IRON MAIDEN — Piece Of Mind

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4.23 | 193 ratings | 15 reviews

Album · 1983

Filed under NWoBHM
By IRON MAIDEN

Tracklist

1. Where Eagles Dare (6:10)
2. Revelations (6:48)
3. Flight Of Icarus (3:51)
4. Die With Your Boots On (5:28)
5. The Trooper (4:10)
6. Still Life (4:53)
7. Quest For Fire (3:41)
8. Sun And Steel (3:26)
9. To Tame A Land (7:27)

Total Time 45:57

Line-up/Musicians

- Bruce Dickinson / vocals
- Dave Murray / guitar
- Adrian Smith / guitar, vocals
- Steve Harris / bass guitar, vocals
- Nicko McBrain / drums

About this release

16 May 1983
EMI

Reissued in 1995 with a bonus disc with the following tracklist:

1. I've Got The Fire (Montrose cover) (2:39)
2. Cross-Eyed Mary (Jethro Tull cover) (3:53)

Total Time: 6:33

Remastered and reissued in 1998 with the following videos:

1. Flight Of Icarus
2. The Trooper

Thanks to metalbaswee, Stooge, Lynx33, adg211288 for the updates

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IRON MAIDEN PIECE OF MIND reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

martindavey87

After 1982's 'The Number of the Beast' cemented Iron Maiden's prominence in the metal world, the band were quickly back in the studio to build upon their momentum with 'Piece of Mind', an album that many fans hold in high regard, but one that I merely consider the final step in the transitional period that would see Iron Maiden truly reach their prime years.

Continuing Iron Maiden's run of what many consider their "golden era" of albums (the inclusion of new drummer Nicko McBrain would cement what would be viewed as the classic lineup), 'Piece of Mind' is revered by fans as one of the bands finest releases. Though, much like its predecessor, I feel there's too much filler material for me to share that opinion.

As with previous outings, there are a few instantly recognizable classics, such as 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Flight of Icarus', 'To Tame a Land', and one of the groups most memorable hits 'The Trooper' (which I often find to be fairly overrated, to be honest), but other than these songs, I feel the rest are fairly bland and uninspiring. Not that they're terrible, but tracks like 'Quest for Fire' and 'Sun and Steel' just don't really do anything for me.

The verdict has long been out that this is a classic Maiden album however, and in fairness, if you're a fan of the band then it's got enough "classic" material and status going for it that it warrants being in your collection, but overall I just find this to be the final album before the band really hit their stride and go through a string of excellent releases.

It's decent enough, but from here on out is where things really start to get good.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #354925

666sharon666

1983's Piece of Mind marks the first Iron Maiden album to feature the classic line-up of Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Nicko McBrain, following the departure of Clive Burr. Having changed one member with each prior album this period in Iron Maiden's history is one of the most stable, keeping the same line-up up to and including 1988's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Despite this line-up producing two of my all time favourite Iron Maiden albums, Piece of Mind itself is actually one of my least favourite releases from this period.

Iron Maiden has only rarely produced a subpar album though and Piece of Mind is not one of them. It's still an enjoyable effort but compared to the prior album The Number of the Beast the songs on Piece of Mind just sound inconsistent to me. The Trooper is of course a classic heavy metal song and the album's epic To Tame a Land has always been one of my favourite songs the band has ever released (and one I think is underrated) but most songs just don't get me going in the same way, though I don't dislike any of them either. It's about on the same level as the debut for me.

Attribution: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/iron-maiden-piece-of-mind-t3604.html

more than 2 years ago
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Report #240692

siLLy puPPy

Clive Burr left due to personal issues and ended up trading places with Nicko McBrain in the band Trust. Nicko's arrival signified that the classic IRON MAIDEN lineup was complete and he more than had the chops to add yet another layer on an already impressive sound making them one of the best and most successful heavy metal bands in history. Eddie went insane from hanging out with Satan too much and had to be institutionalized and kept in a padded cell.

PIECE OF MIND picks up where the previous album left off and continues with similar inspirations including....

Literature: “To Tame A Land” from “Dune,” “The Trooper” from “Charge Of The Light Brigade.”

Film: “Where Eagles Dare,” and “Quest For Fire.”

Mythology: “Flight Of Icarus” and “Revelations.”

There is also a backwards hidden message on “Still Life” which they included to freak out those who were constantly accusing them of being Satanists. The recording is actually a backwards rendition of Nicko McBrain uttering "What ho said the t'ing with the three 'bonce', do not meddle with things you don't understand...", followed by a belch.

This is one of my all time favorite albums. The album is absolutely phenomenal in how it flows from one track to the other keeping it varied, keeping it intense and stimulating not only your headbanging needs but also your intellectual appreciation for well-crafted lyrics. The chemistry of this band is nothing short of magical.

The ONLY complaint I have about this album is in the song “Quest For Fire” where Bruce operatically insists that dinosaurs walked the Earth at the time man was questing for fire. This chronological faux pas has been a pet peeve of mine since the day I first heard this, yet an extremely minor blemish on an otherwise magnificent masterpiece of metal that just happened to be my very first IRON MAIDEN album.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #292776

Sinkadotentree

This is my favourite IRON MAIDEN record although a lot of that i'm sure has to do with it being the first MAIDEN album i bought. Man this has to be one of my top five when it comes to the most played albums of my life. I can't explain it but i felt almost addicted to one and played it as loud as i could back in the day. While the previous record is usually rated higher than this one i feel this is a step up and the first recording of theirs to have that classic MAIDEN sound all the way through. The Punk vibe that was still there but fading away on "Number Of The Beast" is gone here and we also get that classic lineup as Niko is behind the kit for them for the first time. I should also mention i saw them on this tour back in 1983 in Toronto and i've never been so wired for a concert in my life, and believe me i was wired for almost all concerts back then. Listening to this cd today reveals a band who was trying to mix it up a bit as we get a lot of variety. Still it's those classic numbers that still impress me to this day. In fact you can include the first five songs in that statement. Great album cover as well. This album would be the start of four straight masterpieces. Hey if you were a MAIDEN fan back in the eighties then you can't say that decade was that bad can you ?

more than 2 years ago
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Report #281209

Warthur

Piece of Mind is a just a shade less impressive than its predecessor, The Number of the Beast, for two reasons. The first is that it's more of the same - rather than representing a sudden and impressive development of the band's sound, as the earlier album did, the album simply showcases the band continuing to make the most of Bruce's impressive vocal abilities and developing their prog-influenced song structures. The other reason is that whilst there's plenty of great songs here, there isn't a standout hit quite on the level of the title track from Number of the Beast.

But these are mild quibbles at best; the fact is, with tracks like To Tame A Land, Where Eagles Dare, Flight of Icarus and Die With Your Boots On, this is another key Maiden album which proved that their new musical direction was not exhausted yet.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #256678

adg211288

Piece of Mind is the first of a string of albums which features what is widely considered to be the classic Iron Maiden lineup, that of Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Nikco McBrain, something that would last up until Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but would later get back together with the addition of Janick Gers for Brave New World.

Piece of Mind isn’t such a fast album in general as its predecessor, The Number of the Beast, neither is it as good, but it’s still a pretty solid addition to anyone’s Iron Maiden collection. It actually contains what I feel to be a mix of Iron Maiden classics and some of their most devilishly underrated songs. And then there’s a couple that are sort of in between.

Where Eagles Dare is the opening track and by Maiden standards it’s an unusual choice. Most Maiden albums start with a shorter song, often single material, but at over six minutes it’s a more drawn out mid-paced affair. A decent song but middle of the road when put against the albums true gems.

Let’s turn our attention to those songs widely considered Maiden classics by many fans. These are, in order of appearance, Revelations, Flight of Icarus and The Trooper, the latter two of which were the albums singles. Personally I’ve always felt that Revelations was a bit overrated. It’s a bit like Where Eagles Dare in that it’s pretty mid-paced, six minutes job. Personally I would have put these two later in the album and put one of the faster tracks like The Trooper or Die With Your Boots On first. The two singles though are top notch classic Maiden, especially The Trooper with its instantly recognisable main riff and dual lead melody.

But personally I think this albums true gems are songs which don’t tend to get so much attention. Songs of particular note being the last three, Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel and especially the album closer, To Tame a Land. There’s just something special about these songs for me, whether it’s Bruce sounding particular great and what I consider to be a great chorus in Quest for Fire or again with that classic Maiden gallop in Sun and Steel. They save the best for last though. To Tame a Land is Piece of Mind’s epic. Based on Dune by Frank Herbert the song is pretty much split into two parts, a vocal section which constitutes the song part of it and an instrumental section which lasts until the track’s end seven and a half minutes later.

A solid album overall, but feels at times like a power loss when put up against the albums that come either side of it, namely The Number of the Beast and Powerslave. If it wasn’t for the presence of To Tame a Land I’d rate this one as a 3.5 stars. But I’m going to bring that up to 4 just for that little gem alone.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #224031

Time Signature

Where Maiden dare...

Genre: heavy metal

Another classic by Iron Maiden, "Piece of Mind" is the first Maiden album to feature influential drummer Nicko McBrain and full of classics like "The Trooper", "The Flight of Icarus", "Where Eagles Dare", "Revelations" and, to some extent, "Die With Your Boots On".

The album opens with the technical but captivating "Where Eagles Dare" which is followed by the Dickinson-penned ballad "Revelations" which is an all time fan favorite, and one of my favorites from this album. This is followed by the heavier "Flight of Icarus" and the rocker "Die With Your Boots On". "The Trooper" is one of Maiden's most popular tracks ever, and it is catchy as hell - and, notably, there is no chorus!

In ye olden days, in the time of vinyl, the first five tracks of this album constituted side A, and it is worth noting that "Piece of Mind" is an album whose first side contained nothing but hits. Consequently, perhaps, side B contains all obscure tracks. These tracks may be obscure, but I actually think that side B on the whose is better than side A. "Still Life" is a midtempo and slightly melancholic and dark song while "Quest for Fire" is a heavy 3/8 song based on the film and book of the same title. This song contains some nice medieval sounding twin guitars. "Sun and Steel" is a galloping metal track, also containing intricate twin guitars, while "To Tame a Land" is a proggy epic track based on the novel "Dune", containing several musical twists and turns. This track was later covered by Dream Theater.

I would recommend this album to everyone, as I think it belongs in any metal collection.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #221178

J-Man

Fly as High as the Sky!

After becoming heavy metal legends with their previous album The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden proved they were far from out of ideas with Piece of Mind. Released just a year after The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden had already changed significantly by this point. First of all, on this album Bruce Dickinson's creative influence begins to really shine through. He co-wrote many of the tracks on Piece of Mind, and even wrote one of the songs with no help from the other bandmates. He's a fantastic songwriter, and it's great to hear that he's leaving his mark on Iron Maiden's music. Secondly, this is the debut of now-legendary drummer Nicko McBrain. Clive Burr is a great drummer and I have an infinite respect for him, but Nicko McBrain is simply one of the best heavy metal drummers out there. He really is a key part of Iron Maiden, and a complete monster behind the drumkit as well.

The sound here is unmistakably Iron Maiden. Although there have been some changes in Iron Maiden since The Number of the Beast, their sound is generally the same. Of course, judging by the immense critical and commercial success of their previous masterwork, that's definitely not a problem. Piece of Mind shows Iron Maiden incorporating a few more prog influences into their sound, but that wouldn't happen completely until Powerslave.

Piece of Mind is a 9-track, 44:38 album. All of the songs here are pretty great except for maybe Still Life, which is decent. Die With Your Boots On and Sun and Steel are far from Iron Maiden's best, but they're still decent tracks. This is one of Iron Maiden's more inconsistent albums, but highlights like Where Eagles Dare, Revelations, The Trooper, and To Tame a Land make Piece of Mind an essential Maiden album.

Like most Iron Maiden albums, the musicianship is possibly the best part about the music. They are an exceptionally tight-playing group of virtuoso musicians, and Piece of Mind was when they really began showing this. On this album they acquired one of the best heavy metal drummers out there (Nicko McBrain), in addition to already having some of the best musicians in metal.

The production quality on Piece of Mind is great. I love the organic sound, yet dynamic enough to display Iron Maiden's powerful music. This isn't quite as good as Powerslave production-wise, but it's still definitely among the better heavy metal productions. By 1983 many bands were using "that terrible 80's sound", but Iron Maiden, thankfully, were never one of them.

Conclusion:

Piece of Mind is yet another great album by Iron Maiden, and even though it's not quite as good as The Number of the Beast, it deserves the 4 star rating just as much. It's really a shame that many people overlook this album since it's between two seminal albums (The Number of the Beast and Powerslave), because it really is just as good as those releases. Highly recommended to all NWoBHM fans.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #219947

Pekka

And so is born the classic Iron Maiden line-up, as Clive Burr departs due to health problems and in comes the since ever-present madman Nicko McBrain. The new guy gets a proper introduction as he gets to start the album with a furious flurry of drum fills before the first track kicks in, showcasing an even more metallic sounding band.

Maiden had exploded with The Number of the Beast especially in the United States, and soon of course faced the trouble of trying to follow up an international hit album. The result doesn't completely live up to the standards set by its predecessor, but the band was still young, enthusiastic and overflowing with great riffs and melodies. The track started by the drum intro is Where Eagles Dare, and it's a great way to open the album with its heavy riffing, soaring vocals and machine gun drum breaks. The following track Revelations was a mystery to me for a couple of years until I heard it at a 2003 Bruce Dickinson solo concert and was blown away by its versatility, atmosphere and brilliant melodies. Since then it's been one of my favourite Iron Maiden tracks.

The Trooper is obviously the most well known of the album's tracks, and as much as I think it's overplayed, slaughtered and whatnot, it's always a great pleasure to listen to, especially live with some new three guitar harmonies. Still Life is a forgotten gem that I'd love to hear live one day, but no chance of that happening I'm afraid. (A funny thing is that when I was six years old and in my daycare place, just having my first contacts with Metallica and Alice Cooper, one of the tapes there had this funny mumbling part recorded in two speeds of the turntable. We used to laugh a lot when listening to it, and some ten years later I realized that it was the intro to Still Life.) The fifth and final highlight of the album is the epic closer To Tame a Land, originally intended to be titled Dune after its source of inspiration. The track suffers a tad from the same problem that plagues the later album closer Alexander the Great, too many words in one line to form a flowing melody, but nevertheless it's a great piece of epic Maiden from the days when seven minutes was epic instead of average length.

The remaining four tracks (with the possible exception of the lyrics in Quest for Fire...) are very strong by any standards except the ones Maiden were setting themselves in the early 80s. A great metal album, but still quite far from their highest peaks.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #219680

AtomicCrimsonRush

The followup to the "Number of the Beast" is a lacklustre effort with some shining moments, but a whole bunch of forgettable tracks that nobody cares about anymore. However this album does have the excellent 'Flight of Icarus' that is perhaps one of the all time great metal tracks of the 80s. The film clip was wonderful eye candy and you can never forget that awesome chorus, or the riff that drives it.

Back in the 80s I remember seeing many IM posters of songs from this album primarily 'The Trooper' with Eddie looking very paramilitary. Also 'Where Eagles Dare' and 'Die With Your Boots' had the same anti-war thematic content; a theme that IM would continue on subsequent albums including the more recent "A Matter of Life and Death".

'Revelations' has the same themes as 'Number of the Beast' that began with a reading from Revelation in the Bible.

'To Tame a Land' is a lengthy track with memorable riffs and a brilliant lead break from Smith and Murray with Harris's bass driving it along. The track was covered recently by Dream Theater and sounds as relevant today as in the early 80s. Overall this album has some great moments and deserves 3 stars at least.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #216870

Members reviews

el pechu

PIECE OF MIND . my first maiden album [and still one of my Favorites ]

Where Eagles Dare stars a full power and showing up the new guy Nicko McBrain shining with his solid druming

Revelations continuous to deliver a lot of power and Bruce Dickinson performance is amazing

Flight Of Icarus, Die With Your Boots On and The Trooper [one of the best metal songs ever made ] all have a very high levels of energy and epics moments

and the rest of the album is really good but the songs get like different moods giving the album some softly moment [Still Life] or some straight forward rock tunes[ Quest For Fire and Sun And Steel ] and the closing song [ To Tame A Land ]is a great mini-epic and the guitar parts are one of the best

Bruce Dickinson sings ''If you're gonna die, die with your boots on.'' with albums like this we fight until the end

EL PECHU

more than 2 years ago
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Report #288304

friso

Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind (1984)

By now Iron Maiden had become one of the biggest metal-acts of the globe and expectations were high for the fourth release. Iron Maiden changed their style a bit by excluding the rock'n roll/punk of the Paul Di'Anno era. Also Nicko McBrain enters the band, giving Iron Maiden some new grounds to explore. The band originally named the album 'Dune', but they didn't get the rights to do so.

Where Eagles Dare is an interesting track with great drums of McBrain and atmospheric guitar parts. Still this track isn't as convincing as other Iron Maiden opening tracks. Revelations is however one of my favorite track ever. The track was written by Bruce Dickinson and has a very un-orthodox form. There are many instrumental and vocal parts and a lot of extrovert vocals by Dickinson. The clean-guitar with melodic bass-line part in the middle and ending of the song is memorable. Love this one! Flight of Icarus had been released as a single, but turns out to be a great Iron Maiden song. The guitar solo's on the end are great! Die With Your Boots On is great metal-track, but not as appealing as others. The Trooper needs little introduction: It's an Iron Maiden anthem with great instrumental parts (and a perfect two-part guitar solo in the middle!) and aggressive vocals by Bruce. Still Life is even better with it's nice atmospheric and fearsome vocals and melodics parts. Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel are two less inventive tracks and the reason some discard this album. The songs are fun, but just not as good as other songs. To Tame A Land is however one of the best Iron Maiden epics with perfect instrumental parts and inventive songwriting. The bass is very good on this song.

Conclusion. This album has some of Iron Maiden's best songs and some mediocre tracks. Still it is a very good album for fans but perhaps less interesting for others. I will give it four stars, but my personal opinion of the album is higher. Essential for fans, interesting for metal fans and perhaps a good addition for others. For those who embrace the digital era I recommend to listen to To Tame A Land, Revelations, Still Life and The Trooper.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #221529

metalmillennium

Maiden's previous album The Number of the Beast was quite an excellent album, as Bruce Dickinson now has to follow up his debut masterpiece with a worthwhile successor. Drummer Nicko McBrain makes his debut here, and the chemistry between he and the rest of the band continues to hold strong today. This album is not mixed as nicely as most Maiden albums, but get the recent remasters if you're not fully satisfied. Hailing from the U.K., they were already a success in their native land by now. However, in the U.S., many people accused Maiden of being satanists--relating to the song "Number of the Beast." Maiden denied this allegation, fired back with this strong album, and guess what? They began racking up a huge U.S. fan base. "Where Eagles Dare" begins with a drum intro that really impressed Steve Harris after he got his spot as drummer. The machine-gun effects add to the intensity, as Dave and Adrian let loose their own arsonal of razor-sharp riffs. Nicko adds a nice variety of drum patterns that makes this one of his better performances. "Revelations" is another tremendous song, with a fantastic solo, and Bruce cleaning up the song with a strong sub-chorus. "Flight of Icarus" shows Harris' love for mythology and a mind for great lyrics. Check out Bruce hit the high notes, as he soars away with confidence and brilliance. "Die With Your Boots On" contains the swift, slashing riffs that Maiden are known for, as Bruce only adds to the power. "The Trooper" is one of Maiden's best and most well-known/recognized songs, and boy does it smoke. From the opening riff, you know this is going to be a bruiser. Just listen to Bruce wail away at the chorus. The riffs before and after the solo begins are brilliant, and not to be missed. Also, shouldn't bass work this good be illegal? "Still Life" and "To Tame a Land" are under-rated Maiden gems that add to an already excellent album that has become a classic.

Many consider this Maiden's best work to date, although it's debatable. But what this is, is a fine piece of work from a band that has held firmly in its Metal roots for nearly twenty-five+ years! The vocals are top-notch, the guitars crunch, the bass thumps, and this album just begs your ears to be heard. Certainly one of Maiden's best, and Metal's best to offer. A must in every fan's collection. Highly recommended.