Iron Maiden - A Matter Of Life And Death

After nearly three decades of making music Iron Maiden sounds better than ever.

Whenever a legendary band like Iron Maiden releases a new CD there's a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. They've had so many great albums over the years and you hope that this one can at least come close to some of those classics, but know that a band that's been around so long could be on the down side of their career and is just hanging on. In Iron Maiden's case there is no need to put them out to pasture just yet. Their new album is one of the best they've done since the 1980s.

Iron Maiden uses everything in their arsenal on A Matter Of Life And Death. Every song has soaring melodies and very catchy choruses. The songs are epics, with the 10 songs clocking in at over 70 minutes. On the longer songs Maiden switches up tempos and keys and styles and makes them interesting. It also gives them a chance to showcase their musicianship, especially the triple guitar wall of sound from Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. It's a nice combination of the traditional and the progressive.

Bruce Dickinson's vocals are outstanding. His pipes are among the best in the business, and he proves it on this CD. His range, power and tone are unrivaled. I'm sure you'll be seeing this one on a lot of best of 2006 lists.