Customer Reviews
You never forget your first time
Deep down I know that [[ASIN:B000063CP6 The Number of the Beast]] is probably a better album, and along with [[ASIN:B000063COZ Killers]] and their self-titled debut are more important, but Somewhere in Time was my first exposure to Iron Maiden, and we all know that you never forget your first time. Somewhere in Time will forever be my absolute favorite Iron Maiden album.
I remember it well. Metal was pretty much off-limits in my house growing up, but through friends and furtive exposure to MTV I quickly became hooked on the stuff. I was at a neighbor's house watching MTV's Headbanger's Ball (another first for me) when the video for Wasted Years came on. I had heard of Maiden, and the band's shirts were ubiquitous at my school, but I got the impression they were some sort of ultra-Satanic band and tried to keep my distance (I know, I know, but I was a Stryper fan, so I didn't know any better). As soon as that intricate guitar opening hit my ears my jaw dropped. By the end of the video I knew that another door to the metal world had just been opened for me. This was far more complex, more intelligent, and yes more METAL than many of my favorite bands at the time, who would no longer qualify as metal in my eyes.
Through another friend I managed to score a copy of Somewhere in Time on cassette, and to my great pleasure the rest of the album was every bit as good as Wasted Years (OK, Déjà Vu kind of sucks, but the rest of the album is top notch. ) I played this album over and over, amazed by the precision musicianship, melodies, powerful vocals, and sci-fi/fantasy lyrics. You just can't underestimate the impact of an album like that on my 12-year old psyche. I didn't grow up with Rush and Kansas like I should have, so an epic song like Alexander the Great seemed so exciting and groundbreaking to me, and to this day I can't listen to Stranger in a Strange Land without picturing myself as that doomed traveler.
So while there are certainly better Iron Maiden albums out there, none will ever outshine Somewhere in Time, at least in my eyes.
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Maiden gets more progressive, but still delivers an excellent album
), Iron Maiden's sixth studio album
In the first half of the 1980's, Iron Maiden's rise in popularity had been something of legend. Somewhere In Time (1986. From storming into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene with their self titled debut album, the band never looked back; even in the face of line up changes that plagued them in their early career. With what is regarded as the `classic' Maiden line up in place, with Bruce Dickenson (vocals), Nicko McBrain (drums) and Adrian Smith (guitar) joining long time members Steve Harris (bass) and Dave Murray (guitar) over the course of a couple of albums, the band went on to record `Piece Of Mind' and `Powerslave'. Both classic albums, the band again showed they were the masters of the dual-guitar heavy metal onslaught with more than a fair share of rip-roaring tunes. The question was, where should the band progress from here? Songs like `Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' had more than hinted at the band's progressive ideas and indeed this was the next territory for the group to delve into. Following a mammoth (and I mean MAMMOTH!) `Powerslave' tour which lasted nearly a year and encompassed nearly 200 concerts, the band went back to the studio to record `Somewhere In Time'. One of their more now underrated albums, it was released perhaps at the height of the band's popularity. So how does this more progressive epic from Iron Maiden fare?
`Somewhere In Time' for me is an impressive development on the archetypal Maiden sound. The main change is in the form of introducing subtle synthesisers into some of the band's songs and also longer more progressive song structures overall (the album's shortest track is at 5 minutes). That said though, these changes don't weigh down the Iron Maiden sound in this album. The synthesisers aren't in your face (they are slightly more bloated on the follow-up `Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son' and the longer songs never settle into too repetitive riffs. Bruce Dickenson's vocals are an important factor in this as he carries the lyrics with a great deal of urgency which keeps the music flowing along. Sadly though, I feel the more progressive nature of this album is what makes it quite an underrated work by the band - certainly it gained a more mixed reaction from fans when in was released back in '86. For me, the guitar work on the album is of similar heaviness to previous albums and has just as much pace (songs like `Caught Somewhere In Time' fly like the wind!) Also, the album provides a good mix of more catchier numbers mixed in with the more progressive stuff to please the hardcore Maiden fans. Adrian Smith certainly shines most of all in the songwriting department on this album with fantastic songs in `Sea Of Madness', `Wasted Years' and `Stranger In A Strange Land', the latter two of which provided Iron Maiden with a couple of successful hit singles. The cover to the album is an awesome one too, have a look and see just how many references you see to previous songs by the band on it, in it's futuristic setting!
Not too long ago, the Iron Maiden catalogue got totally remastered and improved. Hence the 1998 remasters are the way to go. The remaster job is great and all of the songs shine through with no sound glitches but also the recent version features and excellent accompanying booklet. The CD itself also has an enchanced multimedia section and you can view video footage of the 'Wasted Years' and 'Stranger In A Strange Land' songs from your PC.
Title track `Caught Somewhere In Time' gets Maiden's sixth album underway. This opener is a classic epic, set up fantastically by an opening haunting riff. This song has a great brisk pace throughout which never looses momentum, helped along by some strong Dickenson vocals. Murray and Smith play out some great solos mid-way through also. The first hit single in `Wasted Years' is next up, the first of 3 great songs written by Adrian Smith on this album. Again the song has an infectious opening riff which develops it's way throughout and a proper sing along chorus which in true Maiden style. `Sea Of Madness' follows, with a much more mellow sound to it. Again, a strong chorus and also a catchy undistorted bridge with more great Dickenson vocals. `Heaven Can Wait' marks the finish to the first half of the album. This is perhaps my favourite song on here. The highlights are the bass intro with clever guitar interjections, the blistering lengthy solos and the somewhat cheesy but effective interlude. Again another song which never falls down in speed and doesn't lose interest.
`The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner' is next, another Steve Harris epic based on the 1960's film of the same title. The intro to the song is surprisingly reminiscent to the tune to later song and Maiden fan favourite `Fear Of The Dark', still it sets a gentle, unassuming pace before the song breaks out into full attack with snarling Dickenson vocals in the verse and a thrashing chorus. `Stranger In A Strange Land' is a true classic and another top cut on this album. A formidable, plodding bass line opens up a particularly entrancing song with plenty of diverse guitar work and a surging chorus. The interlude is a great chilled out affair with some fantastic bass/guitar interactions. `Deja-Vu' follows; definitely the weakest track on here IMO. The riffs are surprisingly catchy though however the lyrics are pretty awful with a repetitive `Feels Like I've Been Here Before' repeated chorus. It's a bit of a `Maiden on autopilot' kind of song. Still, the album picks up again with the progressive epic in `Alexander The Great'. This follows on from where `Rime Of. . . ' left off, this time obviously though with synths. Although not as timeless as `Rime. . . ' it's still a great slice of adventurous metal that only Maiden could do well. The lyrics, although delivered brilliantly by Dickenson, do become somewhat of a boring history lesson in parts but never the less it's a captivating epic, full of twists and turns in the melody. There's more great solos (with clever bass fills) and the interlude has riffs with an ancient feel to them, which was not doubt what the band wanted to achieve with this epic.
`Somewhere In Time' is another excellent album from Iron Maiden and is yet another successful chapter in their career during the `80's. It's a sadly underrated album that showed yet again that the band was capable of developing and producing a few more surprises. Although I wouldn't rank this alongside Maiden's 5* efforts like `Number Of The Beast' or `Powerslave', it's on the next level down, which is still fantastic and should be an integral part of any Iron Maiden fans collection. Not for a Maiden newbie, pick this one up once you've got into the band's more famous albums like `Number Of The Beast' or `Iron Maiden'. Highly recommended!!
MY RATING: 8. 5/10.
strong 80's metal
I instantly liked the first recording and have to say i prefer Di'Anno's vocals over Dickenson's, but musically i really think "somewhere in time" is the best maiden i've heard. I first listened to maiden in 1990 after thinking maybe I should give some 80's metal (besides metallica) a chance. In all fairness though, i think Dickenson did a fantastic job on this disc that might have one-upped anything Di'Anno might have done. For instance, "wasted years" couldn't be done by anybody but dickenson, a killer track. Dickenson's vocals on "sea of madness" also impressed me.
Many fans didn't like the addition of the synthesizers into maiden's recordings, but i really think it made maiden harder and have a much fuller sound than their previous outputs. The opening of the song "somewhere in time" is one of my favorite song openers of all time. This song captures the creativity and spirit of iron maiden, which is kind of like a sci-fi theme, an interesting use of the metal genre. This album would have gotten five stars from me if the last half of it was as strong as the first, unfortunately i just don't think that "de ja vu," "loneliness. . . " or "alexander the great" can compare to the first four tracks or "stranger in a strange land," musically or lyrically. Nevertheless, the great songs on "somewhere in time," are easily worth the price of the disc. .
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