Powerslave
Studio album by Iron Maiden
Released	3 September, 1984
Recorded	Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, 1983–July 1984
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	50:57
Label	EMI
Producer	Martin Birch
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Sputnikmusic link
Iron Maiden chronology
Piece of Mind (1983) Powerslave (1984) Live After Death (1985)
Singles from Powerslave
"2 Minutes to Midnight" Released: 6 August 1984 "Aces High" Released: 22 October 1984

Powerslave is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on September 2, 1984 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 2002). It is notable for its Egyptian theme displayed in the album art, as well in the title track's musical style. It contains a musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which uses pieces of the original poem as lyrics, and is the longest song Iron Maiden have ever recorded at a length of 13 minutes and 38 seconds. The album is also notable amongst the band's albums as being the first album to feature the same lineup as the previous one. As of 2009, this is the last of the band's albums to contain an instrumental track: "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)."

"2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High" were released as singles, the former being a staple in nearly all of the band's concert tours.

World Slavery Tour was the tour supporting the album.

The lyrics to "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" are mainly influenced from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem of the same name, and directly quote two passages from the poem, the former including the famous lines of 'Water, water everywhere - nor any drop to drink'.^[1] The song can be divided into three phases, the first subscribing to the quintessential 'galloping' metal, the second (around 5 minutes in) being simple and quiet yet dark, and the final stage returning to an upbeat instrumental, and lastly repeating the initial tune. Often played in set lists from its release, the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is a very popular and highly-regarded song from the band.^[2] During the 'Somewhere Back In Time World Tour', Dave Murray, Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris cited the song as their favourite to play.^[3]

[edit] Track listing

1. "Aces High" (Steve Harris) – 4:32
2. "2 Minutes to Midnight" (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) – 6:04
3. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (Instrumental) (Harris) – 4:15
4. "Flash of the Blade" (Dickinson) – 4:06
5. "The Duellists" (Harris) – 6:07
6. "Back in the Village" (Dickinson, Smith) – 5:03 (5:20 on the 1998 re-release)
7. "Powerslave" (Dickinson) – 7:11 (6:46 on the 1998 re-release)
8. "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (Harris) – 13:37

On the 1998 re-release, due to a mis-placed track mark, the intro to the title track "Powerslave" was "tacked on" to the end of the previous track, "Back In The Village", hence its longer duration.

[edit] Bonus disc (1995 reissue)

1. "Rainbow's Gold" (Terry Slesser, Kenny Mountain) – 4:57
2. "Mission From 'Arry" (Harris, Nicko McBrain) – 6:42
3. "King of Twilight" (Nektar) – 4:53
4. "The Number of the Beast (Live)" (Harris) – 4:57

[edit] Subsequent releases

• The 1995 re-release contains a bonus disc, which contains the b-sides of the original singles.

• It was re-released in 1998 with an extra multimedia section, which featured the music videos for "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight".

• The tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden, released by Kerrang! magazine, features covers of two songs from this album: "2 Minutes to Midnight" by Glamour Of The Kill and "Flash of the Blade" by Avenged Sevenfold.^[4]

• The title track, "2 Minutes to Midnight", and a live version of "Aces High" are available as downloads for the Rock Band video game as of June 9, 2009.

• Children of Bodom and Arch Enemy have covered the song "Aces High".

[edit] Personnel

• Bruce Dickinson – vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Nicko McBrain – drums

with

• Martin Birch - producer, engineer
• Frank Gibson – assistant engineer
• George Marino – mastering
• Simon Heyworth – remastering
• Derek Riggs – artwork, design, sleeve design, sleeve idea, sleeve illustration
• Rod Smallwood – design, sleeve design, sleeve idea
• Ross Halfin – photography
• Moshe Brakha – photography

[edit] Additional notes

• Catalogue – (1984 LP) EMI 1-12321, (1984 CD) Capitol C2-46045, (1998 CD) EMI 96920

[edit] Chart performance

[edit] Album

[edit] Singles

[edit] Certifications

[edit] References

1. ^ "Rime Of the Ancient Mariner". Lyrics Freak. http://www.lyricsfreak.com/i/iron+maiden/rime+of+the+ancient+mariner_20068045.html. Retrieved 13 August 2009. 
2. ^ Miller, John J. (15 September 2004). "Powerslave!". National Review Online. http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller200409150615.asp. Retrieved 2009-08-13. 
3. ^ Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn (directors). (2009). Iron Maiden: Flight 666. [documentary]. EMI. 
4. ^ Kerrang! Maiden Heaven Track Listing Revealed!
5. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for October 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
6. ^ IFPI Germany database. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
7. ^ BPI certification database. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
8. ^ RIAA searchable database. Retrieved December 29, 2008.