IRON MAIDEN (UK) - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (LP, EMI, 1988)

RATING: *****

Let's get straight to it: for me, "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is the best album ever recorded by Iron Maiden. It's not my personal favorite (as of today, that would go to "Powerslave"), and surely not their most influential and/or groundbreaking (you can either pick the eponymous debut or "The Number of the Beast" and you won't go wrong with any of these); I wouldn't even say that it's an underappreciated turning point in the group's career, or words to that effect (that would have to be "The X Factor", but let's not rush things). But I strongly tend to think it's the only Maiden album with not a single filler and/or perceivably minor song in sight (maybe only the 1980's self-titled LP would give it a fight on that regard), and the one who best encapsule all the elements associated with Maiden's sound, balancing the epic and ambitious aspect of the band's personality with the usual catchiness and dynamism we all learned to love and admire. It's a huge improvement to the somewhat lacklustre "Somewhere in Time" (though most of its many admirers will never agree with me on that), and it comes as a culmination to what is undeniably one of the very best runs ever experienced by a rock band, regardless of genres. If you somehow happen to not have a copy in your collection, the only thing I have to say is that you're quite a lucky person indeed, as you still can enjoy the extremely rewarding experience of listening to it for the first time. 

After pretty much keeping the show on the road and not much else with the competent (but mostly unimpressive) "Somewhere in Time", Iron Maiden found themselves in something of a crossroads: they could either rest on their laurels and re-record the same album every two years in order to make a (very respectable and wealthy) living, or else they could, well, take some risks and try something different this time around. Fortunately, they picked the second option. After reading Orson Scott Card's "Seventh Son" novel, Steve Harris felt that exploring the paranormal gifts of a child destined to be the chosen one would be quite a fitting storyline for a concept album - and the prospect of writing and recording such a project seems to have invigorated the whole band, most of all Bruce Dickinson. He is undoubtedly one of the highest points on "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son": his soul and energy were pretty much absent on "Somewhere in Time", but he's surely back with a vengeance here, co-writing over half the songs and delivering some of the most inspired performances from his career. Take "The Evil that Men Do" as an example: it's a way more difficult song to sing than it seems to be at first, and the man moves from a truly expressive low register to gloriously soaring belts and high notes that many singers out there would sell their mothers to reach - all in a seemingly effortless manner that is genuinely impressive, to say the least.

Some may argue (like Dickinson himself did in later years) that "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is not a full-blown conceptual album, being more a collection of songs loosely connected by a central subject. But I feel such criticism kind of misses the point, you know: Iron Maiden is not trying to draw conclusions or defending a thesis about good and evil, but rather taking the artistic quest started on "Piece of Mind" (and, to some extent, hinted on classic songs like "Phantom of the Opera") to its logical conclusion, stretching their storytelling abilities and instrumental dexterity to the limits of a full LP. It's more of a challenge they set for themselves, let's put it that way, and the resulting album sounds truly cohesive and engaging, perhaps the most well-rounded record Iron Maiden ever did - maybe not like you're moving from chapter to chapter while reading a book or something, but with a consistent flow that never stumbles and keeps the listener's attention from start to end. The storyline may demand an extra bit of imagination from the listener in places, but still it makes perfect sense: the first 4 songs (the A side, that is) tells us the story of the seventh son, who is tormented by dreams and visions he can hardly understand, while songs 5 to 7 are about the seventh son of the seventh son (surprising, heh?), who can predict his village's doom but cannot foresee his own demise. Track 8 is there to round things off, more like a meditation about good and evil rather than bringing any moral to the tale.

The keyboards, although with quite simple arrangements most of the time, are a markedly improvement on the rather tepid synths from the previous record, as they're now a very significant element on many songs (most of all during the opening tune "Moonchild" and the title track). To some, it gives the record a slightly dated vibe, as a strong reminiscent of the sugar-coated production jobs many metal artists received during the mid-to-late 1980's, but once again I beg to differ: it has a lot more to do with the atmospheric use of the instrument by prog rock bands from the 1970's and early next decade, something done to create open, slightly otherworldly landscapes rather than make songs more palatable. And it connects emotionally with the lyrical subjects quite well: though Maiden were never a philosophical band per se, songs like "Infinite Dreams", "The Clairvoyant" and "Only the Good Die Young" easily rank among the most thought-provoking ever written by the group up to this point, or ever since. 

All songs herein are great, and it's remarkable how the group managed to write such dissimilar tunes while still keeping a feeling of connection and coherence between them. Nothing is interchangeable around here: the furious (and brilliant) "Moonchild" doesn't sound at all like the catchy (and brilliant) "Can I Play with Madness", which is also totally different from the surprisingly convoluted (and also brilliant) "The Prophecy" and so on. Everything is right into place, nothing sounds excessive, no tune could be substituted by anything else - and everything kicks serious ass, believe me. As personal favorites, I would pick the bombastic "The Evil that Men Do" (one of the most memorable songs the band ever written, no less), the immensely epic "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", and the radio-friendly "Can I Play with Madness" (aah, if all rock-oriented radio would play only awesome songs like that) - but it's entirely subjective of my part really, as all songs are great and full of positive features. Maybe "Only the Good Die Young" is a slightly less impressive track in comparison with the rest, but still is a hell of a good song in its own right, and it works perfectly well as an album closer, with a powerful, triumphant vibe that definitely round things off with a bang. All individual performances are impeckable as well, and the resulting record is truly a joy to listen to.

Not that Iron Maiden was in need of a definitive record or anything (they already had a handful of those under their belts), but it's fair (and perhaps necessary) to say that "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" was something of a career-defining achievement for the band: they wanted to prove they could conceive an album as an artistic statement, and oh man did they succeed or what. In light of that, it's somewhat surprising to verify that it was something of a last hurrah, rather than the beginning of a new, glorious chapter. The back-to-basics approach they would adopt on next album "No Prayer for the Dying", though not an unmitigated disaster, would turn out to be a failure - and it didn't cost only the presence of Adrian Smith, but also headed the band's vessel towards some very troubled waters, with a diminishing profile within the metal world coming as a result. I would call it 'the difficult '90s', and God knows how difficult the whole ride indeed was for Iron Maiden, but let's save such polemics for a new entry, where the subject can be developed in greater detail.

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

01. Moonchild (Smith/Dickinson) 5:38
02. Infinite Dreams (Harris) 6:08
03. Can I Play with Madness (Smith/Dickinson/Harris) 3:30
04. The Evil that Men Do (Smith/Dickinson/Harris) 4:33
05. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Harris) 9:52
06. The Prophecy (Murray/Harris) 5:04
07. The Clairvoyant (Harris) 4:26
08. Only the Good Die Young (Harris/Dickinson) 4:40

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!