Ah, Guitar Hero II. Such great memories. I remember playing that game incessantly when it hit the Xbox 360. I would also subsequently introduce my brother and sister to it, and when Rock Band became a thing, that became our thing across Xbox Live. As for GHII, it's what introduced me to the song, The Trooper from Iron Maiden. So many times, I played that song, working my way to completion of the entire game on Expert, one of the few I got one hundred percent of the achievements on.
But I digress. This is not a post about Guitar Hero II.
By 1983, the lineup of Iron Maiden had changed considerably since the band's debut. Original bassist, Steve Harris, and guitarist, Dave Murray, remained the only two consistent members. The group now also featured Adrian Smith as an additional guitarist, Nicko McBrain on drums, and Bruce Dickinson on vocals.
Maiden would head to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, to record the tracks for what would become 1983's Piece Of Mind. The experience would leave an impression, so much to the point that they'd return to record their two follow-ups.
Upon its release, the band would once again chart across the globe becoming their fourth consecutive successful record. Though it featured the popular tracks, The Trooper, and Flight Of Icarus, the latter would become mainstays on radios in the USA. Maiden would once again set out on a world tour to support the album, performing one hundred forty-seven shows.
As I went to play the album, I accidently put on 1984's Powerslave. Rather than turn it off, I listened to it, so hold please.
Okay, I'm back, and I've now listened to not only that one, but the correct album for today.
Where Eagles Dare is a solid starting off point for the album, and things pick up nicely with Flight Of Icarus. Then there was The Trooper, a song I was familiar with from my Xbox 360 Rock Band days.
I really dug the guitar work on the track, Quest For Fire, but then, that's really where I keep getting hung up with Iron Maiden. The instrumentation is always top notch. It's when the vocals kick in that I start to lose interest. Still, Piece Of Mind is another solid entry from the band.
Returning from their world tour, Iron Maiden went back to Compass Point Studios and laid down the tracks that would become 1984's Powerslave. As noted in my very first post, this album proved to not only be the rarest to find on CD, but among the more expensive. Will it have been worth the price? Well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow.
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