I seriously cannot wait for everyone to hear it!! The freshness and innovation for a band this far into their career is absolutely staggering and it has totally rekindled my love for Maiden after a pretty lukewarm reception to TFF (for myself). Maiden are still writing like they have something to prove, and I honestly cannot believe how fucking awesome it is!
I would also want to say that there were a couple of runs that totally reminded me of the DiAnno era albums. Seriously.
And I think that is fucking
I definitely had that feeling too! There are some definite throwbacks to the first two albums, especially with tempo changes that just smack you in the face, in the vein of (but not as drastic as) the tempo change in Genghis Khan.
There is more of that Sabbath vibe in some of the riffs that was present in the early days, but within the context of the proggier Maiden. I love it!
I love reading these comments.
What's the production like?
To me the production is raw, like AMOLAD, but that being said it runs directly into Brave New World on my itunes, and there is definitely a similarity.
I think the 'rawness' is due to the quality of the rip - there is a lot missing in the bottom end, and listening to the Spotify stream of Speed of Light would suggest that it is just the rip quality.
And regarding Empire of the Clouds (spoiler): I can't believe that its 18 mins, it just flies by! I was also shocked at how it doesn't at all rely on long, drawn out breakdowns a la SSOASS, Rime or SOTC. It almost never lets up. Bruce can write a killer riff when he wants to, and one in particular is definitely one of my favourite Maiden riffs post-reunion.
Eternity, River Runs Deep, Red and the Black, Empire and the title track are standouts for me at the moment. The others are growing on me, and I feel like thats most likely how this album works.