A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

"A Matter of Life and Death" for Iron Maiden??? Having not heard a new Maiden album for how many years i don't know, maybe since "Seventh Son", i was curious to hear "A Matter of Life and Death" after all the hype and expectation and i must say i'm not in the least disappointed, it is an epic album! Proggish? wellllll........sort of i suppose, forgive me i'm still coming to terms with the term "Prog metal", and i DO like DT/Opeth, so yeah.... Proggish! Maybe too early to judge yet but i'd say many of the tracks on this album show the Lundun boys with a new lease of life and would stand up very strongly to anything on "Number of the Beast" - how's that? There is an almost "Celtic" flavour here and there, such as "Pilgrim" and did i detect a Zeppelinesque eastern feel on "The Pilgrim" ?? The opening tracks "Different Worlds" and "These Colours Don't Run" are CLASSIC Maiden, all their signatures are there, heavy crunching riffs, great hooks and time changes, with amazing vitality. There are very catchy riffs on all the tracks, hard to pick a favourite though "Brighter....." (epic!), "Pilgrim" and "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" stand out, the pace hardly lets up throughout the album apart from a few "breathers", young Bruce sounds so different when loud and quiet don't 'e?, hardly believe it's the same geezer! Third spin and the album is growing on me as fast as a nettle rash, highly recommended, an essential addition to any collection of Prog Related...or...er....Prog Metal??? who knows....."only time will tell!"

MUSIC RATING 4/5 PROG RATING 3/5