The third in a trilogy of legendary
Iron Maiden
albums,
Powerslave
is frequently ranked as the fan favorite of the bunch, capping off a stellar run that sealed the band's genre-defining status. If
The Number of the Beast
was the all-time metal landmark,
is perhaps the quintessential
Maiden
album, capturing all the signature elements of the band's definitive era in one place. The album opens with
at their catchiest, turning in a pair of metal classics right off the bat with the British hit singles
"Aces High"
(a high-speed ode to a WWII air battle) and the apocalyptic
"2 Minutes to Midnight."
Next we get an instrumental,
"Losfer Words (Big 'Orra),"
of the sort that
periodically deployed to keep fans in awe of their technical chops. A pair of their best and most overlooked album tracks follows;
"Flash of the Blade"
and
"The Duellists"
exemplify the glory-minded battle hymns that made up such an important part of their lyrical obsessions, even if both are about sword fighting rather than modern military history. By the end of the album, we're seeing
at their most progressive and ambitious. The seven-minute title track builds on the previous album's
"To Tame a Land"
with its use of Middle Eastern melodies, delving into Egyptian mythology for a rumination on power and mortality. This leads into the biggest, most grandiose epic in the
catalog --
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner,"
a multi-sectioned, thirteen-and-a-minute prog-fest adapted from the
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
poem. Though it isn't exactly what you'd call hooky, its shifting moods and lofty intellectual aspirations made it a live favorite. This latter material helped ensure that
was the
album with the biggest impact on the emerging progressive metal genre (which, in its earliest form, essentially fused
Rush
with this sort of
material). In this context,
"Back in the Village"
gets somewhat lost in the shuffle; it's a thematic sequel to
"The Prisoner,"
though not quite as memorable. So even though we don't hear the punk influences of old,
catalogs every major facet of the band's personality during the
Dickinson
years, and does so while firing on all cylinders. Perhaps that's in part because
is the first
album to feature the same lineup as its predecessor, creating a definite continuity and comfort level. Or perhaps it's simply that we're witnessing a great band in its creative prime. Whatever the case, it's entirely arguable that
summarizes why
was so important and influential even more effectively than
, at least on a purely musical level. It may not be quite as accessible, but it's every bit as classic and essential. ~ Steve Huey