Well, I'm loving it. It sounds exactly like Iron Maiden, with enough new elements to keep it interesting. At 82 minutes, there's a fair amount of bloat on there, especially the longer songs. I can only assume it's something to do with how royalties are paid on streaming services - Book of Souls could have stood some editing to fit onto a single disc, but this one feels like it's been deliberately padded to stretch to a double.
Senjutsu is a hell of an opening track, with Japanese Koto style drumming, a great galloping beat with a strong melody. It sounds nothing like Maiden, until the guitars come in and then there's no doubt who this is, one of the stronger songs on the album. Stratego is a solid rocker to follow up, and a reminder that 'Arry can still write great rockers in under 5 minutes - a fact you wish he'd bear in mind elsewhere on the album. Writing on the Wall sounds even better in the context of the album, almost like a whole new song, and is one of my favourites.
Next up, the first of the big Steve Harris epics that dominate the album, Lost In A Lost World. And lets face it, we all know exactly what to expect, 'Arry has been writing the exact same song for 30 years now. The quieter intro bit has a keyboard wash and echoey vocals that make it sound a bit like Planet Caravan, then the band kick in with a trademark Maiden gallop. It delivers - it's not bad, it's just standard Maiden fare. Days of Future Past is a Smith/Dickinson rocker with a great chorus and melody.
Disc 1 ends with The Time Machine, another Harris epic, this time a co-write with Jan, which elevates it slightly. It's good, and the one song on the album that I found myself wishing was a bit longer. Disc 2 opens with Darkest Hour, the album's third and last Smith/Dickinson tune, and this one is a little odd for an opener - it's not exactly a ballad, but it's a slower tempo song of the sort you wouldn't really expect Smith to write. I like it a lot.
The album ends with 3 Steve Harris epics back to back. Death of the Celts is standard fare, with a nice Irish Jig section, and it sounds like it belongs in the Blaze Bailey era (Bruce's voice is sounding more like Blaze as it ages). The Parchment is better, much better. Probably the best thing Maiden have done since Powerslave. Finally Maiden have their own Kashmir - this is brilliant (even if it is about 2 minutes too long). I suspect this will be a LOT of people's favourite Maiden song of the reunion era. A lot of reviews have claimed final track Hell On Earth is even better, but I just don't hear it. It was a lot better on second listen, mind, so perhaps this one's a grower.
Whether you love this one or not will depend on your opinion of those Steve Harris epics that all sound the same. If you like them, you'll love this album, because it's chock full of them. It is bloated and should have been a single disc, and the digipack remains a horrible idea. The keyboards are pretty awful too - keyboard technology has come a long way in the last 30 years. After 2 listens I's say it's a better album than Book of Souls because it's more coherent and focused, but it's too long and too Harris-heavy to be better than TFF or AMOLAD.
Album of the year? Well, that depends on how good the ABBA album turns out to be...
Topic: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls (Read 572181 times)
