Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:40:59 minutes | 1,29 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

“The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter” is a live double-album comprises 15 songs captured during ‘The Book Of Souls World Tour’, which covered 39 countries across six continents during 2016 and 2017, and was seen by over two million fans. Produced by Tony Newton and Iron Maiden founder member and bass player Steve Harris, the album is based on this year’s set list and is a faithful record of the epic show, including six songs from “The Book Of Souls”, the band’s most recent studio album, along with many other classics and fan favourites.

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Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Iron Maiden – The Book Of Souls (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:32:14 minutes | 1,11 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

The Book Of Souls is the band’s 16th studio album since their eponymous debut in 1980 charted at #4 in the UK, in a career achieving sales of over 90 million albums worldwide. The long awaited Hi-Res release in his proper length.

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Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time (1986/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time (1986/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:40 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

Somewhere in Time is the sixth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 September 1986 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in North America. (It was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 1998). The studio follow-up to the hugely successful Powerslave/Live After Death pair, it was their first album to feature guitar synthesisers. Since its release, it has been certified platinum by the RIAA, having sold over one million copies in the US alone.

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Iron Maiden – Somewhere Back In Time – The Best of: 1980 – 1989 (2008/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Iron Maiden – Somewhere Back In Time – The Best of: 1980 – 1989 (2008/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:11:56 minutes | 883 MB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

“Somewhere Back in Time – The Best of: 1980 – 1989” is a best of release by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, containing a selection of songs originally recorded for their first eight albums (including Live After Death). The album was released in conjunction with the band’s Somewhere Back In Time World Tour to allow new fans to listen to a selection of the band’s material that was played on the tour.

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Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:05 minutes | 549 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the last great Iron Maiden album, reconnecting with the band’s prog rock roots and reversing the signs of decline that had been evident on their previous record. By this point, Maiden had earned the respect of metalheads the world over with their steadfast adherence to unadulterated metal and their grandiose aesthetic. They’d made concessions neither to pop-metal nor to thrash, and their passionate fan base would never have tolerated a radical reinvention. But what do you do when your epic ambition itself has become a formula? You go even bigger and make a concept album, of course, and that’s what Maiden does here, breaking out of the creative rut they’d fallen into on Somewhere in Time. The concept is based on the European folklore which held that the seventh son of a seventh son would be born with special powers that could be used for good or evil (and probably also in part by fantasy author Orson Scott Card, who’d touched on this idea in his own work). As such, the lyrics are Maiden at their most gothic, obsessed with supernatural mysticism of all stripes; the story line concerns the title character, born with a gift for prophecy but mistrusted by his village, which ignores his warnings of apocalyptic doom and makes him a tormented Cassandra figure. Musically, this is Maiden at their proggiest, with abrupt, stop-on-a-dime transitions between riffs, tempos, time signatures, and song sections. Yet nearly every song has a memorable chorus, with only “The Prophecy” falling short in that department. They’ve also switched from the guitar synths of Somewhere in Time to full-fledged keyboards, which are used here more to add atmosphere rather than taking center stage; this restores the crunch that was sometimes lacking in the shinier production of the previous album. No less than four of this album’s eight songs reached the British Top Ten in some version (concert standard “Can I Play with Madness,” “The Evil That Men Do,” “The Clairvoyant,” and “Infinite Dreams”), while the album became the band’s first U.K. chart-topper since The Number of the Beast. The title track is this album’s extended epic (though the songs are longer in general), and it’s moved out of the closing spot in yet another subtle statement about shaking things up. If Seventh Son doesn’t epitomize their sound or define an era the way the first three Dickinson albums did, it nonetheless ranks among their best work. Adrian Smith left the band after this record, closing the book on Maiden’s classic period and heralding a dire — and distressingly immediate — creative decline. –Steve Huey

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Iron Maiden – Senjutsu (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Senjutsu (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:21:57 minutes | 1,82 GB | Genre: Hard Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

Senjutsu (Japanese:戦術 , loosely translated as “tactics and strategy”) is the upcoming seventeenth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is set to be released on 3 September 2021.

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Iron Maiden – Rock In Rio (2002/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Rock In Rio (2002/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:57:36 minutes | 2,55 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

A live album from Iron Maiden, originally released in 2002. The album was recorded during their 250,000 strong crowd in Rio during their Brave New World tour.

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Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 50:57 minutes | 1,17 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

The third in a trilogy of legendary Iron Maiden albums, Powerslave is frequently ranked as the fan favorite of the bunch, capping off a stellar run that sealed the band’s genre-defining status. If The Number of the Beast was the all-time metal landmark, Powerslave is perhaps the quintessential Maiden album, capturing all the signature elements of the band’s definitive era in one place. The album opens with Maiden at their catchiest, turning in a pair of metal classics right off the bat with the British hit singles “Aces High” (a high-speed ode to a WWII air battle) and the apocalyptic “2 Minutes to Midnight.” Next we get an instrumental, “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra),” of the sort that Maiden periodically deployed to keep fans in awe of their technical chops. A pair of their best and most overlooked album tracks follows; “Flash of the Blade” and “The Duellists” exemplify the glory-minded battle hymns that made up such an important part of their lyrical obsessions, even if both are about sword fighting rather than modern military history. By the end of the album, we’re seeing Maiden at their most progressive and ambitious. The seven-minute title track builds on the previous album’s “To Tame a Land” with its use of Middle Eastern melodies, delving into Egyptian mythology for a rumination on power and mortality. This leads into the biggest, most grandiose epic in the Maiden catalog — “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a multi-sectioned, thirteen-and-a-minute prog-fest adapted from the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem. Though it isn’t exactly what you’d call hooky, its shifting moods and lofty intellectual aspirations made it a live favorite. This latter material helped ensure that Powerslave was the Maiden album with the biggest impact on the emerging progressive metal genre (which, in its earliest form, essentially fused Rush with this sort of Maiden material). In this context, “Back in the Village” gets somewhat lost in the shuffle; it’s a thematic sequel to “The Prisoner,” though not quite as memorable. So even though we don’t hear the punk influences of old, Powerslave catalogs every major facet of the band’s personality during the Dickinson years, and does so while firing on all cylinders. Perhaps that’s in part because Powerslave is the first Maiden album to feature the same lineup as its predecessor, creating a definite continuity and comfort level. Or perhaps it’s simply that we’re witnessing a great band in its creative prime. Whatever the case, it’s entirely arguable that Powerslave summarizes why Iron Maiden was so important and influential even more effectively than The Number of the Beast, at least on a purely musical level. It may not be quite as accessible, but it’s every bit as classic and essential. –Steve Huey

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Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind (1983/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind (1983/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 46:09 minutes | 1,02 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

The second of three straight iconic Iron Maiden albums, Piece of Mind marks the debut of what many regard as the definitive Maiden lineup, with the arrival of new drummer Nicko McBrain. McBrain’s ability to duplicate the complex patterns of the guitar and bass riffs gives the band a seamless ensemble unity. Even Steve Harris, whose busy basslines were never exactly groove-oriented, has never felt more integrated into the overall sound. Perhaps part of that feeling comes from the less frantic pace; the average tempo has slowed somewhat from the preceding album, and the hold-over punk influences still present there have been completely eradicated. Instead, we get a few moodier, heavier pieces (especially “Revelations”) that make the album darker-sounding overall. We also get greater involvement in the songwriting from Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith, whose themes are perfectly in tune with Steve Harris’ epic storytelling. Nearly every song here was inspired by movies or literature, whether it’s history, mythology, sci-fi, or fantasy; this approach got them tagged as a thinking-man’s metal band, and certainly provided a lyrical blueprint for Anthrax. No less than four songs are about battles and warriors, and a couple are about flying, underscoring the heights of the drama that the band is aiming for. The centerpiece of the album is, of course, “The Trooper,” an all-time genre classic that boasts Murray and Smith’s most memorable harmonized lead riff, plus that trademark galloping rhythm. A retelling of the Greek myth “Flight of Icarus” was the other British hit single, boasting an appropriately soaring chorus. Album opener “Where Eagles Dare” is the other flight song, recounting a WWII spy thriller and featuring one of McBrain’s signature performances with the band. If much of Piece of Mind ranks as state-of-the-art heavy metal, it is true that the second half dips a bit from the first. “Quest for Fire” is many a die-hard fan’s least favorite track from the glory years; the melody is rather stiff and simple, and the lyrics are about cavemen, rendering Dickinson’s operatics (“In a tiiiiiime when dinosaurs walked the eaaaaaarth”) a bit ridiculous. Among the serious-minded Maiden faithful, there’s no less forgivable sin than silliness (no matter how entertaining it might be). Fans also bemoan the relative simplicity of the samurai tale “Sun and Steel.” However, the album closes on a big, progressive note with “To Tame a Land,” an epic retelling of Frank Herbert’s Dune that evokes the desert planet via Middle Eastern guitar melodies. In the end, even if Piece of Mind is the most obviously inconsistent of the classic Maiden trilogy, its many high points are no less awe-inspiring, and it’s no less essential for anyone with even the most basic interest in heavy metal. –Steve Huey

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Iron Maiden – No Prayer For The Dying (1990/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Iron Maiden – No Prayer For The Dying (1990/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:05 minutes | 554 MB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

With their first album of the ’90s, Iron Maiden wanted to return to basics. Comparable to their more straightforward early work, No Prayer for the Dying quickly shot up the charts all over the world, but it was clear that the songwriting wasn’t up to snuff when compared to such classics as Killers or Number of the Beast. The album also signaled the debut of new guitarist Janick Gers, best known for his stint in Ian Gillan’s solo band and on Bruce Dickinson’s solo album, Tattooed Millionaire. Featuring a pair of U.K. hit singles — the anti-televangelist diatribe “Holy Smoke” and Maiden’s lone number one, the controversial “Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter” (which was banned by the BBC) — plus another that should have been issued as a single (the opener, “Tailgunner”), No Prayer as a whole doesn’t measure up to the hits. The title track contains an opening too reminiscent of their 1988 single “Infinite Dreams,” while other tracks such as “Fates Warning,” “Run Silent Run Deep,” and “Hooks in You” never catch fire. And even though the epic closer “Mother Russia,” “Public Enema Number One,” and “Fates Warning” are standouts, they just don’t hold up well when compared to past classics. While Maiden retained their solid following elsewhere in the world, No Prayer for the Dying would prove to be their last gold-certified album in the U.S. –Greg Prato

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Iron Maiden – Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Iron Maiden – Nights of the Dead, Legacy of the Beast: Live in Mexico City (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:40:46 minutes | 1,29 GB | Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

Iron Maiden will release a new live album in November.

The double-disc Nights Of The Dead, Legacy Of The Beast: Live in Mexico City was recorded during the band’s three sold out arena shows in the Mexican capital in September 2019 and is a celebration of the legendary British metal band’s Legacy Of The Beast world tour which began in 2018 and will finish next summer in Europe.

The album will be available via Parlophone Records [ BMG in the USA] on November 20.

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Iron Maiden – Maiden Japan (2021 Remaster) (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Maiden Japan (2021 Remaster) (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 20:19 minutes | 494 MB | Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino

Being in a metal band is far from easy. Whether it’s writing complex riffs and drum patterns, or switching seamlessly between harsh and clean vocal styles, a “true” metal musician has to truly put tons of effort into their music in order to give it any sort of flow or substance. However, the studio is actually the easy part. The thing that really takes a toll on band members is the fact that heavy metal is first and foremost a live genre. Any fool with decent recording and mixing software can mess around with a few glitches to make the studio recording sound listenable. But performing live? That’s entirely right there, right then. Even one mistake will be amplified tenfold. Some bands have gained notoriety for creating great albums and extended plays, but completely phoning it in during live performances. Surprisingly enough, though, the oldest metal bands are among those with the best live shows. Even in their 60s, the members of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest somehow managed to create an interactive and energetic atmosphere with their audiences. However, Iron Maiden are undoubtedly the most successful of the three major bands, with performances attracting fans from all over the world, and countless acclaimed live albums such as Live After Death. But, as with any metal band, Maiden had their earlier, rougher days.

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Iron Maiden – Live After Death (1985/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Live After Death (1985/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:42:52 minutes | 2,37 GB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

Iron Maiden’s World Slavery Tour was one of the longest and most extensive tours ever undertaken by a rock band. Lasting from August 9, 1984, to July 5, 1985, and visiting such countries as Poland, Austria, Hungry, Yugoslavia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Japan, and the U.S., the show included a mammoth setup that replicated the intricate ancient Egyptian scenery of the Powerslave album cover. As a “thank you” to the hundreds of thousands of fans who packed arenas the world over, the double-disc live set Live After Death was issued in 1985. Disc one is comprised of selections from a four-night stand at L.A.’s Long Beach Arena, with disc two comprised of performances from London’s Hammersmith Odeon. The album is essentially a best-of of sorts, since most of their singles released up to this point are featured in all of their high-decibel glory: “Aces High,” “2 Minutes to Midnight,” “The Trooper,” “Flight of Icarus,” “The Number of the Beast,” “Run to the Hills,” and “Running Free.” Also included are such strong album tracks as “Wrathchild,” “22 Acacia Avenue,” “Children of the Damned,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Iron Maiden,” plus their two epics, “Powerslave” and “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” making it a near-complete overview. Live After Death is easily one of heavy metal’s best live albums. –Greg Prato

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Iron Maiden – Killers (1981/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Killers (1981/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 38:47 minutes | 899 MB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

Iron Maiden’s sophomore effort, Killers, is mostly composed of pre-existing material that had been left off the debut, with just a few new additions. It’s certainly a better-sounding release than the debut, with new producer Martin Birch beefing up the band’s studio presence and lending their instrumental attack a newfound clarity that throws their considerable skills into sharp relief. In fact, this helps mask the fact that the songwriting isn’t quite as strong overall as it was on the debut. But the teaming of new guitarist Adrian Smith with Dave Murray forms the most formidable twin-guitar attack in heavy metal, outside of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing. Plus, bassist Steve Harris’ busy, driving lines are now consistently audible in the mix. The resulting instrumental fireworks are what truly make the album tick. That said, there’s a much smaller percentage of catalog standards here than on the previous album. “Wrathchild” is the standout, re-recorded here with Smith on guitar from an earlier version for the Metal for Muthas compilation. There’s a fair bit of unity in the lyrical themes, with a parade of murderers, fugitives, and characters otherwise torn from their roots. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a first-person retelling of the Poe short story, and the title track is another highlight, with Paul Di’Anno turning in an especially menacing performance. The single “Purgatory” has a catchy singalong chorus and a tempo worthy of Motörhead, while “Twilight Zone” (not included on the U.K. issue, but added to subsequent releases) scraped the bottom of the British charts. The biggest departure here is the almost Supertramp-like prog-pop of “Prodigal Son,” a melodic, uptempo offering with an arrangement based around acoustic guitars. Despite some inconsistency in the material, Killers is clearly the work of a top-notch ensemble, and in order to take the next step forward, their musical ambitions were clearly going to require a vocalist as technically accomplished as the band. It’s worth noting that some Maiden fans actually prefer the rawness of the Di’Anno years to the polish of the Bruce Dickinson era (though, it should also be noted, they’re in the minority). –Steve Huey

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Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (1980/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (1980/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 37:42 minutes | 868 MB | Genre: Rock, Heavy Metal
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK

There may be no better place to hear how both punk and prog rock informed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal than Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut. Often overlooked and overshadowed by the glorious Bruce Dickinson years, it’s easy to forget that Iron Maiden was itself a game-changer when it appeared on the scene in 1980. That year also saw important albums from Motörhead, Saxon, and Angel Witch, but Iron Maiden vaulted its creators to the head of the NWOBHM pack, reaching the U.K. Top Five and establishing them as an outfit with the talent to build on Judas Priest’s late-’70s innovations. On the one hand, Maiden was clearly drawing from elements of punk rock — the raw D.I.Y. production, the revved-up velocities, and the vocals of rough-and-ready growler Paul Di’Anno, who looked and sounded not like a metal god, but rather a short-haired street tough. On the other hand, Maiden had all the creative ambition of a prog rock band. Compositionally, even their shortest and most straightforward songs featured abrupt changes in tempo and feel. Their musicianship was already light years beyond punk, with complicated instrumental passages between guitarists Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton and bassist Steve Harris. When Murray and Stratton harmonize their leads, they outdo even Priest’s legendary tandem in terms of pure speed. The lyrics have similarly high-flying aspirations, spinning first-person stories and character sketches with a flair for the seedy and the grotesque. Add it all up, and Iron Maiden performs the neat trick of reconciling two genres seemingly antithetical to one another, using post-Priest heavy metal as the meeting ground. The seven-minute “Phantom of the Opera” is a landmark, the band’s earliest progressive epic and still among its best; with its ambitious fusion of musical styles, its multi-sectioned construction, and the literary retelling of the lyrics, it seemed to encapsulate all the promise of both the band and the NWOBHM. Two of the simpler, punkier rockers, “Running Free” and “Sanctuary” (the latter left off the U.K. version but added to subsequent reissues), made the lower reaches of the British singles charts. The flasher tale “Prowler,” one of the band’s more enduring numbers, is in the same vein, but ups the instrumental complexity, while the title track still remains a concert staple. Elsewhere, the band offers the first of many instrumentals with “Transylvania,” introduces the recurring title character of “Charlotte the Harlot,” and reimagines Judas Priest’s “Beyond the Realms of Death” with the “ballad” “Remember Tomorrow,” which starts out soft but closes with a speed-freak guitar section. Perhaps the only hint of a misstep comes on the more restrained ballad “Strange World,” the only song from this album that was never re-recorded in a live or alternate version by the Dickinson lineup. Nonetheless, the whole project explodes with energy and ideas, and while the band would certainly go on to refine much of what’s here (including the cover painting of mascot Eddie), Iron Maiden would still rank as a landmark even if the Dickinson years had never happened. –Steve Huey

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