IRON MAIDEN (UK) - Somewhere in Time (LP, EMI, 1986)

RATING: ****

To say that the World Slavery Tour was exhausting would be a glaring understatement. In fact, the Iron Maiden camp were totally drained when the seemingly never-ending jaunt finally folded in July 1985, to such an extent that an extended break was granted so everyone (including the almost-unsung heroes from the road crew) could get themselves together before working on a new album. Releasing the (remarkably enjoyable) 2-LP live set "Live After Death" proved to be a wise move actually, not only to immortalise an immensely sucessful tour, but also to have something to sell while the band enjoyed a much-needed vacation. 

From the musicians involved, Bruce Dickinson seems to have been the most burned-out of all; he famously commented that, towards the end of the tour, he felt like he was "a piece of machinery, a part of the lightning rig", and it transpires that the vocalist seriously contemplated quitting the music scene altogether, questioning himself if the gruelling touring schedule would be a life worth living after all. Fortunately, his decision was to keep playing the game - which is not to say he was immediately back with all guns blazing, mind you, as no contributions from his part made it into "Somewhere in Time", Maiden's sixth studio LP released in September 1986. It seems that Bruce wrote a handful of semi-acoustic tunes, trying to take the whole venture towards a different direction - something that would hardly have been a wise move for a band that had just conquered the world by playing uncompromising, highly focused heavy metal, so I guess the fact that this particular batch of songs never saw the light of day in its original form was all for the best, really.

Now please allow me to make myself clear: "Somewhere in Time" is undoubtedly a very good record. I'm aware that many people actually pick it as a personal favorite, a decision that is perfectly understandable in a sense: it's a more progressive-leaning, instrumentally-driven album, and those who love Iron Maiden's ambitious instrumental sections (and who doesn't?) will get quite a kick out of listening to this LP (I know I do, for instance). Still, after long deliberation, I have to be honest with myself: this is perhaps the weakest Maiden album from the 80s (as I consider "No Prayer for the Dying" to be a 90s album in both sound and spirit, even if we could argue about the year 1990 being technically part of the 80s and so on), and the band sounds tired - in fact, very tired - and a bit unfocused throughout. Bruce Dickinson may have been the one who suffered the most, being the frontman and all, but there's no doubt in my mind that the entire band were still trying to catch their breath by this juncture. And it shows.

Let's start by taking a closer look to the choruses, for instance. Only "Wasted Years" and "Sea of Madness" present something more thoughtful and ellaborate: the rest are rather unimaginatively centered around the song titles, or else simply repeating a phrase or motif to no end (c'mon, "feel like I've been here before" four times in a row may be one of the less inventive choruses ever penned in major-league metal). The lyrics mostly suffer from a dip in quality as well, being less interesting in both craft and topics when compared to previous efforts: I mean, they used to write thought-provoking lyrics about the doomsday clock or the final moments of a man about to be hanged, and now they're resorting to commentary about feeling a deja-vu or running a marathon. "Alexander the Great" is a good example when it comes to this particular shortcoming: where previous epics like "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" cruised with amazing storytelling, "Alexander the Great" stumbles while giving something real close to a history lecture, with a list of dates, battles and occurences that fail to create any emotional connection with the figure the song sings about. It's clear to me that Steve Harris did his research before writing about Alexander III of Macedon, so let's give him credit where is due - but he's a songwriter, not a teacher, and the lyrics he came up with are seriously lacking in artistry, being rather bland as a result.

In fact, maybe the overall lack of imagination is "Somewhere in Time" undoing. The instrumentation is great, and some particular moments are close to brilliant, though the piece of experimentation with synth guitars/bass doesn't really add much to the band's sound. But it's hard to pick a song that is flawless from start to end: maybe only "Wasted Years" could have been part of "Powerslave" without being perceivably weaker than the rest, and I seriously doubt that "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" or "Deja-Vu" would have been more than B-sides on any of their previous records, you know. "Caught Somewhere in Time" is perhaps a perfect opening number for this particular LP: it's pretty nice in places, and quite engaging as a whole if you're in the right frame of mind, but there's no real inspiration going on (apart from Adrian Smith's truly impressive solo), just a hugely talented bunch of musicians getting their job done on autopilot. Iron Maiden by the numbers are leagues ahead of 99% of their competition, but it's still by the numbers, if you know what I mean.

Not all is lost, though - and, in the case of "Somewhere in Time", not all is lost at all. It's the record that finally consolidated Adrian Smith as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to songwriting; with the band seemingly in a shortage of usable ideas, he came up with what is easily the best song around here, "Wasted Years" - a heartfelt commentary about life on the road that still ranks as one of the most memorable songs from Maiden's entire repertoire. He also contributed with "Stranger in a Strange Land", a song that would have benefit from a little more variation in places, but that tells a moving story about an explorer lost in the Antarctic and is also one of my personal favorites from the album. OK, "Sea of Madness" sounds a bit too half-baked for its own good, but at least it's miles better than the self-parody of "Deja-Vu" (I really don't like this one, in case you didn't notice), so kudos for trying something different, Adrian. From the four songs penned by Steve Harris, I'd say that "Heaven Can Wait" is the best of the lot: despite a repetitive chorus that really annoys me after a while, it's a very cohesive, entertaining (and not overly ambitious) tune about a near-death experience that successfully delivers all of its promises. On a more conceptual level, it's commendable that the five-piece kept things going without compromising the drive and heavy edge of their sound, in a time when many metal champions were seduced by pop-rockish flirtations and the keyboard-coated aesthetics of the era. And oh well, it's 80s Maiden, and Iron Maiden were nearly invincible throughout the 80s, so you can all rest assured that great music will come out of your speakers when you press 'play'. It's a 4-star rating, because it's still a bloody good record, and you should definitely give it a few listens if (God knows how) you haven't done so until now.

Still - and it pains me to say so, because I really enjoy listening to it - the fact is clear for any inquisitive ears to hear: "Somewhere in Time" is not as good an album as you may think it is, and it did not stood that well the test of time. For the first time in Maiden's glorious history, they sound predictable and slightly contrived, like they were trying to please rather than being natural leaders of the heavy metal pack. The band were tired, and "Somewhere in Time" is undoubtedly a tired (though very decent) record from a tired band. Maybe it's a natural development after a band gets so huge: some sort of stagnation starts to settle in, and you may need one or two unimpressive releases (or perhaps dozens) before you're really able to shake it off. They would really top all expectations next time around though, releasing what is arguably their only 100/100 album, so I'd say that "Somewhere in Time" didn't cause their fortunes any perceivable harm, being more of a hiccup rather than an ominous sign of things to come. Still totally worth buying, though.

Bruce Dickinson (V), Dave Murray (G), Adrian Smith (G), Steve Harris (B), Nicko McBrain (D).

01. Caught Somewhere in Time (Harris) 7:22
02. Wasted Years (Smith) 5:06
03. Sea of Madness (Smith) 5:42
04. Heaven Can Wait (Harris) 7:24
05. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Harris) 6:31
06. Stranger in a Strange Land (Smith) 5:43
07. Deja-Vu (Murray, Harris) 4:55
08. Alexander the Great (Harris) 8:35

Have you been involved with any of the bands mentioned here? Have any extra info and/or corrections? Please e-mail me (drequon@gmail.com) and let me know!