CD Review: Iron Maiden's "A Matter of Life and Death"

by John Foxworthy

Artist: Iron Maiden (www.ironmaiden.com)
Title: A Matter Of Life And Death
Genre: Metal
Label: Sanctuary

It's been quite a while since an Iron Maiden album has seen the top of the metal heap ... and that day may still be pending with their latest effort (if you can call it that). The mighty Maiden seem to have slipped further into the obscure depths of countless repetition and left their awesome legacy to sink slowly into the archives of "...remember when?"

A Matter Of Life And Death starts off with an energetic burst, courtesy of "Different World," but I really couldn't help noticing the similarities between this tune and "Invaders," which kicks off Number Of The Beast. In fact, the production quality here (on the whole record for that matter) is also pretty reminiscent of that era. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Beast is still one of my fav albums of all time. On the other hand, I'm pretty discontent with the composition across the board.

I think that if you're arguably the most influential band in metal, you have a certain obligation to your fans to release albums that keep up the momentum. And, when I listen to everything these guys did from '80 to '88, I almost feel robbed. Don't get me wrong ... I can honestly testify that Iron Maiden is, and always will be, the greatest metal band of all time. They reshaped the way I judged the genre from the day I first heard them, but c'mon guys ... are you just making albums out of habit?

Now ... I don't hate this album by any means. A Matter Of Life And Death offers a lot of the old school Maiden charm. There's no shortage of epic six-minute-plus sonatas and Bruce Dickenson certainly hasn't lost that amazing voice that invariably put these guys on the map. Also, of notable recognition is Steve Harris' knack for writing lyrics that tell one hell of a story.

Musically, there are a few great riffs ... like in "The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg" and "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns," but even then we don't get the amazing instrumental compositions for which Iron Maiden's reputation was originally based. There are very few really cool dual guitar segues between parts and, save for a side-b-gem called "The Legacy," many of the larger-than-life epics lack any real character ... in that they all feel very improvised, unpracticed and unmemorable.

Although I've been a faithful "Moondoggie" since Maiden's self-titled debut in 1980, I just can't get behind this package as a whole ... and it makes me feel like I want to cry. I almost wish these guys would just retire so I could keep my earlier impressions of them alive and it pains me to give A Matter Of Life And Death a disappointing 5 stars out of 10.
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John Foxworthy is the founder of Garage Radio (www.garageradio.com) and a Modern Guitars columnist (PR 101).

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