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Powerslave

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

After the Piece of Mind tour, Iron Maiden wrote the songs for Powerslave in 1984 in a hotel on Jersey. The recording followed from February to June at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. It was the group's first album with the same line-up as the previous record. The cover and the accompanying World Slavery Tour took on an Ancient Egyptian theme, drawn from the title track.

The lyrics often come from films, books and history. Aces High is about the Battle of Britain and 2 Minutes to Midnight about the tension of the Cold War. Powerslave is narrated by a pharaoh who wonders why he has to die. The closing track Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an adaptation of the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and lasts almost fourteen minutes. The album entered the British chart at number two. The accompanying tour also went behind the Iron Curtain.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Rime of the Ancient Mariner and notice how, in almost fourteen minutes, the track acts out the story of Coleridge's poem, with passages from the text itself.

Track list

  1. 1Aces High4:32Apple Music ↗
  2. 22 Minutes To Midnight6:04Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)4:15Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Flash of the Blade4:06Apple Music ↗
  5. 5The Duellists6:08Apple Music ↗
  6. 6Back In the Village5:03Apple Music ↗
  7. 7Powerslave7:12Apple Music ↗
  8. 8Rime of the Ancient Mariner13:39Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs