Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
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Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, commonly abbreviated to "SSOASS", is an album by heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released in 1988 as the band's seventh studio album. This album was the last to feature guitarist Adrian Smith until the album Brave New World in 2000 (he did write a song that Bruce Dickinson finished for the next album, 'Hooks in You').
SSOASS remains one of the band's most popular albums. At least three of the album's songs ("Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", "The Prophecy" and "The Clairvoyant") can be directly related to a main lyrical storyline (apparently inspired by Orson Scott Card's novel Seventh Son). Several interpretations of the other songs allow everything to fit into this storyline, making this a concept album.
Stylistically SSOASS develops the sounds first heard on Somewhere In Time (1986), and continues the band's lyrical exploration of topics related to mysticism, power, and the occult. Much of the music on the album also follows the aesthetic of previous Iron Maiden albums by featuring dual lead guitars, Steve Harris's active bass lines, formally involved song structures (the title track in particular), and a crisp studio production quality.
With the departure of Smith following the lengthy world tour supporting the album, SSOASS marks the end of perhaps the second large chapter in Iron Maiden's musical history. Many of the musical and lyrical features prevalent on the albums The Number of the Beast through SSOASSS disappeared as obvious musical markers on subsequent albums, and it is this 1982-1988 period in the band's history that stands as its "classic" period.
The album debuted at #1 in UK charts as well as #12 in the U.S, while the singles "Can I Play with Madness", "The Evil That Men Do", "The Clairvoyant (live)" and "Infinite Dreams (live)" reached #3, #5, #6 and #6 positions, respectively.
Track listing
- "Moonchild" (Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson) – 5:39
- "Infinite Dreams" (Steve Harris) – 6:09
- "Can I Play with Madness" (Smith, Dickinson, Harris) – 3:31
- "The Evil That Men Do" (Smith, Dickinson, Harris) – 4:34
- "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (Harris) – 9:53
- "The Prophecy" (Dave Murray, Harris) – 5:05
- "The Clairvoyant" (Harris) – 4:27
- "Only the Good Die Young" (Harris, Dickinson) – 4:41
Credits
- Bruce Dickinson – vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals, synth
- Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, string synth
- Nicko McBrain – drums
- Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing, tape operator
- Albert Boekholt – engineer, assistant engineer
- Ronald Prent – engineer, assistant engineer
