The first time I record listening to the name Iron Maiden was with the band Magnitude 9 (I think it was 2005), because they have covered the song Flight of Icarus. After that, everything I heard about them was bad and full of prejudice, mentioning they were involved with occultism and Satanism, till one day, in a Literature class in a prep-course for college, back in 2011, the teacher mentioned some songs of their songs that were inspired by books and even cultural events. In my (then) narrowed vision of the world and music, I tried to imagine if that was possible.
When I got home, I took my sister's laptop, went to the public library, connected to the Wi-Fi and started looking out for answers and I was astonished by the amount of information and misinformation there was out there about them. The first one that can be overridden is the one about occultism and Satanism. The drummer, Nicko McBrain, is a professed Christian. Being a Christian myself, though I respect and have never treated differently those who take part in these practices, I can't sing and listen to something that goes the opposite way of what I believe. That is hypocrisy! And I see that Nicko wouldn't be playing anything that hurts his faith.
After reading tons of articles, interviews, it was time to listen to some songs. The internet speed wasn't that fast where I was. I mentioned to my physiotherapist, during one of the sessions, about this desire to know more about them. Since he was a friend of the family, the next day he was knocking at my mum's door and brought a three-set of CDs with many MP3s so I could copy and listen to and, among many artists, there were a lot of Iron Maiden. One of the few complete albums, instead of random songs, was the Piece of Mind, the band's fourth full-length album. I can never thank him enough. Okay, okay... As far as I'm able, I buy the official releases of what I like and encourage everyone to do so. If it isn't possible, stream it via official platforms. Also, the Piece of Mind was the first album I acquired from the band just because of how much I love it.
As my former Literature teacher said, there is huge influence by books and cultural events. In this album, you can find references like:
- Where Eagles Dare - partially inspired by a movie of same name released in 1968, directed by Brian G. Hutton;
- The Trooper - about a soldier in the Battle of Balaclava, which happened during the Crimean War in 1854, and the lyrics are, in part, based on the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson;
- Still Life - inspired by the short story "The Inhabitant of the Lake" by the author Ramsey Campbell;
- To Tame A Land - inspired by the book "Dune", written by Frank Herbert.
I won't name all of them, but these are some worth of the shout out.
This album is remarkable for many things like the huge success in America, the entrance of the current drummer Nicko McBrain and for its extensive world tour. Also, the album captures what the band was bringing since the very first album in 1980: fast-paced song, galloping, catchy choruses and much energy.
The songs I like the most, as they are played in the album, are:
- Where Eagles Dare
- Flight Of Icarus
- Die With Your Boots
- The Trooper
- Sun And Steel
- To Tame A Land
Put any
prejudice aside. Search for information. You may be missing some gems out there
as I was for quite some time.
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Listen on:
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Reference:
https://loudwire.com/iron-maiden-piece-of-mind-anniversary/
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