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Class 6(66)

Iron Maiden: Powerslave

22/05/09  ||  GardensTale

Released: 1984

Introduction

At the time Iron Maiden released “Powerslave”, they had hit it big. “Number of the beast” and “Piece of mind” were out there, blowing up the music scene (and the band’s wallets, no doubt). Of course, the sell-out mechanism hadn’t really appeared back then, and even if it had, it would never have applied to Maiden, as they had gotten big by playing awesome music as it should be. Better yet, now that the golden line-up was pretty much established, the five chaps from Britain had grown so fucking close musically they had become one entity. Like a big blob of musicians. But better.

Songwriting

9,5. From the absolutely magical opener of “Aces high”, which rocks to an extent it can blow airplanes clean out of the air, to the humongous epic that is the “Rhyme of the ancient mariner”, every song on here is diverse, catchy, addictive, beautiful, perfect in each and every way, with but one exception: “The duellists” has a feint smell of filler to it. I know some consider “Back in the village” filler too: fuck you, that song is fucking awesome, it’s frantic and fits perfectly.

The great thing is that each song has its particular charm. “Aces high” is superior headbang material and an absolute blast to sing along, even though people trying to imitate Bruce wind up sounding absolutely ridiculous. “2 minutes to midnight” is a lot darker and has a nasty edge. “Losfer words” reaches back to the core of heavy metal and is one of the best instrumentals in metal history, showing a seething love for the guitar. “Flash of the blade” on the other hand gives winks to the early power metal with a lot of tongue-in-cheek cheesiness.

I could go on, but you all know the album. If you don’t, go either buy the album now, or hang yourself with barbed wire, metal heathen. I just need to give extra credit and mention to “Rhyme of the ancient mariner”, which to this day remains one of the greatest heavy metal epics in history, and I doubt it will ever lose its shine. Maiden managed to convey every element of the story not only in the lyrics but in the music as well, and it never bores in all of its 13 and a half minutes. If you disagree, you lack the patience for good music and should go back to KoRn.

Production

9,5. As good as it got in 1984, and the fact that we can produce stuff clearer now doesn’t age the record, it just enhances its classic feel. Everything is audible, especially the bass which is of course the monstrous backbone of Maiden, and everything is clean, yet you can always hear it’s from the 80’s, from those glorious golden years of Iron Maiden.

The strongest part about the production is the fact that despite letting all the instruments up front, it never gets chaotic. When an instrument takes the lead, it is reflected in the production in a very subtle way, giving it an extra edge. When it goes back to rhythm section, it gets softer but more solid, and it purposefully shifts your attention to the vocals or whatever’s just taken the lead. You only notice this shit after a lot of listens, and then you notice all the details behind it, and at this point you need to change your fucken pants.

Guitars

10. We’ve got two gentlemen here, Adrian fucken Smith and Dave fucken Murray. Guitars were never the same since Iron Maiden claimed their heavy metal throne, and that’s all thanks to these two. What could be said that hasn’t been said about them already? Not a fucken lot, so let me summarize what has been said here, as it all applies on this record.

These two fit together like pepper and salt. Like Batman and Robin. Like penises and vaginas. And on this record, it seems like they can do anything together: from the wild solo outings on “Aces high” to the classic metal rhythms on “Losfer words” and from the hurried buzzing riffs on “Back in the village” to the Egyptian lines in “Powerslave”. The chemistry between the two guitars is just perfect, never failing to please and never going off on their own to try and be better. It’s all about the fucken match and even during solos of the one, the other is never slacking, but supporting the solo with fills and perfect rhythm work.

Vocals

10. It’s Bruce Dickinson. It’s Bruce Dickinson on “Aces high”, nowhere as much an air raid siren as here. It’s Bruce Dickinson on “Flash of the blade”, with falsettos sounding so natural they never once go into the ridiculous (like the near-entire power metal singer population). It’s Bruce Dickinson on “Powerslave”, where he actually sounds like the immortal pharaoh he’s channeling. It’s Bruce Dickinson on “Rhyme of the ancient mariner”, where at 8:42 into the song he lashes out with the most vicious, crazy and epic scream he’s ever done in Maiden history. It’s Bruce. Fucken. Dickinson. At his fucken best.

Bass

9,5. Steve Harris revolutionized bass playing. That still feels like saying Slayer did something for thrash metal, but fuck it, Harris is a goddamn master of the bass. No, he doesn’t do any tricks; he plays fucking honest, going from galloping plucking to happy slapping and atmospheric mystery. He’s precise and you can still feel every bit of the fucking enjoyment he takes in his instrument. You don’t need to have seen videos to imagine Harris grinning like an idiot running his fingers down the snares playing “Aces high” or “2 minutes to midnight”, it’s just so fucking catchy and enjoyable to listen to you could put on the album and just focus on the fucking bass the whole time. Genius.

Drums

9. Nicko McBrain. Let’s just take a look at that name. McBrain. Fucked in the brain is what he is, but for all the idiocy he’s one hell of a drummer. While a lot of drummers might just shrug and play metronome, McBrain prefers to really fucken fill out the riffs, especially to give em an extra push at the end of sections, keeping up the pace and making sure nothing falls flat. Besides that, he’s as consistent as an atomic clock and just as precise. When you’re backing monsters like the Murray/Smith combination, you gotta be good not to drop away into anonymity. McBrain manages and more.

Lyrics

9. The lyrics of Iron Maiden have always been a strong point as well. While the cheese in a lot of old school metal bands is one of the charms, Maiden mostly avoids the cheese altogether, instead weaving intelligent spells out of history, myths and philosophy. The exception being “Flash of the blade”. War has a big theme here, with “Aces high” for the planes, “2 minutes to midnight” referring the ol’ doomsday clock and “Back in the village” recalling images of burning war-torn towns.

The blind men shout “Let the creatures out
We’ll show the unbelievers.”
The napalm screams of human flames
Of a prime time Belsen feast … yeah!
As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat and lick the gravy
We oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies.

Awesome.

Cover art

8,5. While it could be argued Eddie is just a marketing tool, he’s become such a monumental mascot to Maiden he’s almost become a mascot to heavy metal in itself (kinda like HIM’s heartagram has become a logo for faggotry and whining emo’s). Here he sits upon a frickin pyramid, that’s electrified, overlooking his worshippers that crawl like ants, like he’s Ramses himself. Badass.

Logo

8. Iron Maiden’s classic. Instantly recognizable, instantly 80’s.

Booklet

8. Tons of band pictures, all the lyrics, not much else but hey, it’s a booklet not a fucken biography.

Overall and ending rant
9,5. Powerslave was upon its release Maiden’s most mature and well-rounded album. Incredible musicianship and songwriting skills made sure Iron Maiden didn’t blow over before they could pick up steam, and so it has become the definitive link between their classic NWOBHM albums (“Beast”, “Mind”) and their more experimental, progressive albums (“Time”, “Son”), using the best of both and winding up one of the best albums to grace the 80’s.

As I (kind of) said before, if you listen to metal, any metal, and you haven’t listened to this, do so now. If nothing else, it’s part of your musical education. But moreover, it’s an incredible album and a huge achievement for those Brits who were amongst those that shaped the world of metal as we know it today.

  • Information
  • Released: 1984
  • Label: EMI
  • Website: www.ironmaiden.com
  • Band
  • Bruce Dickinson: vocals
  • Dave Murray: guitars
  • Adrian Smith: guitars, backing vocals
  • Steve Harris: bass, backing vocals
  • Nicko McBrain: drums
  • Tracklist
  • 01. Aces high
  • 02. 2 minutes to midnight
  • 03. Losfer words (big ‘orra)
  • 04. Flash of the blade
  • 05. The duellists
  • 06. Back in the village
  • 07. Powerslave
  • 08. Rhyme of the ancient mariner

Class 6(66) -reviews

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