I finally got Brave New World, and I gave myself some time to soak it in before writing this review. My take: good. It's not one of Iron Maiden's best albums, but it has some strong songs on it, and it does feature the comeback of Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals.
The cover features Eddie as a ghostly figure among the clouds above a futuristic London. Spooky stuff, but not one of their better covers. At least it beats this one all to hell.
Thematically, the songs are all over the place. Subject matter includes mercenaries ("The Mercenary"), desert nomadic culture ("The Nomad"), dreams ("The Dream of Mirrors"), fallen supernatural beings ("The Fallen Angel"), ghosts ("Ghost of the Navigator"), and much more. Overall, I'd say my favorites are "The Wicker Man," "Out of the Silent Planet," "The Thin Line Between Love and Hate," and "The Mercenary."
But the album has been growing on me, and I like it more now than when I first got it. If I keep listening to it, Brave New World just might become one of my favorite Maiden albums.
Here's a bit of "Out of the Silent Planet" to give you a taste.
4 comments:
"Out of the Silent Planet" is, in case you don't know, a book by C.S. Lewis, and the first installment in a trilogy that also includes "Perelandra" and "That Hideous Strength." Call it Christian science fiction, for lack of any better quick description. If you've never read them, hunt them down.
They are some of the old sci-fi, so nearby planets such as Venus and Mars are portrayed as capable of sustaining life in this particular universe.
I did not know that! Hm. That gives me an inspiration for some reading material.
P.S.: I was totally unaware that C.S. Lewis wrote science fiction. I'm only familiar with the Narnia works, some of his medieval writings, and his Christian writings.
Ya learn something new every day!
Well, it's not HARD science fiction. It's more the old-fashioned meaning of the term, in that part of the story takes place on another planet. (Perelandra is the real name of the planet we call Venus).
The main theme of the story is that it's an exploration of an idea about how earth got the way it is, that is, how mankind fell from grace, and the fight against the evil who was trying to destroy it.
It's like sci-fi with a religious theme. And some conspiracy, and some old magic. I recommend it. It's usually referred to as the "Space Trilogy."
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