Khendon Sevon
Oct 16th, 2006, 08:45:10 PM
I'm waiting for my iPod to update before I can go to sleep. So, I decided I'll just churn out a small review of Iron Maiden's new album.
I saw the album performed lived start to finish Friday at the Meadowlands Arena in Jersey. I won't touch on the show. Suffice to say it was great.
As for the album, it has ten tracks:
- Different World
- These Colours Don't Run
- Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
- The Pilgrim
- The Longest Day
- Out Of The Shadows
- The Reincarnation of Bejamin Breeg
- For The Greater Good Of God
- Lord Of Light
- The Legacy
A Matter of Life And Death is the 14th Iron Maiden studio album to be released. The band wrote the album over a 2 month period and worked as a group to develop the blend of melodies that create the unique harmony found in the tracks.
Overall, this album is a shade of mellow with a good helping of sing-along chorus-lines and classic Maiden writing. These Colours Don't Run, The Longest Day, and For The Greater Good Of God will find the Maiden fan pumping fist to the sky and screaming.
Dickinson's vocals are more dynamic than ever before. The band's taken a few ideas from his solo albums and expanded upon them. Instead of eye-poppingly high, soaring vocals there's a healthy mix of lower voice. This new style is explored in The Legacy, Lord Of Light, and Out Of The Shadows.
The tripple guitar threat works better on this album than any before. There's a more orchestral flow to the guitars and they seem to blend in ways that they never before could achieve. There's definetly thought and care put into every selected chord and lick. That doesn't mean A Matter Of Life And Death isn't full of powerful, kicking rhythms and scorching leads. In fact, the guitar sound is the most aggressive that Maiden has ever experimented with. The amazing rhythm guitar is brought forward, suprisingly, by the strong, clean drums that accent the entire work.
Die hard fans will be disappointed. This is not another Number of the Beast. However, it's not Dance of Death, either. While Dance of Death only had a few "good" songs and was just more of the same, A Matter Of Life And Death expands into new musical avenues. There's definely a hint of progressive stylization in the extremely technical, yet enthralling sound that pervades the songs of the album.
The mix is raw sounding and very alive. Maiden clearly tried to recreate their live performance characteristics in the sound.
A first listen through might make the album sound lack luster. After the second listening, however, its evident that there are more subtle characteristics that have to be relistened to. There's heart everywhere, amazing lyrics, and plenty of melody changes that easily hold one's attention on even the 20th spin.
No single song stands out as the best or worst. There's fine attention paid to each track and vibrancy and life have been breathed into all equally. In truth, it's one of those great albums that can be listened to start to finish without having to skip a song.
The subject matter is serious and modern. These Colours Don't Run addresses the pride of nations in a supportive manner. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns deals with the Manhatten Project and how it changed modern life. The Longest Day is specifically about D-day but can even be applied to modern conflicts throughout the world. Out Of The Shadows is about birth and the begining of life. For The Greater Good Of God challenges religion by asking "why have you done these things?" Lord of Light tries to take a new perspective on "the lord of light"--the Devil. The Legacy is a soldier's look at shell shock and the horrors of war.
Those that haven't been fans of Iron Maiden before might want to pick up a copy of A Matter Of Life And Death. While the classic roots of Maiden are there, they've really expanded themselves as musicians on this album.
And... my iPod is still not done updating.
Up the Irons.
I saw the album performed lived start to finish Friday at the Meadowlands Arena in Jersey. I won't touch on the show. Suffice to say it was great.
As for the album, it has ten tracks:
- Different World
- These Colours Don't Run
- Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
- The Pilgrim
- The Longest Day
- Out Of The Shadows
- The Reincarnation of Bejamin Breeg
- For The Greater Good Of God
- Lord Of Light
- The Legacy
A Matter of Life And Death is the 14th Iron Maiden studio album to be released. The band wrote the album over a 2 month period and worked as a group to develop the blend of melodies that create the unique harmony found in the tracks.
Overall, this album is a shade of mellow with a good helping of sing-along chorus-lines and classic Maiden writing. These Colours Don't Run, The Longest Day, and For The Greater Good Of God will find the Maiden fan pumping fist to the sky and screaming.
Dickinson's vocals are more dynamic than ever before. The band's taken a few ideas from his solo albums and expanded upon them. Instead of eye-poppingly high, soaring vocals there's a healthy mix of lower voice. This new style is explored in The Legacy, Lord Of Light, and Out Of The Shadows.
The tripple guitar threat works better on this album than any before. There's a more orchestral flow to the guitars and they seem to blend in ways that they never before could achieve. There's definetly thought and care put into every selected chord and lick. That doesn't mean A Matter Of Life And Death isn't full of powerful, kicking rhythms and scorching leads. In fact, the guitar sound is the most aggressive that Maiden has ever experimented with. The amazing rhythm guitar is brought forward, suprisingly, by the strong, clean drums that accent the entire work.
Die hard fans will be disappointed. This is not another Number of the Beast. However, it's not Dance of Death, either. While Dance of Death only had a few "good" songs and was just more of the same, A Matter Of Life And Death expands into new musical avenues. There's definely a hint of progressive stylization in the extremely technical, yet enthralling sound that pervades the songs of the album.
The mix is raw sounding and very alive. Maiden clearly tried to recreate their live performance characteristics in the sound.
A first listen through might make the album sound lack luster. After the second listening, however, its evident that there are more subtle characteristics that have to be relistened to. There's heart everywhere, amazing lyrics, and plenty of melody changes that easily hold one's attention on even the 20th spin.
No single song stands out as the best or worst. There's fine attention paid to each track and vibrancy and life have been breathed into all equally. In truth, it's one of those great albums that can be listened to start to finish without having to skip a song.
The subject matter is serious and modern. These Colours Don't Run addresses the pride of nations in a supportive manner. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns deals with the Manhatten Project and how it changed modern life. The Longest Day is specifically about D-day but can even be applied to modern conflicts throughout the world. Out Of The Shadows is about birth and the begining of life. For The Greater Good Of God challenges religion by asking "why have you done these things?" Lord of Light tries to take a new perspective on "the lord of light"--the Devil. The Legacy is a soldier's look at shell shock and the horrors of war.
Those that haven't been fans of Iron Maiden before might want to pick up a copy of A Matter Of Life And Death. While the classic roots of Maiden are there, they've really expanded themselves as musicians on this album.
And... my iPod is still not done updating.
Up the Irons.