Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
EMI Records - 1983
By Adam McAuley
This can be your classic album pick for a while. Piece of Mind is certainly one of the most deserving albums in the band's early period to be worthy of a review. Often people will take The Number of the Beast, Powerslave or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son or others as their favorite of Iron Maiden's discography, but for some reason this has always struck a chord with me. Perhaps it's because of one of Bruce Dickinson's most acrobatic vocal performances, the constantly driving pace of the album or a couple of Iron Maiden's most underrated tracks, but this is really one of the most well-rounded, exciting and interesting overall albums in their discography as well. It also coincides nicely with the new Iron Maiden album's review on Ultimate Metal.
The tracks that really stick out for me on Piece of Mind are "Revelations", "Flight of Icarus" and "To Tame a Land", which are all among the most underrated of the Iron Maiden catalogue. Both "Revelations" and "To Tame a Land" are a couple of their most epic songs and contain absolutely splendid contrast of more riff-oriented heavier sections with soothing lighter ones. They'll be stuck in your head for long periods of time, for certain. But otherwise, Piece of Mind is quite a consistent album and just brimming with energy and enough variation to keep you interested for ages. It seems like all of their best elements coagulate into possibly even their best release in my opinion. The playing is consistently enjoyable and they avoid filler at every moment, in comparison to The Number of the Beast or Powerslave, which have a couple of throw-away tracks like "Gangland" and "The Duellists".
Piece of Mind is just a roller-coaster ride from start to finish making it possibly the most essential of all of Iron Maiden's releases. The first first few songs in particular on the album are simply unmatched by almost any other one in the world and set the stage for a completely enthralling release through and through. When picking up Iron Maiden's albums, don't forget one of their most underrated albums that is often not given enough attention compared to some of their other releases. Piece of Mind is simply a stunning work from from beginning to end.
9.7/10
Official Iron Maiden Website
Official EMI Records Website
EMI Records - 1983
By Adam McAuley
This can be your classic album pick for a while. Piece of Mind is certainly one of the most deserving albums in the band's early period to be worthy of a review. Often people will take The Number of the Beast, Powerslave or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son or others as their favorite of Iron Maiden's discography, but for some reason this has always struck a chord with me. Perhaps it's because of one of Bruce Dickinson's most acrobatic vocal performances, the constantly driving pace of the album or a couple of Iron Maiden's most underrated tracks, but this is really one of the most well-rounded, exciting and interesting overall albums in their discography as well. It also coincides nicely with the new Iron Maiden album's review on Ultimate Metal.
The tracks that really stick out for me on Piece of Mind are "Revelations", "Flight of Icarus" and "To Tame a Land", which are all among the most underrated of the Iron Maiden catalogue. Both "Revelations" and "To Tame a Land" are a couple of their most epic songs and contain absolutely splendid contrast of more riff-oriented heavier sections with soothing lighter ones. They'll be stuck in your head for long periods of time, for certain. But otherwise, Piece of Mind is quite a consistent album and just brimming with energy and enough variation to keep you interested for ages. It seems like all of their best elements coagulate into possibly even their best release in my opinion. The playing is consistently enjoyable and they avoid filler at every moment, in comparison to The Number of the Beast or Powerslave, which have a couple of throw-away tracks like "Gangland" and "The Duellists".
Piece of Mind is just a roller-coaster ride from start to finish making it possibly the most essential of all of Iron Maiden's releases. The first first few songs in particular on the album are simply unmatched by almost any other one in the world and set the stage for a completely enthralling release through and through. When picking up Iron Maiden's albums, don't forget one of their most underrated albums that is often not given enough attention compared to some of their other releases. Piece of Mind is simply a stunning work from from beginning to end.
9.7/10
Official Iron Maiden Website
Official EMI Records Website
