And who would have thought. Iron Maiden ranked first in Italy, in the year 2021, the second of the Covid era, forty years after its debut. Steve Harris and associates, on the verge of retirement, have hit the mark. A great album, the seventeenth, six years after Book of Soul. The veterans of British hard rock have ousted the ephemeral rappers or self-styled rappers of the Peninsula from the sales podium. People the Irons could be the grandparents of. Rkomi who?
How did this miracle happen, in the Italy of Sanremo and the Amici degli Amici? It is proof that there is a hard core of fans, teenagers at the time of the NWOBHM (new wave of British heavy metal), who with pride and a few tears of nostalgia bought intangible and physical copies of “Senjutsu”, a strategy in Japanese. It was clear from the single “The Writing on the Wall”, accompanied by an animated film in full Maiden style, that something very serious, “metallic” and moving was happening.
The work was composed and recorded in 2019 pending the "Legacy Of The Beast Tour". Kevin Shirley and Steve Harris at the recording desk. The pieces are long and complex, but “lighter” and more accessible than other works.
It is a record that in 2021 sounds like a classic, with softened sounds but without losing the vigor and characteristics that have made Maiden a monument. The first impression is to hear a rib of Seventh Son of a seventh son, the milestone of the group. But it is only an impression.
The Iron revisit the classic metal sounds by revisiting them. The band continues to evolve, the guitars of the trio Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith are epic and almost always catchy. The solos are less repetitive, although for an Iron fan they are a jujube.
The most interesting piece is "Darkest Hour" (Smith-Dickinson), dramatic and lyrical, in which themes very dear to the Iron return. The soldier waits for the day to come, the darkest hour is dawn, before the battle begins. In a roar of guitars with which the sons of Albion fight the invaders, today as yesterday.
Professor Dickinson sings very well throughout the record, although the signs of aging are felt, but in this piece, completely unusual for Iron, he is the absolute protagonist, without much stuff around. And in the end we also get a great solo by Adrian Smith.
In the disc there are the classic Iron, as in “Stratego”, with lines functional to a more than cantabile refrain. What distinguishes this work from others are the barriers. There are no obstacles. There is an air of freedom and solutions that you do not expect after memorizing sixteen Iron records. The Celtic folk riff of "The Writing On The Wall" is completely unusual, some will remind you of The Final Frontier. Without a doubt the piece destined to become a hit of the group. It already seems to see him in the lineup, perhaps in Donington, or next July 7 in Florence, the only Italian date for Iron. Perhaps the last appointment with glory for the thousands of boot fans.
The disc ends with three songs all over ten minutes, all by Mr. Harris: there is "Death Of The Celts", built on long instrumental passages. "The Parchment" really too long, like a harangue that does not lead to a worthy conclusion. Luckily, “Hell On Earth” arrives to put things right, a ride full of mastery and a lot of experience that carries right into the belly of an effective refrain to an epic finale. There aren't a lot of old Iron stuff on this record. Often it seems to hear a Dickinson solo record, perhaps with Smith on guitars, but the passion for a new job, never banal, and the desire not to have fences is the pleasant thing. We are in 2021 and these gentlemen play them a little to everyone. So maximum respect for Harris and Co., Masters once again.
Post scriptum: the Iron miracle happened a few weeks ago Then the situation returned to normal, with the various Blanco, Rkomi and Madame. While waiting for the blood to melt again, you can always put on this piece of the 80s that rained down in today's time.