Reviews

Forever Still – Tied Down

Posted on by edwardlayland

Forever-Still-Tied-DownThe debut album from Danish power trio Forever Still is a very personal affair sure to strike a chord or two. This conceptual record amalgamates a series of D.I.Y EP’s into one full length album, covering issues like anxiety and depression, whilst also providing a little light at the end of the tunnel. Anyone who’s ever had a tough time is sure to relate.

Stylistically speaking, the Danes are in similar territory to the likes of Evanescence, though lead singer Maja Shining has her own style and a superb range, shifting easily from lullaby tenderness to searing screams. There is a lot to like about this emotionally intense band; they know how to write a riff, they can pull off epic and have some interesting touches along the way.

Opening track ‘Scars’ kicks off with a hard assed rolling riff and a commercial edge to the chorus; but there are some nice stops and it has an intense contemporary feel, cool track. ‘Once Upon A Nightmare’ has a more epic feel and a killer hook, the melody sounds familiar though. Equally epic sounding is heartfelt power ballad ‘Miss Madness’ with its atmospheric piano and some more killer guitar work.

Despite having a signature sound, there is plenty of variety on offer, ‘Awake the Fire’ being a frantic up-tempo rocker, while ‘Breathe In’ shows off some powerhouse riffing that would be great live. There are some synths brooding under the surface on the nicely structured ‘Alone’, while the piano on ‘Break The Glass’ provides an atmospheric contrast to the bass heavy track.

Although in general they manage to pull off the conceptual idea, the emotional torture aspect begins to wear a little thin after a while, as on ‘Your Light’, and personally, I’m also a little reticent about lyrics being almost solely in the first person. Even so, tracks like the monumental ‘Save Me’ with its insistent chorus, and the atmospheric meanderings of album closer ‘Tied Down’ more than compensate.

All in all, this is a very well executed, highly enjoyable debut from Forever Still; there are plenty of good hard riffs and massive choruses on these songs of substance. It would be nice to see them spread their wings a little wider on future releases, but in the meantime ‘Tied Down’ is well worth a spin.

8/10

Tied Down is out on January 15th, in the meantime check out their bandcamp for some free downloads: https://foreverstill.bandcamp.com/

Foo Fighters – Saint Cecilia EP Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

Saint-Cecilia-EP-640x640This surprise EP, recorded at the Saint Cecilia hotel in Austin, Texas, dropped on Saint Cecilia’s day; well, perhaps not so surprising after all then, especially considering she’s the patron saint of music and that there was a countdown clock on the Foo Fighters’ website. Anyway, it’s a kind of end of tour (or possibly end of career given the tone of the accompanying letter) thank you from the Foo Fighters to their fans and was recorded in a series of Margarita fuelled sessions that picked up the pieces of some riffs and song ideas that had got left on the studio floor.

As a result, it feels like a step back in time and is actually quite fun, although it’s a bit like listening to Noel Gallagher in that you get the feeling he’s used that melody/riff/lyric somewhere before and if you looked hard enough you’d probably find it. But what the hell, we all love Dave, so if he wants to give us free music, then great!

‘Saint Cecilia’ kicks things off and it’s Foo Fighters being Foo Fighters; straight forward rock n roll riffing, a catchy chorus, a tempo change in the mid section and a perfunctory guitar solo. Pretty much everything you’d expect, and well, it’s Dave, so it’s pretty good. ‘Sean’ is uptempo Foo, this time the mid section has a punked up Rockabilly feel to it and again it’s good fun, albeit relatively disposable.

‘Savior Breath’ is more retro with its punky riffing and raucous feel; this would have fit nicely on the Teenage Time Killers record, although it is not the best production wise (which may be deliberate); the vocal being a little distorted in the mix. ‘Iron Rooster’ is a straight rip of Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ up to the dreamy Zeppelin esque mid section, and serves as nothing more than a little respite.

However, ‘The Neverending Sigh’, a twenty year old tune, is far and away the standout moment; an atmospheric opening segueing into multi-layered riffing that ebbs and flows around time changes and hook filled melodies. OK, so it follows the Foo formula, but it sounds fresh and epic at the same time and would stand up amongst their classic material from the same period.

So, what you’ve basically got here is the Foo Fighters celebrating themselves as a treat for their legions of die hard fans, it’s hardly groundbreaking but is all very enjoyable and seems like a fitting way to close this chapter. Maybe Dave and co. need to do something else for a while and this gives fans a little something to hang onto while they are away.

8/10

The free download is available here:

http://www.saintceciliaep.com/

Millie Manders – Obsession Transgression EP Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

obsession transgression [webres]The hard working Millie Manders is a badass singer songwriter from South London, who, like the city, has quite a cosmopolitan approach. There is a punky attitude to the rocked up ska tinged tunes that create a backdrop for her socially conscious lyrics and cutting vocals; the four tracks on her third EP showcasing her multiple talents succinctly as she tackles subjects as diverse as the media’s perception of women and possessive/abusive relationships.

Title track ‘Obsession Transgression’ kicks off in upbeat fashion with an insistent sax riff and low-fi guitars. The vocals are sharp on the hooky chorus and the ska vibe gives it a cool retro feel. ‘Teddy’, however, is quirkier with its mooching bass line and slightly manic vocal; it actually reminds me of early Florence demos and there is a certain charm to the punky simplicity of it, although the saxophone once again adds dimension.

‘Bacchus’ has a more serious tone, the swirling sax riff building intensely, while a deeper vocal fits the ode to alcohol use and abuse well. Millie has great range, not only of tone but also style, dictating the emotional vibe of her songs with apparent ease. Everything comes together on the sublime groove of final track ‘Long Gone’; again the vibe is more serious and there’s a suitably intense vocal performance, superb horns and some great guitar work as the song ebbs and flows.

At only four tracks long the EP is on the short side, which is a shame because I’d like to hear more from Millie, the last two tracks especially, hinting at some serious potential. I’m not sure she has the same mainstream appeal of a Florence or a Marina but there is obviously great passion in her art and it will be interesting to see what she comes up with next.

8/10

http://www.milliemanders.co.uk/

https://m.soundcloud.com/milliemusic

http://milliemanders.bandcamp.com/releases

Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Alone in the Universe Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

JeffIt seems unbelievable that one of the hottest records of the moment is the comeback album of Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra. It shouldn’t be, I mean there is no way this should be happening, Jeff’s last comeback in 2001 was nothing less than a complete disaster and lets face it ELO part II was just flogging a dead horse. So, how the hell has a band which fizzled out thirty years ago been dusted off, reanimated and come back sounding exactly like they always did? It’s like the time fabric continuum got folded and Jeff just picked up where he left off.

Basically, this is Jeff doing what ELO does best; high quality hook filled tracks offering a sense of nostalgic comfort. So, in that regard it’s an enjoyable record that fits the current retro climate perfectly, but one can’t help but feel that there’s something not quite there. It’s a bit like drinking decaf, it tastes good and fulfills ones desire for a cup of coffee but something just don’t feel right, and I think I might just have put my finger on it.

‘When I Was a Boy’ sets the tone with its easy piano melody like something from a John Lewis Ad, that slightly muffled drum sound and the nostalgic lyric; it’s oh so familiar as we are taken back in time to Jeff’s childhood bedroom. It’s effective though, I find myself transported back to my own, except in mine you could here ELO coming through the floor from my Mum’s record player. ‘Love and Rain’ continues the vibe with a vaguely funky guitar riff, like a laid back ‘Superstition’, it’s lyrical simplicity in stark contrast to the musical complexity with multiple layers of instrumentation.

The album then proceeds to pilfer Jeff’s own back catalogue magpie style; we get the futuristic sound effects on ‘Dirty to the Bone’, the predictable ‘All My Life’ and the mid-tempo flashback of ‘I’m Leaving You’. It’s as if Jeff went into the studio and pieced a few songs together from the ELO catalogue of licks, drumtracks and melodies; nowhere more so than on ‘One Step at a Time’, which is futuristic sounding, but with those well used ELO harmonies. The two bonus tracks, the Wilbury’s-ish ‘Fault Line’ and ‘Blue’, seem to owe more to other periods of Jeff’s career however.

Nevertheless, there are some gems sandwiched between the slices of predictability. The reggae vibe of the riff and the minor piano chords to ‘When The Night Comes’ giving it a slightly darker feel, while the atmospheric ‘The Sun Will Shine On You’ evokes a sense of longing, but is bang up to date and has a quite lovely vocal from the man. There is always a simple Beatles-esque number and in ‘Aint It a Drag’ we get a straight ahead crowd pleasing pop-rock melody that sounds as if it has Ringo on the drums.
Album closer’Alone in the Universe’, the bonus tracks notwithstanding, is a down tempo slice of emotion with a lingering guitar to give it a heartfelt edge – it’s all kinda obvious, but hey, what the hell, Jeff could give lessons on how to write a hit.

All in all ‘Alone in The Universe’ is an enjoyably nostalgic journey through everything that once made ELO the biggest band in the world and Jeff Lynne one of the industry’s most successful hit makers. It’s a comfort zone record, Jeff didn’t leave his and it will no doubt transfer you to yours and as such fits the times like a glove. There’s just that ever so slight sense of disquiet, the feeling that something is missing and I guess it’s the drama that those sweeping orchestral crescendos of multiple Cello and Violin used to bring to ELO all those years ago, after all, losing 21 members of a band is bound to strip something away.

7/10

http://www.jefflynneselo.co/music

Nitin Sawhney – Dystopian Dream Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

nitinsawhney_dystopiandream_1500px392x392Multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist Nitin Sawhney is back with his tenth studio album and as you might expect from someone so critically acclaimed, the bar is high. With the growing hostility towards immigrants as an underlying theme, ‘Dystopian Dream’ is an intelligent record flirting with musical genres in characteristically atmospheric fashion.

‘Fires’ provides a nice chilled start with easy guitar picking, down tempo beats and a pensive bass line adding texture to the hooky vocal. The moody vibe continues on the first track to feature Eva Stone, ‘Days R Gone’, which is a little darker with its slow grinding beats. Eva is back later, on ‘Silence’; its chilled out piano and lovely beats very easy on the ear.

There are plenty of other guest collaborators but they come further down the line, in the meantime we get crisp beats and slide guitar on ‘Dark Day’, the soundtrack vibe of ‘Timetrap’ and the bluesy house beats of ‘Lose us All’, which is vaguely reminiscent of Moby.

The first male vocal comes from Akala on ‘Dystopia’ and it’s suitably disjointed, giving a sinister edge to the rolling desert storm beats and moody synths. Other elements of Sawhney’s style come through on the jungle-esque ‘Scape’ and the most Asian track of the record, ‘Tere Khyal’, whose multi-vocal chants convey deep emotion.

However, it’s the latter half of the album that has the most high points; there’s the badass performance from Stealth on ‘When I’m Gone’ and the flamenco guitar, break beats and Indian vibe vocal from Natacha Atlas on ‘Can’t Breathe’. Meanwhile, ‘Keep the Light On’ finds Joss Stone on form, her soulful voice suits the bluesy acoustics and jazzy piano equally well; there’s a nice contrast between the bar room feel and the jungle-y beats. The high point for me though is the quite stunning vocal from J’Danna on ‘Redshift’, the rough edges and jazzy soul feel to her voice over the clever bass beats nothing short of sublime.

There are one or two moments when Nitin could maybe hold back a little; the overly textured ‘Dimension’, featuring Bernhard Schimpel, being a bit irritating actually, although it does work in context, and sometimes there is so much going on in a track music wise that it crowds the raw emotion of the vocal a little.

Even so, Nitin Sawhney’s talent is undeniable and once more he has come up with a highly accomplished, mature sounding record, soundtracking the disquiet of modern life; good stuff!

8.5/10

http://www.nitinsawhney.com/

Dave Gahan and Soulsavers – Angels and Ghosts Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

tumblr_inline_nug2q2oqG31qa79vw_500Hold the phone, what is this? Thirty eight minutes of awesomeness, that’s what. Suspend whatever preconceptions you might have, turn off the lights, close your eyes and let your imagination ride, because Dave Gahan and Soulsavers have come up with one of the most incredible records of the year. Forget Depeche Mode and think Nick Cave; here is a collection of beautifully constructed songs that play like a soundtrack to life.

The epic gospel feel of ‘Shine’ kicks things off with a slow burning spaghetti western style riff; there’s a big sound but its got a lot of space, the quiet moments actually increasing the impact of the individual elements. ‘You owe me’ follows, punctuating the soundtrack feel with its expansive guitar, conjuring up images of wide open landscapes in middle America. Dave’s voice is as strong as ever, but understated and brooding, though he opens up towards the end, the female backing providing an interesting balance.

There is an awful lot happening on this record with layers of hammond organ, orchestrated elements and the occasional horn section adding a massiveness to the sound that works beautifully, nowhere more so than on the sublime ‘Tempted’. The spacious atmospheric guitar and laid back groove, underpinned by some lovely organ work, make room for a nice hook; there is just the right amount of hurt in Dave’s voice, he doesn’t need to blow a gasket to hold the emotion as the track slow boils to a simmering climax. Superb.

‘All of This and Nothing’ is similarly atmospheric but more up-tempo, while the slow grinding ‘Don’t Cry’ offers up a rockier vocal and a harder edge; both are good tracks but there is something special sandwiched between. ‘One Thing’ is a dark piano ballad that is beautifully melancholy. It is deeply evocative, like everything feels wrong, the lack of percussion and insistent piano giving a sense of disquiet that offers up all kinds of images; like arriving home to an empty house that was once full of life, or hearing a familiar voice to look up and find you were mistaken – incredible.

‘Lately’ is also piano based and is also quite lovely, while ‘The Last Time’ picks up from ‘You Owe Me’ in terms of sound, like there’s a thread running through the record. Album closer ‘My Sun’ ties things up nicely though, incorporating all the elements wonderfully. Dave’s vocal is superb, the piano melancholic, the guitar strum wide open and it broods slowly to a defiantly understated climax on the back of subtle orchestration, organ and brass.

All in all ‘Angels and Ghosts’ is a wonderfully produced record of expansively evocative tracks of spectacular depth and texture. Dave’s rich baritone is solid throughout, adding darkness to the soundtrack vibe of the multi-layered instrumentation. There’s barely a hint of filler on the record and in ‘Tempted’ (with just the slightest echo of Depeche Mode) you get one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. Excellent stuff.

9.5/10

http://www.davegahan.com/

http://smarturl.it/AngelsGhosts_iTunes

Rudimental – We The Generation Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

low res RUDIMENTAL_WTG_ARTWORK

How do you follow up a multiple award winning, phenomenally successful album packed with big ass tunes and block rockin beats? With some difficulty apparently.

Rudimental are back with their second album, ‘We the Generation’, two years on from the bombastic ‘Home’, and while all those elements that made it massive are still there, the maturity of the new songs will delight and disappoint in equal measure.

The album kicks off in trade mark fashion with big beats and big hooks, ‘I Will for Love’, with Will Heard (Sonnentanz) on vocals, and ‘Never Let you Go’, featuring Foy Vance, sounding very much like, well, Rudimental; which is all well and good, but there is a touch of deja-vu here. Although in themselves they are great tracks, they maybe don’t quite hit the same highs as say ‘Feel the Love’ or ‘Not Giving In’.

Rudimental’s positive vibe remains infectious though, and the tracks which work best are the more complex numbers such as the multi-layered ‘Love Ain’t Just a Word’ with Anne-Marie, whose retro vocal adds depth alongside Dizzy Rascal’s familiar tones, and the 90s vibe smooth grooves of ‘Rumour Mill’ (Will Heard/Anne-Marie) and ‘Common Emotion’, with long term collaborator MNEK.
‘Needn’t Speak’ also hits that laid back vibe, with Lianne La Havas turning it into a very cool tune; sometimes less is more.

The title track, featuring Mahalia, and ‘Go Far’ are both nice enough, also benefitting from quality vocal performances, but there are a few tracks lacking identity and not really going anywhere; ‘Foreign World’ and ‘Too Cool’ among the main offenders.

So now we come to the elephant(s) in the room. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Ed Sheeran’s phenomenal success, and on ‘Lay it All on Me’ Ed has sprinkled his gold dust and it will probably save the album commercially after the poor reception afforded to most of the singles. For them to remix Ed’s Bloodstream, however, and use it as an album track, seems a little weird and I’m not convinced the remix works. Similarly, ‘New Day’, featuring the late great Bobby Womack, doesn’t exactly hit the spot; it initially had me reaching for the volume button, but is overly clunky and bass dense, swallowing up the vocal and strangling the guitar lines. Even so, the beats do kinda save the overcrowded tune that would surely work better stripped down with a bit of space between horns, piano, vocal and guitar.

Overall ‘We the Generation’ is a good solid album, but it lacks the bombastic swagger and hence the mass appeal of the debut, as shown by the unenthusiastic response to the preceding singles. Having said that, it is some of the more understated moments that make the album worthwhile and hint at a future overflowing with deep cuts.

7/10

Girl Band – Holding Hands with Jamie Review

Posted on by edwardlayland

girl_band_-_holding_hands_with_jamie_-_600_4

Spoiler alert: This is not your normal run of the mill review because Girl Band are not your everyday band.

Umbongo of intense swathes of guitar builds to furious echoes. A festival of noise then quiet. Beseech before the guitar alarm goes off to the heartbeat drum. Chaotic battering, it’s fever pitch; real nightmare scenario. I look crap with my top off, quirky Pears for Lunch. Yelling at a runaway bass. Tear your hair out sonic histrionics then the bass, go bananas take a breather then go proper mental – phew Baloo, playing percussion down the hall, no room for convention here, taking their time – speaking directly to your soul.

I can’t think about it or I might cry.

There’s that crazy bass back in the mix. He’s gone hitting things In plastic and repeating repeating repeating. Guitar breathing like a snoring man. Something weird this way comes. Heartbeat drums again. Loops. Wtf are you singing man?

My brain may burst.

Paul, that sinister motherfucker, he’s in the room. Almost normal. He’s angry. Freestyle – come on! Pulsating. Beats. Aaaaaaghhhhhh. Frenzy! Smash it up; go shit arse crazy. Enough. Noise of the last Riddler. A trade off I don’t even know. Its over. Texting an Alien is pointless and I don’t know why I’m doing it but its downbeat. I can talk about it as the noises layer in smooth arcs. Distortion breaks it up. Shuffles to a stop.

Fucking Butter spreads around my head. Car alarm riffing folds around the tapping. Noise. Noise. Noise skips and turns and comes back round. Everything seems Ok. There’s a production line between my ears. Here comes a monster driving a bass line, an he got groove baby. But then he went to the shop and came back Texas drawl. Its gonna blow but the bass says no. No. NO.

The Witch Dr beats his drum. Talk real fast bro. He no nice. Demons growl. Gotta run. Industrial jungles muscle in. Shoot you down raygun style. Stone cold crazy chachachacha. Torn asunder in a painful demise.

Done.

Amazing, hideous, glorious. Music to wake up gasping for air to, I dare you.

10/10

http://store.roughtraderecords.com/left-menu-roughtrade/artists/girl-band.html/

Public Enemy – Live from Metropolis

Posted on by edwardlayland

Public EnemyBack in 2014 a handful of lucky fans had the privilege of witnessing a one off show from rap legends Public Enemy, backed by a full live band, S1W, in the intimate setting of West London’s Metropolis Studios, in the very room where Amy Winehouse recorded Back to Black. Tickets were trading for somewhere in the region of $7000 for this exclusive gig and based on this 1h20m soundtrack to the DVD/Blu Ray, it was money very well spent. To put it simply, Public Enemy absolutely kill it.

We are treated to a selection of career spanning tracks from ‘Miuzi Weighs a Ton’, through ‘911 is a Joke’ and “Bring the Noise’ to the surprise hit from the London Paralympics ‘Harder than you Think’; they are all here, barring one or two personal favorites from Muse Sick, so it’s essentially a ‘Best of’ played live in this awe inspiring performance.

Twenty-eight years into their career at the time of recording; “He’s 55, I’m 54, that’s a hundred an’ nine fuckin years”; and Public Enemy are still at the top of their game. Chuck D’s flow is as sharp as ever, his baritone bite on every syllable the perfect foil to the insouciant style of partner in crime Flavor Flav. Not that Flav is found slacking, on the contrary, he works the crowd tirelessly and is a superb counterpoint to Chuck’s relentless attack. There is an almost telepathic understanding between the two, born of nigh on thirty years prowling the stage together, which reflects in their interplay; Flav conducting the small crowd like an excited pied piper while Chuck challenges them to keep pace. It’s a lesson to any performer in how to work a room, whatever its size; there’s only 125 people watching the show but PE are blowing the roof off.

Public Enemy may be old school but everything sounds as fresh as the day it was pressed, hitting the spot time and again. ‘Rebel Without a Pause’ is the first to really get things rocking, with DJ Lord scratching some serious vinyl, before Flavor turns up the heat on ‘911’ and Chuck piles on the pressure on ‘Terrordome’ – you can almost feel the room heaving through the speakers. S1W add a whole new depth and flexibility to PE’s sound, with some serious shredding on ‘Hoovermusic’ and ‘Black Steel’; the house is rocking and the show has barely started. “Real Hip Hop is here!”

Bring the Noise nails it, the rapping urgent and on point. There’s a funky bounce to the vibe on ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ as Chuck and Flav work it; is that Liam Gallagher in the house? The temperature just keeps on rising as ‘Can’t Truss It’ struts out to some badass beats. Chuck D described ‘Man Plans, God Laughs’ as the most intense Public Enemy record of the century, sorry Mr D but you were way off, Metropolis is destroying it dude. ‘Fight the Power’ actually provides a slight breather after Chuck nails Bring the Noise a’capella. Flav brings it on again for 31 flavours before Shut em Down and the stunning climax that is the uplifting ‘Harder than you Think’, Public Enemy’s biggest UK hit; the horns actually give me goosebumps before some badass guitar rocks the midsection. Chuck D and Flavor Flav then bring the show to an intense close, “Just like that”.

The truly remarkable thing about this record is that the intensity and vibe of the performance comes through loud and clear; it’s rare for a live album to live up to the memory of a great show, but here you have the finest possible document of the Public Enemy live experience imaginable.

10/10

http://www.publicenemy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/publicenemy
https://twitter.com/MrChuckD
https://twitter.com/PublicEnemyFTP

Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls

Posted on by edwardlayland

Iron MaidenThere is a tendency among fans of great bands to live in the hope that the object of their affection will somehow recapture whatever it was that made them great, so making comparisons with a band’s peak period is inevitable, and, as such, totally unfair. Music is very contextual and lets face it, it’s not 1985 anymore, so even if they released Seventh Beast of a Powerslave in Time, it just wouldn’t be the same. That said, after a five year break, Iron Maiden have “come back” with a very strong album, and in terms of quality, in terms of Maidenness and potential future classics, it doesn’t get much better than this.

There is air of excitement about The Book of Souls, possibly down to the live element of the recording process at their “special” Guillaume Tell Studios, Paris, or possibly as a result of the on running theme of death, both on the record in the numerous references to the Mayan belief that souls live on after death; and off the record; Steve Harris having suffered two significant losses, while Bruce Dickinson discovered a lump that would turn out to be a tumour. With Steve contributing a little less than normal, albeit in stirring fashion on the likes of ‘Tears of a Clown’, Bruce was involved extensively with songs on subjects as diverse as the 1930 R101 airship crash, ‘Empire of the Clouds’, and stories of WWI triplanes on Death or Glory’. Throw in further contributions from the three guitarists and you’ve got a monster of an album, 92 minutes all told, packed with epic tunes.

‘If Eternity Should Fail’ gets things underway with an atmospheric spaghetti western style opening, but then the riff kicks in with that dum dada dum bass line and it’s pure Maiden heaven. ‘Speed of Light’, the first single, follows with a real old school hard rock feel to it and suddenly the Irons are sounding as fresh as ever.

There are more atmospherics on ‘The Great Unknown’, with its unhurried riffs and air of drama; it’s good intense stuff and is a formula that is put to good effect elsewhere, the epic ‘Book of Souls’ being not dissimilar in structure. In fact Maiden have a number of instrumentally complex tracks weighing in on the lengthy side on offer here. At times it does border on the indulgent, three guitar solos where one might do, but I guess they’re working on the premise that what Maiden fans need is more Maiden, nowhere more so than on ‘The Red and the Black’. Here a familiar riff bounces along atop a rumbling bass line like a derailed locomotive to a chant of “whoa o oh oh oh” and a never-ending instrumental break brings the song to a massive thirteen and a half minutes; and it’s not even the longest track on the album!

It’s not all epic bombast mind, some of the most effective tracks being the shortest; the lyrically reflective ‘When the River Runs Deep’ is classic hard rock, as is the frantic ‘Death or Glory’, which has instant classic written all over it; while ‘Tears of a Clown’, reportedly inspired by the Suicide of Robin Williams, is a slower, more thoughtful, measured rocker and one of Steve Harris’ finest moments.

You don’t get to this stage of your career without a bit of recycling going on though, the intro to ‘Shadows of the Valley’ sounding very much like ‘Wasted Years’; and haven’t we heard those ‘woah oh oh’s somewhere before? Even so, the gargantuan eighteen minutes (yes EIGHTEEN!) of ‘Empire of the Clouds’ is all new territory, with Bruce going all Axl at the piano; still it’s a fine melody and is a grandiose finale to a grandiose record.

So basically we have got as much Iron Maiden as you could possibly squeeze into a double album, ok, so it’s overly long, very overblown and more than a little over the top, but there is plenty of extremely strong material to get your teeth into, die-hard fan or otherwise. It would be a fine swan song to the band’s career, should they decide to call it a day, or it could even mark the start of an exciting new phase of creativity. I can’t help but wonder how they’d sound if Rick Rubin were to get hold of them and strip them back to basics, maybe then it would sound like 1985 again.

8.5/10

Follow Iron Maiden online:
Official Site: http://ironmaiden.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ironmaiden
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ironmaiden
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ironmaiden/
Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/artist/6mdiA…
Apple Music: https://itun.es/gb/nzfc