SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON

P.S. I know that a 1998 remaster and 2015 remix exist but I've made the effort, as always, to go back to the original version(s) when and where possible in order to be sure I'm reviewing the year-appropriate music (with its original production values).

1. "Moonchild" (5:39) the album intro sets the scene but also establishes the sound and performance commitment to the material. Some very RUSH like sounds to the opening, but things kick into gear in the second minute, a pretty cool gradual transition into full speed. Bruce Dickinson makes quite the theatric effort for the get go. It's pretty good (even if I dislike that 4/4 rock drum beat). (8.75/10)

2. "Infinite Dreams" (6:09) a HENDRIX-like blues-rock musical base over which Bruce does more of his iconic magic. He's so convincing! Musically, it's rather derivative (and boring) though the performances are all great--especially those of the bass and guitarists. (8.75/10)

3. "Can I Play With Madness" (3:31) machine gun guitar riffing over an AC/DC musical foundation shifts to boring standard chorus delivery. Bruce feels like he's phoning it with a Roger Daltry performance in on this one. (8.5/10)

4. "The Evil That Men Do" (4:34) straightforward Thin Lizzy style intro turns into a fast-paced rocker over which Bruce gives a top notch performance with plenty of impressive high notes and great dramatic Richard Burton-like allocutions in between. A top three song for me. (9/10)

5. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (9:53) opening with a fairly original intro weave, by the second half of the first minute the band falls into line within a repeating Led Zeppelin-like chugging bass-and-guitar riff while Bruce sings. At first Bruce's performance is a bit lackluster, but then the chorus comes with Bruce's repetition of the song title is quite impressive. Unfortunately, there is very little else remarkable about this over the course of the first half of this song other than Bruce's impressive wordless vocalise after each verse and chorus. At 3:55 occurs the first shift, and, after it, some of the album's more proggy music: Mellotron-like banked vocal chord play within quiet, delicate instrumental contributions from the rest of the band members. This cinematic space is then dispelled at 6:55 and then smashed to smithereens by a supercharged (and impressive) metal instrumental passage until the song's end. Quite impressive! (18.25/20)

6. "The Prophecy" (5:05) delicate electric guitar arpeggi with synth wash chords below in support are soon joined by two more electric guitars (more in the metal sound palette). But this is just the 45-second intro. A pause precedes the launch into the full-band power metal music over which Bruce Dickinson provides another great vocal performance (sounding, at times, quite a bit like 1970s vocalist . Very impressive skills put on display from the band in the lightning- fast instrumental passage and the delicate acoustic finish. (9/10)

7. "The Clairvoyant" (4:27) for this song the bass gets a brief solo intro (impressive!) before the rest of the band joins in to establish the fabric for the rest of the song. The bass continues to impress as the melodic guitar play over the top supports Bruce's subdued vocal. At 2:02 there is a shift into a "there's a time to live, and a time to die" section before returning to the original two-step for a brief guitar solo. The "time to live, ?" sections feel quite incongruous with the rest of the flow of the song: the motif being force-spliced in against the nature of the song. (8.667/10)

8. "Only The Good Die Young" (4:42) opens with a sound that seems to conjoin some Blue Öyster Cult and AC/DC sounds and ideas. The chorus is kind of let down, as if Bruce and the band only thought to put it in there as an afterthought, but it is followed by a nice instrumental passage. The lyrics may make this song a fan favorite, but the music is, to my ears, nothing to write home about. A bit of a let down; a disappointing way to end the album. (8.667/10)

Total Time: 43:57

I like the production of this album better than that of the Queensrÿche albums I've just listened to. Plus, Bruce Dickinson's vocal performances just feel more authentic, less play-acted than those of the uber-talented Geoff Tate.

Apparently this album gets (some of) its inspiration from Orson Scott Card's Seventh Son /Alvin Maker series--a fantasy series that I love and devoured back in the day. It's a connection that I fail to hear or feel.

B+/a high four stars and an excellent addition to any prog metal loving music collector's album collection. A metal band that actually convinces me that this should fall under the umbrella of "progressive rock music."

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