Powerslave

This article is about a music album by the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. For the computer game that was released in the USA under this title, see Exhumed (computer game) .

Powerslave
Studio album by
Publication (s)	3rd September 1984
admission	February - July 1984
Label (s)	EMI
Format (s)	CD, LP, MC
Genre (s)	Heavy metal
Title (number)	8th
running time	50:31
occupation	Singing : Bruce Dickinson Guitar : Dave Murray Guitar : Adrian Smith Bass : Steve Harris Drums : Nicko McBrain
production	Martin Birch
Studio (s)	Compass Point Studios ( Nassau , Bahamas )
chronology Piece of Mind (1983) Powerslave Live After Death (1985)

Powerslave (English for: " slave of power ") is the fifth studio album by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden . The album was released on September 3, 1984 via EMI .

background

For the first time the band recorded an album with the same line-up as its predecessor. It was recorded like Piece of Mind in Nassau , Bahamas .

Likewise Powerslave until today the last album of the band, which is an instrumental piece contains. Thematically, the album cover, which was again drawn by Derek Riggs, and the title track “Powerslave” are about ancient Egypt . The album cover shows the band mascot Eddie as a statue of a pharaoh who sits on a huge throne in front of a pyramid. There is a sphinx under each of his hands . The album artwork was recreated for the following 13-month tour. The “World Slavery Tour” took the band to the then Eastern Bloc as the first larger band . The video Behind The Iron Curtain documented this tour.

With "2 Minutes to Midnight" and " Aces High " two singles were released. Both reached the top 15 of the UK single charts. The two video clips for the singles were played on the American MTV .

Track list

1. Aces High (Steve Harris) - 4:29
2. 2 Minutes To Midnight (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) - 5:59
3. Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) (Steve Harris) - 4:12
4. Flash of the Blade (Bruce Dickinson) - 4:02
5. The Duellists (Steve Harris) - 6:06
6. Back in the Village (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) - 5:00
7. Powerslave (Bruce Dickinson) - 7:07
8. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (Steve Harris) - 13:34

Song information

• Aces High , like Invaders and The Trooper, is a song about war. The song is about the Battle of Britain from the perspective of a British pilot.

• The title of the song 2 Minutes to Midnight refers to the nuclear war clock. It was "2 minutes to midnight" in September 1953 when Russia and the USA each carried out a successful atomic bomb test. Lyrically, the song deals with the experience of the Cold War and the suffering and terror in the world. The text line "prime time Belsen feast" refers to the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen .

• Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) is the last instrumental Iron Maiden released on one of their albums. "Losfer Words" means "lost for words" (English for: " I'm speechless "). "Orra" is phonetically and means "horror" in the Cockney dialect.

• Flash of the Blade is about fencing . Bruce Dickinson himself is a fencer. The text describes a young man who took up fencing training to avenge the murder of his family. The song was also used on the soundtrack of the Dario Argento film Phenomena .

• The Duellists , another song about fencing, is based on the film The Duelists by Ridley Scott . The literary template " The Duel " comes from Joseph Conrad .

• Back in the Village is a adaptation of British television series number 6 . After the line of text " I see sixes all the way " follows a low whisper: "six six six", a reference to the title song of the album The Number of the Beast . There is a song with The Prisoner that is based on the same series.

• Powerslave , the theme song, deals with Egyptian mythology and deals with the death of a pharaoh .

• Rime of the Ancient Mariner , the longest song on the album, is based on the ballad of the same name by Samuel Taylor Coleridge . Parts of this poem were also used in the lyrics to the song.

Single releases

2 minutes to midnight

The single was released on August 6, 1984. The B-side was a cover version used. Rainbow's Gold comes from a progressive rock group called Beckett . Steve Harris used a line of the song in the song Hallowed Be Thy Name . The second track, Mission From 'Arry, is a recorded argument between Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain . The cover is a variation of the famous Uncle Sam poster by James Montgomery Flagg , which was used to recruit soldiers. The single reached # 11 on the UK charts.

1. 2 Minutes to Midnight (Smith, Dickinson) - 6:04
2. Rainbow's Gold (Beckett) - 4:57
3. Mission from 'Arry - 6:43

Aces high

Aces High , the album's second single, was released on October 22, 1984. The cover shows Eddie at the wheel of a Supermarine Spitfire . The B-side King of Twilight is a cover version of two songs by the German band Nektar . Another B-side is a live version of the classic The Number of the Beast , which was also used on the 12 Wasted Years video. The single peaked at # 20 on the UK charts.

1. Aces High (Harris) - 4:31
2. King of Twilight (Nectar) - 4:54
3. The Number of the Beast (live) (Harris) - 4:57

reception

The album became Iron Maiden's second number one hit in the UK. It was ranked 21 on the Billboard charts.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000190289
2. ↑ Powerslave ( Memento from April 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Back In The Village ( Memento from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ ^{a b c} http://www.everyhit.com/
5. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000190289/awards