Powerslave: the 40th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Feb. 3, 2024, 9:28 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 40th anniversary of Powerslave, the fifth album by Iron Maiden and their first to have the same lineup as the previous album. Although Iron Maiden was already on a streak of releasing amazing albums, Powerslave upped the ante considerably with its more complex compositions and increasing role of the other members as songwriters.
Powerslave contains some of the band's best-known compositions, such as the double strike of the first two tracks, Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight, Losfer Words (big 'Orra), which, sadly, is Iron Maiden's final instrumental track, to date, the blistering title track, and, last but certainly not least, the epic 13-minute-long closing song, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which was Iron Maiden's longest song at that time, a record that it held for many years, until 2015, when Empire of the Clouds on Book of Souls surpassed it, at 18 minutes in duration.
Powerslave is my favorite album by Iron Maiden and, in my mind, Iron Maiden's best album, as I feel that it was the culmination of their career, up to that point, and demonstrated every member of the band at the apex of their talent and ability; I know that a significant number of fans regard Number of the Beast as the band's best album, and I can understand that, but I feel that Powerslave simply cannot be beaten in terms of musical talent and writing quality, akin to how And Justice for All is my favorite album by Metallica, despite a significant number of their fans regarding Master of Puppets as their magnum opus.
Given that a monumental album such as Powerslave is celebrating a major milestone, this year, I do fully expect that Iron Maiden shall do something to commemorate that anniversary. How does everyone else feel about this? Are you excited about this year being the 40th anniversary of Powerslave?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
Abaques, I have seen Iron Maiden three times, and all of those concerts were amazing, so I expect that you shall have a wonderful time, at that one.
Abaques says... #2
Personally I have Powerslave as Maiden's 2nd best album, but it's very close and I completely understand having it as your favorite because it is a phenomenal album top to bottom. The title track is my favorite track off that record, but Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Aces High and Two Minutes to Midnight are all close.
What's great is that Maiden are still touring. I have tickets to see them play the Twin Cities in October. I'm super pumped for that show as I've never seen them live before.
February 5, 2024 11:04 a.m.