That’s right: 30 years ago on this very day, Iron Maiden’s last album in the 1980s came onto the scene, and became a treasured record in the discography of this legendary band. There are some haters to be sure, but one can’t deny how awesome & incredible this release is. Upon seeing that this release turned 30 today, I just had to do a review of it. So I popped the album in to give it a listen to, and you now see the results of that listening session. So sit back, take a load off, and take a look at my review for Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. Let’s begin.
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“The idea to base the album around the folklore concept of the seventh son of a seventh son came to bassist Steve Harris after he read Orson Scott Card's Seventh Son. Harris states, "It was our seventh studio album and I didn't have a title for it or any ideas at all. Then I read the story of the seventh son, this mystical figure that was supposed to have all these paranormal gifts, like second sight and what have you, and it was more, at first, that it was just a good title for the seventh album, you know? But then I rang Bruce [Dickinson, vocalist] and started talking about it and the idea just grew."
After his songwriting contributions were rejected from the band's previous album, 1986's Somewhere in Time, Dickinson felt that his role within the band had diminished, as he "just became the singer", but felt renewed enthusiasm when Harris explained the concept to him; "I thought, 'What a great idea! Brilliant!' And of course I was really chuffed, too, because he'd actually rung me to talk about it and ask me if I had any songs that might fit that sort of theme. I was like, 'Well, no, but give me a minute and I'll see what I can do.'" Speaking about the record in later years, however, Dickinson remarked that "we almost did [something great]", explaining that, "it was only half a concept album. There was no attempt to see it all the way through, like we really should have done. Seventh Son... has no story. It's about good and evil, heaven and hell, but isn't every Iron Maiden record?"
In addition to Dickinson's return to writing, the album was also notable for its number of co-written pieces, in contrast to its predecessor, with five of the eight tracks being collaborative efforts. According to Harris, this was probably because they "spent more time checking up on each other to see what everybody else was up to, just to make sure the story fitted properly and went somewhere". To make sure each song fit with the record's concept, the band drew up a basic outline for the story, which Harris states "didn't make the actual writing any easier ... I probably took longer over the writing I've done on this album than any I've done before. But the stuff we all started coming up with, once we'd agreed that we were definitely going for a fully fledged 'concept' album, really startled me. It was so much better than anything we'd done in ages".
Stylistically, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son developed the sounds first heard on Somewhere in Time, although, on this occasion, the synth effects were created by keyboards rather than bass or guitar synthesisers. According to Dickinson, the band decided not to hire a keyboard player, with the parts being "mainly one-finger stuff from Adrian [Smith, guitarist], Steve, the engineer or whoever had a finger free at the time". Harris was fond of the development, in spite of the fact that the record did not sell as well as its predecessor in the United States; "I thought it was the best album we did since Piece of Mind. I loved it because it was more progressive—I thought the keyboards really fitted in brilliantly—'cause that's the influences I grew up with, and I was so pissed off with the Americans, because they didn't really seem to accept it. Everyone said afterwards that it was a European-sounding album. I'm not so sure about that. What's a European-sounding album? To me, it's just a Maiden-sounding album."
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son marked the end of guitarist Adrian Smith's first stint in the band.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and its supporting tour marked the last appearance of Adrian Smith until he returned to the band in 1999. The guitarist left during the pre-production stages of the band's following album, 1990's No Prayer for the Dying, as he was unhappy with the more "street-level" direction the group were taking, professing that he "thought we were heading in the right direction with the last two albums" and that he "thought we needed to keep going forward, and it just didn't feel like that to me".”
Basic Description
Egotistical but Awesome.
I’ll talk about that “Egotistical” part later on, so I’ll just talk about the awesomeness of Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. As I was listening to this album, I was amazed at just how similar the record is to prior Iron Maiden material. More specifically, it’s related to the synth & sci-fi flavoring of Somewhere In Time in many ways: both albums have synthesizers alongside the rest of the instrumentation, both albums are structured around a central story (Blade Runner for Somewhere In Time, and the concept of a seventh son of a seventh son for the album with the same name), and both albums eventually became classics. The critics that blindly hate this release might push potential listeners away, but they’re just an obstacle on the path to this album.
Best Track
Can I Play With Madness is just a catchy track to listen to. Located at the no. 3 spot on the album, it’s got an incredibly catchy guitar riff at the beginning that pulls you in, and after that, you’re treat to an almost Power Metal like story of wizards, crystal balls, and the dangers of forbidden knowledge. Bruce Dickenson’s voice, while beginning to show some signs of wear & tear, still is at the top of it’s game, and the rest of the band puts in some hard work as well. Also, and I don’t know if it’s just me, but the beginning guitar riff was used on a later song....but I’ll get to that track later on down the line. Regardless, Can I Play With Madness is easily a fun song that should show up on your MP3 Player not long after.
Can I Play With Madness
Worst Track
Really the band’s ego on this record is the only major issue. In interviews prior to this release, Bruce Dickenson said you can’t make Heavy Metal with synthesizers. Ironic he says that, then puts out an album that’s got synthesizers all over the place! On top of that, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son comes across as a little too ambitious for it’s own good. It tries really hard to come across as a modern day fantasy epic, but falls short in a few places, lessening how epic it actually is. In the band’s defense, this really is the only time that Iron Maiden can get away with this. The band created Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son at a time when they were on top of the world, and had a stable enough base upon which they added this record.
Apart from the ego, my only other gripe is with the people that hate this album. Specifically, I dislike the critics that complain about the usage of synthesizers, while at the same time completely ignoring the fact that the record prior to this one had synthesizers in it! To be fair, the amount of synth in that release wasn’t quite as much as this one, but if you’re going to complain about synth usage, complain about it in both!
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Overall Impression & Rating
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is just a fun album. Though the ego coming off of the band makes it’s way to the music, it’s the only time that Iron Maiden could get away with this. They were still strong & making good music, but the hard times weren’t that far away. Despite that, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Song is essential 80s metal, and if you see the front cover staring at you, let it’s mystical call overcome you.
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son gets a 9 out of 10
So that was a look at the last Iron Maiden album of the 1980s, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. If you can get past the ego, you’ll find one of the best sounding records of the 80s. With this celebration over with, we’ll be resuming April Fools Day month next week. See you then!
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