Well said, Satyrblade. Well said. Probably the weakest album of the Golden Age of Maiden, but it has two of their very best songs (Trooper, Icarus). But if you are a Maiden Head, you already know this. If you are just discovering them, you really should look at Powerslave, Number of the Beast, and/or Killers before this one.
Aside from a comical misspelling of one of Maiden's signature tracks, this entry reminds me that my least-favorite album from the band's classic run (IRON MAIDEN through POWERSLAVE) is better than I recalled. Stinkers like "To Tame a Land" still smell, but aside from that song and the ill-advised movie take-offs "Quest for Fire" and "Where Eagles Dare" PIECE is a damned good album. The album's time-tested classic "The Trooper" still stands far above the other songs, but in the days since my last phonograph died a horrible death, I'd forgotten how good "Revelations," "Still Life" and "Die With Your Boots On" really are. A thin-sounding production takes some of the wind out of the beast's sails, but though it falls far short of POWERSLAVE's level, this remains a solid effort.
