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Chi ascolta, o semplicemente conosce, gli Iron Maiden, non può assolutamente estraniare questo album dalla categoria degli intramontabili. Pubblicato nel lontano maggio ?83, "Piece of mind" resta tutto oggi una pietra miliare del metal in generale, nonché uno fra i dischi più belli dell?intera discografia maideniana. La band di Steve Harris subisce nel periodo precedente l?uscita del disco, come da "tradizione", l?ennesima variazione della line-up. A farne le spese questa volta è il batterista Clive Burr, allontanato per il frequente e pesante uso di droghe alquanto dannose, sia per la sua salute e sia per la carriera della band.
Il suo successore risponde al nome di Michael Henry McBrain, meglio conosciuto come "Nicko" (in onore al suo orsetto di peluche preferito) McBrain. L?eccentrico drummer (io ho la sua bacchetta, trofeo dell? Heineken Jammin Festival !! :.-) portò alla band un senso ritmico più quadrato e solido, oltre ad una versatilità maggiore rispetto al suo predecessore. L?arrivo del batterista, assieme ad un cantato da parte di Dickinson tra i più belli mai sentiti e l?ingente numero di riff originali e ingegnosi inventati dall?accoppiata Murray ? Smith, sono i veri e propri assi nella manica sferrati da un Eddie un po? troppo "folle".
"Piece of Mind" vede la continuazione progressiva dei piccoli cambiamenti apportati rispetto ai primi e più veloci album. Nel quarto disco ufficiale del gruppo inglese la velocità non manca di certo, ma si nota un favoreggiamento verso una sonorità più heavy in confronto alla precedente più speed. I contenuti altamente epici e eroici arricchiscono questo capolavoro, contenitore di pezzi storici degli Iron Maiden. La patriota ?The Trooper? che cavalca attraverso pianure ove si svolgono sanguinose battaglie; la mitologica ?Flight of Icarus?; la shakespeariana ?Where Eagles dare? o la resistente ?Die with your boots on?, senza dimenticare le altre stupende canzoni. Un'altra leggendaria pagina della storia del heavy metal scritta dalle Vergini di Ferro.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Where Eagles Dare (06:10)
It's snowing outside, the rumbling sound
of engines roar in the night
The mission is near the confident men
are waiting to drop from the sky
The Blizzard goes on, but still they must fly
No one should go where eagles dare
Bavarian Alps that lay all around
They seem to stare from below
The enemy lines a long time passed
Are lying deep in the snow
Into the night they fall through the sky
No one should fly where eagles dare
Their closing in, the fortress is near
It's standing high in the sky
The cable car's the only way in
it's really impossible to climb
They make their way, but maybe too late
They've got to try to save the day
The panicking cries, the roaring of guns
Are echoing all around the valley
The mission complete, they make to scape
Away from the Eagles Nest
They dared to go where no one would try
They chose to fly where eagles dare
02 Revelations (06:48)
"O God of Earth and Altar,
Bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die,
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide,
Take not thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride."
(G. K. Chesterton; English Hymnal)
Just a babe in the black abyss
No reason for a place like this
The walls are cold and souls cry out in pain
An easy way for the blind to go
A clever path for the fools who know
The secret of the hanged man - the smile on his lips
The light of the blind - you'll see
The venom that tears my spine
The eyes of the Nile are opening - you'll see
She came to me with a serpents kiss
As the eye of the sun rose on her lips
Moonlight catches silver tears I cry
So we lay in the black embrace
And the seed is sown in a holy place
And I watched, and I waited for the dawn
The light of the blind - you'll see
The venom that tears my spine
The eyes of the Nile are opening - you'll see
Solo: Dave / Adrian
Bind all of us together
Ablaze with hope and free
No storm or heavy weather
Will rock the boat you'll see
The time has come to close your eyes
And still the wind and rain
For the one who will be king
Is the watcher in the ring
It is you
03 Flight of Icarus (03:51)
As the sun breaks, above the ground,
An old man stands on the hill,
As the ground warms, to the first rays of light
A birdsong shatters the still.
His eyes are a blaze,
See the madman in his gaze.
Fly, on your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun,
On your way, like an eagle,
Fly and touch the sun.
Now the crowd breaks and a young boy appears
Looks the old man in the eye
As he spreads his wings and shouts at the crowd
In the name of God my father I'll fly.
His eyes seem so glazed
As he flies on the wings of a dream,
Now he knows his father betrayed
Now his wings turn to ashes to ashes his grave.
Fly, on your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun,
On your way, like an eagle,
Fly, touch the sun.
04 Die With Your Boots On (05:28)
Another Prophet of Disaster
Who says the ship is lost,
Another Prophet of Disaster
Leaving you to count the cost.
Taunting us with Visions,
Afflicting us with fear,
Predicting War for millions,
In the hope that one appears.
No point asking when it is,
No point asking who's to go,
No point asking what's the game,
No point asking who's to blame.
'cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
'cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
If you're gonna die, die with your boots on.
If you're gonna try, we'll stick around,
Gonna cry, just move along,
If you're gonna die, you're gonna die.
In 13 the Beast is rising,
The Frenchman did surmise,
Through earthquakes and starvation,
The warlord will arise.
Terror, Death, Destruction,
Pour from the Eastern Sands,
But the truth of all predictions,
Is always in your hands.
If you're gonna die, die with your boots on,
If you're gonna try, we'll stick around,
Gonna cry, just move along,
If you're gonna die, you're gonna die.
05 The Trooper (04:10)
You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back.
The bugle sounds and the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath
As I plunge on into certain death.
The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall
We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We were meant to fight another day.
We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below.
And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan
08 Sun and Steel (03:26)
You killed your first man at 13
Killer instinct, Animal supreme
By 16 you had learned to fight
The way of the warrior, you took it as your right
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Through earth and water, fire and wind
You came at last - nothing was the end
Make a cut by fire and stone
Take you and your blade and break you both in two
Break you both in two
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel - rolling on and on
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel
Sunlight, falling on your steel
Death in life is your ideal
Life is like a wheel - and it`s rolling still
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di Spike Joe
Capolavoro. Questa è la parola più appropriata per un album di questo calibro.
Nessun fan degli Iron Maiden o amante della "new wave" dovrebbe lasciarsi scappare un album di questo calibro.
Di Filippo Guzzardi
Iron Maiden is Heavy Metal ‘cause Heavy Metal is Piece Of Mind.
Definire esaltante (per non dire devastante) una song come 'The Trooper' è semplice e pura constatazione.
Di Starblazer
Questo non è un semplice album di una semplice heavy metal band, questo è un capolavoro, è un disco perfetto, è un’icona.
Revelations è uno dei picchi assoluti di bellezza e poesia mai raggiunti dalla Vergine di Ferro.
