Band:	Iron Maiden
Album:	Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Style:	New wave of British heavy metal
Release date:	April 11, 1988
Guest review by:	Storchillarn

Disc I
01. Moonchild
02. Infinite Dreams
03. Can I Play With Madness
04. The Evil That Men Do
05. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
06. The Prophecy
07. The Clairvoyant
08. Only The Good Die Young

Disc II [1995 reissue bonus CD]
01. Black Bart Blues
02. Massacre
03. Prowler 88
04. Charlotte The Harlot 88
05. Infinite Dreams [live]
06. The Clairvoyant [live]
07. The Prisoner [live]
08. Killers [live]
09. Still Life [live]

You're probably wondering why I wrote a review of an almost twenty year old album; the answer is quite simple: because it is my absolute favourite album and one of the best Heavy-Metal-albums of all time. "Seventh Son..." was the last album that was recorded with Adrian Smith until 2000's "Brave New World." It's a concept album telling the story of a gifted child, a so called "seventh son of a seventh son," and how his gift carries with it many burdens and problems. The concept itself is not what carries the album but it adds a different touch to the lyrics and surely the music as well.

In my opinion this is the band in its finest moment and everyone is performing at the top of their abilities. The vocals are Mr. Dickinson's absolute best and he showcases his wide spectrum very well during the eight songs. We've got the aggressive tone in "Moonchild," the rockier voice in "Can I Play With Madness" and his operatic vocal style is of course present in pretty much every song. As for the guitarists, they've written some of their most memorable riffs and solo's and it is all classic Maiden. Expect some really fast guitar-harmonies and melodic solo's to get stuck in your head for some time. Every single song on the album is worth a 10 compared to any other music out there though "The Prophecy" is worth a 9 by Maiden-standards.

Steve Harris is as always the main writer on the album. His bass-playing is at a perfect level in the mix and it really adds a new dimension when the bass is as distinguishable as it is with Maiden. You can always hear his regular galloping-rythm in the background. Nicko plays tight as always and finishes off the slight progressive touch of the album with his varied drumming, just listen to "Infinite Dreams" and you'll see what I mean.

I rate the lyrics on "Seventh Son..." as their best ever not only because of the thoughtful, deep and uplifting meaning but also because of how they are put together. Everything is very poetic and it's very easy to relate to for anyone. I have to hand it to Bruce for his wonderful effort of delivering every vocal-line in such a convincing manner that you get chills down your spine whenever listening to the album. This pretty much sums up my thoughts on their song writing. It's varied with a lot of different tunes; everything from ballads and rockers to heavier mid-paced songs all done in the kind of way that never gets boring. The song writing overall is their best and this album features more well-known songs than any other they have ever released.

The production, too, is perfect and leaves you nothing more to wish for. The bass is, as mentioned, always very present, the vocals are clear and everything else is in order. There is nothing to dislike about it and it always sounds very alive and not anything near the sterile production of "Dance of Death." I wouldn't say it is much different from preceeding Maiden albums but as the production of all those albums are worth 10's this is no different. When judging the originality of "Seventh Son..." I don't have to compare it to other bands of the era because although it lands in the same genre as a lot of bands not many of those bands can say they've come near to the quality of this masterpiece. This is the kind of album you can play until the end of time, I couldn't be more serious about this. I do not care if you are a Maiden fan or not - if you like metal you have to own this album!