Iron Maiden released their fourth studio album in 1983, and one of the five best in their entire history, the mythical ‘Piece of Mind’.
For 1983, Iron Maiden He had three albums to his credit: Iron Maiden, killers and The Number of the Beast. On May 16 of that year, it was released on the market. piece of mindthe Iron Maiden’s fourth album, a step forward in which the band took their trademark heavy metal to new musical and lyrical levels.
The second album with the vocalist Bruce Dickinson up front sounds fresh and inspired. This was emphasized by the leader and bassist Steve Harris to journalist Mick Wall in the band’s official biography Run to the Hills:
“piece of mind He was special. We felt like we were at the top, and that mood can be heard on the album. But above all, it was the songs. Between all of us, I thought that this time we had hit the nail on the head”.
The disc was the first to have nick mcbrain (ex-Trust, Pat Travers), who replaced Clive Burr on drums. In this way, the historic formation of Maiden was consolidated: Harris, McBrain, Dickinson and the guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. McBrain demonstrated his prowess early on on complex tracks like “Where Eagles Dare.”
In the musical aspect, the album starts from the metal base of its predecessor, The Number of the Beast, but there is a greater technical risk and musical skill in each of the Maiden members. We must also highlight the impeccable production work that he did martin birchwhich made the Maidens sound big, clean and bright.
piece of mind turned out to be a resounding sales success, surpassing The Number of the Beast on the Billboard 200 (#14 vs. #33) and trailing just behind on the UK Albums Chart (#3). In the same way, the critics elevated the disc to the highest. At present, the album is considered one of Iron Maiden’s top five.
the letters of piece of mind
One aspect to take into account in the album that concerns us are the literary and cinematographic inspirations that the band used to put together the lyrics of this album, and that we review below:
“Where Eagles Dare”: the theme is inspired by the novel written by Alistair Stuart MacLean and the film of the same title with Clint Eastwood as protagonist.
“Revelations”: evokes the writings of GK Chesterton and the philosophy of the occult magician Aleister Crowley.
“Flight of Icarus”: It is based on the Greek myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus, who were imprisoned by order of King Minos of Crete. To escape, they made wings out of real feathers and wax. Young Icarus flew very close to the sun and his wings melted; he died when he plummeted into the sea.
“Die With Your Boots On”: is inspired by the Cold War and the fear of a nuclear catastrophe.
“The Trooper”: The great classic of the Maiden is inspired by Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem of 1854, “The charge of the light brigade”, which tells us about the charge of the English cavalry in the Crimean war.
“Still Life”: His lyrics are based on a book by Ramsey Campbell titled The Inhabitant of the lake and less welcome tenants (1964). The story is about a person who constantly sees spirits at the bottom of a lake, goes mad and ends up committing suicide along with a female company.
Quest for Fire: is inspired by the film directed by Jean-Annaud and the novel on which it was based: The war of the feuby author JH Rosny.
“Sun and Steel”: the lyrics tell us about the adventures of the brave samurai Mityamoto Musashi.
“To Tame a Land”: in this case, the inspiration comes from Dunethe science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert.
Forty years after its launch, piece of mind It remains one of Iron Maiden’s best albums, a sign of their constant evolution, as well as a milestone in classic heavy metal.
SMASH VERDICT: 5 Stars
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