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Powerslave

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Powerslave is the fifth studio album by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on September 3, 1984. It is notable for its Egyptian theme displayed in the album art, as well in the title track's musical style. It contains a musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which uses pieces of the original poem as lyrics, and is the longest song Iron Maiden have ever recorded at a length of 13 minutes and 38 seconds. The album is also notable amongst the band's albums as being the first album to feature the same lineup as the previous one. As of 2008, this is the last of the band's albums to contain an instrumental track: "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)." Powerslave is often considered one of their finest albums by fans and critics alike.

"2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High" were released as singles, the former being a staple in nearly all of the band's concert tours.

The 1995 re-release contains a bonus disc, which contains the b-sides of the original singles.

It was re-released in 1998 with an extra multimedia section, which featured the music videos for "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight".

"2 Minutes to Midnight" appears on the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, released by Kerrang! magazine, features covers of two songs from this album: "2 Minutes to Midnight" by Glamour Of The Kill and "Flash of the Blade" by Avenged Sevenfold. [1]

World Slavery Tour was the tour supporting the album.

Track listing

  1. "Aces High" (Steve Harris) – 4:29
  2. "2 Minutes to Midnight" (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) – 6:02
  3. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (Instrumental) (Harris) – 4:12
  4. "Flash of the Blade" (Dickinson) – 4:02
  5. "The Duellists" (Harris) – 6:07
  6. "Back in the Village" (Dickinson, Smith) – 5:02 (5:20 on the 1998 re-release)
  7. "Powerslave" (Dickinson) – 7:07 (6:46 on the 1998 re-release)
  8. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (Harris) – 13:40

On the 1998 remastered re-release, the songs "Back in the Village" and "Powerslave" were separated in a different place, with the intro of "Powerslave" being attached to the end of "Back in the Village".

Bonus disc (1995 reissue)

  1. "Rainbow's Gold" – 4:57
  2. "Mission From 'Arry" – 6:42
  3. "King of Twilight" – 4:53
  4. "The Number of the Beast (Live)" (Harris) – 4:57

Personnel

with

  • Martin Birch - producer, engineer
  • Frank Gibson – assistant engineer
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Simon Heyworth – remastering
  • Derek Riggs – artwork, design, sleeve design, sleeve idea, sleeve illustration
  • Rod Smallwood – design, sleeve design, sleeve idea
  • Ross Halfin – photography
  • Moshe Brakha – photography

Album cover trivia

Some of the hieroglyphs on the album cover have a modern twist to them. The details are easier to see on the vinyl record cover than the CD, due to the larger size:

  • The album cover was the first to have the "Iron Maiden"-logotype in a smaller size, just covering the upper left corner.
  • On the bottom left corner of the cover, just behind the first lion are the words "Indiana Jones was here 1941"
  • Next to that is a drawing of Mickey Mouse
  • Above that (past the statues' heads) are the words "WOT A LOAD OF CRAP"
  • On the bottom right of the cover, just below the right foot of the large seated lion, we see a drawing of Chad peering over the wall, with the words "WOT? NO GUINESS"
  • Also on the right side, above the statues' heads, the word "BOLLOCKS" appears.
  • At the pyramid's entrance, Derek Riggs' insignia appears right where Eddie's crotch should be.
  • The songs "Flash of The Blade" and "Duellists" were inspired by lead singer Bruce Dickinson's favorite sport, fencing[2]

Additional notes

  • Catalogue – (1984 LP) EMI 1-12321, (1984 CD) Capitol C2-46045, (1998 CD) EMI 96920

Chart performance

Album

Year Chart Position
1984 United Kingdom UK Albums Chart 2
1984 United States Billboard Hot 200 21

Singles

Year Single Chart Position Album
1984 "2 Minutes to Midnight" United Kingdom UK Singles Chart 11 "Powerslave"
1984 "2 Minutes to Midnight" United States Mainstream Rock Tracks 25 "Powerslave"
1984 "Aces High" United Kingdom UK Singles Chart 20 "Powerslave"
1990 "2 Minutes to Midnight" United Kingdom UK Singles Chart 11 "The First Ten Years"

Certifications

Country Certification Sales/shipments
Canada Canada 2x Platinum[3] 200,000

References

  1. ^ Kerrang! Maiden Heaven Track Listing Revealed!
  2. ^ http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/5619/bruceSI.htm
  3. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for October 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
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