, the latter a semi-ballad that gets a bit dull about halfway through and seems like a less urgent rehash of "The Man Who Would Be King". Neither is particularly bad, but decidedly mediocre and if you'd want to skip any songs it would probably be those two. Luckily, "The Great Unknown" or "When the River Runs Deep" show up better, with the former boasting an instantly recognizable chorus and fabulous harmonized guitar work that no other band can pull off quite like Maiden. "When the River Runs Deep" has an upbeat feel to it, featuring fast and aggressive verses interrupted by a slower and, to be honest, rather unimaginative chorus. Even "Speed of Light", which was released as a single before the album came out, works well within the context of the other tracks. It's nothing fancy, but still a good, quick, heavy-rocking tune that clearly shows Adrian Smith's hand both as a songwriter and skillful guitarist. Oh, and let's not forget to mention "When Eternity Should Fail", which is Maiden's best album opener in many years and would have fit nicely on any of Bruce's solo albums. (Bruce reportedly wrote it for that purpose but decided to use it for Maiden instead).

So, to make a long story short, The Book of Souls may not quite be a full-on return to glorious 1980s form, but it's still an excellent addition to the Maiden catalogue. In spite of its extravagant length, it never gets tedious, which is quite an accomplishment in and of itself. Diverse and effective songwriting does wonders here to keep this behemoth of an album entertaining throughout its opulent duration, while a somewhat more upbeat style and quicker tempos set it apart from other recent Maiden studio releases. Those who found The Final Frontier and particularly A Matter of Life and Death a little too morose and brooding should have a better time with the more immediately energetic and less slow-developing Book of Souls, which shows Maiden in great shape even after so many years in the business. Since The Book of Souls is essentially two albums in one, we might have to wait a little while before the next go-round, but at least there's plenty of quality material on here to render the wait a little more tolerable. Actually, listening to The Book of Souls is a lot like watching the latest Star Wars movie: you've waited a long time, everybody involved got even older, you pretty much know what's coming, you're unlikely to be completely blown away like you were as a wide-eyed teenager … but it's still one heck of a ride!

Rating The Book of Souls, part one: 94%
Rating The Book of Souls, part two: 89%
Average score: 92%

It's sort of funny to hear the term “modern Maiden” as Brave New World was released fifteen years ago, that's older than many popular bands nowadays! I guess that's a testimonial to the Brits' long and thunderous career? Anyhow, the fifth album since the return of Bruce “badass” Dickinson, The Book of Souls is certainly an adventurous album but there's some issues plaguing the ninety plus minute trip to really achieve the double album nirvana, it's still a pretty good album though.

The usual argument against double albums is that fact that most of them would be much better as a single disc and this is true for this record too. If they had to learn anything from Judas Priest, it was obviously to never do a double album. Too bad. The four previous Maiden albums (and also The X Factor) could had seen their lengths considerably reduced and I was hoping that after The Final Frontier, Harris and the boys would finally write a more concise release. Nope, it's their longest and most tedious one ever. The length is not necessarily the issue here, the problem with many of these songs is that they're just way too long for their own sake like “The Red and the Black” and its thirteen minutes. It's like good meat but with way too much fat that your butcher forgot to remove. With a career spawning many decades, they decided to do whatever the fuck they wanted and I must salute this even if it didn't work.

Nevertheless, it's still Maiden being Maiden, there's many brilliant moments here such as the psychedelic almost western spaghetti intro of “If Eternity Should Fail”, one of the best songs on the album and the first out of two to be written solely by Dickinson. The other being their longest song ever, the eighteen minutes epic closer “Empire of the Clouds”. The use of piano on this track is interesting and it's some sort of subtle historical opera, it's not the disaster I was expecting, really. It's one of the only tracks that actually feels shorter than it truly is and I liked how it's built. Outside of the long tracks, the shorter ones doesn't always work quite well (“Speed of Light” is underwhelming) and some of these were also disposable. The ballad-esque “The Man of Sorrows” or “The Great Unknown” are pretty damn great, the whole thing could had been tighter, it's all. There's no superb fast paced tracks like "The Mercenary" here and it's a shame.

It's a varied and dark album but the classic Maiden leads are always there to lift your spirit. The instrumentation is once again top notch and I appreciate that the bass isn't in your face as much as on some other of their albums. Since Steve Harris is less involved than usual due to some personal issues, it's a more democratic effort and it's a cool thing. We have the acoustic leanings of Janick Gers (a totally underrated guitarist) on the title track, the proggy AOR approach of Adrian Smith on “Speed of Light” or the long-winded epic formula of Harris. It's a vast album and has everything to please everyone but it's hard to digest as a whole in one sitting, it's like stuffing your face with fifteen hot dogs.

I like Bruce's rough and mature voice, I think he aged well and isn't straining too much. The lyrics are also great (most of the time), they're not too cheesy and deals with death in a meaningful way. Maiden at this point is an experienced band and I can't quite say that they sound tired, they're not exactly rehashing ideas even though most of the album is nothing new. It's hard to find a band this old who's still able to be as invigorated except maybe for Rush.

As a fifty minutes album, this would had been spectacular but ninety-two minutes is just overwhelming. I tend to listen to my favorite parts and ignore skip some of the weaker moments, that's something I hate to do since I love listening to albums as a whole. Can't we just get a short album for once, guys? A new Maiden album remains a big event but I can't say that I was completely satisfied with this one. Nonetheless, when it's good, it's freaking good.

Metantoine's Magickal Realm

I find few things in life more exciting than the realization that a new Iron Maiden album is being made and will be released upon this fantastic and wretched planet. Actually, I can't think in anything more exciting. A new Judas Priest or Black Sabbath record might be equally exciting, for sure. And I do love many, many, MANY bands, past and present, big and underground, but the Irons are… THE BLOODY IRONS!!! So, you can guess the adrenaline rush my body experienced when I knew Iron Maiden's sixteenth studio record was on its way. A studio DOUBLE album, to be precise! Damn! Then the minimalistic Mark Wilkinson cover artwork was shown, something special to behold, for sure. An aboriginal Eddie? What sorcery is this? This grand new beast, named The Book of Souls, seemed quite promising even before the leading single, “Speed of Light”, was released as a sneak preview, accompanied by an awesome video showcasing Eddie's travels as well as the evolution of video games. Pretty damn cool, huh? Five years after the solid but personally disappointing The Final Frontier, which fortunately for us wasn't that final, expectations were (pun alert) as high as aces again!

Now, you've probably heard the material by now, but if you haven't… IT IS PRETTY GOOD! Some might even call it album of the year, which is stretching it a bit, especially with all the awesome records being released by newer, fresher acts. Yet still, from the select group of the older, still active, consecrated and well established acts I would concur it is a strong contender for that title. Now, even though I love Maiden, for me their golden years in terms of musical innovation are long past, so I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, just a good ol' dose of sonic Iron, and that's precisely what we've got here. The intro of “If Eternity Should Fail” reminded me a lot of “Satellite 15”, and that didn't bode well for my taste, but fortunately the album has more variety and richness than its predecessor. Still, not a great opener, but it does have a strong chorus and a cheesy, but appreciated, outro. The aforementioned “Speed of Light” comes next, and it's a straight rocker with Maiden's trademark galloping rhythms, and Bruce's still forceful vocals. I can imagine the live version of this tune, it's gonna be sweet! From then onward, my reactions fluctuated between “ok, solid stuff” to “whoa, this is great!” from track to track.

The record traverses a varied array of moods and song lengths, but the overall concept is the fascination provoked by the mysteries of life and death, the mysticism inspired by the unknown aspects of cosmos and existence, and the melancholy in the realization that mankind is a small, petty thing, both in space and time; a tiny spark in the wildfire of creation. Those themes are spliced with several more earthly tales of strife, failure and tragedy (and the Red Baron!). It mostly conveys a quite doomy atmosphere, even though the music is 100% 21st Century Iron Maiden branded. Thematically, this is one of the gloomier things they've released, for sure. However, the lyrics are a bit hit or miss for me this time around. A lot of them are quite ambiguous and redundant. There are are some amazing phrases, and then you have some overused rhymes, sub par to the quality the Ancient Mariner requires, like these:

“There's no use in hiding, got to keep on trying
Can't take no more lying, this is the last
There's no time for crying when some of us are dying”

I think they could have done waaay better than that, and I feel that for all the appeal in the chosen themes, they just didn't nail it lyrically. But anyway, what really propels the record is the band tightness and sharp performance, as usual. Bruce's vocals are not what they used to be, but he's still has more power than most frontmen out there, and still displays honest, moving passion in his singing, from his soft, almost spoken word narrations to his more forceful shouts. He still is and always will be, Iron Maiden's voice. The rhythmic section is spot on as well, there's no denying that both Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain remain one of the most powerful rhythmic duos out there, instantly recognizable, still enormously influential and many times emulated but never quite matched. So much personality there. Hell, I think they could do an album on their own and it would kick ass. But the guitar power trio of Gers, Murray & Smith doesn't fall behind, and they complete the musical anatomy of the Eddie we love so dearly. While their signature riffs are as good as expected, I believe that this album has some of their best 21st Century soloing, and that's an additional forte. They have desisted in playing blazingly fast solos, and instead have focused more in their construction. Less showing-off, more finesse: definitely more appealing. The guitarwork on the 13-minute “The Red and the Black” is just outstanding. That's my favorite tune from The Book of Souls, by the way.

Much talk has been made about the Irons' longer song ever recorded, “Empire of the Clouds”, the closer, a humongous 18-minute tale of the fateful final flight of the R101, a British hydrogen-filled rigid airship that crashed on France on the 5th of October, 1930, a disastrous incident in which 48 of the 54 people on board perished. A great catastrophe, which brought an end to Great Britain's airship development, and represents a culmination of the grief and longing this record displays during its entirety. It starts with symphonic intro, a melancholic piano and some strings before giving way to a Jethro Tull-esque number, with a mid-paced prog rock cadence, and halfway through the composition it starts to build up more strength (like the lethal storm it depicts), as the solos kick in. The middle section of the track displays some changes in tempo and different themes, neither overblown nor sufficiently fulfilling. It actually feels just like a modern, really long, Iron Maiden tune, and I don't find any major flaws in it, though I feel it never reaches a truly powerful climax. In fact, before listening to it, I imagined more ambitious than it happens to be. A good song, but way inferior to “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, or even its 13-minute sibling on this very record, or my other preferred tracks here, “When the Rivers Runs Deep”, “Shadows of the Valley” and “Tears of a Clown”.

Its 2015 and we've been blessed with and hour and a half of quality new Iron Maiden metal. Though far from being a masterpiece, I believe the majority of metalheads listening to this won't be disappointed. So, in the strange case that you haven’t experienced this yet, I have to remind you that Eddie's immortal, but you shouldn't be wasting your mortal life. Give it a spin now!


Originally written for Metal Recusants [metalrecusants.com]

Iron Maiden, one of the biggest bands to come out of the NWOBHM scene is trying to still do the best they can today. However, is what they still have left in them enough to make a quality album? Iron Maiden claims to be doing more experimentation than ever with this album and that they were going to try new things. With that being said, they did add in a couple new things to the album. However, they were very minor. The band relies on much of the string instrumentation in the background to fill the sound and to give it a more epic feel and in this album add instruments such as brass and piano, especially in the song Empire of The Clouds. They didn't do too much to make it sound like Iron Maiden was trying to go out of their way to make a new sound. If anything, their later 1980s albums such as Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of A Seventh Son are way more experimental than this.

The next thing I have to criticize about the album are the almost too familiar song structures throughout the album. Almost every song still starts out with the slow introduction that eventually adds the vocals then the increased tempo of the tune. It is nice to hear that sometimes, but to hear that in every song in the album makes everything too predictable. Not to mention the drums sounded the same throughout the album. It seemed like it was at the same tempo and same playing during all of the songs. Bruce's vocal melodies throughout songs sound repetitive as well throughout the verses of each tune.

And now we reach the production and solos. The solos are decent in most of the songs. They are nothing to write home about. It seems like typical Iron Maiden guitar playing. It almost seems like there are too many solos in the album and are just there to drag out the song to make Maiden look more progressive than they really are. The production seems to be a little sloppy on the album as well. Not bad, but it seems the band it trying to sound heavier than what they really are as well.

With the production out of the way, let's talk about Bruce's vocals on this album. First impression, they are tired. As much as I wish to say they are great, they are decent at best. He may be able to reach high notes at times throughout the album, but they are way too forced and he sounds very flat. The scream at the beginning at Speed of Light was Bruce trying to show that he thinks he can still do what he did back 20 - 25 years ago. However, it was weak and it shouldn't have been put in the track.

I did review this album a few months ago, however after a few more listens to the album, realized how weak of an album this was. As a huge Iron Maiden fan, I wish I could give this album a higher score. Most of the reviews about this album in my opinion are biased because as most people know, Iron Maiden fans pretty much will call anything by the band a "Masterpiece". Even if it is an 18 minute song that drags that would put Eddie the Head to sleep. Sorry Maiden, the Trooper was defeated 10 years ago.

Reviewing a new album from the greatest heavy metal band in the world is always a task. Partly because I have so much in-built bias, but partly because Iron Maiden releases are more than just albums. They are events. And it’s genuinely hard to admit it when an event isn’t as much fun as you’d expected. Luckily, this is Maiden’s finest release in many years.

In the recent(ish) past, Maiden have enjoyed somewhat mixed fortunes. They’ve hung on to that 'Greatest Ever' title largely on the strength of their truly (and often literally) incendiary live shows, but while they’ve continued to enjoy sales in the gold range, their output in the 2000s has been a mixed bag. Kevin Shirley’s somewhat flat production can be blamed for some of this, but it’s also hard to escape the feeling that Maiden have been treading a certain amount of water. A muddled, flat sound and a lack of the energy that made mid-period Maiden so genuinely thrilling. It’s trite to say this is a return to form, but this is a fine album that makes the most of the band’s heritage without resting on it’s laurels. The intro synths on opener ‘If Eternity Should Fail’ are cheesy as all hell, but have a tiny touch of Powerslave’s Egyptian mystery to them and set the tone for the massive eight-minute plus track that’s about to assault us with a pretty good chorus and middle section. The album's single 'Speed of Light' is a galloping bit of fun, with some upbeat twin guitar work and a catchy, bouncy chorus that carries the listener through time and space. Time travel is a theme here. Lyrically we leap from era to era, not only of world history, but also of the band themselves. The title track manages to fuse touches of 2000’s Brave New World album with the stripped-back classic British rock that last reared it’s head way back on 91’s No Prayer for the Dying.

The epic (there are a lot of epics on The Book of Souls, including Empire of Clouds, Maiden’s longest ever song at almost 19 minutes). 'The Red and the Black’ also digs deeply, pulling out the trademark woah-oh-oh singalong chants as it switches pace rapidly, shoving a whole album’s worth of riffs into a superb 13 minute package. Maiden seem to have rediscovered the sense of genuine joy that make their live shows so thrilling. It’s impossible not to grin when you’re dealing with a 15-riff-fest, yelling the words “death or glory” at the top of your lungs and waiting for the 32nd -note gallops to coalesce into a fantastic twin harmony solo, but somehow this had seemed missing from the band’s recent releases. They were in danger of becoming pompous, but here they’re in on the fun again, and it’s a revelation (excuse the pun that only fans will get).

There’s some genuine electricity running underneath those guitar lines. Dave and Adrian manage their methodical/mercurial duel with aplomb, and even the much-maligned Janick displays some nuanced playing that fits more comfortably in with the riffs than many of his past efforts. The songwriting is strong and complex, with several obvious influences from Dickinson’s solo work, but a newfound sense of balance, mixing old and new elements more evenly and effectively than ever before, although lyrically this often sails into silly waters. Fans have come to expect songs about band member’s hobbies from time to time (Take a bow 'Flash of the Blade’) but while closing track ‘Empire of the Clouds’ is a truly magnificent slice of rock opera, it’s marred by the bizarre shadow of Top Gear, a middle-aged dad’s geeky love of machinery intruding on what could be an effective tribute.

With that said, it’s nice to see such a well-balanced album. 'Tears of a Clown’ is slightly maudlin, but musically it’s hard to fault and this makes up for the soppier moments across the entire double album. Overall it’s the sound of a band that are both perfectly comfortable with their interests, but also of one pushing their musical envelope into strange new places. There’s a lovely dash of piratical piano and violin towards the end that makes you want to run around on a poop-deck with a sabre in hand. It’s boys own adventure, but it’s perfectly executed, doesn’t take itself overly-seriously and, let’s face it, it means there’s another tour coming soon.

'The Book of Souls' is a damn good Maiden album. A perfect blend of old and new that cements their place at the top of the Metal tree (and it’s somehow convinced Tesco to start selling double-vinyl again, which makes it worth 20 quid of anyone’s money).

The Book of Souls marks Maiden's sixteenth album, surfacing five years after 2010's The Final Frontier. Stylistically 21st Century Maiden is a different beast than earlier incarnations of the band. Gone are a lot of the more traditionally-arranged shorter metal tunes, often replaced by longer, expansive complicated proggy-type compositions. If were being honest about things, I prefer this Maiden. Yes, Powerslave is still one of the greatest records of all time, and there are countless worthy tunes scattered about through the first eleven (okay, the first nine) albums. Who doesn't like Aces High? The Trooper? Holy Smoke?

To me though, Maiden's real asskickery tends to be found in the longer tracks. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is and will always be one of my five favorite Maiden anthems. That there'd eventually be more songs like this, the more complicated, longer songs such as Paschendale or Where the Wild Wind Blows, is to me a good thing. If we break this up by length and consider, for the sake of argument, anything beyond the seven minute mark a "longer, expansive complicated proggy-type composition", then the only album prior to 2000's Brave New World with more than one was Somewhere In Time, with three.

Book of Souls itself offers five, culminating with Empire of the Clouds at just over 18 minutes, Maiden's longest track to date. Again, this is not to say that they haven't and don't still write great songs that fall on the shorter end of the spectrum, but serves to illustrate why I can't get enough of Maiden's more recent offerings. And given how Book of Souls does build off of a lot of that development, it's worth explaining. Probably.

ANYWAY.

Where to begin with Book of Souls? The most obvious place is in the production. Everything sounds, well, "clean". That isn't implying that this is Maiden - The Acoustic Version or anything (although now I want an acoustic Maiden set). But the production has enough clarity that nothing seems buried within the mix. All the instruments seem balanced well, with a solid mixing job leveling everything out and making for a positive auditory experience.

From a technical standpoint, the band is plugging right away. These are clearly a bunch of guys who have been playing, and playing together for that matter, for a good long time. You can definitely say that they're taking full advantage of having three guitarists in the band, with varied guitar bits, layered harmonies, and solos all over the place. If there's a fault it's that there's a bit of self-plagiarization evident in a few places. For example, the title track seems to have jacked a stripped-down version of the intro to The Talisman, and the album closer features a riff in the middle of the song that's a very slight variation from one found in The Legacy.

For the most part, Bruce is Bruce. He did seem to struggle a bit with some of the higher notes he tried to hit in The Great Unknown, but apart from that the guy seems prepared to continue for another decade. Throw in an ever increasing age and a cancer scare, and the fact that he still sounds this good overall is pretty remarkable. One thing is for sure - if his range is shrinking a bit, his vibrato is completely intact! I was a bit skeptical of how Bruce would sound over the entire album after I heard Speed of Light, as he takes a bit rawer, more aggresive approach there. One couldn't help but wonder if that was indicative of a stylistic choice or was the result of health and five more years of age. Fortunately, it seems to have been the first option.

The album kicks off with one of the longer tracks, If Eternity Should Fail. Yup, Maiden is back. Easily one of my favorite tracks from the album and a great place to start. It takes after opener Satellite 15 from The Final Frontier in a sense, with the odd intro. Lead single Speed of Light rolls in next, and at this point the question must be asked - who do we have to bribe/pay/etc. to get the rest of the guys to let Bruce and/or Adrian write an entire album? Yeah yeah, those two have collaborated on some of Bruce's solo stuff, but their collaborations on Maiden's albums tend to be more appealing.

After Speed of Light, however, the album starts to become a bit convoluted. The Great Unknown is mediocre, as is When the River Runs Deep. The Red and the Black, a Steve Harris song checking in at about thirteen and a half minutes, is just too bloated on the back end and would've actually been much better received if it was half as long. While Maiden does turn out great longer songs, sometimes it just doesn't work right. Frankly, there's enough extraneous riffing, soloing, and whatnot that you have to wonder if they wouldn't have been better off shortening a few things and sticking the remaining bits together as a gigantoid instrumental track.

The back end of the album (also known as "disc 2") fortunately kicks things back into high gear, starting with the Smith/Dickinson tune Death or Glory, which is sorta like The Trooper but reimagined to be about the Red Baron. There are a few slight stumbles along the way, such as The Man of Sorrows which would've benefited from a slightly higher tempo. All of this builds right into the final track on the album, Dickinson's massive homage to the R101 airship disaster Empire Of The Clouds. Bruce on the piano. Exploding dirigibles. Great, great tune. And to its credit it keeps you engaged through the entire running time, unlike the aforementioned The Red and the Black. Think of Rime of the Ancient Mariner, with it's different sections, interludes, buildups, bridges, and everything, but longer and a bit more developed.

The standout tracks on the album are If Eternity Should Fail (Dickinson), Speed of Light (Smith/Dickinson), Death or Glory (Smith/Dickinson), and Empire Of The Clouds (Dickinson). If you're noticing a theme there, refer to previous question about future songwriting.

Regardless of your preferred iteration of Maiden, though, there's something here for everyone. Speed of Light and Death or Glory happen to be two of the shorter, more riff-oriented tracks on the album, and while they probably won't cause you to take Powerslave out of rotation they stand up well with the band's previous work.

Overall, the album is a solid 8 out of 10. The first CD is too inconsistent or unremarkable after the first two songs to rate the album as a whole any higher, but when they're on, they're ON. Hell, the album is worth it for the first and last tracks alone. That they're still putting out songs of this caliber after almost four decades is simply amazing.

As a side note, I got the digibook version. It's a nice bit of packaging and the illustrations contained within are worth viewing in the "larger than normal CD insert" size.

At last the 5 year wait for a new Iron Maiden record is over. Following on from 2010's "The Final Frontier", we arrive at a very experimental and RICH album in "Book Of Souls".

Opening with a great opener for the album in "If Eternity Should Fail", we are taken back to their Powerslave period, but soon after, we move to some forced and stale moments ("When The River Runs Deep" - co-written by Harris), and then re-hashed ideas in "Shadows of the Valley" (again co-written by Harris, the opening riff is almost identical to 1986's “Wasted Years”).

Over several albums now I've noticed: Steve Harris, re-hashed ideas... Why does he continue to write these "woah-woah" chant-along arena songs like "The Red And The Black"? Sure 1986's "Heaven Can Wait" was brilliant, but there's no need to keep re-writing the same song. Gladly though, these are really the most negative aspects of the album.

The album has VERY bluesy LENGTHY periods to carry rhythm sections (in “Death or Glory” you could use a bottle slide in that solo too). The opening of and rhythm sections of "Speed Of Light” are more examples - although the song really takes off in the chorus. These kinds of things repeat in a LOT places, there’s a lot of mid-tempo 4/4 playing on the album, and not lot of deviation outside of that. This lends to some songs sounding unfinished.

The progressive parts of this album are REALLY something, it's just a shame that this more dynamic feel doesn't carry into the rhythm sections of the songwriting. The bridges and solos in "Shadows of The Valley", are an absolutely BEAUTIFUL throwback to 1981's “Killers” album. Halfway through "The Man of Sorrows" we are treated to movements and vocal lines not heard since 1986’s “Sea Of Madness”, with soaring solos and spacious drum fills which actually USE the pace of the underlying rhythm structures. It's an absolutely stunning moment, reminiscent of Pink Floyd and in my opinion is a greater highlight than even Dickinson’s closer "Empire Of The Clouds”.

While such luscious details weave their way in and out of the record, and despite appearing to be sparse, they lend the album an overall complexity that takes some time to explore. However, with the weakness outside of that progression, I'm kept yearning for more creativity to carry the songs. Even more so too, that for the first time, I've noticed I cannot tell the solos of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Jannick Gurs apart. This is has been a staple of Iron Maiden for years, but for some reason on this record, it's hard to discern those personalities.

Nevertheless, Iron Maiden continue to show that they are growing and experimenting, even four decades in: the opening riff to "Tears Of A Clown" feels like classic 70s doom. Yes, you read right - doom riffs on an Iron Maiden record! And somehow they blend it with yes, blues. But it works! I would argue Tears Of A Clown should've been the single, not "Speed Of Light". It's a very emotional, but fun and groovy 70s song. Sometimes I feel that Maiden are in their belated version of Enslaved's "Mardraum" and "Monumension" periods - is this record the final step to a new sound? Is it a transition to a real expansion in their style? After all, in the mature parts of the album, there IS definitely a very noticeable level of highly creative moments which are somewhat more "unorthodox" for Iron Maiden.

Production-wise is where I arrive at my other negative point: I've always had a dislike for Kevin Shirley. Martin Birch’s and Nigel Green's (X Factor, Virtual XI) shoes were big ones to fill, let’s be honest. The band should have stuck with Green for the post-Birch era.

I feel everything Shirley produced with Iron Maiden has sounded soft and muddy in some way, and lacks power and detail. This time the guitars have an overdriven rounded crunch to them (and for someone like Dave Murray in his solos, that sound just doesn't work, you need more sharpness for the soaring heights of his solos, and for Adrian Smith's solos and arpeggios it provides a crystalline finish to his stringwork). Shirley's use of texture removes the dynamic range between the three guitarists from the songs and traps their sound. Nicko's drums sound weak and are too low in the mix. Oddly, Steve's bass sounds too low in the mix as well, so much so, that the lumbering texture of the three Amigos overpowers his him and removes any warmth his bass playing has provided over Iron Maiden's discography up to 2000's "Brave New World".

The overall bands' sound is too "closed", the songs don’t open up to their full potential. Even if you blast this album, there's no power coming out of the production. Go back and blast "Fear Of The Dark", Green's last work with Maiden, and then Brave New World, Shirley's first work with the band, and you can hear a real softening of the sound which pulls the power OUT of the sound. Production with Shirley since has been progressively far too organic for Maiden's style and the music suffers. I'm #sorrynotsorry, but Shirley really needs to go. In my opinion, Iron Maiden requires a thinner production to really explode and show the individual skills of all musicians.

Finally, closing the album off we arrive at Bruce Dickinson’s 18 minute closer “Empire Of The Clouds”. The first 3 minutes of the song is unlike anywhere Iron Maiden have gone before. We have Bruce on his new piano (he won it 3 years earlier in a raffle, which led to the writing of this song), cellos (yes, really), Steve on his bass, and subtle notes on guitar. The piano melody carries the whole song, Nicko’s soft drums begin to roll, and then the song begins to build. Bruce continues to pull us in with his poetic story. You can tell this song will be a moment of romanticism live and will suck the entire stadium into its own bubble much like “Dance Of Death's” title track did in years past. And it makes you wonder - could this be in fact, an X-Japan styled ROCK BALLAD - by Iron Maiden? Certainly feels like it to me, and that’s by no means a negative criticism. “Empire Of the Clouds” could be Iron Maiden’s “Art Of Life”. Are we going to see more of this direction from them in future?

I think it's safe to say that this is Iron Maiden's most ambitious moment since 2000's "Brave New World”. That's no cliché. “Book of Souls” sees Iron Maiden having REALLY evolved, but yet remaining VERY much Iron Maiden. Is it successful? For the most part, yes. This is a complex, deep and surprisingly experimental band in this late part of their careers – as long as Steve Harris doesn’t write too many of the songs. The days of us expecting purely metal records like Seventh Son of a Seventh Son are long gone though. Far from what we once thought was a twilight in their careers, Maiden are now embracing their initial roots, bands like Rush, Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd and others, but at the same time sounding expanded and creative.

"Book Of Souls" is a MATURE and complex work, one which will take time to absorb, but it will also educate many listeners out in the world due to sheer amount of rock history it covers. Don’t look for a classic sounding Maiden record, we’re not getting that anymore.

This is a different band and time now. Bravo, lads. Easily their best record since 2000.

Iron Maiden is the kind of band that needs no introduction. Through their monstrous, and consistently active, 40 years they have established themselves as one of the best metal bands in the world and with their new album “The Book Of Souls”, they continue to demonstrate just how to successfully uphold such a colossal title.

The first chapter, ‘If Eternity Should Fail’, begins as Bruce’s rhapsodic voice pierces through a synth fanfare which immediately expels any worries fans might have about his recovery from tongue cancer. He sounds mystical, confronting and levitated throughout the 8 minutes and doesn’t hog the spotlight from his battle-hardened tribesman. The chorus on ‘Speed Of Light’ is infectious however the flexuous riffs from Adrian Smith glimmer as they swiftly glide around in a mash of alternate leads from Janick Gers and Dave Murray.

Bruce Dickinson’s increased lyrical additions are definitely noticeable: as a certified pilot, he approaches his song-writing directly. ‘Death or Glory’ is about triplanes used in WW1 where the frolicking guitars symbolise the frantic dogfights of the sky. The visionary 18 minute epic ‘Empire Of The Clouds’ is about the R101 airship disaster and starts fragilely where Bruce is lightly tapping melodies on piano but builds in awe as his lyrics depict the glory of the airship. As it takes flight, the tempo adjusts to become quicker which makes the mood even more majestic. Everything explodes at the 8:28 mark: flames of recklessly heavy solos and extra drum fills cover the sky as the ship is bought down in a ball of flame and desolation that ends the album solemnly. It’s not the only solemn moment on this double album though; ‘Tears Of A Clown’ explains the mannerisms of depression. Etched into the false face of happiness are lines of despair and misery: this is the general inspiration behind the tribute to Robin Williams. The music reflects this emotion with a gentle plod of bass and simple drum beats from Nicko McBrain that are shadowed by jovial guitar riffs and solos.

With an average age of 57, Iron Maiden embody their music as if they where half their age. About 7 minutes in to ‘The Red And The Black’, harmonies from all members crash together in a typical Iron Maiden pantomimic fashion to conjure a truly masterful and captivating tone to the album. Naturally, as a 13 minute song it’s got to include some tribal war cries from Bruce and he does not disappoint- you can almost hear every person singing “wooaaohhoho” when they play this live. As innovators of NWOBHM, the classic sound is heard during ‘When The River Runs Deep’ which emphasizes their untouchably energetic attitude through rolling bass a cascade of harmonies from the 6 string trio.

A band as characteristic as the Iron Maiden clan develops an aura of nostalgia when they release new music; and it’s something all fans want to experience. If you want to sing “wooahs” along with Bruce Dickinson, ululate to the trio of guitar melodies or simply bang your head to the gallop of Steve Wilson’s bass and Nicko’s drumming hooks then you’ll undoubtedly be a fan of this. In essence “The Book Of Souls” is an epic composition of everything the sextet have previously perfected but with a dash of added progressiveness.

2015's most anticipated album hits the ground like a grenade. The Book Of Souls is Maiden's first album in five long years. (They seem to be doing the same intervals as Blind Guardian.) Recorded, as we all know, when Bruce Dickinson still had a yet to be diagnosed throat cancer, but that's been talked about to death, so I won't mention it any further. When it comes to Maiden it's incredibly popular among reviewers and fans to compare the new tracks to eighties classics - and in Sweden's largest newspaper 'Aftonbladet' even making up song titles to go with it - and fans of the old school will always, always, always, find something to whine about.

Maiden have slowly moved toward an album of the magnitude that is The Book Of Souls. Its length is of course remarkable, but let's remember that it isn't since 1998's Virtual XI that one of their albums have clocked in under an hour's length. The Book Of Souls is "only" sixteen minutes longer than its predecessor, The Final Frontier. And from their previous release, Maiden have added weight. The mandatory Steve Harris epic, titled 'The Red And The Black' is a complete show off. Thirteen minutes of milking the guitars where Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers trade off solos in a long, instrumental second half. Dickinson's part of the song contains several "whoah whoah's" just meant for live stadium performances. Harris, by the way, lays down the law - as usual - with some of his career's sharpest bass licks; from the intro to the aforementioned 'The Red And The Black' to the rhythmic fills of 'Shadows Of The Valley'.

"The three amigos", Murray, Smith and Gers, also make some of their greatest performances. There is no single point that stands out in my mind as subpar. From the calm, folky intro of the epic title track by Gers, to the melodic Murray solos of melancholic 'The Man Of Sorrows', to the rhythmic drive of 'When The River Runs Deep'. One of Smith's high lights is 'Death Or Glory', a fast heavy metal kicker dealing with the, to Maiden, familiar subject of aerial combat. He wrote the song along with Dickinson, and it has some incredible riffs driven to the max. Actually, 'Death Or Glory' would be the ideal album opener, but it stands as a great mid album track that actually opens the album's second disc.

'Tears Of A Clown' is a melodic song bringing up the horrible subject of depression. More precisely, it's been stated that it is about comedian Robin Williams, who suffered from depression and tragically committed suicide. Dickinson gives a great performance with a lot of empathy for the part. In fact, even noting age and ailments, Dickinson makes one of his best records ever. And speaking of... we have to talk about the Dickinson penned concluding epic, 'Empire Of The Clouds'. Beginning with Maidens first ever piano intro (played by Dickinson), it stretches eighteen long minutes and basically redefines what epic is. I daresay it may in the future be deemed Maiden's magnum opus. It slowly builds into an explosion and carries some fantastic guitar harmonies and lengthy solos. It's impossible for me to give it justice with mere mortal words.

A few small weaknesses can be found on The Book Of Souls, if you want to look. 'Speed Of Light', the album's lead single, wasn't accepted with open arms but is actually the obvious choice of a single. Dickinson does sound strained in the chorus and the song could have been sped up just a notch. I do however love the guitar leads throughout the songs, which were teased before the song's release. 'The Great Unknown' feels like a track from Maiden's 2006 album A Matter Of Life And Death; dark, and almost dystopic in its sound. After a few listens, it doesn't quite want to engage me, but I've no doubt an upswing might be coming

Nicko McBrain, the ever steadfast drummer, doesn't fault, but the drum sound at times sound odd to me. For example in 'When The River Runs Deep', which is actually a great track. I can't quite put my finger on it, and it's not a big thing at all. In fact, my only real "complaint" would be the artwork, done by Mark Wilkinson. Maiden have always had great artwork, defining what a metal album cover should look like, with only a few exceptions (*cough* Dance Of Death). In this case, Eddie has become a voodoo shaman against a black background, and it feels incomplete. The booklet however has several awesome illustrations by Wilkinson that would have made a much cooler album cover.

Title track 'The Book Of Souls', debating the fall of the Mayans, quickly becomes one of my favorites. It begins with a signature Gers guitar melody before bursting into a Gers/Harris penned behemoth. As a team, the two have written some of the greatest Maiden songs; 'Dream Of Mirrors', 'Dance Of Death' and 'The Talisman' all spring to mind, and again on The Book Of Souls they give two of the best tracks; the title track and 'Shadows Of The Valley'. The latter of the two is an emotive tale that begins in an intro reminiscent of Wasted Years from 1986 classic Somewhere In Time, before exploding into a cavalcade of what makes Maiden what it is. Almost symphonic in its chorus, alongside great guitar work by the three guitarists and an insane bass line. It should easily become a favorite of fans of both old and new Maiden albums.

The entire album is so total, so complete. Granted, a few of the opening tracks feel a bit like build up for the rest of the album, but shouldn't be thrown off just because of that. The creepy ending of opening track 'If Eternity Should Fail' might be the eeriest Maiden moment ever; atmospheric and dark. From there we're led through one of Maidens most completed and varied works and through three of their now six in total songs at over ten minutes in length, and through the magnificent closure that is 'Empire Of The Clouds'. It is simply above all expectations. In fact, I think a friend of mine put it best, in a one word review upon his first listen. And I quote: "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHH"

Standout tracks: The Book Of Souls, Shadows Of The Valley, Empire Of The Clouds

Originally written for 'getmetal.com'

I could open this with what an amazing achievement it is for a band to have managed sticking around for 40 years, but I’d rather not. While it’s certainly worth acknowledging, the more impressive achievement is the fact that Iron Maiden is one of the few historically significant bands that is actually still releasing solid albums. Bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest have brilliant discographies, but undoubtedly reached their creative sell-by dates long ago, putting out completely mediocre albums in their autumnal years.

Iron Maiden, it must be said, even from an objective standpoint, is a different kettle of fish. While one cannot ignore the fact that Maiden’s 80s releases will forever be seen as the zenith of the band’s creative output, and rightfully so, they’ve written some exceptional songs in recent years.

Having watched the ‘Speed of Light’ video when it dropped, I was utterly disappointed… but none too surprised. You see, every lead single Maiden has released in the last 12 or so years has been weak, with ‘El Dorado’ arguably taking the cake as the nadir of new-millennium Maiden’s work. ‘Speed of Light’, I felt, followed hot on the heels of that musical abortion. Still, I picked up the annoyingly oversized deluxe edition of The Book of Souls.

Beyond the beautiful artwork and layout, what TBoS is to me is a complete Iron Maiden cocktail, with the kitchen sink added in for good measure. There are brief hints of Di’Anno-era Maiden; a smattering of early to mid-80s Maiden; a glint of the magical, synthesised Maiden of the later 80s; some clichéd rocking 90s Maiden touches; and a huge helping of the greying, modern Maiden – and it’s actually damn near perfect.

As much as I enjoy large parts of the previous post-Brave New World albums, there were a good number of throwaway tracks on every album. The Final Frontier unquestionably displayed a marked downturn in quality, particularly in Bruce’s vocal delivery, leading me to worry about whether Maiden could ever rekindle the spark that has kept them as engaging as they have been over the years. Bruce’s vocals on TFF are so bad and strained that parts of the album still make me cringe.

TBoS, however, allays any fears I had about Bruce’s voice being worn out. There’s no question that he does strain here and there but, for the most part, I don’t think he’s sounded this good since Dance of Death, or perhaps even BNW. He’s not doing anything new, but he’s just doing it better than on the last few – with more conviction and control – and that’s exactly how I feel about the music as well.

From a compositional side, Maiden isn’t doing anything completely different to what they’ve done in the past – everything is just slightly more on point than it’s been in recent times; it’s done more intelligently and with more consideration (even though many of the songs took less time to write and were rather spontaneous, apparently). Interestingly, the music, as Maiden-esque as it is, and as familiar as some parts are, very rarely feels contrived.

The tracks are, in fact, so well written that each one is itself accessible without being dimensionally lacking – it’s an impressive accomplishment, and shows how expertly the band has refined its craft over the last few years, since continually penning songs that are rarely shorter than five minutes. While there is a fair bit of repetition, the passages themselves are generally lengthy and don’t suffer from the same obvious, grinding repetition of an album like BNW (which, though a great album, is almost sickeningly repetitive).

The album is bookended by two brilliant tracks, and there’s a lot of magic that happens in-between. As much of a stinker as ‘Speed of Light’ is as a single track, it somehow follows on perfectly from the opener, ‘If Eternity Should Fail’, which is Maiden’s best opening track since the astounding ‘The Wicker Man’. Another personal highlight has to be ‘The Red and the Black’, which just has everything you could want from Maiden contained in a 13-minute epic that rolls by in no time. The 18-minute closer, the super-duper-epic-awesome-amazeballs-best-song-ever-written-true-masterpiece ‘Empire of the Clouds’ is, actually, pretty awesome. I don’t think it’s the greatest Maiden song ever written or a masterpiece, as many seem to, but is really is quite brilliant – Bruce really knocked it out the park here.

As you can guess by the track lengths, this isn’t necessarily an instant-gratification-type album for the average listener, but I personally loved it on first listen and, on listen number 15, perhaps, I like it even better.

I quite like the production of the album – it’s pretty stripped down and, thankfully, not over-produced, giving the album a more live sort of vibe. Listen to TBoS on some decent speakers or headphones and you can understand exactly why they went for this more immediate production approach. Musically, it’s Maiden – these guys have their chops waxed and it’s a pleasure to listen to the band’s journeyman abilities at work. The guitar solos are always apposite to the songs, never feeling out of place, and, let’s face it, most guitarists couldn’t come up with one solo in their career as effective as a ‘throwaway’ Maiden one.

As much as I’ve only been singing its praises until now, there is one very big problem with the album, and one or two minor ones. Yup, you guessed it – the big problem is, in fact, the very bigness of the album. It’s simply too long to comfortably listen through in one sitting, unless it’s on as partially background music. Focusing on the album from start to finish is a large ask, and probably a bit too much for most listeners, no matter how concerted their efforts may be.

The other smaller issues are also mostly tied to length and musical plodding – some of the parts of a few of the songs carrying on a bit too long – and the fact that the second last track ‘The Man of Sorrows’ is the closest song on TBoS to being one of those many filler tracks that Maiden have recorded over the course of their last four albums. Why it stands out here more than on the last few releases, I suspect, is directly tied to the album length. When the band doesn’t sound particularly inspired or powerful, here, it kind of stands out. That said, it’s actually a pretty interesting track, but there’s a two-minute downtempo intro that drags far too much for its placing on the track listing, and the track itself is very mid-tempo. The title track also tends to lose momentum with its mid-paced, repetitious approach, but it’s still satisfying enough not to be too bothersome.

The one advantage of this being a double album, however, is that you can digest it quite easily one disc (or two sides) at a time, allowing you to take in the songs quite comfortably without the sonic colossus that is the full album looming over you. While there is absolutely nothing mediocre recorded on here (as a single, 'The Speed of Light' is the closest it gets here), all of it together just gets to be a bit much on early sittings – the very scope of the album exceeds easy digestion. That said, once you’ve taken the time to become acquainted with everything on offer, this becomes much less of an issue, and if you’re going to be listening to any one album for over 90 minutes, it should really be this one.

Before hearing anything from it, I was expecting this to be a solid Iron Maiden release, much like TFF (which was pretty solid, all things said). The Book of Souls undeniably exceeded those expectations, delivering something to the quality last seen (among the band’s studio releases and, possibly, The X Factor) in Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. This would be an absolute triumph for any band, let alone one that has already produced so much quality material over the span of more than three decades.

Still not short on ideas, Maiden isn’t a band resting on its laurels and legacy, like too many others relying solely on their ‘golden era’ albums. This is a band that still wants a creative outlet, still wants to give something new to the fans, and still blows almost any other metal band around right out of the water. Up the Irons.

I first wrote a review of this album a couple of days after it was released, but decided to wait because I felt something was happening - The Book of Souls was growing on me.
The more I listened to this massive undertaking of a double album, the more counterarguments I found to the things I initially objected to.

Like many other metalheads, I've been following Iron Maiden since I was young, and their early material is so ingrained in my being that you could play the songs with a jack between my brain and the stereo receiver. This makes reviewing a new Maiden album a somewhat difficult proposition, because you've got to view the new album on its own merits, and not compare it too much with whatever the band wrote thirty years ago. I had some issues with the album on the first rounds of listening, and those issues are pretty much those you can read about in the reviews that rate the album at 50% or lower. I'll present some of those issues here along with why I've changed my mind. What is all boils down to, is that as of now, I consider The Book of Souls the best thing Iron Maiden has recorded this side of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

Before the release, I was somewhat hyped by the band's statements about how creative they felt, and I came to expect an adventurous, energetic album. When I finally got to hear it, I didn't find it all that adventurous - it was still Iron Maiden, through and through - and I thought the album lacked the spark I hoped for. The length of some of these tunes was also worrying, but I told myself that the band made long tunes as far back as their debut album ("Phantom of the Opera").

When I first began to listen to Iron Maiden around the time of Powerslave they were what I thought of as "dangerous". It was something different than what you heard on the radio, and artwork like the cover of The Number of the Beast featuring the devil was something people around me didn't like (so I liked it all the more). This was a band that played fast and hard, singing about topics that, at the time, seemed very controversial (I discovered more extreme metal soon after, no worries). This edge was something I hoped to find, but didn't. However, as I gave the album more spins, I began to realize that it was one of those unfair expectations I had. I focused on the music at hand, instead, realizing that I cannot expect that kind of semi-controversial edge from musicians that are rapidly approaching their sixties. I mistook the generally slow tempo of the songs on The Book of Souls for a band of elderly rock musicians not having the drive to sound explosive, when that's not really what this album is about. What we have is a collection of songs that hew closer to material like "To Tame a Land", "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", and "Alexander the Great", and I've always loved those songs, haven't I? Once I started to think about the songs in this context, I began to appreciate the work for what it is.

That being said, I feel that the production of the album would benefit from a heavier, fuzzier guitar tone and a better balance between the various instruments. The guitars are drowned out by the vocals, and the synthesizers are buried pretty deep - this too, however, becomes less important as I listen more, because I get used to the mix as it is, and the details emerge to become clearer. As an example, I didn't even notice the synthesizers backing up the verses of "The Great Unknown", but once I did, it added to the fullness of the sound and now I can't unhear them. In that sense, the production actually adds longevity to the songs as there's more to discover.

My main complaint in my first attempt at a review was that there was nothing new under the sun. In most songs you can hear echoes of earlier material, sometimes to the point of feeling like they plagiarized themselves (the worst offender being the introductory guitar melody of "Shadows of the Valley" - it hews very, very close to the opening of "Wasted Years"). Listening to "The Red and the Black", the only song penned solely by Steve Harris, I thought the opening riffs sounded like they came straight from Killers, the chugging riff before the verse made me sing the lines of "Quest for Fire", and the vocal lines reminded me of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Yet, right now, "The Red and the Black" has sailed up as a favorite! Somewhere along the line, I went from frowning disapprovingly at what I heard, to singing along and feeling a genuine rush of love for the band. It's a hymn, all right, and I'm pretty sure it will slot in nicely on the band's setlist. It's long, yes; the second longest track on offer, in fact, but even as it is brimming with callbacks to older material, it has grown into a song I really enjoy listening to. I've complained loudly about their long songs on the last four or five albums being too stretched out, with too little variation, but on this album I feel the long tracks are sufficiently varied to maintain interest. The last half of "The Red and the Black" has many different parts, often supported by synthesizers, including one especially memory guitar harmony that is as classic Iron Maiden as it gets without being a direct rip-off of earlier material; it's a part that is reminiscent of a part in Opeth's "In Mist she was Standing" (Orchid, 1994), a simple but effective melody that gives me the feels all over, in the same way their guitar harmonies did on the first seven albums (the part starts at 09:40). I do wish they had more of these parts spread across the two discs, but I'm pretty happy with this one. It reminds me of all those guitar harmony parts from their older days that I cherish, like, for example, the part that begins at 02:28 in "The Duellists".

While a song like "The Red and the Black" can be considered a "safe" song in the sense that it is Iron Maiden through and through, the band does actually sound genuinely fresh elsewhere - something I failed to hear because I was so hanged up on the tempo of the songs. I wanted some kick-ass flurry of galloping Maiden, and a song like "If Eternity Should Fail", which kicks off the album, is building up rather slowly, turning into a great tune with some solid hooks that you may have missed on the first spin. Yes, you *can* go through each song and pick out the references to earlier material, but it is (with the possible exceptions of "The Red and the Black" and "Shadows of the Valley") never as unimaginative as what you get from, say, AC/DC or Slayer.

The energy is kicked up a notch in shorter bursts like "When the River Runs Deep" and "Death or Glory", with hard-rocking riffs. I prefer Maiden when they lean closer to metal (which is why "2 Minutes to Midnight" is my least favorite Powerslave track). Fortunately the songs do include more 'metallic' parts to keep me interested.

Another thing that I at first complained about was Bruce's vocals which I found too strained and grating. Many spins later, that problem too has disappeared, and at times I think he sounds great. Many - not all - vocal lines employed on the album sound fresh as well. There's no doubt it's Maiden, but I don't find myself remembering other songs as much as I do when listening to other post-Blaze works such as Dance of Death.

The Book of Souls, then, is a two-sided affair in more than one way. It is both new and old, it both invents and borrows. The album is a tad too predictable, perhaps, with no instrument standing out. The guitar solos just kind of drift by, and at no point do I raise my eyebrow in surprise at the drumwork. I kind of miss Steve's galloping bass, and at times the songs are a little too soft for my liking - but then again, these days I have Nile to satisfy my taste for the heavier, faster stuff.

Iron Maiden managed to turn me completely around with this one. The album truly needed some time to sink in, and now I can appreciate it for what it is. Yes, it could benefit from being more dynamic; yes, it is a bit long; yes, there's stuff you've heard them do better before.
Yes, it is predictable and many breaks and hooks you can see coming from a mile's distance, but Maiden has been around since the seventies, and it is a testimony to the durability of the genre that they can release a double album in 2015 with the essence of the early eighties largely intact. The Book of Souls takes the listener through all the Maiden nuances, from the slightly staccato riffs of the earliest albums, through the melodious epics and to the 'new' Maiden, which mixes hard rock, heavy metal, and acoustic instruments into one delectable whole.

I am very glad I gave this album a few more chances. Up the irons!
Oh, one final addendum - I had hoped the album's themes - most notable in the interior artwork - were more cohesive. There's no place on the album where the Mayan/Aztec influence of the artwork is represented sonically. Just an intro, like Exodus' "Pleasures of the Flesh", to give a song a "jungle"-feeling, would be nice. Most Maiden albums have some thematic link between art and music / lyrics, but I can't really find it on his one except for the lyrics of the title track.

Since reuniting in 2000, and actually going back earlier than that, Iron Maiden has been heavily into the writing of epics. In the classic days they nailed it a few times but they also swung and missed on duds now and then. Nowadays “epic” song writing turned into long and drawn out songs with a lot of repetition and little in the way of progressive song writing despite that label being applied to them. Well that all comes to a pinnacle on Book of Souls.

The apex of that is the 18 plus minute song “Empire of the Clouds”. A solo Dickinson number that starts off with a couple minutes of piano and orchestration before Bruce comes in with his tale of the airship R101. This goes on and on with the rest of the band throwing in an occasional part in the background to let you know they are there until around the 7 minute mark where we get a jumble of mediocre instrumental pieces slapped together that drags on and on and on until the song gets to the crash section where Bruce comes through with a very strained tone over a bit more hectic music before going back to the piano that started it all. The music is competently played, but not very interesting in any way. Guitar solos are there but have no real weight or emotion behind them to lift this piece of music to any heights or stick with you for much after that song has ended. I found myself constantly looking at the running time thinking this song must be nearing the end only to find there were a few songs worth of music left to go.

Other long meandering tracks include “The Red and the Black”. The music is by the numbers later Maiden and then you get the “Whoah, whoah” bits that just make me cringe. Harris must have been thinking of crowd chants with this one, but it just doesn’t work. With a 4 or 5 minute running time this could possibly be somewhat fun. Unfortunately its 13 minutes long. This is a problem with a lot of the material. The intro number “If Eternity Should Fail” has some good things going on but they left about 3 minutes of fat on it that desperately needed trimming. Long and repetitive doesn’t equal epic and progressive guys! This band really needs a producer who can get them to realize this, or new blood in the songwriting department. Oh Martin Birch we need you more than ever.

There are a couple shorter by the numbers rockers here as well like “Death or Glory” and “Speed of Light” which would fit on older Maiden albums. Speed of Light, as I’ve heard mentioned many times, would fit on No Prayer for the Dying fairly well. “Tears of a Clown” is a highlight, a mid tempo song about Robin Williams that fits well in Bruce’s vocal range and does not outstay its welcome. The riffs are not amazing but the tune comes together well. The best tune is “When the River Runs Deep”, which has a very pleasing flow to the chorus and moves as quick as we expect from Maiden these days during the verses, though it could use a bit of trimming as well.

As I’ve said Bruce sounds very strained at times, but other times is very powerful when not trying to hit higher notes. Being the air raid siren for all these years took a toll but he puts on a good performance. Nicko moves along predictably with little energy or power, which is disappointing for such a great drummer. Maiden was never really a riff based band, the melodies and excellent songwriting were they keys, but they always had interesting guitar work. On this one everything is played decently enough but there just isn’t any fire or passion in the playing. I don’t expect Maiden to push the envelope anymore but this is too bland and inoffensive, a major sin when you have so many long tracks. The production is a typical Kevin Shirley hack job with everything sounding lifeless and overly muffled, but what really surprises me is how low Harris is in the mix.

In the end if you thought the last few albums, The Final Frontier in particular, were great energetic Maiden albums you will probably enjoy this. For me it was all of the things that I disliked about those albums and then some. You could have probably pulled 8-10 solid 4-5 minute tunes from this but as it is its just a bloated record that drags too often.

Well, it's been five years since The Final Frontier, and I was beginning to think we may never again get a Maiden album. How wrong was I? Not only did we get a Maiden album, we got their best. Full of raw energy, passion and determination, this album is exceptional in every respect.

The album opens with "If Eternity Should Fail", a classic post-2000 track with everything you could want in a Maiden song. An atmospheric intro, a crunching riff, interwoven with the trademark Maiden gallop. From here on, the album goes above and beyond. "The Red and The Black" is full of brilliant musical intricacies that delight the ear, and please the mind. Harris is on top form here, showcasing his trademark gallop, and his tricky digits, fiddling around with his bass, like some kind of ordered madman! The first half of the double album is crammed full of juicy epics, oozing with creativity, interspersed with two shorter, punchy songs that hark back to the Maiden of old, while still standing tall on their own merits. The title track, "The Book of Souls", begins with a delightfully full and meaty riff, that Bruce's vocals cut through like a knife through butter. A powerful chorus follows, the kind that will make you want to belt the words out loud whilst doing some form of tribal war dance. It's that good. This isn't to discount the ferocity and melodic greatness of the previous tracks, which are good enough to warrant shelfspace with their best.

The musicianship is exceptional, and played with an energy not to be expected from any band, let alone one that is on their way to retirement age. The vocal performance by Bruce Dickinson is his best, and perhaps the best in metal full stop. Age adds a certain something to his voice that makes it perfect for this record. He is still hitting all of the notes he used to, and in many ways they sound better with age.

The second half leans more towards shorter songs, with "Death or Glory" being a prime example, that combine that classic Iron Maiden sound with progressive-slanted music. Maiden truly reach their musical peak on this disk, beating out anything they've ever produced. The greatest chorus Iron Maiden have ever created is to be found on, "When The River Runs Deep", an inspiring, heavy, melodic, and downright sexy track that incorporates some of the greatest riffs of all time. This is Maiden at their most creative, and that shines through on the last track. "Empire of the Clouds", an 18 minute long epic of mammoth proportions. It starts as a piano driven orchestral track before launching into over 7 minutes of instrumental riffing and solos. I am speechless. This is the finest album Iron Maiden, and indeed any metal band, have ever produced.

An extended hiatus can often be a troubling sign, particularly if it's a longstanding metal institution that has generally kept a certain rhythm to their output. This was particularly the case for one of metal's favorite forefathers Iron Maiden, who had maintained a strong presence throughout the new millennium with the reunification of the classic 1980s lineup that defined their widely lauded sound. But the passage of five years has not been marked by any kind of slump, or even a scaled back quantity of content, as their newly unleashed The Book Of Souls contains about five years worth of masterful songwriting, and manages to eclipse everything that they've accomplished since Adrian Smith first parted ways with the band at the close of the 1980s. Ambition defines every moment of this extended opus, drawing heavily upon the greatness of Maiden's past and packaging it in a massive collection of compositions that bears a fair degree of similarity to the epic and progressive character of A Matter Of Life And Death.

Naturally the throwback elements to days long past is obscured by a production quality that is more in keeping with where this band has been since Brave New World, having more of a smooth, hard rocking character to the guitars that is a bit less crunchy and high-end as their classic albums in Number Of The Beast and Powerslave, but it's a foregone conclusion that anybody seeking a sound like that should go to bands more interested in paying homage to the past such as White Wizzard and Striker, as Maiden has had their flag planted in a forward looking direction ever since their inception. This is made abundantly clear right at the album's very onset with the ambitious epic "If Eternity Should Fail", which was originally written for a future Dickinson solo album, and showcases a darker and more progressive side of Maiden, even when compared to their previous couple albums, using heavy amounts of keyboards to accomplish a dreary atmosphere and the closing things off with an even drearier droning acoustic guitar line at the end that's a tiny bit reminiscent of a Viking metal song out of Bathory's early 90s experiments.

While the inherent nods to past greatness may not manifest in a retro-sounding production, they do jump out in an obvious fashion at the listener in several other ways. Chief among these is a ratcheted up tempo factor, which while maybe note quite as fast as some of the more power metal-like moments on Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, are definitely a cut above the generally grooving and mid-paced character of the previous two albums. Such fun-filled cruisers as the Deep Purple infused single "Speed Of Light" and the flashy "When The River Runs Deep" definitely point to a revitalized sense of energy, particularly in the latter case which occasionally exhibits that semi-speed metal feel that permeated Powerslave, particularly on "Back In The Village" and "Aces High". On a similar note, the shuffling rocker "Death Or Glory" also manages to make a few overt nods to the 1980s, though with a bit more of that jazzy variety that was more a staple of the early 80s with Clive Burr at the kit.

However, despite a healthy collection of moderate length cruisers and rockers, The Book Of Souls spends most of its time reminding everyone why Maiden are the undisputed masters of the metal epic, unveiling a massive collection of songs the break the six minute mark and then some, with a surprisingly varied collection of songwriting credits among the Maiden crew, rather than Steve Harris taking all or most of the glory. On the humbler end of things are a couple of strong yet relatively by the numbers longer songs in "The Great Unknown" that showcases Harris and Smith recreating a somewhat subdued recreation of an early 90s Maiden atmospheric epic with a high climax point, while Dave Murray reverts back to his more sorrowful mode of balladry with an auspicious guitar solo right at the beginning with "The Man Of Sorrows", having some comparability to "Still Life" and "Deja Vu", though staying more on the subdued side than the climax points of said classics. Keyboards play a supportive role and provide additional atmosphere, but guitar and bass work is primarily where these songs get their power, along with a masterful set of vocal performances out of Dickinson.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't simply enough for Maiden to simply write a great album, but they saw fit to take the opportunity to engage in what can be described as a three person war over who could write the most ambitious song in the style, each one generally outdoing their own past works in the process. The haunting and mystical title song "The Book Of Souls" chronicles the mysterious fall of the Mayan Empire, and showcases Janick Gers' and Harris' ability to merge world music ideas into their formula and come out with a winner that would be the album's zenith were it not for two other colossal epics along for the ride. Harris sets out on his own to one-up his former longest work "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" with a similarly ambitious and generally grooving number, though it kicks off with a virtuoso acoustic bass intro that points to an obscure number he presented during the Blaze Bayley years in "Blood On The World's Hands", arguably the beginning of Maiden's foray into a more progressive sound. But surprisingly enough, and even by Harris' own admission, it's Bruce Dickinson who ends up carrying the day with a massive musical opera unto itself in "Empire Of The Clouds", which manages to incorporate Dickinson's own classical music inclinations in with a metallic assault that also leans heavily in the Powerslave direction for most of its duration.

It might be a bit presumptive to put this on equal footing with albums put out by this band when heavy metal music was on top of the world, but if there is a single album from Maiden's post-80s output that truly holds its torch high to the glory days of the NWOBHM when the style was hungry and clawing its way to the top of the mountain, this would be the one. It's chock full of every single thing that everyone who loves metal craves, from the flashy guitar solos and innovative songwriting to the exaggerated vocal work and lack of lyrical boundaries. It's an album that will make you think and bang your head at the same time, and often cause one to get completely lost in the moment so that its long duration seems far too short. More than 35 years down the road, and with no signs of slowing down, Iron Maiden has done it yet again. Here's to hoping that it's not the end of the road, but come what may, they've built a towering monument that will sure to be burning up everyone's speakers for years to come.

It's been five years since we last heard any new music from Iron Maiden, and now they're back with The Book of Souls, a 92-minute double album bigger and more colossal than anything they've ever done. Everyone pretty much already knows what they think of modern Maiden, and this album doesn't have any surprises – except, of course, for its leviathan-sized runtime. I think Maiden is one of the few old warhorses of the scene still putting out first rate music, and The Book of Souls is more exemplary material from metal's elder statesmen.

This is just a huge feast of music, and the old adage of “less is more” doesn't apply here – it's just Maiden making up for the years of absence with more new music than they've ever doled out. The songs are all classic-styled and upbeat, and does there need to be a very in depth explanation of what they sound like? The old formula of galloping, rocking riffs, crunching basslines and Bruce Dickinson's seemingly unstoppable powerhouse of a voice is in full force here. Dickinson, by the way, has to take the prize for the best sounding vocal performance ever given by a man with throat cancer on this.

The whole band sounds lively and invigorated, and the songs are catchy and resonant, as well as lyrically brilliant – weaving tales of apocalyptic intrigue, outerspace travel, moral quandries and Mayan mythology. Opener “If Eternity Should Fail” is a big, pounding anthem initially meant for Dickinson's side project, and it shows – he reaches into his midrange a bit more than usual and the lyrics are delightfully obscure and twisted. Great, heart-pounding excitement – an immediately pleasing song. Advance single “Speed of Light” sees the band unabashedly excited like they haven't been since at least “The Wicker Man,” and “The Great Unknown” sees a more pensive Maiden with brooding lyrics about mankind's future set over trudging riffs and melodious leads. The title track is a militaristic march with a cinematic flourish, with a proggier opening riff and some atmospheric keys opening up a 10-minute serpentine coil about the demise of the Mayans – a tremendous song.

“The Red and the Black” is a delirious 14 minutes of classic-styled twin-axe Maiden guitars penned by Steve Harris alone. The first half of the song sees Dickinson belting out some bizarre lines and lyrics either about mental illness or just the general malaise and confusion of life. The second half is just a long, rumbling instrumental slice of heaven for anyone who loves Maiden at their most long winded. The way the whole thing plays out is just great – sweet build-ups and hey, they even throw in a “woah-oh-oh” chorus for old time's sakes. This song is pretty much everything Maiden is about, recalling classic tracks like “Heaven Can Wait” and the Seventh Son title track, and it's so excessive and over the top that it's practically a revelation. A brilliant song.

The second disc opens up in fine form with “Death or Glory,” a charging, headstrong rocker with a shout-along chorus – sure to be fun live, and an instantly memorable, blood-pumping-good song. Then “Shadows of the Valley” opens up as the band's classic “Wasted Years” before digging into a rollicking riff and a powerhouse vocal performance – one of the album's most climactic moments that builds the most intensity. “Tears of a Clown” is a midpaced rock anthem with a catchy bass-line, special for the band, as it's a lyrical tribute to Robin Williams that ends up one of the album's more honest and heartfelt odes.

But the real attraction is “Empire of the Clouds,” an 18-minute epic. The opening pianos are heart-rending, and Dickinson's balladesque retelling of the R101 disaster is so good that you could swear he was right there in the midst of it when it was happening. This is easily the best song on the album. The band weaves a story in their traditional epic style, only done to its fullest extreme, and the whole thing is a spellbinding, extremely memorable experience. They kick into the galloping guitar runs and harmonies later on, and then after that Dickinson comes back in – the song as a whole is a rock opera epic. It's a spacious song that takes its time developing and is actually better for it.

Fighting the wind as it rolls you, feeling the beams as they push you along
Watching the channel below you, lower and lower into the night
Lights are passing below you, northern france asleep in their beds
Storm is raging around you, a million to one, that's what he said

Reaper standing beside you, wind inside cuts to the bone
Panicked to make a decision, experienced men asleep in their graves
Her cover is ripped and she's flooding, rain is flooding into the hull
Bleeding to death and she's falling, lifting gas is draining away

When I got into Maiden over a decade ago now, what attracted me to them was how they told these stories through their music, and transported you to different worlds and took you on adventures. To hear them do something like this makes my heart swell.

These are just good songs, with strong, catchy hooks and really good riffs and solos. The vocals are almost scary good for a man nearing 60. They are all built on emotional crests and the band's oft-maligned repetition in the songwriting is integrated even more seamlessly, and so the songs feel about half as long as they really are – and frankly, even if the band chose to write shorter songs, I'm not sure I'd want them to. The longer lengths and repetition serve as a nice workout that makes me feel I've gotten my money's worth, giving the band a real presence. On the more epic tracks, I can get lost in their tapestries of sound – though perhaps not as much here as The Final Frontier, an album that flowed near-perfectly as a veritable heavy metal epic.

And yeah – overall this is a more conventional and palatable Maiden album than they've done in a long time, with the band making the most references to their classic style in execution, arrangement and mood. I was expecting something a bit more experimental and epic, especially with the huge runtime announced earlier this year. By contrast, this is a more accessible set of songs than they've had in over a decade. But they're all so good that I can't really complain much.

The length is a bit of a tough sell, as how much time do any of us really have to sit down and listen to 92 minutes? It's unwieldy and weighty, and frankly it comes with all the flaws that would normally go with that length. It's just how it goes. The presentation of the copy I have is exquisite, a huge DVD-sized box with a book full of amazing pictures of Eddie doing things that look like a Romero interpretation of how the ancient Mayans lived - tons of blood and gore and badass poses, is all I can say. It's a fine packaging and a great little touch to add onto the album's experience.

It's just a kick ass album. Maiden is still a great band. Lyrically dense, musically ready and powerful, vocally outstanding – it's all good. They sound their age now, but they've weathered the storms well and they seem to have aged with grace. The songs here are too good to ignore, and I'm glad to see Maiden in such fine form in 2015.

Before any complaints, a brief word on the band's aging, and that pertaining to legacy. Iron Maiden are the only band of that age, aside from Saxon maybe, that have aged with grace. Where they could go the route that so many of their cohort have, and try their best to constantly burn as fast and bright as they did at 22, they've instead chosen a route that links their early identity (melodies carrying over riffing, the bass continuing to be a melodic presence, and tending towards the "epic" in their crafting of a song), while aging out of speed. Dudes are old. Dickinson is even showing age in a more palpable way here. But their reunion material has reflected a creative spark as bright as their early work, if not as impacting in some cases. Iron Maiden are the best at being an aged metal band. Bar none.

That said.

This album, beyond all of their later work, sounds tired. Not to the rehash jerk-off heights that Sabbath and Priest's new ones have been, but tired nonetheless. I'm not even referring to Dickinson so much in this. He was battling cancer, TONGUE CANCER, and sounds generally strong, if not uninterested, through most of this. But the compositions tend towards samey, and more sloppily put together than the past four. "The Red and the Black" in particular, is shockingly off in nearly every section shift. The production doesn't aid them here, as the digital cut ins are awkwardly un-finessed, but the writing before any recording is off in a way not generally present in Iron Maiden.

Likewise, there are rehashing issues. Now, I don't really care if bands revisit good ideas, and I'm well aware that the "Brave New World" intro progression has been on every album, sometimes multiple times, since Brave New World came out. But there are moments that are near identical, save for a slight shift. The intro to "Book of Souls" is nearly the same as the intro to The Final Frontier's "The Talisman." Much has been made of "Shadows of the Valley" straight up using the melody from "Wasted Years," and while I agree, it's strange no one made much hay about them using it in The Final Frontier's "Coming Home." In the title track, the tight fast section sounds an awful lot like "Losfer Words." I have zero problems with bands revisiting material that is thematically relevant in later work (See Satan's "Siege Mentality"), but it feels kind of desperate at times here. For a band that has always been rife with ideas, even if they weren't the best, it's uncomfortable to hear some level of what appears to be barrel scraping, if not outright pandering.

Album centerpiece"Empire of the Clouds," while a noble effort (and an original one in the Maiden canon), doesn't work. The theatrical nature of the material and execution call for maybe more collaboration than is present here. The drama feels like a first draft, and Dickinson, so often a very talented lyricist, falls short. His love of the material is evident, his ability to convey that in a fashion that doesn't fall into history book material is not. This song maybe most clearly presents the underdone ideas of so much of the songwriting.

This is particularly noticeable when presented against the many great ideas on the record. "If Eternity Should Fail" is a fucking winner. Evoking elements of Dickinson's "The Chemical Wedding" album (possibly due to the apparent contributions of Roy Z.), it combines vague elements of the arcane in its lyrics, with the straight ahead, aggressive stomp in it's composition. This is some heart wrenching shit. Album single "Speed of Light" bounces around without evoking much annoyance, and grows over time. Likewise, "The Great Unknown" and "When the River Runs Deep" pack a good amount of punch and substance, while not sinking back into the territory that other recent-ish Maiden rockers ("Wildest Dreams," "Different World," "The Pilgrim") have, as tracks rarely to be revisited.

Special mention should be made of the title track, where Steve Harris has fun for the first time in maybe 25 years. His supporting melody in the main riff not only sells the general pomp of the section, but adds an element of danger to it that isn't present in most Iron Maiden outside of the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album. This is undercut by an underdone production, unfortunately. As that big lumbering riff repeats, it is eventually followed by what I can only assume is Janick Gers' guitar, something that would have had near nuclear effect if pushed up a notch in the mix.

Scattered around that are nifty movements here and there, but the record as a whole feels kind of like a less aimed, but heavier Kansas album. This isn't a derision by a long shot, but it lacks, as an entity, the contemplative edge that Iron Maiden has instilled to make up for it's slower nature on the past recent albums. There are cool "look at that" sections in syncopation and melodic play (and counter play), but few can live up to the standards set up on the past four albums. There are victories to be had here, but harder fought than the gallows point-of-view of The Final Frontier, the cold war torn perspective of A Matter of Life and Death, the oddly celebratory take on Dance of Death, and the all out fucking hammer of Brave New World. This isn't to say any band is nailed to their past work, but in viewing these last albums as a mindset expanded upon, which, looking at the recurring motifs on the whole set, seems fair, The Book of Souls seems the least realized.

Iron Maiden is, has been, and will be, great. This one, unfortunately, is merely good.

Much has been made about Iron Maiden's decision to make their sixteenth studio effort a double album. The five year gap between this and The Final Frontier along with Bruce Dickinson's recent health scare lead one to theorize that the band felt the need to demonstrate their refusal to back down in the face of old age. On the other hand, over ninety minutes of music gives a lot of fuel for people who believe that the band's "progressive era" has grown more self indulgent with each successive release. The answer seems to be somewhere between these two ideas but The Book Of Souls manages to be an enjoyable listen either way.

For the most part, The Book Of Souls doesn't stray too far from the template that was used on A Matter Of Life And Death and The Final Frontier. The songwriting offers a good deal of variety but still largely matches upbeat tempos and drawn out structures under a darkly introspective umbrella. In an odd twist, Steve Harris's omniscient bass playing might be the least prominent it's ever been and Nicko McBrain's drums play more of a backing role to match. Fortunately, the triple guitar attack rolls with Kevin Shirley's muddy production job well enough and the strength of Bruce's vocal lines make up for any signs of strain.

Going along with that, there do seem to be a few more nods to the band's distant past than usual on here. "Speed Of Light" channels the hard rock grit better than anything on No Prayer For The Dying ever did and the title track is somewhere between "Seventh Son" and "Mother Russia" before hitting "Losfer Words" style speed metal at the halfway point. On the flip side, the intro to "Shadows Of The Valley" may be a little too close to "Wasted Years" for comfort and "The Red And The Black" attempts to match the tone of "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" but doesn't have enough going on to really justify the thirteen minute running time.

Fortunately, there are still a few curveballs bookending the album that keep things interesting. The synths and spacy vocal effects on "If Eternity Should Fail" make it a slightly jarring opener but the smooth transitions work well and the writing style wouldn't make it too out of place one of Bruce's solo albums. "When The River Runs Deep" uses similarly smooth transitions while the mid-tempo riffs on "Tears Of A Clown" make it one of the band's most straightforward tracks in some time.

And it would be blasphemy to not bring up "Empire Of The Clouds," an eighteen minute epic penned solely by Dickinson. While the lyrics are on an "Alexander The Great" level of dryness and the composition could probably have had a couple minutes trimmed in the middle, the piano driving the piece works quite well and it does have a more cinematic scale compared to many of Maiden's other epics. It's stuff like this and "If Eternity Should Fail" that make me hope Bruce has at least one more solo album left in him...

Even with its more ambitious nature, The Book of Souls just ends up being another good modern day Iron Maiden album. Anyone hailing this one as their best since [insert 80s classic here] hasn't properly acquainted themselves with Brave New World or The X Factor and anyone who says that this is too bloated has probably been saying that about the band in general for nearly a decade. Cutting "The Red And The Black" probably would've made this better than their last couple but not by a drastic amount. At the end of the day, you gotta the band credit for not getting lazy and for aging more gracefully than every other band at their level.

Highlights:
"If Eternity Should Fail"
"Speed Of Light"
"When The River Runs Deep"
"Tears Of A Clown"
"Empire Of The Clouds"

Iron Maiden are back from quietude, and boy howdy are they back with a vengeance. 'The Book of Souls' is a triumphant blend of progressive and classical Maiden elements. Bruce's voice is noticeably aged, yet elegant and strong. He knows his limits and strengths and plays them intelligently throughout. The album is well-paced, providing a good mix of short & long songs mixed together, and as a result you don't often feel drained. It truly is amazing that Iron Maiden have managed to maintain such a strong output in their later years. 'The Book of Souls' is an album that easily stands up against their earlier "golden days" material. In fact I would go so far as to say this album is better than a lot of their early-days material.

One thing I have to address, having seen a handful of negative or mediocre reviews is that I am so tired of these has-been, arrogant "glory days" rockers who compare everything Maiden does to 'Powerslave'. If you want to hear 'Powerslave', then go listen to 'Powerslave'. The album will always be there for you. But if you honestly expect Iron Maiden to release a 'Powerslave' part II then you're delusional and setting yourself up for disappointment. An album should always be judged by what it is, not what its predecessors are. So having said that, 'The Book of Souls' is a strong improvement over 'The Final Frontier', and easily stands up against their 80's hey-day material.

Split into two discs, this album gives you about 45 minutes of music per disc. "If Eternity Should Fail" opens the album with mysterious keyboard ambiance and melody, shortly followed by Bruce's soulful, reverberated voice. This song sets the precedent for the rest of the album, you're not in for traditional Maiden, this album is going to be unique, progressive, and keep you on your toes. The song is over 8 minutes long, but goes by at a brisk pace, ending unexpectedly, yet still satisfying.

"Speed of Light" and "When the River Runs Deep" are the more straightforward rockers on disc 1, the latter of which has a unique chorus sure to be great for live performance. Closing off disc 1 is the title track of the album, and easily one of the best on the album. Its main riff harks to "Mother Russia" with it's heavy, headbanging rhythm, and the chorus is absolutely spine-tingling in its beautiful melody.

Disc 2 kicks off with "Death or Glory", a bouncy tune with a surefire crowd-pleasing chorus, followed by "Shadows of the Valley", which begins with a lick fairly similar to the famous intro of "Wasted Years". Despite that similarity it slowly burns into a fierce explosion of galloping and one of the best choruses on the album. The highlight of disc 2, however, is "Tears of a Clown", which is about Robin Williams' fight with depression, and "Empire of the Clouds", a lovely epic featuring Bruce on piano.

"Empire of the Clouds" is a somewhat frustrating song, as it displays genuine creativity and wonderful soul, but is held back by a mid-section that plays a guitar lick for entirely far too long (7:20-10:04). Had they cut these sections down to a shorter length the song would have been much stronger. For this reason, "Empire of the Clouds" is probably the weakest song on the album, despite its heart warming moments.

The production on this album is phenomenal. It's tight and has a subtle live sound, it really does feel like you're sitting in the studio with Iron Maiden while they play these songs for you. 'The Book of Souls' is proof that Iron Maiden is the greatest metal band. The first disc is 10/10, and disc 2 is more heartfelt and ponderous in pace. Iron Maiden show no signs of slowing down or deterioration, this is A-Grade certified Maiden. Up the irons!

When it comes to thinking up insulting puns for albums I don’t like, I like to make sure that my chosen epithet reflects the content of the music itself. Before hearing “The Book of Souls”, I had decided that, if it ended up being another post-reunion Maiden effort full of bloated, mid-tempo songs, I would refer to it forevermore as “The Book of Snores”. Yet, having heard the material, I have settled on “The Book of Sucks”. As a piece of wordplay it’s witless, predictable, done-before, completely lacking in any energy, novelty or creativity… it simply makes you want to groan – just like the music on this album.

“The Book of Sucks” plays out like a parody of an aging heavy metal band. If Hollywood’s interested in making another Spinal Tap movie, perhaps turning it into a cringeworthy bromance comedy about ancient rockers, they needn’t bother – just send a few cameras and a few Adam Sandlers along with the forthcoming Book of Sucks World Tour. Listening to this record is like being beaten over the head with a baseball bat by a tag team of Mr. Burns and Grampa Simpson. From the get-go, there’s this niggling feeling that you’re about to be subjected to an hour and a half of unyieldingly feeble, lethargic attempts at headbanging by some confused old men who keep forgetting where they are or what they’re doing. For the music on this album is positively senile; a confused melange of barely-remembered thoughts of the good old days. Nearly every riff and melody on this record sounds like a geriatric, watered-down version of a riff or melody from one of Iron Maiden’s previous records.

The longer tracks, in particular, have barely anything resembling a coherent structure, jumping from throwaway motif to throwaway motif. Many Iron Maiden diehards sneer at those who criticise this approach, insisting that Maiden has become “more progressive” and that those who don’t like it are somehow too bone-headed to appreciate their newfound musical eclecticism (N.B. Hollywood, don’t forget to throw in an interview with one of these pompous zealots for some easy comic gold), but there is nothing “progressive” about this sort of thing. It’s just an endless jumble of ideas that don’t really seem to flow or go anywhere. It’s clear this is a band that’s out of ideas, trying to compensate by jumbling and extending those ideas.

Those songs – mostly the shorter ones - that do have some sort of flow (for example, “Death or Glory”, “When the River Runs Deep”) are still a tad too slow to really get going and often just sound like throwbacks to older, better, more energetic songs. “Shadows of the Valley” is just a more tepid version of “The Fallen Angel” from “Brave New World” with the intro from “Wasted Years” chucked on the front end.

This brings us to the production. Part of the reason “The Fallen Angel” sounds better, despite being musically very similar, is that “Brave New World” had a much fuller, more metallic production. Not that the first reunion effort was without its production problems, but the last few Iron Maiden albums have had a thin, reedy sound to them, with Dickinson’s voice way too high in the mix. You’d never know that this was a band with four guitars from the production of this record.

The only time the guitars cut through the mix is during the guitar solos, which, across the whole album, are over-used, forgettable and mostly pointless. Adrian Smith has been the stand-out player since re-joining the band, but even he offers very little interesting here. Janick Gers is still standing at the side doing a jig with Eddie, just waiting to ruin another song with his comically bad leads, while Dave Murray has gone AWOL, with absolutely none of the flair and speedy legato that made him famous. So forgettable is his playing that, after listening, I find myself unable to remember him doing anything on this record. I feel like I’m merely inferring he was there from the credits and the fact that I’m sure I’d have heard if he’d died or something. It sounds like the guitarists just played the first thing that came into their heads, so they could get back to their round of golf/fishing. They deserve to have their parts drowned out by Shirley's crap production.

Bruce Dickinson sounds like Bruce Dickinson, still a very believable as the same man who sung “Hallowed be thy Name” all those years ago. Bits of his higher register sound strained, but he’s still on form. Yet a good singer is worthless if the music doesn't have good dynamics, and the dynamics of this record are, as with the last few Maiden outings, dreary and dire. Nearly every single second of music here is played in 4/4 (I think I heard one groove on “Tears of a Clown” that bucked the trend and a bit near the end of “Empire of the Clouds”), all within a horrible mid-tempo pocket that is something of a death trap for a band trying to play heavy metal – not quite fast enough to be energetic, head-banging, thrashy stuff, not slow enough to develop a good, crunching groove. You can actually skip across random points in the album and be fairly sure that you’ll find Nicko plonking away at his ride cymbal at around 160bpm. It’s sad to hear such a cool drummer apparently phoning it in like this, but it’s not his fault – he does what he can with the music, but he’s just so limited by Steve Harris’ tired songwriting skills. I actually recommend playing tracks like “Speed of Light” sped up – a hackneyed trick to restore the honour of Hackney’s greatest drummer.

I can’t see what the argument was for making this record a double album. If you took out the bloat, you’d be almost all the way to filling a single album that would rank among the better outings of the post-reunion Iron Maiden. This is definitely one of those records where the presence of some awful songs somehow tarnishes the better tracks. “When the River Runs Deep”, “Death or Glory” and “Shadows of the Valley” all pass muster as simple, solid post-reunion Iron Maiden – not a patch on the old stuff and fairly derivative, but quite listenable – but, nestled among the turgid dross that makes up most of this album, you spend these brief moments of heavy metal just waiting for Abe and Burns to pick up the baseball bat again.

The longer songs of the album are one of its defining features. “Empire of the Clouds” in particular is worth a mention, as it was touted by early reviewers as some sort of masterpiece that would redefine the way people looked at Iron Maiden. Variously, I heard it described as “revolutionary”, “emotional”, and a “magnum opus” – a sample of just some of the saccharine paeans that were flowing around this track before the record was released. I have to say, I am absolutely baffled. This has to be one of the most absurdly turgid, unexciting songs ever written in heavy metal. I remember thinking Judas Priest had lost the plot with “Lochness”; by writing a slow, plodding song about an imaginary Scottish plesiosaur that went on for thirteen and a half minutes, they had gone full Tap in my mind. But I was a naïve fool: here, we have an eighteen minute long slow rocker telling the tale of an old airship, featuring the model number, proper aeronautical terminology, corny strings and brass, and a section where they play in Morse code - and that description pretty much covers everything you need to know about this song. If Maiden ever want to top this attempt to out-Tap-the-Tap with overblown, bloated, comically-pompous songs about unlikely subjects, they will have to indulge us with a 34-minute epic tale of the events that led to the construction of an ancient Welsh commode, featuring a guest soliloquy by Ian McKellen (as the chief commode engineer's conscience), a three-way shred sitar harmony performed by a hologram of Ravi Shankar, and a full lights show in the recording studio which will be so grandiose and epic and amazing you'll actually hear the lights as you listen.

Some will point to songs like “Empire of the Clouds” as evidence of Maiden trying new things, rubbishing my earlier claim that the album lacks innovation and sounds tired and derivative. But there is a difference between trying new things, and just re-arranging old ones. Iron Maiden’s big problem, when it comes to trying new things, is that they still only play within the confines of their trademark style. Whether this is because that’s all they enjoy, whether it’s because their musical knowledge is limited, or whether it’s because they don’t want to disappoint the fans, it’s difficult to say, but; stretch it to 18 minutes, throw in pianos, do whatever you want: it’s still the same stuff: galloping guitar rhythms, ride cymbals galore, soaring vocals, dual guitar breaks, that low-distortion Stratocaster guitar sound, lyrics about film and history – it’s Iron Maiden! Steve Harris clearly sees himself as a musical experimenter, but his expectations constantly come up against the reality that Iron Maiden is a “formula” band in the vein of AC/DC or Slayer. The “experimental” songs Maiden tries just sound like they threw old ideas into a tombola, then drew them until they got 10-minutes-plus of song. It’s not real musical experimentation at all. Judas Priest is a good comparison point; a band that doesn’t have to reinvent the musical wheel to make each of their albums sound unique and distinct, that can bend their style in lots of different ways while still remaining, at the core, a recognisable heavy metal brand. Iron Maiden doesn’t seem capable, or willing, to do this, and so is stuck, trying to sound fresh within the straitjacket of their 35-year-old formula.

Therefore this record, like the last few, falls flat because it unnecessarily jumbles a classic formula in a vain effort to sound fresh and innovative. It sounds like Iron Maiden, but slower, more pompous and generally less exciting.

So if it’s still Maiden, but not Classic Maiden, then what is the music on this record? The most common refrain from fans of the post-reunion style is that the band has moved more into the realms of prog. Given the wealth and diversity of exciting, original progressive metal music that has been released since Iron Maiden debuted, this claim seems pretty absurd, and merely smacks of the hardcore fans’ desperation to justify the ponderousness of the band’s music. In the driest sense, you could claim this record is prog-power, but the problem is: while it ticks a lot of the boxes, it ultimately lacks both prog and power. What we have here is best described simply as “post-reunion Iron Maiden”, a tepid, aging affair that sounds like no other band out there, but only because no other band out there could get away with playing such cumbrous, elephantine dad rock.

If you like that style, then I imagine you’ll enjoy this record – its positives are basically that Dickinson’s still on form and the band is still sounding very much like Iron Maiden - but if you think that outings like “The Final Affront to the Ears” have been forgettable and sub-par, then, like me, you’ll leave “The Book of Sucks” gathering dust, hoping that, if there’s a next time, Iron Maiden will come up with something a little more exciting. Because, if they intend to continue in this vein, there’s little hope of another great heavy metal record from this band. Perhaps they should conclude the forthcoming Book of Sucks World Tour with a full performance of “Empire of the Clouds”, culminating in a real airship crashing into the arena, killing everyone. It’s what their idols-apparent Spinal Tap would do, and at least they’d be going out with some of the fire and spectacle that once made them the most exciting band in heavy metal.

British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden are back with a colossal new release covering two discs and a whopping running time of ninety-two minutes. Those who were afraid that this epic release might be even more progressive, lengthy and harder to digest than the cacophonic ‘‘The Final Frontier‘‘ five years earlier, can relax and breathe again. Despite many overlong tracks, the eleven diverting new songs sound more structured than the material on the last studio album. The six artists go back to the classical heavy metal sound with some minor progressive guitar sounds as on ‘‘Powerslave’’ and ‘’Somewhere in Time’’. The record also has a few darker tones that remind of ‘‘The X-Factor‘‘ and especially ‘‘A Matter of Life and Death‘‘. The record this new output is best compared to is though the underrated ‘‘Dance of Death‘‘ because of this release’s enormous diversity.

Bruce Dickinson’s vocals sound even higher and more skilled but also more joyous and natural than on ''Dance of Death''. The bass sound on this album is a little bit less dominant than usual but still perfectly audible and the album even includes a short bass solo in the beginning of the classical epic ‘’The Red and the Black’’. The twin guitar leads are as melodic as always and the record includes a few solid but maybe slightly too experienced solo parts. Adrian Smith adds some progressive guitar sounds in the dynamic ‘’When the River Runs Deep’’, Janick Gers has a weakness for almost folk-influenced guitar leads as in the rather average title song ‘’The Book of Souls’’ and Dave Murray is the man for calm and psychedelic retro guitar leads as in the appeasing ‘’The Man of Sorrows’’ that needs numerous spins to grow on the listener. Nicko McBrain’s drum patterns and fills sound a little bit too experienced as his performance is probably the least spectacular on this album. His fills in ‘’Speed of Light’’ sound exactly the same as in ‘’El Dorado’’, ‘‘Different World‘‘ and ‘‘Wildest Dreams‘‘ before and he could have tried out a few new things here and there.

The production is quite straight and transmits a dynamic live in studio atmosphere. This record can’t mess with the crystal clear and powerful sound of ‘‘Powerslave‘‘ and the likes but along with the rejuvenated and straight unmastered sound of ‘‘A Matter of Life and Death‘‘, this record might have the best production since ‘‘Fear of the Dark‘‘. The simplistic yet effective album cover also shows a more grounded approach where the band goes back to basics.

The best new tracks are written by singer Bruce Dickinson. ‘‘If Eternity Should Fail‘‘ is the best opener in at least two decades and comes around with a creepy and psychedelic atmosphere in the introduction and the epilogue while the centerpiece of this track is powerful, diversified and yet catchy with an incredible vocal performance. ‘‘Empire of the Clouds‘‘ is one of the band’s very best album closers and feels like a cinematic experience for all your senses. Bruce Dickinson is a gripping storyteller who introduces us to a topic he really cares about and the way he narrates, sings and whispers this track is authentic, diverting and intense. As if this wasn’t enough, the song constantly shifts and changes hand in hand with the dramatic story without losing momentum or a clear guiding line. Bruce Dickinson’s piano performance might not be spectacular but it fits and adds a credible dose of atmosphere to the tune along with some chilling orchestral passages. There is no doubt that both songs by Bruce Dickinson are among the very best tracks in the band’s stunning career. These two tracks should become instant band classics.

Those who like it less ambitious and but more focused, should try out the powerful and raw single ‘’Speed of Light'' that works very well in the album context, the catchy and more enthusiastic ‘’When the River Runs Deep’’ that would make a great second single, the simple yet efficient ''Death or Glory‘‘ that opens the second disk or the charming and melodic ‘‘Shadows of the Valley‘‘ that includes some memorable ‘‘Somewhere in Time‘‘ reminiscences. These songs might not be the most original ones in the band’s impressive career but they stand for the band’s rekindled lust for music. You can feel and hear how much the band must have enjoyed creating these new songs together before the shocking news that Bruce Dickinson had a cancer that surfaced right after the recording process. I'm convinced that all these tracks have the potential to become immediate live anthems.

If you took a look at the band’s past few records, you would realize that Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith have added the most interesting new songs to the band’s extensive repertory while Steve Harris and Dave Murray kept repeating themselves. That’s also the case on this release. Dave Murray’s calm ‘‘The Man of Sorrows‘‘ sounds like the timid little brother of ‘‘The Man Who Would Be King‘‘ and needs a lot of patience to grow. Steve Harris is clearly running out of ideas on ‘‘The Red and the Black‘‘ which is clearly too long and repetitive to work efficiently. Iron Maiden's mastermind also copies several of his very own songs like ‘‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner‘‘, ‘‘Heaven Can Wait‘‘ and ‘‘Blood on the World’s Hands‘‘ in this track. Even though they are not plain horrible, Harris‘ and Murray’s songs are clearly the weakest on an otherwise surprisingly diverting, organic and passionate double-album.

In the end, Iron Maiden’s new release proves that this band is still alive and kicking. ‘‘The Book of Souls‘‘ mixes the band’s greatest inspirations from the past with a few new elements brought in by a very creative Bruce Dickinson. Even though the album might have been one or two tracks shorter, this release is a highly diverting trip for any heavy metal fan. Most bands that have been around for four decades fail to equal their successes from the bast and deliver lukewarm new material as a pretext for new touring opportunities. Iron Maiden though delivers a very good new release that might not beat their very best releases but which is far above their most disappointing outputs. This new record is in the upper high-quality middle section of the band’s studio outputs and while this position might only be of a good average quality for a band like Iron Maiden, there is no doubt that this fiercely glowing genre highlight easily beats any similar release of the past decade. Up the Irons!