Produced by Steve Harris and Kevin Shirley
Released: 2000
With the "classic" line-up (plus Janick!) reunited after a decade of fluctuating fortunes for all involved, Brave New World was one of the most anticipated releases of 2000. Their world tour of the year before (which, as usual, skipped Australia) had apparently shown the magic was back, but Iron Maiden now had to prove it was there on record. While this turned out to be a hit-and-miss affair, Brave New World was easily the best thing Maiden had done since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. By far.
Literary themes inspired some of the material, as expected, but like The X Factor there was also more personal tracks, namely Steve Harris' eulogy to his father, "Blood Brothers". The introduction of experienced producer Shirley brought back the enormous, bombastic sound of Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son, and there was a subtle usage of keyboards from Harris that was far better handled than on previous excursions. And instead of sounding cluttered, the three guitars idea works very well, with each giving the other plenty of breathing room.
As always, the album opens with a strong and catchy belter in the shape of "The Wicker Man" before going into a significantly more epic mode with "Ghost of the Navigator", the first real opportunity for Bruce Dickinson to show people who hadn't followed his solo career that he his voice had actually improved since his previous Maiden outing eight years before. It's the longer tracks that are really the highlights on here, in fact, particularly "Dream of Mirrors" (allegedly co-written by Blaze Bayley) and "The Nomad", one of Dave Murray's rare songwriting contributions. The second of these is quite a grower, with Murray's Eastern-sounding guitar lines adding an extra element. Adrian Smith's "Fallen Angel" is a gem, but often overlooked by being squeezed in between this pair of dinosaur-sized sagas.
The album's final track is a stand out simply because it's such an unusual one. With a meandering structure and constant outbreak of extended soloing, "The Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (another Murray co-write) sounds more like a studio jam than the regular contrived Iron Maiden compositions, and thus remains one of the most remarkable tracks of their entire catalogue.
Elsewhere, "The Mercenary" is quite forgettable, "Blood Brothers" is overwrought and the big anthemic title track wears out its welcome after a few spins. Nevertheless, Brave New World as a whole was proof that Iron Maiden could come back from the wilderness in a way that few other major acts could manage and set them up for another decade of triumph.
- The Wicker Man
- Ghost of the Navigator
- Brave New World
- Blood Brothers
- The Mercenary
- Dream of Mirrors
- Fallen Angel
- The Nomad
- Out of the Silent Planet
- The Thin Line Between Love and Hate
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