BRAVE NEW WORLD

After a break and two Maiden albums without him, Bruce Dickinson is back on business with the band seven years after having left.

And I would say that this "Brave New World" is of another calibre than "The X Factor" and "Virtual XI" even if I didn't dislike these two. But this one is better.

"The Wicker Man" is a killer opening number like in the good old days. Fantastic metal beat as they should have always played. This album is nothing else than a juxtaposition of great and wild songs as any fan was expecting (at least during the first part of this album). And there is little deception here. Some very good fireworks for metal lovers of which "Ghost Of The Navigator" is one of the most sparkling part.

The title track is a dual song : tranquil and slow during the intro and the finale, it features a typical Maiden middle part. An explosion of guitars (no wonder with three guitar players) and powerful riff. A brave Maiden song. Another highlight.

Most of the songs are on the long side (only three are shorter than six minutes). This leaves time to develop them and create more complex and diversified ones. "Blood Brothers" definitely belongs to this category while "The Mercenary" is more on the pop metal genre (?). Catchy vocals and great rhythm guitars. A very good song after all.

The structure of "Dream Of Mirrors" is very much similar to "Dream Of Mirrors". A mix of quiet passages mixed with truly heavy metal ones. Not my fave I have to say, but still a solid piece of metal. Unlike the heaviest one of this album : "The Fallen Angel" is a rather dull number (but it is only the first one so far.).

Quite normal for "The Nomad" to show some Oriental roots during the intro. Great off-beat drumming but I start to like it very much after the break around minute five or so. It turns into a beautiful and melodic tune for a while which leaves the place to a great instrumental and crescendo finale. The type of closing which I always appreciate. The Maiden is back in the good territories.

But the band is playing like a roller coaster. Not mentioning the rhythm but the ups and downs in terms of quality of the songs because "Out Of The Silent Planet" is way too long, repetitive and boring. But fortunately, the closing "The Thin Line Between Love & Hate" brings us back in the ups again. Pleasant vocals, nice rhythm and mood changes and a very good guitar solo to finish on a high note again.

This album weakens after "The Mercenary" but remains one of the very good Maiden album.

Four stars.