FEATURE:
Second Spin
Iron Maiden - Brave New World
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THERE are distinct stages…
IN THIS PHOTO: Iron Maiden circa 2000
of Iron Maiden’s career. There is that phenomenal run of wonderful albums from their debut, Iron Maiden (1980), to their seventh album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. That was released in 1988. Hugely prolific and extraordinary, it was only during the 1990s when some cracks and weaknesses began to show. The band regained focus and quality by the 2000s. They are preparing to release their seventeenth studio album, Senjutsu, in September. Consisting Bruce Dickinson – vocals, Dave Murray – guitars, Janick Gers – guitars, Adrian Smith – guitars, Steve Harris – bass, keyboards, Nicko McBrain – drums, Senjutsu follows the excellent The Book of Souls of 2015. The legendary London Metal band show no sign or slowing or calling time. I love how they have released so many fantastic albums through the years! There are a few of their albums that are quite poor and some that are underrated. I feel 2000’s Brave New World falls into the latter camp. Although the album was generally well-received and peaked at seven on the U.K. chart, there have been some reviews that are not so kind. I do not hear many songs from Brave New World played on the radio or compared to Iron Maiden’s classics. It was their first studio release since the return of their long-time lead singer Bruce Dickinson (he left the band in 1993). Playing as a six-piece for the first time, I think there are a lot of great songs through Brave New World. Brave New World and The Wicker Man are two clear highlights, though each of the ten tracks are really solid.
I am going to bring in a couple of the slightly less positive reviews for Brave New World. As I mentioned, it got mostly good press. It is a shame that some were not as enamoured and sold. This is what AllMusic wrote in their review:
“The return of Iron Maiden's "classic" Dickinson/Harris/Murray/Smith/McBrain lineup (plus third guitarist Janick Gers) in 1999 led to an incredibly successful world tour that saw the New Wave of British Heavy Metal legends commanding stages with the same unmitigated power and authority as they had during their mid-'80s heyday. But the question remained as to whether the reconstituted group would be able to carry this momentum into a studio setting and recapture the songwriting chops of its glory years. This question made Brave New World one of the most highly anticipated metal releases of 2000, and thankfully, the eventual answer to that question was a resounding "YES!" In fact, the album pretty much picked up right where the "classic" lineup had left off on 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son: with a faithful rediscovery of Iron Maiden's best-loved sonic aesthetic and compositional quirks, updated only insofar as was necessary to measure up to new-millennium recording standards. In every other respect (and much like Seventh Son of a Seventh Son), Brave New World's meticulously orchestrated three-guitar attack still allowed for a greater sense of space than early Maiden albums (as well as the use of subtle keyboard textures in a supporting role), while boasting a beefier, in-your-face mix à la Piece of Mind or Powerslave. The remarkable pipes of singer Bruce Dickinson actually seemed to have benefited from a less grueling touring schedule over the previous decade, and his renewed songwriting partnership with bassist Steve Harris (and other assorted bandmembers) yielded several new Maiden live standards such as punchy first single, "The Wicker Man," and the positively anthemic title track. Also worthy of special mention were Harris' emotional solo copyright, "Blood Brothers," Adrian Smith's distinctive solo licks throughout "The Fallen Angel," and six-string stalwart Dave Murray's Arabian-flavored contributions to "The Nomad." These highlights notwithstanding, a more lucid appraisal revealed that Brave New World was no Number of the Beast, once the initial euphoria died down. But as comeback albums go, its excellence was undeniable, and announced not only Iron Maiden's triumphant return, but an important turning point in heavy metal's long, arduous climb back to respectability after years of critical abuse”.
Another review that caught my eye is from NME . They were a little less convinced by Brave New Wold when they reviewed it in 2005:
“Fashion was never a consideration. Metal always existed outside the realms of time anyway, and Iron Maiden were its prime old-skool sorcery’n’riffs exponents. They survived everything the ’80s threw at them, but now, with sports metal prowling, this is no time to go soft.
For the most part they haven’t. With longest-enduring singer [a]Bruce Dickinson[/a] back in their number, they still want to rattle your grey matter. Accordingly there are no hip-hop beats, no rapped choruses, just reassuring masturbatory solos and the high camp of men obsessed with monsters and goblins. It makes ‘The Wicker Man’ a rough-house tumble of operatic silliness, while ‘The Mercenary’ unleashes the dogs of war in guitar form.
But there’s a problem – that very dismissal of the outside world, which kept them safe all those years, now leaves them looking rather obsolete. It’s not just their ongoing fondness for cap-sleeve denim jackets and mullets, nor the risible face of skeleton mascot Eddie staring from the cover. Iron Maiden were always prone to [I]Dungeons & Dragons[/I] hilarity and pretension (the tradition kept up by the dire orchestral portent of ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Dream Of Mirrors’), but in the face of Korn and Slipknot offering more authentic rage and violence, they’re no longer the high priests of the black arts, and seem almost innocent by comparison. And that, surely, is as far from the point as it’s possible to get”.
I would advise people to read this Kerrang! review, as they were a lot more positive. I think that Iron Maiden were at their peak in the 1980s, though their last few albums have been tremendous. The 1990s and early-2000s were not the greatest for the band in terms of quality. There are definitely some Iron Maiden albums that have not won complete love that we need to reinspect. Brave New World is a great example. If you are a casual Iron Maiden fan or a diehard who has set Brave New World aside, then make sure that you revisit…
THIS great record.