Published on Jan 12, 2001
In 1999, fans of the British heavy metal group Iron Maiden got
what they had been clamoring for: out was vocalist Blaze Bayley
(who, in all fairness, didn’t get the credit on record that he
deserved… though he
did suck in concert), in was former vocalist Bruce
Dickinson. Also back in the line-up was former guitarist Adrian
Smith, who had hooked up with Dickinson during his solo stint.
People must have imagined that with Dickinson back in the band
and Iron Maiden now with a three-guitar attack, their first effort
as a six-piece would blow their most recent material out of the
water.
That album,
Brave New World, does indeed have some moments which are
absolutely incredible… but to call it a return to form would be a
bit premature, as there’s still a lot of growth that has to happen
in the band.
Let’s start out with the positives, though. When Dickinson left
Maiden in 1993, he sounded incredibly bored with the material and
with what had become of the band. Seven years later, his vocals
have indeed been re-energized. In retrospect, Dickinson’s taking a
break from the band could well have been the best thing for him,
allowing Dickinson to re-charge his creative batteries.
Musically, there are moments on
Brave New World that will have the listener thinking that
they’re actually hearing outtakes from the
Somewhere In Time era – and I happened to love that album as
a teenager, so that’s meant as a compliment. (I’m in the process of
updating all my Iron Maiden albums to the 1998 enhanced CD
versions… and though I reviewed
Brave New World in MP3, I’ll still be picking this one
up.)
No, it doesn’t mean there’s heavy synthesizer work (though they
are present, and make themselves known at times). It means that the
material, like “The Wicker Man,” “Ghost Of The Navigator” and
“Blood Brothers” all is outstanding and in-your-face.
Yet not everything about
Brave New World is sunshine and roses. First, it’s difficult
to hear the three-guitar blitz on this disc — not that the guitar
work is subpar by any means. But it’s hard for my ears to
distinguish between the axe work of Dave Murray, Janick Gers and
Smith. (In hindsight, that might be the best compliment someone
could pay to Gers.)
And while the songwriting has improved somewhat over the sonic
frisbee that was
Virtual XI,
Brave New World shows that work still needs to be done.
Founding member/bassist Steve Harris has loosened his vice-like
grip on the songwriting a bit, but there still is a bit too much
repetition going on… though it’s not so much in the lyrics this
time as it is in the songs themselves (“Thin Line Between Love And
Hate” — not a terrible song, though). Other songs feel like
they’re a bit long in the tongue — both “The Nomad” and “Dream Of
Mirrors” clock in at over nine minutes, and both have noticeable
sags in their energy levels.
One other note — am I the only one who picked up that someone
lifted part of the guitar like from “Prowler” (way back from
Iron Maiden in 1980) for “Mercenary”? Ah, well… guess if
you’re going to steal, it’s less of a crime to steal from
yourself.
Maybe it’s that Iron Maiden fans expected far too much from the
first collaboration in seven years between Dickinson and his old
mates — and we all know that reality never quite lives up to
expectations. But there are enough moments on
Brave New World to make diehard fans hold out hope that the
glory days of Maiden will soon be returning — though work still
needs to be done.