Kubrick by Kirby. Jack Kirby art from the 2001 A Space Odyssey Marvel Treasury Special 1976

1986. Somewhere in Time 

is the sixth album by band Iron Maiden  The studio follow-up to the hugely successful Powerslave/Live After Death pair, it was their first album to feature guitar synthesisers. 

Somewhere in Time is notable for lacking any songwriting credits from lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, whose material was rejected by the rest of the band. Dickinson had written several “acoustic-based” songs, explaining that “I felt we had to come up with our Physical Graffiti or Led Zeppelin IV … we had to get it onto another level or we’d stagnate and drift away,” although Steve Harris “thought he’d lost the plot completely,” surmising that “he was probably more burnt out than anyone at the end of that last tour.”  On the other hand, the record is also notable for the number of “fully formed” songs written by guitarist Adrian Smith, who wrote both of the album’s singles: “Wasted Years” and “Stranger in a Strange Land”, the former of which is the only song on the record not to feature synthesisers. 

 This was also their first studio album not to be released a year after their previous one, with the band insisting that they have more time “to get it right without hurrying for a change,” comments Harris. It was also one of their most expensive records, with the bass and drums recorded in the Bahamas, the guitars and vocals recorded in The Netherlands and the mixing taking place in New York.

this is another great album from Iron Maiden. It is a great combination of real metal and synthesizer. It has a great atmosphere and has a nice balance of complex and simple. Bruce Dickinson’s vocals are amazing as usual. It’s through and through a great album, and a must for fans of any type of metal. 

Bruce Dickinson   Dave Murray    Adrian Smith   Steve Harris    Nicko McBrain 

Akira Toriyama’s concept art for Chrono Trigger

Peter Elson

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