SOMEWHERE IN TIME

It is not surprising to me that Maiden has been included here in the archives. Albums like "Somewhere In Time" (this album) and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" are definitely progressive enough to be included here, as well as the rest of their discography, considering that their post-"Fear of The Dark" albums all featuring strong progressive elements to them.

Released at the top of their career, "Somewhere In Time" was stepping even further into progressive territory and saw Iron Maiden experimenting with guitar synths, giving the music a dark and spacey atmosphere throughout the album. It also has a bright epic feeling to it due to the spacey mood of the music and the cover for this album should give you an idea of this fact. Some Maiden fans found this album irritating and "cheesy" because of that when it was released back in 1986, but I think it works extremely well, especially on the album opener "Caught Somewhere In Time" which sets the mood for the album perfectly. This album is less heavy than 1984's "Powerslave", which is their heaviest, and best, but not any less good. This album could be considered as a concept album since the song titles match each other as a story of sorts, but it really isn't, though I'm not exactly sure yet. I would say this is their most progressive album in their 80's period.

The songs are for the most extremely good, very good performance from the band too. The production fits the music well and the only weak thing about this album is "Heaven Can Wait" which is to me the worst track here, though still being good. Bruce Dickinson's voice sounds great here and he masters the lyrics well. He might go a bit overboard sometimes, but you'll get used to it. Adrian Smith and Dave Murray's guitars are clear and not too heavy, though their usual heavy riffing also is present here. Nicko McBrain's drumming is excellent too; His powerful drumming style is defined well here without getting out of control. The album is greatly supported by an amazing cover art by Derek Riggs, who also drawed most of their other covers.

The best tracks here are "Caught Somewhere In Time", "Stranger In a Strange Land" and "Alexander The Great". This is to me Iron Maiden's 2nd best release, only towered by "Powerslave". I'll give it 4.6/5. Recommended to any prog-metal collection, at least!