Battleangel

The preview video and single The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg from the upcoming Iron Maiden album A Matter of Life and Death are out. It’s hard for me to be really excited about a new album release these days, but Maiden still seems to give you that warm, sparkly sensation. The new album is ostensibly centered around the horrors of war. A topic that remains pertinent now as much as ever before.

Preview video is available from YouTube. Preview video and single is also available via BitTorrent (Demonoid).

Considering the massive success and solid quality of Maiden’s last album, the expectations are needless to say enormous. Personally, the single left me slightly disappointed though. I suppose I was looking for something catchier, quicker, more melodic. Still, the atmosphere is solid Maiden and the song kind of grows on you. And “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” coupled with its mystery inspiration offers an almost Lovecraftian sense of horror chills. Can’t quite put my finger on it. I also know from experience that Maiden always offers a solid experience with very few, if any, album fillers and that the singles can sometimes misrepresent their work. Since the length of the songs on the new album most certainly makes them ineligible for chart inclusion anyway, the band may not have picked the “catchiest” song but rather that which offers the best introduction.