This song was inspired by 1976 movie with Malcolm McDowell and Christopher Plummer. Though the song references WWII the movie deals with WWI. Guess what?? It’s about fighter pilots !! (Who could have guessed, huh?) I think Steve likes war films .... Anyhow, I’ve always loved this song. I’d play along to it with my bass guitar as a teenager and it was, shall we say, extremely challenging, but I really dug the song. I still like it to this day. An amazing, fast opener that is jaw dropping in places in terms of what’s going on. Great tune.
A couple of notes on Powerslave : I believe this was the first album where the drums and bass guitar were recorded in a completely separate location (and country) than the guitars and vocals. So it is correct that the recording began in Nassau, Bahamas (bass and drums) but it was finished elsewhere (mixing, mastering, and additional recording). This was also the first album where Steve and Dave appeared in a photo shoot with their tattoos. I remember thinking, “oh man! look at that! (I thought they looked stupid). I think Powerslave was the height of my IM love and things fell fairly rapidly after this one for me. I had tickets to this show, but didn’t go because I got sick the day of. I did catch them again on the SiT tour and was SO pleased that the did “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”! I remember reading an interview around the time of Powerslave that “Rime” was an absolute bitch for Bruce to remember all the words. I believe he said something to that effect when I saw them on the SiT tour.
Aces High is mostly likely a top 5 Maiden song for me. (I need to be careful in this thread so I don't say that 10-20 times) Agree with MusicMatt about the whammy bar dives. The song is so aggressive and unique in the verses and pre-chorus. The chorus is signature Maiden. I like the vocals better on the studio version than Live after Death, but nothing beats the Churchill intro and just the overall energy of the live version.
And so onto 1984.... I saw Maiden every tour up to No Prayer For The Dying...and The World Slavery Tour was their absolute peak, a gnats **** in front of 83's World Piece Tour. Ace's High Blistering opening track, but with everything under control. This will do nicely..... 5/5
General Powerslave Thoughts: As great as the songs are, one thing that always brings me back for this album is the production. Martin Birch's production is flat out stellar. It's one of my favorite sounding albums of all time. Every instrument is so crystal clear with perfect stereo separation. With each album he's got them sounding better and better. No Maiden album sounds better than this one. Riggs' artwork...amazing. His best up to this point. I don't know the details of everyone else's instruments, but for Steve he uses a different bass on Powerslave than his usual Fender P-bass. He used a Lado bass (you can see it in the Aces High video) and that makes his tone sound *slightly* different. I wonder why he switched from his trusty P-bass? I'm glad he switched back for the World Slavery Tour. Powerslave is the first Maiden album with a steady lineup and that really helped the chemistry on the record. This is going to be a fun 8 days. Aces High Simply exhilarating. When I was younger (before they banned electronics) I would always play Aces High when in an airplane, about to take off. I would watch the other planes on the runway so I could start Aces at *precisely* the right second so that the plane took off right as the band did after the intro at :25 seconds in. Ah, the small joys of life. Actually, this wasn't just as a kid....I still do this, I'm just sneakier with my iPhone. This song is just pure adrenaline. Even that intro, it's got a perfect feeling of knowing it's about to explode. They opened with this (preceded by Churchill's speech) for the 1999 Ed Hunter tour that brought Bruce and Adrian back in the band and it was astoundingly perfect. MAN, I LOVE THIS SONG. HAHA. I might be happy listening to this. What else to say...extremely well written, best opening song on a Maiden album so far. Bruce is simply amazing vocally on this song. Steve, Nicko, Dave, Adrian...bravo. Everyone plays and sings to the best of their ability. Solos, bass lines, drum parts, vocal melodies...stellar all the way through. Aces High is Steve's best song up to this point...we'll see what happens on Side Two. @MusicMatt , thanks for posting the artwork. It's so beautiful. Keep it up!
Great point. I was going to do an album summary at the end and mention how stand out the production is. It's really amazing how clear sounding it is but still has plenty of bottom end. "Powerslave" hits me in the face every time I hear it. The aggressiveness and attack of the songs themselves is obviously the biggest reason but the production certainly adds some power to that punch. I've always considered "Seventh Son" to be my favorite Maiden album, but after the last few days, I'm not so sure anymore. "Seventh Son" appeals a bit more to my intellect and sense of melody but "Powerslave" has a more visceral impact.
POWERSLAVE Ahh, we are deep into the classic era. So many good memories... I don't even know what to add other than it's a great album. When I was about 16 I drew the Egyptian-themed cover on a piece of paper about 14" x 14" and it was challenging but fun. It hung in my room for years. ACES HIGH Talk about a great album and concert opener. I prefer the studio version to the Live After Death version because I think Bruce's voice sounds rough at the beginning of the LAD concert. Not as bad as Robert Plant sounds singing "Rock and Roll" in The Song Remains The Same, but that's a low bar to clear. The two guitar solos really do remind me of two planes fighting it out.
Yeah, I always wondered why Charlie Rose used to be so acclaimed as one of the world's best interviewers. He always put me to sleep and often seemed like he hadn't done much research prior to the interview.
I've fallen behind due to some computer issues. Consequently, I have some catching up to do. Quest For Fire: Sure the lyrics are silly but the musianship is stellar. Sun and Steel: I always loved the chorus. To Tame A Land: An epic track.
Aces High has always been my favorite from Powerslave. I prefer the studio version, but I really like how Churchill's Speech works as a introduction to the song in the live setting. I wish it was on the studio version.
Powerslave - if I had to recommend one album to someone who had never heard of Iron Maiden, this would be it! I'm pissed at Bruce, Rime of the Ancient Mariner should have gone down in history as Maiden's longest song, Empire of the Clouds doesn't even remotely compare to it.
I would actually put POM last but, gosh, it sounds wonderful compared to the drek that is NOTB. Very impressed with the sonics - feels energetic and live, even though the instruments were recorded all over the place.
"Aces High", effective, intense and energetic opener for the album. You can't (and perhaps shouldn't) even escape the power of this bombastic track. Instant adrealine rush and attack for me every and each time any version of this song is heard. Exciting piece and tale concentrating on the RAF pilots doings in the Battle Of Britain, it's explosive song from the start until the very end. The powerful lyrics aswell the whole break-neck speedy melodies turns this into one memorable ride and one of the most-known anthem. Great chorus here in the song, and it makes good example of Bruce's voice and the caliber he can do and deliver when needed. My absolutely favorite singer in the world. The Air Raid Siren. Very demanding song when performed live in concert. Stellar performances from the whole band, bass, vocals, drums, both guitarists provide great solos. Feels like the dueling and changing guitars are like the two pilots handling their planes there in the action. And I have always loved this one, especially the live-performances where we get the Churchill's speech also. Overall feeling of Powerslave-album is that it's one of their best, absolutely great package of songs, great album art on the cover and perhaps the production is probably the best ever onIron Maiden album. It sounds so damn good, there's few different favorites that I cherish on the sound (7th Son being the other). Like you have commented here already, I can only echo the comments how stellar and clear the production is, it just sounds great even with the more aggressive and attack parts are played. So, all in all feels great to join you all for commenting this great album. And yes, I just remembered that I have six pack of Trooper-beer in my Marshall Fridge. Also as it's 23.12.2017: Happy 61st Birthday to Dave Murray!!!
Holy S---! Happy Birthday to my favorite Maiden guitarist, and here's to more good years for him, and that infectious smile of his (Admit it, that smile is infectious)
2 Minutes to Midnight: And now we come to the premiere single for the album, written by Bruce and Adrian about the politics of war and destruction, the title, referring to the Doomsday Clock, a symbol of the impending nuclear holocaust. The song kicks off with a riff that actually kind of reminds me of Judas Priest, and the band locks into a really nice groove at :20, with Bruce coming in at :31, and he gives this nice grit to his voice that has a little bit of Halford in it, but still sounds and feels like Dickinson. Steve throws in some little bass licks that Ian Hill would never do, though, it's all Arry. Dave throws in a solo at 2:43, a killer Dave Murray solo as always, and then Adrian responds at 3:06 with a badass solo of his own. And we must mention Nicko as well, because he once again shows himself to be a very good groove drummer, in addition to having good technique. This is a strong song overall, a solid single (although maybe I would have switched the order of release), good flow, good rhythm, engaging song, with strong performances from all.
11:58 PM That riff! Very groove oriented song and one of the better collaborations from H and Bruce. Hearing some of those lyrics as a young teen really made me fall in love with this band. "Jellied brains of those who remain" and "children torn in two" really made me laugh out loud back then, in a good way as it was kinda extreme from what I was used to. Man, those first twenty seconds are a dynamic range lovers metal dream! As long as its not the 1998 remaster, you can crank this sucker as loud as you want and it'll keep sounding better and better.
Wow, I dropped off there for a while and boy you guys have really moved along! I was thinking "I wonder if they are done Number of the Beast yet?" Haha! I guess you have! Powerslave is my sentimental favourite as it was the first album I got of theirs not long after it was released.
TWO MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT We definitely keep the momentum going with track #2. It's actually a more straightahead rocker than what they usually do. It still has the Maiden stamp on it but also sounds like it could have been done by a lot of good metal bands (I mean this in a good way). The chorus is an excellent hook. I like the breakdown towards the end of the solo where they play those solid chords that reminds me of Dio-era Black Sabbath, before picking up with the main riff again. I distinctly remember that when MTV was playing the Live After Death concert in early 1987, I was walking into the room towards the end of "Two Minutes to Midnight" and going "Holy crap! Iron Maiden! Why didn't you guys tell me this was on?" Fortunately, my brother was recording it--on Betamax.
I think I read the main riff to “2 Minutes to Midnight”is one of the most used chord structures in rock. From the article I read, there’s about six or seven well known songs that incorporate that riff in some way or another. I just thought that was interesting. This one is kind of precursor to “Wasted Years” in that it’s a fairly straightforward, melodic rocker with a good hook. Dickinson and Smith were a good writing team. Both have a good idea of what makes a catchy song and can add the rock to it as well. I can see why they worked well together in Bruce’s band as well as Iron Maiden. I can also see why when Smith quit, Bruce wasn’t far behind him in going out the door as well.
