The 4th album by this supergroup. By now they were way past the NWOBHM. They were one the most importnat Heavy Metal bands around. In Kerrang they won every reader-poll from 1982-1988!! Clive Burr had left the drum-stool and Nicko McBrain had taken the sticks."Life in Maiden was never the same again!" as it says in the booklet. An interesting change. Technically Clive was very good, but not very loose in his style. Loose is Nicko in a nutshell. A loose style, but with a lot of discipline. Great drummer. Many of the members in Maiden consider this one as the best albums they have ever made. Funny that they only play "The Trooper" in their live-set today then. The album was a turning point for Maiden. Now they were really big.

Where Eagles Dare: Nicko McBrain is introduced with a furious drum/percussion intro and he blasts his way through the 6 min long track. What an entrance to an album! Great riff. Otherwise a bit anonymous I think.

Revelations: Inspired by a great danish web-site.no of course not. Silly me. First song written by Bruce Dickinson. Great middle section and vocal work on this track. Great lyrics as well. A nice mood in this song. One Maidens finest songs.

Flight Of Icarus: First single, charts at No. 11. Great song. Kick ass intro riff. A very driving song, with some very cool solo parts. Vocals on this one are quite amazing.

Die With Your Boots On: Yet another one of these songs that don't get played much. A great song though with some okay guitars. The middle part is by far the best along with the solos. But not an extraordinary track. Very much straight forward Maiden.

The Trooper: Now there's a classic for ya!!! 2nd single that charted at No. 12. What an amazing intro riff. "Paranoid" go home and wipe those eyes. There ain't room for loser-riffs in Maiden. Or something like that. Amazing drum work, guitar work, vocals and bass. A song that very much defines the Maiden sound on this album. Classic.

Still Life: One of my favorite tracks on the album. Amazing slow moody intro and a great heavyness and drive in this song. One of Dave Murrays best song. Great lyrics. Oh and the solos on this. dear God. I want to bite my tongue off beacause it's so good. The feeling in the intro guitar reminds me of the passion on "Strange World".

Quest For Fire: Inspired by the film of the same name, but not one of their best songs. The guitar work is ok, but I don't like the melody in this song. The chorus sounds a bit.I don't know. But you might like it. Let me know.

Sun And Steel: Hmm. Two weak tracks, in my opinion, in a row. Again it's the melody that bothers me. I don't like the chorus, although the lyrics are quite good. Then again, some of my friends feels that this is one of Maidens best tracks on the album! I will move on in silence.

To Tame A Land: Was to be called "Dune", but the author wouldn't allow it. As you might have guessed it is based on the novel "Dune". I just love the drive in this song. The bass line are just so damn catchy. It just thunders away. Amazing feeling in the slower middle section. Great up-tempo part with some ok solos. A great way to finish off the album.

To rate this album is as difficult as have a sicks-pack in your fridge and not drink it!!

It is so damn hard. This is a totally different Maiden album. The sound is different. The production could have been better. I think the drums could have sounded better. But that is just small things. That and the 2 weak tracks, still in my opinion, somewhere in between 9.0 and 9.5, but since I can't do that I will have to go for 9.0. Sorry guys.

Written by Ulrick
Thursday, July 11, 2002
Show all reviews by Ulrick

Ratings

Ulrick: 9/10

Members: 9.62/10 - Average of 4 ratings.



Member ratings

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Steen (Staff) Rating: 9/10 No review was posted

LemmingDeMerciless Rating: 10/10 I give this album 10 out of 10 for the impact it had on me when it came out, the whole pac... · Read more ·

notrap Rating: 10/10 After the worldwide success of the previous record this band had definitely something to p... · Read more ·

Dark Lord Rating: 9.5/10 No review was posted

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Comment by kris s (Anonymous) - Friday, September 26, 2003

i agree 9/10

Comment by Morten (Anonymous) - Monday, September 29, 2003

For me it's either Piece of Mind or Powerslave... it depends of the mood I'm in! 9/10 as well!

Comment by neil wilson (Anonymous) - Friday, October 10, 2003

quest for fire has an incredible solo in it dont forget!

Comment by Oliver (Anonymous) - Sunday, January 18, 2004

Piece Of Mind is Maiden at it best, musically, thematically, as a band, and has a sound so incredible, so unbelievable that even Maiden itself couldn't ever surpass it

Comment by Raoul (Anonymous) - Thursday, February 19, 2004

Great reviews Ulrick. But in my opinion Piece of Mind deserves nothing less than a perfect 10. " Many of the members in Maiden consider this one as the best albums they have ever made"... and so do I. The two supposedly 'weak' tracks not withstanding. In any case personal opinions differ. And as far as I am concerned it is the single greatest metal album of all time (new wave or otherwise.)

Comment by Dhritiman Sarma (Anonymous) - Tuesday, March 9, 2004

WELL A MASTER PIECE OF HEAVY METAL ALBUMS .....A GOOD FOLLLOW UP OF THE # OF THE BEAST YET I LAUGH AT THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE RECORD COMPANIES , 'COS THEY HAVEN'T REELEASED IT IN INDIA . HAD THEYR RELEASED IT , I'M SURE , THET'LL MAKE MILLIONS FROM IT SO FAR ..I'VE HEARD SOME # IN RADIO 'N MP3 IN INTERNET, 'N I REALISED ...A REAL MASTER PIECE OF METAL THE TROOPER , WHERE EAGLES DARE , DIE WITH UR BOOTS ON , STILL LIFE ,FLIGHT OF ICARUS ..... THAT'S WHAT METAL IS .. IRON MAIDEN IS BETTER THAN BLACK SABBATH / OZZY OSBOURNE IF U WANNA CONTACT ME ...MY MAIL ID IS m4metal@yahoo.com

Comment by I Maiden (Anonymous) - Saturday, May 22, 2004

a sweet album (thanks to the Trooper), but there is something missing, oh yeah more power

Comment by Nomad (Anonymous) - Sunday, May 23, 2004

I liked that Dune song.....To tame a land....haha, and Flight of Icarus, Troopers, where eagles dare, and revelations are awesome~ 8.5/10

Comment by rh (Anonymous) - Wednesday, February 16, 2005

murray rules and smith drools

Comment by legerdemain (Anonymous) - Wednesday, March 23, 2005

am kinda disappointed with your rating of this album.. this'd positively be my fave album by maiden.. pity it aint available in india.. with a track like flight of icarus, there just ain't anything short of perfection here!!

Comment by Alex13 (Anonymous) - Saturday, June 25, 2005

yeah, u rite. reviewers on this site dont realy put as high scores as they should to many classic albums. I guess its because they dont take into consideration how much others actualy like them. Its just the writers opinion on a classic.

Comment by Jumblee (Anonymous) - Thursday, July 28, 2005

Piece of mind Pros-Where Eagles Dare, The Trooper, Still Life, To Tame A Land. Cons-Revelations, Flight Of Icarus, Die With Your Boots On, Quest For Fire, Sun and Steel. 5.5/10

Comment by Dhritiman Sarma (Anonymous) - Thursday, December 1, 2005

This was real goondatiti metal yet underrated

Comment by Tom G (Anonymous) - Saturday, December 31, 2005

I LIVE IRON MAIDEN I LOVE IRON MAIDEN THE TROOPER IS THE BEST FRECKING SONG IN THE WORLD !!!!!!!

Comment by HAGEN OF VALHALLA (Anonymous) - Friday, June 16, 2006

I AGREE WITH THE RATING FOR THIS ALBUM NO ONE CAN DISCUSS THAT THIS IS NOT A MAIDEN CLASIC BECAUSE IN FACT IT REALLY IS , NICKO'S SOUND AND STILE GAVE MAIDEN A NEW WAY TO DO THINGS, I KNOW CLIVE DID IT WELL BUT NICKO IS THE MAN, HIS FURIOS DRUMS IS WATH MAKE MAIDEN A HIT WITHOUT NICKO THINGS WOULDN'T BE SAME I CANNOT MIND CLIVE DOING THE TROOPER BUT AGAIN HE DID WELL DONE JOB IN THE ALBUMS HE PLAYED AND I FEEL A GREAT ADMIRATION FOR HIM, IN PIECE OF MIND THERE´S SOME OUTSTANDING SONGS THE TROOPER IS CONSIDERED AN ANTHEM OF METAL MUSIC, I REALLY LIKE REVELATION A LOT, THAT IS A GREAT SONG WITH SO MANY CHANGES AND GOOD PERFORMANCE BY BRUCE SO AS IN FLIGHT OF ICARUS WHICH I CONSIDER HIS BEST PERFORMANCE ON THE ALBUM ALONG WITH THE TROOPER, PIECE OF MIND IS THE REAL BEGINING OF A LEGEND CALLED IRON MAIDEN WE MUST CONSIDER OURSELVES SO DAMN LUCKY TO HAVE LIVED ON THIS ERA AND HAVE A BAND LIKE IRON MAIDEN I DON'T THINK OURS CHILDRENS OR NIECES CAN SAY THAT ABOUT A BAND OF THEIR TIME SO PUT THE IRON MAIDEN ALBUMS TO THEM SINCE THEIR CRADLE TIME SO THEY CAN GROW IN THE RIGHT WAY. 9/10 HELL UPS THE IRONS

Review by notrap (Member) - Saturday, July 17, 2010

View Profile Comments: 55 Ratings: 66 After the worldwide success of the previous record this band had definitely something to prove with Piece Of Mind. Would this band fulfil the expectations of all rock community after the huge impact of The Number Of The Beast? Steve Harrys&Co said: No problem mates! We will release one dam good record ;) They were right. Piece Of Mind is an extraordinary record. One of Maiden's best releases. Nicko was clearly an upgrade. Heavy Metal's finest line-up was finally found. Special credits to: Where Eagles Dares Revelations Flight Of Icarus Die With Your Boots On The Trooper - One of the best songs ever made. After this record Iron Maiden become the major Heavy Metal act in the world. Up the Irons!!! 10/10 Rating: 10/10 Posted by notrap Saturday, July 17, 2010

Review by LemmingDeMerciless (Member) - Sunday, May 29, 2011

View Profile Comments: Ratings: 4 I give this album 10 out of 10 for the impact it had on me when it came out, the whole package including the artwork were just stunning , and its still a masterpiece today, who'd have thought the irons could follow up the beast with something better Rating: 10/10 Posted by LemmingDeMerciless Sunday, May 29, 2011