I am somewhat of a late fan in regaurds to Iron Maiden. I started listening to them in 1999 despite the fact that I have heard of the name since I was a kid. I always remember the name and the gruesome mascot on the cover of all of thier albums so years later when I started picking up on older music, I decided to give these guys a whirl. I started out with Piece of Mind which was good but it didn't really grab me. It was when I picked up Somewhere In Time the following week that I was hooked, I then followed it up with a bunch of other exceptional albums (ie Powerslave, Seventh Son of A Seventh Son, Number of the Beast). I picked up most of the older Maiden albums and spent several months listening to them. I finally got to thier albums from the mid-90s and initially I hated them with a passion. I was disgusted with them. After giving them a break for a while, I tried them again and they grew on me. I still like them but they just aren't as much fun to listen to as the classical Maiden albums.

Enter the year 2000, I go and visit Maiden's Website and lo and behold I find that Adrian and Bruce had rejoined the band in the previous year and they were working on a new album together. I was overjoyed. A month or two before brave new world was released they posted an audio clip of The Wickerman on thier site. Needless to say that song nearly did in my keyboard and mouse with as many times as I kept replaying it. The wickerman is a very powerful yet haunting song. The guitar sound kind of reminds me of the type of sound they had on the powerslave album (as do most of the other songs on Brave New World). It has several very cool music videos to it which I recommend when listening to the song (these can be found on the Visions of the Beast VHS/DVD). This song stands up perfectly well on it's own but is definitely enhanced by the supurb work done on the music videos. The Ghost of the Navigator gives one reminders of the Ancient Mariner from the Powerslave album. The song certainly isn't set the same way or as long but the themes are similar. This is a very powerful song. It starts out softly and builds, almost as if you can picture a storm building at sea to go along with the music. Brave New World is essentially a review of Huxley's novel. It isn't a bad song but not my favorite on the album. It is slower and in my opinion it kinda drags. Blood Brothers is a slower song but quite moving. That and it offers some more classical instrumentation which blends in beautifully with the rest of the typical maiden sound. The Mercenary is a fast paced song. This one doesn't seem to be a popular favorite for most but I personally think it is one of the best tracks for the album. Part of the reason is because I always picture the movie "Sleepy Hollow" when listening to this song. The lyrics almost fit the Headless Horseman right down to the letter. In fact it definitely wouldn't have been out of place on the soundtrack if they wanted something heavy. Anyways it is a "Take no prisoners" sort of song. Dream of Mirrors is a bit of an oddity on this album as I'm not quite sure where it fits in. It changes tempo alot but the line "I only dream in black and white" is quite catchy. I enjoy the song but not as much as most of the others. The Fallen Angel is a very dark song which is taken from the perspective of. . .well. . .the fallen angel. While the sound is quite different you definitely can see the number of the beast being used in the origins of this song. The Nomad is the longest song on the album and although the sound and themes are different, one gets a feel of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner in this one. Not the fastest paced song but they did a very good job using the guitars to give it a sort of Arabian feel to it. It also has a beautiful slower section which has some sort of solo. I'm not sure if it is keyboard generated but it sure sounds alot like a French Horn to me. Very well blended with the rest of the song. Out of the Silent Planet is another track on the album that people don't seem to like as much. I personally love it. From it's softer begining to it's faster paced middle and end, the song is a rollercoaster but still powerful all the way through and it still holds together perfectly. Definitely one of my favorites, it could have something to do with the fact that I am a CS Lewis fan though. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate is a slower song but the message is just awesome in this one. I guess it is because I agree with what he is saying ". . . there is evil in some of us, no matter what will never change" The vocals are excellent and very powerful in this song and the music blends in well with it. On a funny note, if you turn up the volume on the end of this track there is an out-take of Nicko McBrain going "Oh I ****ing missed it" and everyone laughing because he missed one of his parts. A great way to end an outstanding album and after listening to this one definitely gets the feeling that the old Maiden is back.