Album of the day #18. Iron Maiden - Brave New World

I'm pretty sure after 1998's "Virtual XI" no one expected anything from the band anymore. Presumably, the next album would also be full of weak, overlong piles of crap crowned with weak vocals. And what else! Iron Maiden made one of the biggest comebacks in history.

"Brave New World" is an almost perfect album, a modern classic. The song material is great, and even though the songs are long, they don't feel like it at all due to their brilliance. The return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith paid off and it is the band's best album in the 2000s. 3 guitarists is a lot, and for many bands it wouldn't work, but in this situation there are no problems, everyone shines in their own way, most clearly Adrian Smith with his solo in the song "The Wicker Man". Magical. The cover image is also convincing and the production is fine.

It's a great album and deserves its place in the band's top 3 records. Next year, the album will turn 25 years old, and that's a great reason to listen to this masterpiece again.

Climax: Ghost Of The Navigator, Dream Of Mirrors

Anticlimax: The Fallen Angel ... See More

Album of the day #18. Children Of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet?

I'm going to be honest now. "Are You Dead Yet?" is in my opinion the band's best album without any bad parts. The songs are great, the production is suitably loud but not full, and the music on the album is amazingly versatile. The album is criminally underrated.

Alexi Laiho, now deceased (R.I.P.), really knew how to make catchy yet menacing sounding extreme metal. The band's first albums are practically a collaboration between Death and Yngwie Malmsteen. On this album, the band changes their style to a heavier one, while still remaining elegantly melodic. There are no bad songs. The highlight can be considered the single releases "Are You Dead Yet?" and "In Your Face". On the album, Laiho shows why he was voted the best guitarist of all time many times.

I don't understand why the album is not as popular as the previous 4 Bodom albums. It is definitely a misunderstood work. Power metal fans may not enjoy this in the same way as the early albums, but despite everything, it is an almost perfect album. Thank you Alexi, rest in peace.

Climax: Are You Dead Yet?, In Your Face, Living Dead Beat

Anticlimax: Bastards Of Bodom? ... See More

Album of the day #17. Iron Maiden - Powerslave

Now that Nicko McBrain announced that he is stepping aside from his role as drummer in Iron Maiden, it was necessary to listen to probably the band's most legendary and successful masterpiece. "Powerslave" turned 40 this year, so it's worth playing.

The album is almost perfect. The song material is great and even perfect except for one song (damn "Back In The Village"!). The production is as usual great thanks to Martin Birch. The album cover is gorgeous, full of interesting details. Musically, the album is a big leap in the band's career, with more progressive songs and complex instrumental sections. Bruce Dickinson shows on the album that he is perhaps the best heavy singer of all time. Not to mention the guitar work. Pure gold.

As can be concluded from all this, the album is practically perfect, the band's best. Songs like "Aces High" and "2 Minutes To Midnight" are already such big classics that many bands don't even dare to dream of creating something like that. There are 4 to 6 of them on this album, depending on how you look at it. A great album, in my opinion the best of 1984. Thanks Nicko for the years! We will never forget your work.

Climax: Practically everything except "Back In The Village".

Anticlimax: You can probably tell from the above point. ... See More

Album of the day #16. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time

The year 1986 was truly magical. "Reign In Blood", "Master Of Puppets" and so on. Despite the many classics of that year, Iron Maiden's "Somewhere In Time" has always been the highlight of that year for me, a real climax. The album's futuristic sound and progressive song structures were once something so wonderful (and still are!) that the album was listened to more than any other work ever. And that's already an achievement too.

There is hardly much to say about the album's song material. After all, it is a diamond throughout and there aren't any single fluke shots. On the other hand, there aren't any big hits and radio-friendly songs apart from the wonderful "Wasted Years", but I don't mind it; the album works best as a whole, when listened to continuously. Singer Bruce Dickinson's vocal performance is also convincing, although none of his songs were accepted for the album due to their "weirdness". Synthesizers are used for the first time on the album. It might annoy some, but it's not a problem for me. It just highlights the album's gorgeous futuristic image. Also worth mentioning is the album cover, which is like a middle finger display for simple covers and clean "More Is More!" attack on sight. Beautiful.

In all respects, it's an almost perfect album and the only problem why I can't give full marks, despite the nostalgia, is the fact that the band managed to improve on this on the next album. But it is perhaps the best album of 1986 and one of the best records of all time. Thanks Iron Maiden for this!

Climax: Caught Somewhere In Time, Alexander The Great, Wasted Years

Anticlimax: - ... See More

Album of the day #15. Helloween - Master Of The Rings

"Master Of The Rings" can be called Helloween's comeback album with a clear conscience. The beginning of the 90s was an extremely sad time for the band, when the musical level was in the lowlands and the personal chemistry stagnated. In the end, the band ended up separating singer Kiske and drummer Schwichetberg. And there was really no need to regret this decision, on the contrary...

The album gets off to a great start after a short intro with 3 great melodic, yet fast-paced songs, of which "Where The Rain Grows" is particularly exciting. This kind of content was missing from the two weak predecessors. The new members, especially Deris, shows that he is the right man for his job and the track is convincing. Even if the album is not full of glory like the beginning, and there are weak moments especially at the end, it is still a decent rebirth and definitely a positive surprise. The production side is also in order and the band's image has been renewed with the goal of being a heavy music band again.

"Master Of The Rings" is not the band's best, not even in the top-3, but it was a vital success and proved the band's talent to the general public just as the credits were running out. The band managed to improve on 1996's "The Time Of The Oath" and once again raised its status as the king of power metal with the more recent Stratovarius band. Play this hard, it's a great album.

Climax: First 3 songs (after the intro)

Anticlimax: The Game Is On, Take Me Home ... See More