Band:	Iron Maiden
Album:	Piece Of Mind
Style:	New wave of British heavy metal
Release date:	May 16, 1983
A review by:	Pierre Tombale

Disc I
01. Where Eagles Dare
02. Revelations
03. Flight Of Icarus
04. Die With Your Boots On
05. The Trooper
06. Still Life
07. Quest For Fire
08. Sun And Steel
09. To Tame A Land

Disc II [1995 reissue bonus disc]
01. I Got The Fire [Monstrose cover]
02. Cross-Eyed Mary [Jethro Tull cover]

This album could also be called: The Hidden Treasures Of Iron Maiden. I guess it is one of the most underestimated albums of this band, maybe of all I know. But there is more to it than meets the eye (or better the ear) in the first place. Of course it contains 'The Trooper' and 'Flight Of Icarus' which are both well-recognized songs, since they are both live-classics and great studio tunes, but that is far too less to judge the whole album.

In fact, this album contains literature quotes, songs about famous books/movies fusioned in great heavy metal sound. Starting off with the song 'Where Eagles Dare' which repeats the story of the same-titled Clint Eastwood movie of the 70's. Both create an image of what war was like fighting in the bavarian alps during WWII, showing what confident, brave men could do to fight the Nazis. Second song is the half-ballad 'Revelations' with the above mentioned lyrical quotes of famous british writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Nearly needles to mention an all time Iron Maiden classic the 'Flight Of Icarus' an odd version of the greek legend of Icarus who burnt his wings as he was trying to reach out to the sun and fell down into the mediterannean sea. The fourth song is 'Die With Your Boots On' a song that has been covered by Sonata Arctica but never reached the original. Next is the timeless 'The Trooper' another song about war, set out on the battlefield fighting the russians. 'Still Life' as the sixth track is about a nightmare (or maybe even a famous book/movie but I do not know), about seeing faces at the bottom of a pool, which are calling and the protagonist feels like joining them down there, though they are not visible for others! Great song, a bit slower, but this sets you in the right mood for a true nightmare. Number seven on the tracklist is 'Quest For Fire' the song about men discovering the fire in prehistorc times and fight to save it from being stolen by other tribes. 'Sun and Steel' the eighth song is about a boy who killed his first man at 13 but who seems not to reflect too much about it. Animal instincts gain the posession of this boy and when he grows up they become his ideal, killing as the right of a warrior. The final song 'To Tame A Land' tells the story of Dune the book (I've never read) or the movie (which I've seen), I have to admit. A plot surrounding the young Paul Atreides who is destined to become the 'Muad Dib' leader of the desert planet Arrakis. The sound is giving the story the cold atmosphere it deserves.
Now to the music: Maybe the music itself is the reason why many people do not like this album. Most Iron Maiden albums have their own sound that flows through all of the songs combining them to a unity. This album is very diverse lacking this special unity in sound. Apart from the use of keyboards on 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' this record sounds kind of experimental though it is not. You get the usual Iron Maiden quality in sound and composition, but you feel like going through different stages of atmosphere. This atmosphere is splitted into several blocks which you will find while listening. They are divided in song 1 and 2, 3 to 5, 6 standing alone and song 7 to 9. You cannot divide other albums into different atmosphere's, might be just my opinion, but you can at least try finding out by listening to this album yourself.
It is definetely great but is somehow different from the other classic Maiden albums, but this is hard to explain in detail.

All songs have a unique feeling and deserve to be heard. When you are a fan of this band you have the duty to buy it. Even if you don't like it by the first listen try out some time and you will probably not change the cd in your player in a long time!