I also forgot to mention how every band going made a song about nuclear war during this time period.
Yeah...I used the word "contrived" earlier, but that's not the best word. As you noted, EVERY band had a "let's not nuke the hell out of everyone" song, and by that point, it was a bit played out.
But I definitely had Fire Down Under, Restless And Wild, and Power And The Glory, and Holy Diver by the time Powerslave came out.
While I didn't notice any of the similarities between 2 Minutes and any other song, I was aware that Stand Up and Shout and Power and the Glory had basically the identical opening/main riff. Saxon's album was released a couple months earlier, but I'm pretty sure that Holy Diver had been recorded before P&TG was released, so the similarity was purely coincidental (unless both bands swiped it from a common source).
I didn't feel that Powerslave built on Piece Of Mind in any way. It felt like a step back honestly.
I did too, but that's only because POM is SO FUCKING GOOD that it's virtually impossible to top (and, IMO, they never have topped it).
Remember, these are the thoughts of a 16 y/o TAC.
I hear you. This was right in the midst of my "if it ain't metal, it ain't good" phase (even though I liked a bunch of non-metal bands, so the consistency definitely wasn't there for me).
I'm in the same group here. I thought Powerslave was the bomb. It wasn't AS GOOD as Piece of Mind - which was probably my favorite album at that point - because there was filler - the instrumental, The Duellists, and Flash Of The Blade - but the highs - Side two is my favorite Maiden album side from that era - were really high. By then, Dio was sort of fading for me. I LOVED Holy Diver, and Last In Line was close, but there was something cartoon-y about Dio that Maiden wasn't, and Sacred Heart just cemented that.
I don't know that cartoon-y is the right word. Both bands could be accused of that. I think the thing with Dio was that the band was a bit of a one-trick pony, and that really set in for me after Sacred Heart.
Quest For Fire has really aged well. And I've always like Sun And Steel.
I love both songs also -- especially S&S. I don't think paleontological accuracy was the driving goal for Harris when he wrote QFF (which, I believe, was based on the movie, which, despite not featuring any dinosaurs, wasn't all that historically accurate).