缅北禁地

Sep 17, 2015 2 min read

With recent new releases by Mot枚rhead and Iron Maiden to enjoy, I鈥檝e been recalling my college days filled with regular viewings of MTV鈥檚 鈥淗eadbangers Ball鈥� every Saturday night when the music channel played nonstop videos instead of the mindless drivel it now programs.

Back in 1986, Iron Maiden鈥檚 鈥淲asted Years鈥� was always a personal favorite.

For the 16th studio album by the heavy metal masters, Iron Maiden gets epic once again with a new collection of ambitious tracks.

I honestly thought that 2010鈥檚 鈥淭he Final Frontier鈥� was the last musical gasp for the band nearing a 30-year career that had produced an abundance of classic metal staples.

With the release of 鈥淭he Book of Souls,鈥� the heavy metal icons prove that a swan song is premature and there still is plenty of life left by delivering a double album of 11 tracks that are reminiscent of earlier albums such as 1983鈥檚 鈥淧iece of Mind鈥� and 1984鈥檚 鈥淧owerslave.鈥�

From the haunting opening of 鈥淚f Eternity Should Fail鈥� to the majestic ending of the 18-minute closer 鈥淓mpire of the Clouds,鈥� Iron Maiden leaves little doubt about the band鈥檚 commitment to delivering a blistering audio assault.

Since recovering from treatment for a cancerous tumor on the back of his tongue, Bruce Dickinson delivers another impressive vocal performance as he matches the intensity offered up by the triple-guitar attack provided by Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers.

New songs like 鈥淪peed of Light,鈥� 鈥淭he Red and the Black鈥� and 鈥淒eath or Glory鈥� embrace a progressive sense of style and structure formulated on the band鈥檚 last few efforts.

Fortunately, Dickinson received a clean bill of health in May and the band is scheduled to tour in support of the new material.

For a band that has sold over 85 million albums, 鈥淭he Book of Souls鈥� is a convincing 92-minute testament that Iron Maiden hasn鈥檛 lost a step or the desire to rock until you drop.

Clint Rhodes is the 缅北禁地 music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard.com.