Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by Iron Maiden | |||||
| Released | 11 April 1988 | ||||
| Recorded | Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, during 1987 - March 1988 | ||||
| Genre | Heavy metal, Progressive Metal | ||||
| Length | 43:57 | ||||
| Label | EMI | ||||
| Producer | Martin Birch | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Iron Maiden chronology | |||||
|
|||||
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a concept album by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 1988 as the band's seventh studio album.
Contents |
[edit] History
 |
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (May 2008) |
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was the last Iron Maiden album to feature guitarist Adrian Smith until the album Brave New World in 2000 (he did write a song that Bruce Dickinson finished for the next album titled "Hooks in You").
At least three of the album's songs ("Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", "The Prophecy" and "The Clairvoyant") can be directly related to a main lyrical storyline (apparently inspired by Orson Scott Card's novel Seventh Son).
Lyrically, the album centers around some main philosophical ideas: morality (good and evil), mysticism, prophetic vision, reincarnation and afterlife. Almost all the album includes direct or indirect references to questions regarding to these concepts and poetically refers the answers.
Stylistically, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son develops the sounds first heard on Somewhere in Time (1986), and continues the band's lyrical exploration of topics related to mysticism, power, and the occult.
The album debuted at #1 in UK charts (The only since The Number of the Beast) as well as #12 in the U.S, while the singles "Can I Play with Madness", "The Evil That Men Do", "The Clairvoyant (live)" and "Infinite Dreams (live)" reached #3, #5, #6 and #6 positions, respectively. It is the last Iron Maiden album to go platinum in the USA.
Of all the songs in the album, "The Evil That Men Do" and "Can I Play with Madness" sporadically appear on the set lists of nearly all of the band's concert tours.
7th Son Of A 7th Son Tour was the tour supporting the album.
[edit] Track listing
- "Moonchild" (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) – 5:39
- "Infinite Dreams" (Steve Harris) – 6:09
- "Can I Play with Madness" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 3:31
- "The Evil That Men Do" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 4:34
- "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (Harris) – 9:53
- "The Prophecy" (Dave Murray, Harris) – 5:05
- "The Clairvoyant" (Harris) – 4:27
- "Only the Good Die Young" (Dickinson, Harris) – 4:41
[edit] 1995 Reissue Bonus CD
- "Black Bart Blues" (Dickinson, Harris) - 6:41
- "Massacre" (Brian Downey, Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham) - 2:53
- "Prowler 88" (Harris) - 4:07
- "Charlotte the Harlot 88" (Murray) - 4:11
- "Infinite Dreams (live)" (Harris) - 6:03
- "The Clairvoyant (live)" (Harris) - 4:27
- "The Prisoner (live)" (Smith, Harris) - 6:09
- "Killers (live)" (Paul Di'Anno, Harris) - 5:03
- "Still Life (live)" (Murray, Harris) - 4:38
[edit] Personnel
- Bruce Dickinson – vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals, synth
- Steve Harris – bass, backing vocals, string synth
- Nicko McBrain – drums
[edit] Production
- Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing, tape operator
- Albert Boekholt – engineer, assistant engineer
- Ronald Prent – engineer, assistant engineer
