This one and Number of the Beast are my fave IM albums. Every song inside shines with own light, sadly so many of those ones remain apart from the band's setlist (unfair but true).

Songs like The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner and the title track are just amazing! probably my fav album of their 80's along with number of the beast! also this one has great production.

This is one of my favourite albuns ever. Everything since the awesome production and the awesome atmoshpere is just perfect. Oh and the guitar work is just amazing

Hey 8 years passed. It's like nostalgia. 'Caught Somewhere in Time', 'Wasted Years', and 'Déjà Vu' are the best tracks.
Still make me
Iron Maiden at its finest

Cranked this out for the first time in forever today - maybe it's because I overplayed NOTB, POM and Powerslave, but this is always the album I'm most likely to resort to if I need a Maiden nostalgia trip to remind myself why they're so great. Sea of Madness and Stranger In A Strange Land are just epic songs

Written by Sang Dalang Abu on 08.03.2015 at 19:21

Hey 8 years passed. It's like nostalgia. 'Caught Somewhere in Time', 'Wasted Years', and 'Déjà Vu' are the best tracks.
Still make me
Iron Maiden at its finest

8 years its not 1994 now

Written by Bad English on 26.07.2015 at 16:42

Written by Sang Dalang Abu on 08.03.2015 at 19:21

Hey 8 years passed. It's like nostalgia. 'Caught Somewhere in Time', 'Wasted Years', and 'Déjà Vu' are the best tracks.
Still make me
Iron Maiden at its finest

8 years its not 1994 now

yeahhhhh, I meeaan 8 yearzz passed in my collektionz.
sowry English

One of Maidens best albums. Excellent, a bit dreamy, production and top quality songwriting all the way through.

The IM album that has the most great songs IMO. Only Sea Of Madness and Heaven Can Wait get the skip.

Wasted Years is in my top 5 Iron Maiden songs (don't know what the others would be), but imo this is one of the band's more overrated albums. I prefer Seventh Son of A Seventh Son, Killers, and Powerslave to this one.

Written by Guest on 04.07.2017 at 16:45

top 5 Iron Maiden songs (don't know what the others would be)

5. The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
4. Drifter
3. Hallowed Be Thy Name
2. Stranger In A Strange Land
1. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Written by tea[m]ster on 04.07.2017 at 17:27

Written by Guest on 04.07.2017 at 16:45

top 5 Iron Maiden songs (don't know what the others would be)

5. The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
4. Drifter
3. Hallowed Be Thy Name
2. Stranger In A Strange Land
1. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Actually that's a really good list. Here's mine

5. The Wicker Man
4. Wrathchild
3. Wasted Years
2. Hallowed Be Thy Name
1. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

I've got:

5. Infinite dreams
4. Fear of the Dark
3. Afraid to shoot strangers (LIVE)
2. Hallowed Be Thy Name (Live)
1. Rime of the ancient mariner

Heaven Can Wait is disgustingly repetitive.

The best of the best. Iron Maiden have made killer album after another, but this might take the cake. I don't think there's any weak point or song in the whole album at all. Even songs like Heaven Can Wait and Alexander the Great, which are usually said to be the weaker ones here, are among my all-time favourite songs of their whole discography. The best metal album ever?

Cant believe i didn't find out about the bonus song "That Girl" until like 20 years later! what a gem to find, the intro melody is everything i love about this album

Not my favourite Maiden album, but still a good listen.

Written by Metal Rasputin on 10.02.2020 at 22:27

The best of the best. Iron Maiden have made killer album after another, but this might take the cake. I don't think there's any weak point or song in the whole album at all. Even songs like Heaven Can Wait and Alexander the Great, which are usually said to be the weaker ones here, are among my all-time favourite songs of their whole discography. The best metal album ever?

Well said! This is also my favorite Iron Maiden album. While it might not have stand-out songs like Hallowed Be Thy Name or Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the whole tracklist is filled with great, perfectly crafted songs that create such a unique dreamy atmosphere but still have awesome heavy riffs and outstanding emotional guitar solos!
As you said, there's not a weak moment. In fact, I don't know why people hate Alexander the Great! It's one of my favorite Iron Maiden songs: with that eerie intro, the drums of a marching army, then the charging riff that comes in, the epic history lesson, and finally a magnificent guitar solo - it has it all!

At first I found it a good album, but now the album has grown on me even more and I rate it as one of their top 3, along with Powerslave and Seventh Son, and ahead of the mighty Number Of The Beast, no weak songs on this album.

Written by AndyMetalFreak on 04.07.2021 at 00:16

no weak songs on this album.

For me each Maiden album has at least one weaker song.
On Number of the Beast it is Total Eclipse.
On Powerslave it is Back in the Village.
On Somewhere in TIme it is Wasted Years -- but there are more songs here that are not top notch.
On Seventh Son it is The Prophecy.
On the debut it is Charlotte.
On Fear of the Dark it is Weekend Warrior -- among others.
On Piece of Mind it is Still Life -- among others.
The other albums have several weaker songs.

Written by Redel on 04.07.2021 at 01:23

For me each Maiden album has at least one weaker song.
On Number of the Beast it is Total Eclipse.
On Powerslave it is Back in the Village.
On Somewhere in TIme it is Wasted Years -- but there are more songs here that are not top notch.
On Seventh Son it is The Prophecy.
On the debut it is Charlotte.
On Fear of the Dark it is Weekend Warrior -- among others.
On Piece of Mind it is Still Life -- among others.
The other albums have several weaker songs.

That's the main issue I find with IM, even the later albums have at least one or two great songs, but then let down by weak one's.
This album tho is one of their most consistent, I don't dislike any of the songs here, but it doesn't quite match up to the same quality as Seventh Son or Powerslave Imo.

I agree with Back In The Village being the one song I found to be slightly weak from Powerslave, but the rest of the album is phenomenal!

I've been going back through all of Iron Maiden's discography and I realized I had to bump up my rating for this album since I think this is their best work since Number of the Beast if I'm being honest! There is a bit more energy on this release that I felt was somewhat lacking on the previous two albums and I think this is Bruce's best vocal performance since Number of the Beast. Adrian Smith has his time to shine with three songs, Sea of Madness, Wasted Years, and Stranger in a Strange Land (the last two being the album's main singles) written solely by him and being some of the best tunes in Maiden history as a result of his expressive, soulful guitar work. I like that they are experimenting with synthesizers and treating them more like a new color of paint to add to their musical textures and soundscapes rather than embracing the commercial pop/glam rock sound at the time that synths were mostly associated with. It shows a band willing to explore new sounds while still keeping in touch with what made them great to begin with. There are a few moments of drag here and there and some parts can get a little repetitive at times but there isn't a single song on here that I would write off as bad or mediocre. The album as a whole is probably their most underrated of the classic 80s era, with gems like The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Deja Vu, Alexander the Great, and Caught Somewhere in Time not really getting the exposure and credit they deserve. Overall, one of the band's finest moments.

I would like to nominate this for the most overrated metal album of all time. I really don't get why people are jizzing over this album, it is painfully average at best and cringeworthy at worst. It starts okay with Caught Somewhere in Time and Wasted Years, which would be solid fillers on any of the preceding albums. I can just about stomach Sea of Madness, mostly because of a decent chorus and instrumental section. Heaven Can Wait is stupid and repetitive. The Loneliness of the Longdistance Runner is so bland, what about writing some memorable riffs Maiden? Stranger in a Strange Land is only marginally better in that regard, and what a weak chorus. The low point is the two last tracks, which have some of the worst lyrics Iron Maiden has ever written.

"Ever had a conversation
That you realize you've had before?
Isn't it strange?
Have you ever talked to someone
And you feel you know what's coming next?
It feels pre-arranged"
Just stop...

Alexander the Great sounds like a fifth grade essay. Those lyrics are about as well thought through as my shopping list.

The production is also very weak, the guitars are way too loud, and Bruce doesn't sound very good.

Written by Vinther1991 on 22.04.2022 at 23:38

Alexander the Great sounds like a fifth grade essay. Those lyrics are about as well thought through as my shopping list.

Then how would "well thought through" lyrics look like in a NWOBHM song about Alexander the Great?

Written by Redel on 23.04.2022 at 00:02

Then how would "well thought through" lyrics look like in a NWOBHM song about Alexander the Great?

It shouldn't sound like you are reading from a history book. I don't know how they should be. Maybe Alexander the Great isn't an interesting enough topic for a metal song, I can't think of other bands trying. But I think 2 Minutes to Midnight and The Trooper are good examples of incorporating history into songs without making it sound like history class.

Written by Vinther1991 on 22.04.2022 at 23:38

I would like to nominate this for the most overrated metal album of all time.

I find it interesting how everyone has a unique taste in music. Looking at your album votes, I see that we share a lot of similarities in taste:
You and I give ratings of 10 to Master of Reality, Painkiller, Ride the Lightning, Peace Sells, and Melissa. We both don't like Bonded By Blood. But we like Cowboys From Hell and At the Heart of Winter. We also like Seasons in the Abyss and Show No Mercy more than Reign in Blood....
AND YET we have such differing opinions on Somewhere in Time!
I find this album here has truly magical melodies and I believe Iron Maiden are at their best here. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion - and that's a good thing! It would be pretty boring if we all were the same

Written by Vinther1991 on 23.04.2022 at 00:28

It shouldn't sound like you are reading from a history book. I don't know how they should be. Maybe Alexander the Great isn't an interesting enough topic for a metal song, I can't think of other bands trying. But I think 2 Minutes to Midnight and The Trooper are good examples of incorporating history into songs without making it sound like history class.

Well, it is a song about a real person of historical value, and by that it is based on facts. I cant see why it is not well thought through at that.
But of course you may dislike this kind of lyrics and prefer it to be more away from facts. Still, "not well thought through ".... I dont know.

Written by Redel on 23.04.2022 at 08:20

Well, it is a song about a real person of historical value, and by that it is based on facts. I cant see why it is not well thought through at that.
But of course you may dislike this kind of lyrics and prefer it to be more away from facts. Still, "not well thought through ".... I dont know.

Maybe it wasn't the best way of expressing it. I find the text generic and it doesn't work as lyrics for a song imo.

Written by F3ynman2000 on 23.04.2022 at 06:12

I find it interesting how everyone has a unique taste in music. Looking at your album votes, I see that we share a lot of similarities in taste:
You and I give ratings of 10 to Master of Reality, Painkiller, Ride the Lightning, Peace Sells, and Melissa. We both don't like Bonded By Blood. But we like Cowboys From Hell and At the Heart of Winter. We also like Seasons in the Abyss and Show No Mercy more than Reign in Blood....
AND YET we have such differing opinions on Somewhere in Time!
I find this album here has truly magical melodies and I believe Iron Maiden are at their best here. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion - and that's a good thing! It would be pretty boring if we all were the same

You have great taste! I also see Painkiller is your favorite album. It is my favorite too, I never get tired of the musicianship on that album, all killer no filler! Iron Maiden doesn't quite have an album like that, unfortunately.
I can understand why people like Somewhere in Time, but it is not an album for me. I think its biggest strength is probably the guitar leads which are consistenty strong. They can't make up for shortcomings in the songwriting though.

I love this thing, but mainly the original since the the 1998 remastered version sounds like it was recorded with a potato inside a wet cardboard box. The other remasters are fine IMO, but this one had to be the one that got completely butchered. I haven't heard the newer remasters yet, but hopefully they've fixed it.

So yeah, depending the version Somewhere in Time is either complete win or just terrible soundwise.