No song really stands out as the top of the heap after the first listen, though a number of songs flow very nicely into each other. Odd, that long after the vinyl record has died, Maiden actually pay attention to the running order of their album beyond the obligatory "longest song goes at the end." It's an improvement over A Matter of Life and Death and isn't comped to hell like Dance of Death is.
On the minus side, Bruce clearly isn't getting any younger and on some tracks, especially the very first one, he sounds like he's in trouble. Elsewhere he's on form, sounding pretty much like he did on Brave New World. Which was ten years ago. So well done.
On the other minus side, Maiden have decided to get technical now for some reason. Yes, they've thrown out goofy time signatures before, in the intros to "The Number of the Beast" and "Brighter than a Thousand Suns," but there are a few tracks on here where it sounds like somebody's signalling Bruce when to start singing, and his reaction time is slow. I'm looking especially at you, "Starblind."
But let's not forget that this is a solid record from a metal stalwart who have been relevant since 1982 (and arguably two years earlier than that). Nothing made me wretch, which is more than I can say for most modern music. So good on 'em. More in-depth review to follow.
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