I wasn't into sports or anything popular growing up. But I did like to read. When I got into Metal in 1984, I discovered incredible music. I could also read the lyric sheets while cranking the music, which turned me on to even MORE books. Iron Maiden was one of those bands, what with writing songs based on the works of Tennyson ("The Trooper"), Frank Herbert ("To Tame a Land"), Poe ("Murders in the Rue Morgue"), Coleridge ("Rime of the Ancient Mariner"), etc. Powerslave was no exception to this and my Metalhead friends and I at school were all blown away by it upon its release. Fast forward to today, and I'm an English Professor. I'm taking a break from grading papers to type this. And later, I'm going to see Iron Maiden in concert tonight. Great video!
@@baffledwaffle One of the first internet jokes I remember was about a kid who learned everything about literature and history from Iron Maiden. And how his dorky English teacher would NEVER be as cool as Bruce Dickinson! LOL!
u know what ill agree the beast was bruces first yeah this takes it tbh they werer alll good dianno and bailey didnt suit maiden bruce does simple as that ill be syrprised if theres another maiden album but fear not british lion is here and like it or not steve is no racist britush lion remember the lion is on our flag so as nuch as the death of the celts is on tgheir samurai album they dont want scotland to go independent maiden are all good guys thery wee just nissing a welsh and scot member they could have had ant in thitr day thius is probably maidens last tour ill be trhere
You pull words from my mouth 😀. My all time favorite album too, love all the songs from it. Title song has one of the greatest guitar melodic harmonies EVER! When I learned to hear and listen all 3 guitars simultaneously not just the whole pack - WAAAAOOOOOO. Then the lyrics..... Luckily I passed that love to my son, we go to concerts and tribute bends together.
Yea man such a killer album and me and my brother were 8 and 9 years old and I got Piece Of Mind and he got Powerslave and till this day I still get such a rush out of all the sings on each album!! That's when you know you got a great band when ever song of the album kicks ass!! 🤘
This album is so great it goes beyond what the band even thinks they have...they have went on record saying they never cared for Back in the Village, THe Duelists and Flash of the Blade but those are so good at evoking images in the listeners mind with their lyrics and musical hooks...I don't think the band really ever understood how even the 'filler' songs were top tier.
100%. That’s exactly the same for me with those exact same songs at the time of release. The record was such a departure from the prior records, but it definitely was not my favorite of their releases at the time.
They never played The Duellists live- even on the Powerslave tour, or Back In The Village to my knowledge, but every track on that album is equally brilliant.
Powerslave is musically a departure in that its not musically dark as the previous 2 Bruce Dickinson releases. That being said Powerslave is a PERFECT Iron Maiden album from start to finish.
There`s a saying in the industry that "Most bands have only 5 good albums in them". That seems to be pretty accurate. To me, it depends on your age. If one is the late 50s like me, one probably became a fan in 1980 and Powerslave is their last great album. Somewhere In Time has a couple of bangers, but to me, they became too mainstream after Powerslave and started repeating themselves too much. I don`t think I have ever listened to Seventh Son from start to end and have actually never listened to any IM albums since that lol.
I did a presentation in my English class based off of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and the concept of the willing suspension of disbelief. I started off by playing the bit in the instrumental section with the spooky voice. I had the room lights off, a strobe light flickering, and played a minute or so of the music. After the spooky voice, I lit a TORCH - actual fire in a public school classroom - for a bit of narration from me. Then I doused the torch, and after a dramatic pause, turned on the lights and resumed my presentation. It was pretty epic!
I was a freshman in hs and my English teacher was teaching us about poetry etc... one morning before class, I dropped my Powerslave tape off on her desk, and suggested she take a look at the lyrics. later that day I was in English class and she gave me the the tape back, and after the class, she asked me to stay for a few minutes. She had xeroxed the j card, and highlighted several songs in bright yellow. She asked if I could bring her more Maiden stuff, she was cool, younger teacher.
I had a sophomore biology teacher use the poem to teach hyper/hypotonicity. "And all the boards did shrink". I was able to quote the lines, much to his surprise.
The most mind blowing thing is that you got an album like this every year back then.This was their peak, followed by a double live album - Live After Death on the World Slavery Tour. Then it went into an every second year album route.
Been a Maiden fan since the early days. I'm surprised anyone had apprehension to Powerslave. The first 5 albums were the absolute best of Maiden. The fact Maiden wrote songs based on books, poems, and movies made me and others I grew up with dig into the inspiration more buying books and poetry. Really interesting listening to this. Well done, sir. #UpTheIrons
I remember a radio show from KLOS in Los Angeles called 'Power Cuts' in which they were doing the world premiere of 2 Minutes To Midnight. Super hype and it did not disappoint.
Somehow I never liked Live After Death. Bruce is struggling throughout that album, making it a hard listen for the most part. The album cover though, that`s probably the best job Riggs ever did for IM.
Superb video ,I love Iron Maiden .Powerslave is their definitive masterpiece in my book .I love their progressive leanings .What an epic song is Rime of the Ancient Mariner.Derek Riggs artwork is fabulous .And The Duellists is one of my favorite tracks .Up the Irons!I will see them next year !
The release of Powerslave was the first time I'd even heard of Iron Maiden, and admittedly, I was only drawn to it by Derek Riggs' artwork on the cover, because I loved all things Ancient Egypt related. I was a young lad at the time, whom had only just had his music cherry popped by Queen, and had no clue about heavy metal. I was too young to buy the album when it was released, and my parents wouldn't buy it for me, saying that I wouldn't like it. And so, the name "Iron Maiden" kind of faded into obscurity. Two years later, I moved to the city, and the first friend I made there introduced me to the Number of the Beast. I loved it, but within weeks of that introduction, I'd finally heard Powerslave, and it simply blew me away. For Xmas that year, I got the VHS of Live after Death, and wow, that tape got some serious playing, over and over. Iron Maiden had become, and still is my favourite band. Everything about the Powerslave album just brings back a ton of happy memories. To this day, I blame Dave Murray's playing for driving me headlong into taking up guitar. Bad Dave. Bad. Your fault.
I coincidentally got into Iron Maiden in 1986. My dad was about to buy the The Final Countdown single, Europe's then number 1 hit, but it was sold out and the store owner told him the Something In Time album was a good alternative. The rest is history. Immediately bought all other records on vinyl and my neighbour gave me his collection of (now rare) maxi singles/mini lp's, including an original 1983 Piece of Mind Tour poster. Everything's still in my collection. And indeed the album covers were study objects. 😎👍
Interesting video! Thanks for sharing. These articles were written in a time that bands relied heavily on positive reviews in magazines. And thankfully, if you didn't read the magazine with poor reviews, your opinion was left to your own tastes. It was nice to hear a perspective on Maiden from these early years where they may not have gained the global respect as pillars of heavy metal like they are today. I wonder what the writers think about their articles now....
I was a DJ at my high school’s ‘radio’ station. Radio station was a lofty term since all it did was play through speakers in our cafeteria. The teachers that had to supervise the cafeteria would frequently complain about the music, so to address their concerns I once played Rime of the Ancient Mariner in its entirety 😂
I remember getting that album on the day of release. Back then, I believe it was usually on Tuesdays that record shops put new releases on shelves and I was really into the "get it the day of release" craze in those days. I thought that Powerslave was absolutely AWESOME and I loved it when I 1st heard it. Even to this day, every minute of it is epic to me. I'd become a heavy metal fan very early the previous year and I may have been only 14 years old, but I already. knew greatness at 1st listen and knew to not take what critics of anything metal to heart. I'd be the sole judge of what I chose to listen and like, the rest of my days.
It's their finest hour- I bought it when it came out and saw The World Slavery Tour at 4 venues here in the UK. It was a gamechanger, and honestly you HAD to be there at the time. The band were at the top of their game, the stage-show was like nothing we had seen before, life was amazing, if you saw this tour live you know what I mean. It was a different world- there was no internet- all the info you could get was via Kerrang and possibly the 'zines, so we were blown away by what we were faced with. Birch's production work on this record pretty much crushed the previous work the songs sounded absolutely amazing and unfortunately , in my opinion, they never sounded as intense, tight, or powerful ever again.
The first reviewer's take on Dickinson's voice reveals a lack of ear. Like Dickinson or not, his voice is not anonymous or generic. He is very distinctive, even polarizing.
Saw them on this tour and the stage set was something to behold, it essentially recreated the artwork of the cover in magnificent three dimension. The greatest looking gig I have ever been to. The music wasn't bad either.
Powerslave is a very technical album as far as the guitars are concerned. It sounds almost like clockwork, a bit devoid of emotion and stories that get you invested. Nonetheless, it is a great album and one that, to this day, sets the standard for technical heavy metal. It took me decades to figure out all the tricks that Dave and Adrian pull off on the various riffs. It is also for that very reason a very unusual Maiden record, as Maiden's guitar players are usually not this acrobatic with their guitar work, usually preferring a looser, more laid back approach to playing. I like to think of Powerslave as a very guitar-centric album. It is a real marvel in terms of Maiden's ability to write albums that sound like the imagery on the cover artwork, as they succeeded at crafting a heavy metal album that sound Egyptian. Now that is quite a feat in itself.
I was on the World Slavery Tour at the Hammersmith Odeon in October 1984. Possible the best live gig I ever attend in the 80s (other than Donington that same year of course ).
Great video, I had been turned on to maiden since I saw it run to the hills in 1981 and MTV By the time power slave arrived i-2 was sold on the music and the artwork
My Dad RIP 🙏 Was so kool, he listened to Ryme of.... and immediately knew the poem's usage. From that day on he embraced metal and would encourage my musical journey. Definitely relate to the Album. Great content. Up the Irons. Keep the faith and we are One under the black flag. Metal 4eva 🙏✌️🤘🏴💙⚖️🇦🇺
A lovely summary of some rarer reviews! I loved the growth of Maiden all the way to Seventh Son. The disappointment of "No Prayer For The Dying" and going back to their "roots" really killed that positive trajectory. I loved the literary references in many of their songs, it did teach me about books I would never of come across.
I bought Powerslave the day it came out on Vinyl and Cassette and listen to to this day! I gave a presentation on the Greatness of this album in my Senior English class in 1985. My Teacher, George Mentes,R.I.P., was so intrigued he wanted to have me make a copie of it, which I did and he said he understood why I liked it so much. And said he enjoyed the dynamics and structure of the songs! Up The Irons🤘⚒️🔥🤘
For me it was a whirlwind of fandom. I was young and bought the previous four albums within a few months prior to Powerslave's release. It was all new to me all at once. Obviously since then I and many other people have it as their best and one of metal's best.
As a Gen X expert fan of "rock" - I certainly did laugh & pass by bands like Maiden & Metallica upon their debut but came to appreciate them as Mount Rushmore members of the BEST music ever produced. Thank you for this entertaining deep dive!
I had that album cover on my wall for about 20 years. I misplaced it the last time I moved, watching this reminds me I should look for it and get it back on the wall. Awesome album and great artwork for the cover. My favorite cover of all time for any record is still Killers. Thanks for this interesting video. 🤘
Rush also did a Coleridge based song - "Xanadu", arguably their greatest track, and that really is saying something - that was based on the poet's 1799 masterpiece "Kubla Khan". The smallest rock genre ever - Coleridge Rock!!
This album launched the World Slavery Tour which established them as a major arena draw (in no small part thanks to the Live After Death double live album recorded during the same tour). To this day I still prefer the rawer and nastier sounding guitars live compared to the studio version. Can't wait for your video for the next 2 Maiden albums!
I am an iron maiden fan from 1980 ( self titled album) through to today . I followed their musical journey from start till present day and I’d say powerslave was an amazing LP . Like you described I did study the cover while lost in the music coming through the headphones ( my opinion is to do this and enjoy the album in full ) As for criticism off the band from so called columnists I’d say these songs have stood the test off time even 40 years later . This is a mark off a great piece off song writing and music, only a handful off bands have stood out and got bigger with each album and outlasted the greatest artist in music history
Powerslave was life changing for me personally, it's what inspired me to play guitar, I'm 54 and til this day I'm still playing and keep getting inspired everytime I hear a new Maiden track, Adrian and Dave have always been my guitar heroes though I do love Janic, they were the one's who made me want to be a guitarist.
The first concert I ever went to was the World Slavery Tour in SF March 21, 1985. I was 16 years old. I gotta say, it set the bar pretty damn high. I've been to hundreds of concerts since, literally too many to count, and have seen Maiden dozens of times since over the decades including Somewhere On Tour in 1987 and Seventh Tour Of A Seventh Tour in 1988. Not many of the hundreds I've seen actually even approach how great that first show was. My concert attendance has really dwindled these days, but the last concert I went to was in 2019, the Legacy Of The Beast Tour. So I started with Maiden, and potentially, I ended with Maiden. If the Run For Your Lives Tour makes it to the US, there's a really good chance that will truly be my last concert as my daughter wants to go. Took her to her first concert at 12 which was the Maiden England tour in 2012. Currently she's dying awaiting the 40th anniversary Powerslave zoetrope picture disc. She ordered it months ago, and it should be arriving within days. Woohoo!
ROTAM is one of my favorite songs. I really appreciate the story and time it takes to tell. I loved the long song format but realized it's not great for live performances. Two minutes to midnight is still in my mind. Regular conversation conveniently enough make me sing it out loud quite often.
2 albums that stood out from my childhood, pink floyd the dark side of the moon and this one powerslave. Bought this in 87/88 and still got it and play it all the time. This is maiden rising the bar. Doesn’t get better than this. I hope they play loads from this next year in London \m/
Powerslave is my favorite iron maiden album. Couple that with the live after death concert album and video from this tour and I think this is iron maiden at one of its peaks. I still play this album regularly and I love seeing various iron maiden tribute bands that bring me back to the good old days. Up the irons!
I must've been around 16 years of age and still in love with Number of The Beast and Piece of Mind. Of course I was excited to cycle off to the record shop to purchase the brand new Iron Maiden release. Instantly bedazzled by the gorgeous cover, I raced home to drop this treasure on to the turntable. With the exceptions of Aces High and Rime of the Ancient Mariner, I was pretty underwhelmed and have remained so. Although it did of course remain an obligatory listen, it's never been one of my faves. Uncommon opinion, I know. I was however lucky enough to see them on the proceeding World Slavery Tour (Canberra theatre). What a delite!
My opinion: Top 5 Maiden albums: Number.., Piece.., Powerslave, Somewhere.., Seventh… Narrow that to the middle 3 of those. I might also say the first 3 of those, from a Maiden “traditionalist” standpoint. However, the case for favoring Somewhere… is as follows. At the time is was released, it was probably the most controversial album amongst fans, because of the introduction of guitar/bass synth. It caught me off guard too. However, as time has gone on, this album has increasingly revealed its greatness. Thank you for coming to my [‘Ed]Talk 🤘🏼🇬🇧🫡
I got into Maiden in 85. My friend in school gave me a copied tape of various maiden songs. 2 stood out and blew me away in they were off the Live After Death album the first being Phantom of the Opera and The Trooper. That was it I was hooked. To me Powerslave is the Peak of their powers. The more you listen the better it gets. There are some hidden gems besides the obvious hits. That opening hammer on pull off riff of Back in the Village, the very heavy Duellists. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a masterpiece of storytelling in itself and got me interested in the old poem. Etc. But sir you are right about the album covers, I used to be fascinated with all the little doodles etched into the album cover. Derek Riggs an amazing artist. Then the cover of Somewhere in Time was even more detailed and intricate. I've always felt Maiden were at their best in the 80s. I always wished they would get back to their roots of fast riffs and hooks. That opening Monster Laugh of the epic Powerslave itself. I always wished they would make a Powerslave 2.. But bands change.. Here I am almost 40 years later talking about the band I got Into when I was 15. And they're still going strong. Best band of all time...🤘 New sub here...
I'm surprised (and pleased) by all those articles - even the last one. It was not nearly as panning as I was expecting. It was just a notch or two more critical than the one that dismissed Bruce's vocals as "anonymous". All in all, very fair reviews - much better than anything I heard or read from anyone or anything else. Metal was such a scapegoat back in the day for the uptight mainstreamers. But over the years I have been pleased (and a little vindicated) by the (dare I say) inevitable appreciation and respect metal is finally receiving, in no small part from reaction channels on social media platforms like TH-cam. Metal was certainly getting its long overdue respect and props before the internet, but rather slowly and in small increments. The "reaction channels" catapulted it where it belongs.
Kerrang! Magazine back in the 80s always had the best metal reviews for the big releases like powerslave or Metallicas RtL and MOP they reviewed the albums song by song with a rating for each song and and a final overall review. Im pretty sure this was a 9 or 10 on a 10 scale back in the day, but if you like old reviews ,do yourself a favor and dig through some of those old Kerrang mags, easily the best rock/metal magazine of its time
Metal Forces magazine was a bit more honest and less trendy, but sure early Kerrang was legendary, always great writers but Mega Metal Kerrang is where they shined in the late eighties i thought. Metal Mania was also great.
I found it interesting that some people found Bruce Dickinson's Voice annoying on the Powrslave album. I'd hate to hear what they'd say about songs like Invaders, and Quest for Fire. I found that Dickinson played it fairly safe on Powerslave. I was disappointed that there weren't more screaming Vocals on the Poweslave album. The change actually began on Piece of Mind where Iron Maiden stopped being street level Metal, and became artsy. Powerslave was a natural progression that would hit it's zenith with 7th Son of a Seventh Son. Iron Maiden stopped trying to get Heavier with each album, and decided to become more interesting instead.
when this album came out I was 7 years old, and I could not stop playing it, It was my first exposure to Maiden material and the rest is history for me. By the way I still have my brothers’s Vinyl copy of Power slave
I am one of those teachers who used The Rime of the Ancien Mariner as a template for my art classes. I must admit I was more excited about it than most of the students but those who knew the band were ecstatic. I discovered that album when I was 11 or 12 and it changed my life entirely at the time. Imagine me discovering Somewhere in Time and being even more dragged in into the Maiden world. Amazing times.
Interesting, these are a lot more thoughtful than Ihad imagined reviews of the time to be. I agree with the shift in tone, the cover looks much more a prog rock album cover than a metal one, and this was the first album where their proggy side was at the forefront, not just with Rime but a lot of the technical interludes in songs like Flash of the Blade, the title track, etc.
Powerslave is my personal favorite Maiden album. It also probably the catalyst that propelled me to getting my English degree and becoming a successful writer! To pull it back a little, I first became aware of Maiden with the Somewhere in Time album, and it was spotting the poster art of what was then a new album at my local record store. I knew that whatever this represented I was going to love it, and I really did. And while Somewhere in Time is a great album that inspired me to continue to devour Maiden's entire back catalog, Powerslave remains the record that I do not skip a single track on whenever I drop the needle. The high-flying mayhem of Aces High, the gritty, powerful war critique of Two Minutes to Midnight, the mysterious indictment of the ultimate corruption of ultimate power in Powerslave's title track, and of course the truly epic Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner are all classics and standards of metal. I will say that during those days, it was not easy to be a metal fan. The entire establishment looked down on you if you were a kid into this lifestyle, but if you had Maiden, you had your intellect nurtured. When I went to certain sympathetic teachers and said said that I wanted to learn more about things like The Doomsday Clock, the Battle of Britain, ancient Egypt, and Samuel Taylor Colridge, it raised their eyebrows in a good way that said, "hey, maybe there's more to these kids than we gave them credit for." This album is undeniably a central pillar of the history of hard and heavy music, if not music in general. If you're interested in listening to them, Powerslave is a good place to start!
While The Trooper and Run To The Hills were the first songs I heard (from compilation V/A albums), Powerslave was my first official Iron Maiden album, and it's what cinched it for me to be a fan. This album will always be a top favorite, If not THE favorite for me. I even managed to find a nice clean audio clip of Churchill's Speech (exactly as featured in the video, and where I first heard it - on Live After Death), so I tack that on in front of Aces High, and now it's complete, lol.
For me… Maiden from the debut to Somewhere in Time - gold. Powerslave is the pinnacle for me. Lucky to see prime Maiden on the World Piece Tour and World Slavery Tours, both at Sheffield City Hall. Epic as a 15 and 16 year old.
I love many Maiden albums but Powerslave is like the definition of 'all killer, no filler'. Also, any album with Rime of the ancient mariner will be special, right?
That last reviewer should spend time behind bars for what he wrote 🤣 The album is a masterpiece, and Iron Maiden have been and are the ultimate in classic Heavy Metal. As someone who nearly worships Led Zeppelin, I often refer to Iron Maiden as the Led Zeppelin of metal bands 🤘 Bruce Dickinson's vocal sound and often operatic style helped to elevate the band, in recording and live performance, to heights surpassed only by Ronnie James Dio.
Rush was my band late 70's into early eighties but their venture into their synth period left a void in wanting a more harder sound from a band writing epic songs on subjects I like. Though I was into Maiden since Number Of The Beast. Piece of Mind showed the potential this line up could do and this album delivered ten fold. Never mind how great of an album for Maiden this is. This is a top 5 all time album for me of anybody.
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Simply put… Powerslave is AWESOME to this day. A jewel of an album.
I wasn't into sports or anything popular growing up. But I did like to read. When I got into Metal in 1984, I discovered incredible music. I could also read the lyric sheets while cranking the music, which turned me on to even MORE books. Iron Maiden was one of those bands, what with writing songs based on the works of Tennyson ("The Trooper"), Frank Herbert ("To Tame a Land"), Poe ("Murders in the Rue Morgue"), Coleridge ("Rime of the Ancient Mariner"), etc. Powerslave was no exception to this and my Metalhead friends and I at school were all blown away by it upon its release. Fast forward to today, and I'm an English Professor. I'm taking a break from grading papers to type this. And later, I'm going to see Iron Maiden in concert tonight. Great video!
You do have a great life ❤
This post made my day!
Same story. Used to be an English teacher (now retired) and Maiden had a lot to do with my love for English.
There's a fan joke about Iron Maiden having been a conspiracy between English and History teachers to get kids to read poetry and history.
@@baffledwaffle One of the first internet jokes I remember was about a kid who learned everything about literature and history from Iron Maiden. And how his dorky English teacher would NEVER be as cool as Bruce Dickinson! LOL!
The best Iron Maiden album, hands down !!
i dunno this and no of the beast are close
u know what ill agree the beast was bruces first yeah this takes it tbh they werer alll good dianno and bailey didnt suit maiden bruce does simple as that ill be syrprised if theres another maiden album but fear not british lion is here and like it or not steve is no racist britush lion remember the lion is on our flag so as nuch as the death of the celts is on tgheir samurai album they dont want scotland to go independent maiden are all good guys thery wee just nissing a welsh and scot member they could have had ant in thitr day thius is probably maidens last tour ill be trhere
40 years later this album still kicks ass!
Powerslave is my favourite album and not just my favourite Iron Maiden album.
Powerslave is a masterpiece and most definitely Maiden’s best album.
You pull words from my mouth 😀. My all time favorite album too, love all the songs from it. Title song has one of the greatest guitar melodic harmonies EVER! When I learned to hear and listen all 3 guitars simultaneously not just the whole pack - WAAAAOOOOOO. Then the lyrics..... Luckily I passed that love to my son, we go to concerts and tribute bends together.
Yea man such a killer album and me and my brother were 8 and 9 years old and I got Piece Of Mind and he got Powerslave and till this day I still get such a rush out of all the sings on each album!! That's when you know you got a great band when ever song of the album kicks ass!! 🤘
@@RickAnimalTaylordrumcovers yeah, Piece Of Mind’s a great record. I didn’t think Maiden could better it, but they did with Powerslave.
@@branislavgrubisa6477 cool 👌
This album is so great it goes beyond what the band even thinks they have...they have went on record saying they never cared for Back in the Village, THe Duelists and Flash of the Blade but those are so good at evoking images in the listeners mind with their lyrics and musical hooks...I don't think the band really ever understood how even the 'filler' songs were top tier.
100%. That’s exactly the same for me with those exact same songs at the time of release. The record was such a departure from the prior records, but it definitely was not my favorite of their releases at the time.
They never played The Duellists live- even on the Powerslave tour, or Back In The Village to my knowledge, but every track on that album is equally brilliant.
Powerslave is musically a departure in that its not musically dark as the previous 2 Bruce Dickinson releases. That being said Powerslave is a PERFECT Iron Maiden album from start to finish.
Flash of the Blade is one of my favourite Maiden songs!
Those "filler" songs are the main ones I listen to on the album
The first 7 Maiden albums are their best
There`s a saying in the industry that "Most bands have only 5 good albums in them". That seems to be pretty accurate.
To me, it depends on your age. If one is the late 50s like me, one probably became a fan in 1980 and Powerslave is their last great album. Somewhere In Time has a couple of bangers, but to me, they became too mainstream after Powerslave and started repeating themselves too much.
I don`t think I have ever listened to Seventh Son from start to end and have actually never listened to any IM albums since that lol.
Yeah no shit genius.
I will take brave new world, dance of death @ a matter of life and death over no prayer & fear of the dark .. any day
@@eltoro969 7th Son is arguably their best. Get to it!
@@robertmoore147 although I love No Prayer, yes, agreed. Never really got into AMOLAD tho
I did a presentation in my English class based off of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and the concept of the willing suspension of disbelief.
I started off by playing the bit in the instrumental section with the spooky voice. I had the room lights off, a strobe light flickering, and played a minute or so of the music. After the spooky voice, I lit a TORCH - actual fire in a public school classroom - for a bit of narration from me. Then I doused the torch, and after a dramatic pause, turned on the lights and resumed my presentation. It was pretty epic!
I was a freshman in hs and my English teacher was teaching us about poetry etc... one morning before class, I dropped my Powerslave tape off on her desk, and suggested she take a look at the lyrics. later that day I was in English class and she gave me the the tape back, and after the class, she asked me to stay for a few minutes. She had xeroxed the j card, and highlighted several songs in bright yellow. She asked if I could bring her more Maiden stuff, she was cool, younger teacher.
I had a sophomore biology teacher use the poem to teach hyper/hypotonicity. "And all the boards did shrink". I was able to quote the lines, much to his surprise.
Simply one of the greatest albums of all time.
The most mind blowing thing is that you got an album like this every year back then.This was their peak, followed by a double live album - Live After Death on the World Slavery Tour. Then it went into an every second year album route.
IMHO... Powerslave is an absolute masterpiece. Listen to everything going on in every song, the details are amazing.
Been a Maiden fan since the early days. I'm surprised anyone had apprehension to Powerslave. The first 5 albums were the absolute best of Maiden. The fact Maiden wrote songs based on books, poems, and movies made me and others I grew up with dig into the inspiration more buying books and poetry.
Really interesting listening to this. Well done, sir.
#UpTheIrons
Thank you!
I remember a radio show from KLOS in Los Angeles called 'Power Cuts' in which they were doing the world premiere of 2 Minutes To Midnight. Super hype and it did not disappoint.
One of their best albums, and Live After Death is the best live performance album of all time, for all time 🤘
Unfortunately Bruce sounds fatigued on Live After Death
@@scottnorris8071 No, he doesn't.
Somehow I never liked Live After Death. Bruce is struggling throughout that album, making it a hard listen for the most part. The album cover though, that`s probably the best job Riggs ever did for IM.
Beast Over Hammersmith is the best live record
Live after death is incredible, possibly just shades if you want blood by AC/DC for best live album
A timeless masterpiece.I'm still listening at and i'll always will.
Superb video ,I love Iron Maiden .Powerslave is their definitive masterpiece in my book .I love their progressive leanings .What an epic song is Rime of the Ancient Mariner.Derek Riggs artwork is fabulous .And The Duellists is one of my favorite tracks .Up the Irons!I will see them next year !
40 years ago, that is hard to believe
The release of Powerslave was the first time I'd even heard of Iron Maiden, and admittedly, I was only drawn to it by Derek Riggs' artwork on the cover, because I loved all things Ancient Egypt related. I was a young lad at the time, whom had only just had his music cherry popped by Queen, and had no clue about heavy metal. I was too young to buy the album when it was released, and my parents wouldn't buy it for me, saying that I wouldn't like it. And so, the name "Iron Maiden" kind of faded into obscurity.
Two years later, I moved to the city, and the first friend I made there introduced me to the Number of the Beast. I loved it, but within weeks of that introduction, I'd finally heard Powerslave, and it simply blew me away. For Xmas that year, I got the VHS of Live after Death, and wow, that tape got some serious playing, over and over. Iron Maiden had become, and still is my favourite band. Everything about the Powerslave album just brings back a ton of happy memories.
To this day, I blame Dave Murray's playing for driving me headlong into taking up guitar. Bad Dave. Bad. Your fault.
I coincidentally got into Iron Maiden in 1986.
My dad was about to buy the The Final Countdown single, Europe's then number 1 hit, but it was sold out and the store owner told him the Something In Time album was a good alternative.
The rest is history.
Immediately bought all other records on vinyl and my neighbour gave me his collection of (now rare) maxi singles/mini lp's, including an original 1983 Piece of Mind Tour poster.
Everything's still in my collection.
And indeed the album covers were study objects. 😎👍
Their best album! Start to finish!
1st cassette and 1st CD I bought. Top tier album from a band that has continued to refine their business over the last 50 years. A+.
Metal's Masterpiece.
Interesting video! Thanks for sharing. These articles were written in a time that bands relied heavily on positive reviews in magazines. And thankfully, if you didn't read the magazine with poor reviews, your opinion was left to your own tastes. It was nice to hear a perspective on Maiden from these early years where they may not have gained the global respect as pillars of heavy metal like they are today. I wonder what the writers think about their articles now....
I was a DJ at my high school’s ‘radio’ station. Radio station was a lofty term since all it did was play through speakers in our cafeteria. The teachers that had to supervise the cafeteria would frequently complain about the music, so to address their concerns I once played Rime of the Ancient Mariner in its entirety 😂
That's pretty funny. And I would imagine hundreds of kids had no idea what they were listening to.
I remember getting that album on the day of release. Back then, I believe it was usually on Tuesdays that record shops put new releases on shelves and I was really into the "get it the day of release" craze in those days. I thought that Powerslave was absolutely AWESOME and I loved it when I 1st heard it. Even to this day, every minute of it is epic to me. I'd become a heavy metal fan very early the previous year and I may have been only 14 years old, but I already. knew greatness at 1st listen and knew to not take what critics of anything metal to heart. I'd be the sole judge of what I chose to listen and like, the rest of my days.
It's their finest hour- I bought it when it came out and saw The World Slavery Tour at 4 venues here in the UK. It was a gamechanger, and honestly you HAD to be there at the time. The band were at the top of their game, the stage-show was like nothing we had seen before, life was amazing, if you saw this tour live you know what I mean. It was a different world- there was no internet- all the info you could get was via Kerrang and possibly the 'zines, so we were blown away by what we were faced with. Birch's production work on this record pretty much crushed the previous work the songs sounded absolutely amazing and unfortunately , in my opinion, they never sounded as intense, tight, or powerful ever again.
Powerslave clearly demonstrated that Iron Maiden were NOT just another metal band. Still, my all time favorite Maiden record.
Absolutely great episode! Keep em coming!
Thank you. :)
Great from start to finish👏🤘🤘
Fast non-stop fun🤘🤘
Up the mighty Irons🤘🤘
Powerslave is my favourite Maiden record, followed by Somewhere In Time.
The first reviewer's take on Dickinson's voice reveals a lack of ear. Like Dickinson or not, his voice is not anonymous or generic. He is very distinctive, even polarizing.
They went from a street sound with Di’anno to a cerebral style with Dickinson
That's a great description.
My favorite album among many great albums from Maiden. I still love looking at my original 1984 record sleeve - it’s so cool.
Saw them on this tour and the stage set was something to behold, it essentially recreated the artwork of the cover in magnificent three dimension. The greatest looking gig I have ever been to. The music wasn't bad either.
Powerslave is a very technical album as far as the guitars are concerned. It sounds almost like clockwork, a bit devoid of emotion and stories that get you invested. Nonetheless, it is a great album and one that, to this day, sets the standard for technical heavy metal. It took me decades to figure out all the tricks that Dave and Adrian pull off on the various riffs. It is also for that very reason a very unusual Maiden record, as Maiden's guitar players are usually not this acrobatic with their guitar work, usually preferring a looser, more laid back approach to playing. I like to think of Powerslave as a very guitar-centric album. It is a real marvel in terms of Maiden's ability to write albums that sound like the imagery on the cover artwork, as they succeeded at crafting a heavy metal album that sound Egyptian. Now that is quite a feat in itself.
I was on the World Slavery Tour at the Hammersmith Odeon in October 1984. Possible the best live gig I ever attend in the 80s (other than Donington that same year of course ).
I was there too! 1st and 2nd night. It was beyond awesome!!!!
This is my favourite metal album of all times...
Great video, I had been turned on to maiden since I saw it run to the hills in 1981 and MTV
By the time power slave arrived i-2 was sold on the music and the artwork
This one is my favorite Maiden album. It's one of the best albums of all time.
My Dad RIP 🙏 Was so kool, he listened to Ryme of.... and immediately knew the poem's usage. From that day on he embraced metal and would encourage my musical journey. Definitely relate to the Album. Great content. Up the Irons. Keep the faith and we are One under the black flag. Metal 4eva 🙏✌️🤘🏴💙⚖️🇦🇺
Arguably my favorite album. Production is great. I can listen to it from beginning to end.
Got to see Power slave tour! Awesome show! ☠️💀😵💫✌🏻🇺🇸
THE HOLY TRIPLE IRON MAIDEN GOLDEN ERA ALBUMS WITH NUMBER AND PIECE...AND ONE AND ONLY NO WEAK SONGS AND PASSION AND LEVEL OF PLAYING COMPLETE FIRE
A lovely summary of some rarer reviews! I loved the growth of Maiden all the way to Seventh Son. The disappointment of "No Prayer For The Dying" and going back to their "roots" really killed that positive trajectory. I loved the literary references in many of their songs, it did teach me about books I would never of come across.
Powerslave was a masterpiece... It still is today 😊 I bought the tape as a kid and played it until the tape broke.
I bought Powerslave the day it came out on Vinyl and Cassette and listen to to this day! I gave a presentation on the Greatness of this album in my Senior English class in 1985. My Teacher, George Mentes,R.I.P., was so intrigued he wanted to have me make a copie of it, which I did and he said he understood why I liked it so much. And said he enjoyed the dynamics and structure of the songs! Up The Irons🤘⚒️🔥🤘
For me it was a whirlwind of fandom. I was young and bought the previous four albums within a few months prior to Powerslave's release. It was all new to me all at once. Obviously since then I and many other people have it as their best and one of metal's best.
Powerslave is my favorite album of all time, my desert island album. Listened to it a thousand times and will listen to it a thousand more.
As a Gen X expert fan of "rock" - I certainly did laugh & pass by bands like Maiden & Metallica upon their debut but came to appreciate them as Mount Rushmore members of the BEST music ever produced. Thank you for this entertaining deep dive!
Crazy to see Husker Du’s Zen Arcade reviewed right next to that first Powerslave review. Two very different and awesome albums.👍
I had the exact same experience with all their albums (and art work) with POWERSLAVE being one of the best albums of all time 🤘🎧🎸
I had that album cover on my wall for about 20 years. I misplaced it the last time I moved, watching this reminds me I should look for it and get it back on the wall. Awesome album and great artwork for the cover. My favorite cover of all time for any record is still Killers. Thanks for this interesting video. 🤘
It's hard to beat Killers. Good luck finding your record!
Rush also did a Coleridge based song - "Xanadu", arguably their greatest track, and that really is saying something - that was based on the poet's 1799 masterpiece "Kubla Khan". The smallest rock genre ever - Coleridge Rock!!
This album launched the World Slavery Tour which established them as a major arena draw (in no small part thanks to the Live After Death double live album recorded during the same tour). To this day I still prefer the rawer and nastier sounding guitars live compared to the studio version.
Can't wait for your video for the next 2 Maiden albums!
Live after death was my 1st Maiden album. 40 years later, it's still one of the best live recordings performed by anyone ever.
I am an iron maiden fan from 1980 ( self titled album) through to today . I followed their musical journey from start till present day and I’d say powerslave was an amazing LP . Like you described I did study the cover while lost in the music coming through the headphones ( my opinion is to do this and enjoy the album in full )
As for criticism off the band from so called columnists I’d say these songs have stood the test off time even 40 years later . This is a mark off a great piece off song writing and music, only a handful off bands have stood out and got bigger with each album and outlasted the greatest artist in music history
Powerslave was life changing for me personally, it's what inspired me to play guitar, I'm 54 and til this day I'm still playing and keep getting inspired everytime I hear a new Maiden track, Adrian and Dave have always been my guitar heroes though I do love Janic, they were the one's who made me want to be a guitarist.
I could do without every other Maiden album except this one. It’s essential and perfect in every way.
Powerslave is the best album ever made and that's it.
The first concert I ever went to was the World Slavery Tour in SF March 21, 1985. I was 16 years old. I gotta say, it set the bar pretty damn high. I've been to hundreds of concerts since, literally too many to count, and have seen Maiden dozens of times since over the decades including Somewhere On Tour in 1987 and Seventh Tour Of A Seventh Tour in 1988. Not many of the hundreds I've seen actually even approach how great that first show was. My concert attendance has really dwindled these days, but the last concert I went to was in 2019, the Legacy Of The Beast Tour. So I started with Maiden, and potentially, I ended with Maiden. If the Run For Your Lives Tour makes it to the US, there's a really good chance that will truly be my last concert as my daughter wants to go. Took her to her first concert at 12 which was the Maiden England tour in 2012. Currently she's dying awaiting the 40th anniversary Powerslave zoetrope picture disc. She ordered it months ago, and it should be arriving within days. Woohoo!
ROTAM is one of my favorite songs. I really appreciate the story and time it takes to tell. I loved the long song format but realized it's not great for live performances.
Two minutes to midnight is still in my mind. Regular conversation conveniently enough make me sing it out loud quite often.
2 albums that stood out from my childhood, pink floyd the dark side of the moon and this one powerslave. Bought this in 87/88 and still got it and play it all the time. This is maiden rising the bar. Doesn’t get better than this. I hope they play loads from this next year in London \m/
Excellent album, my fave song is epic Rime of the Ancient Mariner . The Album cover artwork is wonderful .
Powerslave is my favorite iron maiden album. Couple that with the live after death concert album and video from this tour and I think this is iron maiden at one of its peaks. I still play this album regularly and I love seeing various iron maiden tribute bands that bring me back to the good old days. Up the irons!
I also spent hours staring at that cover. Amazing artwork, amazing music. And Rime of the Ancient Mariner...
Saw them in 85 at 12yrs old. It was like a dream. A very LOUD dream...
Nice.
My Personal Favorite Album 😍 Up The IRONS 🤘
It goes to show how far metal has fallen since. (With few exceptions)
I must've been around 16 years of age and still in love with Number of The Beast and Piece of Mind. Of course I was excited to cycle off to the record shop to purchase the brand new Iron Maiden release. Instantly bedazzled by the gorgeous cover, I raced home to drop this treasure on to the turntable. With the exceptions of Aces High and Rime of the Ancient Mariner, I was pretty underwhelmed and have remained so. Although it did of course remain an obligatory listen, it's never been one of my faves. Uncommon opinion, I know. I was however lucky enough to see them on the proceeding World Slavery Tour (Canberra theatre). What a delite!
My opinion: Top 5 Maiden albums: Number.., Piece.., Powerslave, Somewhere.., Seventh…
Narrow that to the middle 3 of those. I might also say the first 3 of those, from a Maiden “traditionalist” standpoint. However, the case for favoring Somewhere… is as follows. At the time is was released, it was probably the most controversial album amongst fans, because of the introduction of guitar/bass synth. It caught me off guard too. However, as time has gone on, this album has increasingly revealed its greatness.
Thank you for coming to my [‘Ed]Talk 🤘🏼🇬🇧🫡
remains my top MAiden album to this day. It's superb
I got into Maiden in 85. My friend in school gave me a copied tape of various maiden songs. 2 stood out and blew me away in they were off the Live After Death album the first being Phantom of the Opera and The Trooper. That was it I was hooked. To me Powerslave is the Peak of their powers. The more you listen the better it gets. There are some hidden gems besides the obvious hits. That opening hammer on pull off riff of Back in the Village, the very heavy Duellists. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is a masterpiece of storytelling in itself and got me interested in the old poem. Etc. But sir you are right about the album covers, I used to be fascinated with all the little doodles etched into the album cover. Derek Riggs an amazing artist. Then the cover of Somewhere in Time was even more detailed and intricate. I've always felt Maiden were at their best in the 80s. I always wished they would get back to their roots of fast riffs and hooks. That opening Monster Laugh of the epic Powerslave itself. I always wished they would make a Powerslave 2.. But bands change.. Here I am almost 40 years later talking about the band I got Into when I was 15. And they're still going strong. Best band of all time...🤘 New sub here...
My favorite album of all time. Never been concerned at all about what reviewers ever said about Maiden.
I'm surprised (and pleased) by all those articles - even the last one. It was not nearly as panning as I was expecting. It was just a notch or two more critical than the one that dismissed Bruce's vocals as "anonymous". All in all, very fair reviews - much better than anything I heard or read from anyone or anything else. Metal was such a scapegoat back in the day for the uptight mainstreamers. But over the years I have been pleased (and a little vindicated) by the (dare I say) inevitable appreciation and respect metal is finally receiving, in no small part from reaction channels on social media platforms like TH-cam. Metal was certainly getting its long overdue respect and props before the internet, but rather slowly and in small increments. The "reaction channels" catapulted it where it belongs.
Powerslave is my favorite Maiden alblum, bought it in japan at tower of records and when I played it I was floored
It's been my favorite album for 40 years! ❤
Kerrang! Magazine back in the 80s always had the best metal reviews for the big releases like powerslave or Metallicas RtL and MOP they reviewed the albums song by song with a rating for each song and and a final overall review. Im pretty sure this was a 9 or 10 on a 10 scale back in the day, but if you like old reviews ,do yourself a favor and dig through some of those old Kerrang mags, easily the best rock/metal magazine of its time
Metal Forces magazine was a bit more honest and less trendy, but sure early Kerrang was legendary, always great writers but Mega Metal Kerrang is where they shined in the late eighties i thought. Metal Mania was also great.
My first concert!! Twisted sister opened!
Ditto!
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner still inspires me to this day!!!
Best heavy metal album of all time.
I found it interesting that some people found Bruce Dickinson's Voice annoying on the Powrslave album. I'd hate to hear what they'd say about songs like Invaders, and Quest for Fire. I found that Dickinson played it fairly safe on Powerslave. I was disappointed that there weren't more screaming Vocals on the Poweslave album. The change actually began on Piece of Mind where Iron Maiden stopped being street level Metal, and became artsy. Powerslave was a natural progression that would hit it's zenith with 7th Son of a Seventh Son. Iron Maiden stopped trying to get Heavier with each album, and decided to become more interesting instead.
Absolutely Awesome album. Also saw a show on the tour that year one of the best shows I have ever seen. 👍
when this album came out I was 7 years old, and I could not stop playing it, It was my first exposure to Maiden material and the rest is history for me. By the way I still have my brothers’s Vinyl copy of Power slave
Dude! This was cool.
I always listen to this when I get my guitar out. Awesome album
My favorite Maiden album. Fantastic
I am one of those teachers who used The Rime of the Ancien Mariner as a template for my art classes. I must admit I was more excited about it than most of the students but those who knew the band were ecstatic. I discovered that album when I was 11 or 12 and it changed my life entirely at the time. Imagine me discovering Somewhere in Time and being even more dragged in into the Maiden world. Amazing times.
Interesting, these are a lot more thoughtful than Ihad imagined reviews of the time to be. I agree with the shift in tone, the cover looks much more a prog rock album cover than a metal one, and this was the first album where their proggy side was at the forefront, not just with Rime but a lot of the technical interludes in songs like Flash of the Blade, the title track, etc.
Powerslave has always been my favourite standout cover due to how much light there is in the cover. That and Somewhere in Time.
Powerslave changed my life. First metal album I ever heard. The chorus of Aces High was all it took!
Probably my favourite Maiden album
Powerslave is my personal favorite Maiden album. It also probably the catalyst that propelled me to getting my English degree and becoming a successful writer! To pull it back a little, I first became aware of Maiden with the Somewhere in Time album, and it was spotting the poster art of what was then a new album at my local record store. I knew that whatever this represented I was going to love it, and I really did. And while Somewhere in Time is a great album that inspired me to continue to devour Maiden's entire back catalog, Powerslave remains the record that I do not skip a single track on whenever I drop the needle.
The high-flying mayhem of Aces High, the gritty, powerful war critique of Two Minutes to Midnight, the mysterious indictment of the ultimate corruption of ultimate power in Powerslave's title track, and of course the truly epic Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner are all classics and standards of metal. I will say that during those days, it was not easy to be a metal fan. The entire establishment looked down on you if you were a kid into this lifestyle, but if you had Maiden, you had your intellect nurtured. When I went to certain sympathetic teachers and said said that I wanted to learn more about things like The Doomsday Clock, the Battle of Britain, ancient Egypt, and Samuel Taylor Colridge, it raised their eyebrows in a good way that said, "hey, maybe there's more to these kids than we gave them credit for."
This album is undeniably a central pillar of the history of hard and heavy music, if not music in general. If you're interested in listening to them, Powerslave is a good place to start!
Rime of the Ancient Mariner has always been my best track on that record, since day one, and their best album ever.
While The Trooper and Run To The Hills were the first songs I heard (from compilation V/A albums), Powerslave was my first official Iron Maiden album, and it's what cinched it for me to be a fan. This album will always be a top favorite, If not THE favorite for me. I even managed to find a nice clean audio clip of Churchill's Speech (exactly as featured in the video, and where I first heard it - on Live After Death), so I tack that on in front of Aces High, and now it's complete, lol.
For me… Maiden from the debut to Somewhere in Time - gold. Powerslave is the pinnacle for me. Lucky to see prime Maiden on the World Piece Tour and World Slavery Tours, both at Sheffield City Hall. Epic as a 15 and 16 year old.
I love many Maiden albums but Powerslave is like the definition of 'all killer, no filler'. Also, any album with Rime of the ancient mariner will be special, right?
That last reviewer should spend time behind bars for what he wrote 🤣 The album is a masterpiece, and Iron Maiden have been and are the ultimate in classic Heavy Metal. As someone who nearly worships Led Zeppelin, I often refer to Iron Maiden as the Led Zeppelin of metal bands 🤘 Bruce Dickinson's vocal sound and often operatic style helped to elevate the band, in recording and live performance, to heights surpassed only by Ronnie James Dio.
100 💯
The Southern Rock connection is so real that Iron Maiden's first US tour was opening for 38 Special
Maiden is the History channel of rock!
Rush was my band late 70's into early eighties but their venture into their synth period left a void in wanting a more harder sound from a band writing epic songs on subjects I like. Though I was into Maiden since Number Of The Beast. Piece of Mind showed the potential this line up could do and this album delivered ten fold. Never mind how great of an album for Maiden this is. This is a top 5 all time album for me of anybody.