Iron Maiden - Brave New World
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Music Reviews of Brave New World
Music Review: The original Kings of Metal reclaim their crown !
Rating: 5 Stars
Firstly I should point out that I am not a slavish devotee of the "Irons" and came to this album with a totally unbiased approach. I was greatly impressed, this is certainly the best Maiden album since Stranger In A Strange Land and the best Metal release for some years. This album stands as proof that this genre of music can be musically intricate, melodic and lyrically inteligent without losing any of it's impact or intensity. OK, there is nothing radically new from Maiden here but they certainly sound fresh and hungry. In any case, when a band sounds this on top their game why change anything? The subject matter of the songs is varied and genuinely interesting (no album full of songs about Satan or girls and cars for these guys!) The musicianship is as proficient as ever and if anything Bruce's vocal performance is his best yet (check out the closing bars of "A Thin Line Between Love And Hate" for proof.) I was particularly struck with the way the rhythm section is so tight yet the drum and bass sound in places retains a very live "ragged" feel reminicent of the vibe from the best Indie or thrash bands. The production is clean and crisp and yet manages to still sound heavy and the album comes alive when played on a decent system at an unreasonable volume! For some reason classic English Metal has always seemed more authentic than the rather more theatrical approach of it's American counterpart, and for me this generally means that the music has rather more longevity and depth (don't start sending hate mail - I love US metal too it's just a different approach.) These guys are as English as they come. The appeal of Maiden has always been their musical dexterity, the unusual themes of their songs and perhaps most importantly the complex tempo changes. This time around Maiden demonstrate all of these elements perhaps better than ever before. Standout tracks? They all standout!! But checkout "Wicker Man" the aforementioned "Thin Line" and "Dream In Black and White" for starters. You will soon find that the other tracks become equal favourites after successive listens. Finally, if you're not already convinced about this one let me finish by saying that having been a committed Metalhead since the age of 12, I became disalusioned with the scene in the early nineties and moved onto Indie, Pop, Jazz, Dance even Country! This album reaffirmed my love of the music and I am a committed fan once more. Buy it, Play it, Love it ! Up the Irons.Music Review: A Masterpiece, but not much more.
Rating: 5 Stars
Iron Maiden's 12th studio album is absolutely a masterpiece. There is no doubt about that. I'll start by giving you some brief info about each of the 10 songs, and let me point out that all of them (and I want to emphasize the word "all") hit perfection in their own style. The album kicks off with the amazing fast-paced "The Wicker Man". It's my favorite of the album, just like the Golden-era Maiden. It reminds me Aces High quite a bit. The chorus is great and the solo's in between the verses will get you hooked in seconds. The next songs, Ghost of the Navigator and the title song are considered by many to be the best of the album. I find both of them very nice, but that's it. Something is missing in them to make them the real album killers. The 4th track is the killer, Blood Brothers, clocking at over seven minutes, this ballad will not be forgotten soon. I can't express it in word, you just have to buy it. Number 5, The Mercenary, is another catchy tune, very polished indeed. Dream Of Mirrors features Dickinson (which is back by the way) at his very best. The only fault with the song is that it's a little too long (9:21 minutes), and gets a bit repeatative. Track no. 7 is The Fallen Angel, an under-estimated masterpiece, in the same genre of The Wicker Man but a bit lighter. Next one is The Nomad, a song with great oriental influences, mostly instrumental, great! Out Of The Silent Planet is the second single off the album, and is another catchy tune, with fast changes in the music between the verses this promises to become another classic. The last song, The Thin Line Between Love & Hate, is one of my favorites, featuring great solo's inbetween, an ingenious chorus and also amazingly good lyrics. All in all, this is a great album. Very polished and pertaining to the highest quality. However, don't expect The Number Of The Beast pt. 2. This album does lack some of the excitement of earlier releases (much earlier perhaps). Maiden doesn't need to prove who they are to anybidy, and it shows: They came to do their job, and produced a very high quality heavy metal album like they could do, but without some of the excitement of the 80's. Still, this is the best Iron Maiden album in a very long time, and surely the best release of the year 2000. More than that, the legendary Bruce Dickinson and the great guitarist Adrian Smith are back, featuring a triple guitar attack, and almost the same line-up of the Maiden's golden era, which makes this album a must buy.LONG LIVE HEAVY METAL!
Music Review: At last Iron Maiden is Iron Maiden again
Rating: 5 Stars
Incredible comeback. After 4 poor (relatively) albums that let us down, they release another masterpiece, with Adrian that quitted in 1990 and Bruce that left at the late 1993. Now don't get me wrong, I actually liked Fear of the Dark and also kinda X factor. And finally they got rid off this Blaze, who wasn't baf but didn't suite the band (check out his solo effort Sillicon Messiah which BTW also got out in 2000). Now with 3 guitarists they destroy almost everthing is out now. While this is not Maiden's very best, a top 5 album and IMO their best since Powerslave (1984).
This is how I rate the songs:
The Wickerman (15/10): Best song on the album. The biggest hit off it and best album opener since 'Aces High'. Great groove, solos and vocals.
Ghost of the Navigator (10/10): Amazing intro. Kinda progressive song, also great chorus.
Brave New World (9/10): A great title track, great melody, kinda repetitive chorus. Great but IMO not par on other title tracks like Killers, NOTB, Powerslave, Seventh Son, FOTD and Dance of Death but all those are classics.
Blood Brothers (10/10): Amazing ballad. It was dedicated for Steve's father who passed away during the bands tour. Awesome intro.
The Mercenary (7.5/10): Repetetive, decent verse, awesome chorus. Go figure....
Dream of Mirrors (9/10): The first epic and thelongest song on the album. Although it kinda drags out in the end it's still great nontheless.
The Fallen Angel (10/10): Very underrated, awesome from the beginning to the end and is also the heaviest song on the album.
Nomad (10/10): Fans of 'To Tame a Land' and 'Powerslave' (title track) would probably love this song, it's great middle-eastern-esque epic with awesome interlude. F**king awesome solos and Bruce really shines here. Aside from The Wickerman this is my favorite song here.
Out of the Silent Planet (5/10): Average... Never really got into this one. Very annoying and repetetive song.
The Thin Line Between Love And Hate (8/10): A good album closer. It's the 3rd epic song off the album, however I didn't really like it at the first time.
Too bad they are not energetic like in the early 80's when they were releasing constantly albums. Although now they released a live album 'Death on the Road' and another hits collection (that is better than the previous collections but generally it sucks) and two years ago another studio album.
Music Review: This album is worth 5 TIMES 5 STARS!!!
Rating: 5 Stars
I had almost given up on Iron Maiden ever releasing another album after Blaze Bayley took over as vocalist after 'Fear of the Dark'. IM had been going downhill a little since Seventh Son... and then Bruce Dickinson left and IM released two albums I just couldn't really stand (but have recently given them second chances and liked them). Not that 'X-Factor' and 'Virtual XI' were wastes of time, it's just that I was ticked off that Bruce had left and might not be coming back...Then 'Brave New World' was released and I heard "The Wicker Man" on the radio and thought, "Who the hell is that that sounds like Iron Maiden/Bruce Dickinson?!" I couldn't believe it. I did a quick search on Amazon.com and found this album, almost 4 years ago now. I still pull this album out almost on a weekly basis and listen to it, and I still can't believe how they've recaptured the "old sound" from their earlier days. This album is a masterpiece that never gets old. By far my favorite album they've ever released, I'm now just hoping they will be able to release another one soon and be able to at least come close to it. And if not, then they have certainly capped off an amazing career with an excellent comeback that I never thought they had in them.
I like every single song on this album and can't really pick a favorite. There is a complete range of styles from melodic ballads to heavy powerhits that are all equally top-notch in their own ways. There's not a bad song on this album, but depending on what mood I'm in at the time, I might prefer one or more songs over the others (temporarily). I don't see how they can ever top this album, but I can still hope...
Lyrically and acoustically one of the best albums of all time. Only Blind Guardian and Iced Earth can compete, and then only because depending on which mood I'm in at the time I prefer different things.
I don't really care to write song-by-song reviews (but I do enjoy reading other peoples' reviews of them!) so I will just say this:
The thought-provoking, lyrically sweet songs. Most have slow, driving tempos that hint of what's to come (the heavy, highly-singable choruses):
*Ghost of the Navigator
*Brave New World
*Blood Brothers
*Dream of Mirrors
*The Thin Line Between Love and Hate
The driving, heavy, non-stop metal songs that you can't help but turn up really loud!:
*The Wicker Man
*The Mercenary
*The Fallen Angel
*The Nomad
*Out of the Silent Planet
Music Review: So Far, So Good...So Up the Irons!
Rating: 3 Stars
Okay based on a very limited number of listenings, I offer tentatively MHO.
First I don't forsee "Brave New World" becoming one of my all time favorite Iron Maiden albums. The standard set by "The Number of the Beast" and "Powerslave"is too high to set this collection of songs above those records. "BNW" is lacking in the nasty truly great riffs and hooks of songs like "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "2 Minutes to Midnight". I can't fairly compare this album to the Blaze albums or even "Fear of the Dark" because, I must confess, the last Maiden album I bought before this was "No Prayer for the Dying" and it wasn't long before I sold it off or started using it as coaster or something. "BNW" is definitely is better than that. The production is great. Bruce is in fine form and the three guitars work rather well. The melodies are outstanding. Steve reigns in his bad prog-rock latter day Fates Warning tendencies and the songs overall are strong. As I said I just miss the great riffs and hooks. If this album continues to grow on me I could see it supplanting "Killers" or "Piece of Mind" at 3rd or 4th respectively on my favorite Maiden album list. It reminds me most of "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" which I never thought was that great of a record for the same weaknesses I've enumerated on "BNW". However "BNW" rocks harder than "SSOASS" and is stronger overall. Also I find "BNW" already much more interesting than the boring and over-hyped "Somewhere in Time." So I guess I would place "BNW" firmly in the second tier of Maiden's work for now. It isn't their best work, but it easily outshines their weaker albums. Time and repeated listenings will determine if this album holds this to it's place on my list or if it moves up.
My list of favorite Iron Maiden albums as of 5/31/00:
1. The Number of the Beast 2. Powerslave 3. Killers 4. Piece of Mind 5. Iron Maiden 6. Brave New World 7. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 8. Somewhere in Time 9. No Prayer for the Dying
As I said before, due to the disappointingly poor quality of the work on "NPFTD" I gave up on buying new Maiden albums after that. So I have no familiarity with "FOTD," "The X Factor," and "Virtual XI." I don't know; maybe the fact that "BNW" can debut so high on my personal list is recommendation in itself. I hope this helpful to prospective buyers.
Update 2005: This is now my thirdfavorite Iron Maiden album: Five Stars!