Iron Maiden's Reviews
Somewhere In Time (Average Rating: 8.94 out of 10)
Another Maiden Classic (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
tonyhawk900
from LA
Back in 1984 Maiden released their best album, the immortal " Powerslave " They set a really high standard for themselves. While they didn't top " Powerslave " they still made this classic album. This album still tends to get underrated because of the synths. Their not really noticed here as much as in " 7th Son " They do nothing to hurt the songs, but they don't really do much to help them. You got to admire them for trying out new stuff though. Anyway here's my grades. Song Grades 1. Caught Somewhere In Time-classic title track and opener like " Where Eagles Dare " It's one of Maidens epics. It's got the famous synth beginning and a pretty anthemic chorus. The amazing thing is that's its only the third best epic on this album. Final Grade-B+ 2. Wasted Years-While it's not in the Top 10 Maiden songs this is still one of the best mainstream hard-rock songs I have ever heard. It's like the song a band like Aerosmith have been trying to write all their lives, but couldn't. It's got the same subject matter of life on the road as Metallica's " Wherever I May Roam "
Final Grade-A- 3. Sea Of Madness-It's an underated Maiden tune and the hardest rocking song on this album. The lyrics could possibly be dealing with Noah's Ark Final Grade-B+ 4. Heaven Can Wait-This another Maiden epic and the 2nd best song on the album. While the chorus is only OK, I really like the singing in the verses. Final Grade-A- 5. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner-Perhaps the longest Maiden-song title. The beginning is one of the most memorable intro's I have ever heard but after that it kind of tails off. It's still a good song. Final Grade-B 6. Stranger In A Strange Land-It's a good catchy hard-rocking song and was the 2nd single off this album, but it still feels like a made-to-be-played on radio song. It's not as good of a single as " Wasted Years " Final Grade-B 7. Deja-Vu-Here comes the first misstep of this album. I don't know the point of this song being made. The chorus is annoying and the lyrics are kind of stupid. It's not even a guilty pleasure to listen to sometimes like " Mother Russia " It's just a mediocre song that I always skip over. Not as bad as " Quest For Fire " though. Final Grade-D+ 8. Alexander The Great-The last epic and the best song on this album. It's an extremely well put together song like " Rime Of The Ancient Mariner " or " Hallowed Be Thy Name " The only thing keeping me from giving this song an A+ is that by 1986 it became kind of cliche for metal bands to sing about historical figures. I usually don't pay much attention to the lyrics but the song is extremely well song and the guitar solo is awesome. It's better that you just not look at the lyric sheet and just enjoy this song. Final Grade-A This and " 7th Son " are still Maiden in their prime, but after that it's all downhill till " Brave New World " I would recommend this album because most of the songs are classics, but especially for the 3 epics.
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