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Release Date: September 3rd, 1984
Record Label: EMI
My rating points:
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Iron Maiden's 5th studio album Powerslave came out exactly 26 years ago. I've been waiting for this album's anniversary date for a while now and it's an absolute thrill for me to have a look back at it.
'Aces High' gives the album the most glorious start you could possibly imagine. The song possesses some of the most legendary guitar riffs, the most distinctive bass and the most inspiring lyrics delivered to you in a way only Iron Maiden can. If ever there was a single song that defined the term 'heavy metal', it's most definitely this one. That intro has the power to get my heart thumping at a million beats per minute and send a shiver of excitement down my spine. If it doesn't do the same to you, you should fucking stop listening to metal altogether! I've had the privilege of seeing the band play this song live thrice, and it's even better in a live setting with the band's mighty stage presence, the pyrotechnics, the grand stage set-up and the company of fellow fans to sing the words in unison.
'2 Minutes To Midnight' is sort of like the calm after the storm, as its an easygoing tune that settles the listener down, while still providing top notch riffs and solos and above all, great lyrics to sing along with. Again judging from my experiences at shows, the smiles on the fans' faces is clear evidence of how much they've enjoyed singing this chorus over the years. As for me, I'm really glad that this was chosen as track number 2, because after a song like Aces High, if they had another fast paced song to follow it, I would have fucking passed out every single time I listened to the album.
'Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)' comes next, and it marked the return of the instrumental track after a gap of two albums, since the 2nd studio effort Killers. It gives you that exotic, Egyptian feel that the album is themed upon. It's an epitome of musical brilliance, written by Steve Harris whose bass playing really shines through on this one, being so significant and distinctively heavy. While this maintains the quintessential elements of Maiden's music, it offers plenty of variations as the song structure isn't simple by any means. Without naming them, I would just say that there are quite a few bands out there that claim to write the most progressive, the most complex and the most mind-boggling instrumental songs anyone has ever heard but end up acting as sleeping pills, unless you're stoned. They have two choices; they can either fuck themselves or else they should go back and listen to this song, which is a lesson in how to write a technically great song while still holding the listener's interest and excitement. The song does exactly what its title says, leaving the listener lost for words.
There are a lot of things unique about Powerslave, not least of them being two songs written single-handedly by Bruce. The first one of these is 'Flash Of The Blade'. It keeps the exotic feel of the previous track going. Besides the abundance of amazing music here, it's always fascinating, at least for me, to go further and study Maiden's lyrics specially when written by Bruce himself. The story behind song titles and lyrics always thrills me "The smell of resined leather, the steely iron mask, as you cut and thrust and parried at the fencing master's call, he taught you all he ever knew". How the fuck did he come up with this stuff? I would like to ask Bruce the inspiration for this song, if I ever get a chance to do so. On top of that, if only they could play this song live, I could die and go to heaven.
'The Duellists' is similar to Losfer Words in terms of tempo and its overall feel. Although unlike Losfer Words this song does have vocals, the music speaks for itself for the most part. When people talk Powerslave, I don't really hear Duellists getting much of a mention, which always surprises me because this song has some of the most delightful music, specially the guitar solos that are as good as any on the entire album. The music here is melodic and relaxed yet powerful enough to relieve the listener of all the worldly stress he or she is feeling by absorbing the 6 minutes this song lasts for. But someone needs to remind the band members themselves that they have songs like these hidden in their fault, songs they really need to bring back into their live set. One can dream, that's for sure.
'Back In The Village' is another track that offers some more delightful music, as it's a pure joy to the ears. It combines all the elements that are unique to the Powerslave album, in a very compact and perfectly enjoyable 5 and a half minutes. The lyrics "Throwing dice now, rolling loaded, I see sixes all the way. In a black hole, and I'm spinning, as my wings get shot away" are the lines I love singing and most intrigued by. The line "Shellshock in the kitchen, tables start to burn" ends with Bruce's signature high-pitched scream and makes you want to try replicating it with all your energy. If ever there is a Maiden show with tracks 3,4, 5 and 6 from this album, I'm pretty sure my brain would fucking jizz itself.
If you thought that the first six songs were as good as it got and that the album would fade away towards the end, you couldn't be more wrong. The title song 'Powerslave', written by Bruce Dickinson, turns it up several notches and even though Aces High is beyond amazing in terms of lyrics and everything else, the chorus lines, "Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave, I don't wanna die, I'm a God, why can't I live on?" take the award for the most metal lyrics ever written. Talking of metal, the sight and sound of Iron Maiden playing this song live, delivering it as perfectly in 2009 as they did in 1985 was one of the most metal experiences. Having said that, this song isn't all that much about the lyrics. It's about the portion from 2:34 to 4:57, during which Adrian Smith and Dave Murray exchange between them some of the most ridiculously awesome piece of music the world of metal has ever had the privilege of calling its own. The only reason why I say 'some of the most' is because of what follows soon after. When I heard this album for the first time, I was convinced that nothing could ever beat this song. I was about to find out very soon, that they've done it within the same album.
'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' is the song I was just talking about, the final track on this album for which the word masterpiece itself is a major understatement. Inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name, the lyrics are mightily epic, to put it mildly. Bruce ensures that they leave an ever-lasting impact and I seriously can't imagine anyone else doing justice to them. If you analyze this song, it could be broken into several different parts, such is its enormity. The gallop of the guitar riffs after the first couple of verses would leave you in head banging heaven, while the slow, quiet, haunting, almost never-ending interlude builds up the anticipation for what's to follow. The narrative that accompanies the interlude, combined with the ambience of the music makes you imagine that very scene in your mind. From then on, the song builds up beautifully into a crescendo. The 9:00 to 11:00 portion for me is the best, most orgasmic two minutes ever written in the history of music, for the simple reason that I don't enjoy anything else anywhere near as much as I enjoy that part. The band members themselves have stated that this is the song they most enjoy playing on stage, and I don't blame them for saying that. The smokey interlude and the pyros that accompany the rhythm of the guitar solo are just two things that make it stand out in a live Maiden show. The song serves as an absolutely fitting end to an unearthly album.
Overall, you can pick any one of the eight tracks and can tell it has that 'Powerslave' feel to it, something that's unique and distinct from any other Maiden album, and any other metal album for that matter. Compared to their previous four albums, and even their next ten albums, Iron Maiden truly outdid themselves with this effort. If I could give it a rating of 50 out of 10, I would. To sum it up in the most crystal clear way possible:
This is, and will forever remain to be, the best heavy metal album ever written.
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