PIECE OF MIND

This is where the band's songwriting takes a big step away from NWOBHM and towards more progressive-tinged material, a change that can no-doubt be attributed to self- professed Deep Purple and Van Der Graaf fanatic Bruce Dickinson's addition to the songwriting fold. This is evident at the very start with "Where Eagles Dare," an instrumental workout sandwiched between two brief vocal passages. "Revelations" is another fantastic progressive song, featuring distinctive movements and an emphasis of melody over heaviness. Also worthy of note for the discerning prog fan is the Dune- inspired epic "To Tame a Land," continuing the tradition of including at least one lengthy track per album (aside from KILLERS). There's not really a poor song on the album, save for perhaps the cheesy-by-half lyrics of "Quest for Fire," but instrumentally the songwriting for that particular song is solid. The addition of drummer Nicko McBrain would solidy the classic line-up, and the band would continue to release progressive metal albums far before that genre would even come into existence. For the first (but not the last) time, the metal and the prog scales weigh in at an even 5 stars.