Review Summary: Solid but a bit of a letdown, but what could he have expected?
Four years has gone by without an official Iron Maiden studio release, making it the longest gap between their albums ever and time waits for no man; the fans are dying for new material. After the release of A Matter Of Life And Death in 2006, this monster tour machine of a band announced what would probably be the biggest tour of their career; the Somewhere Back In Time world tour, starting in 2008. They would be performing in over 40 countries, facing a total of over 2 million fans, conceptually tying in the Powerslave era, playing classics that hadn’t been played for more than 20 years. The fans were going crazy. Finishing the tour, they announced that they were going to record another album which would be released sometime in 2010. Note; this band has just finished the biggest tour of their career, satisfying millions of fans worldwide, gaining fans along the way. Umm... so no pressure on the new album or anything.
I remember when El Dorado came out. It was okay I guess, a bit lacking perhaps and the artwork is okay but not even close to portraying the traditional Maiden atmosphere and that's still pretty much my opinion on the entire album at the moment.
The intro (Satellite 15) sounds like some kind of weird techno interpretation as some kind of attempt to have some original elements but how does originality help if it's initially a boring listen anyway? Then three pretty lacking tracks follow and the thing is that it's not bad but it's just boring and monotonous.
But as The Alchemist explodes from the speakers I’m pleasantly surprised! It's not the most original and exciting thing I've heard in my life but at least it's catchy and fun. what follows are the highlights of the album with progressive tracks like Isle of Avalon, The Talisman and When the Wild Wind Blows in typical Maiden fashion done right. Bruce shines on Starblind, the strongest track on the album in my opinion. The fan favorite, When the Wild Wind Blows has some really strong melodies and the sad mood of the song gives it personality (again) eventhough it's not necessarily the most original thing I've heard.
All in all a solid release, the trademark Maiden melodies are there, the musicianship is there, the catchy choruses are there... but it's still just a solid release that follow the same kind of style as the previous stuff anyway and probably not very exciting if you're not into Maiden. I kind of want to give the album a 3,5 but it's just a good album, nothing particularly special that makes it stand out, especially not amongst their own discography.
