1984
| Album cover | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Studio album by Iron Maiden | |
| Released | 3 September 1984 |
| Recorded | February - June 1984, Compass Point Studios, (Nassau, Bahamas) |
| Genre | Heavy metal |
| Length | 50:48 |
| Label | EMI |
| Producer | Martin Birch |
| Singles from Powerslave | |
|
|
Powerslave (1984)
Powerslave is the fifth studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 3 September 1984 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the U.S. (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the U.S. in 2002).
It is notable for its Ancient Egyptian theme displayed in the cover artwork, lifted from the title track, which was carried over to the album's supporting tour. The World Slavery Tour began in Warsaw, Poland on 9 August 1984, and is widely regarded as being the band's longest and most arduous to date, as well as leading to the live album Live After Death.
The release also contains a musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which uses pieces of the original poem as lyrics and is, furthermore, Iron Maiden's longest song to date (at 13 minutes and 42 seconds in length).
Powerslave is also notable as being the band's first album to feature the same lineup as the previous one, which would remain intact for two further studio releases.
"2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High" were released as singles.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aces High" | Steve Harris | 4:29 |
| 2. | "2 Minutes to Midnight" | Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith | 6:00 |
| 3. | "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (Instrumental) | Harris | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Flash of the Blade" | Dickinson | 4:03 |
| 5. | "The Duellists" | Harris | 6:06 |
| 6. | "Back in the Village" (5:20 on the 1998 reissue) | Dickinson, Smith | 5:03 |
| 7. | "Powerslave" (6:48 on the 1998 reissue) | Dickinson | 7:12 |
| 8. | "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" | Harris | 13:42 |
|
Total length:
|
50:48 | ||
|
1995 reissue bonus disc |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Rainbow's Gold" (Beckett cover) | Terry Slesser, Kenny Mountain | 4:57 |
| 2. | "Mission From 'Arry" | Harris, Nicko McBrain | 6:42 |
| 3. | "King of Twilight" (Nektar cover) | Nektar | 4:53 |
| 4. | "The Number of the Beast" (live) | Harris | 4:57 |
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".
- Originally, "Back in the Village" and "Powerslave" had running times of 5:03 and 7:12 respectively, but when remastered for the 1998 reissue, the introduction to "Powerslave" was merged with the end of "Back in the Village", resulting in "Powerslave"'s length being cut to 6:48 and "Back in the Village" being extended to 5:20.
Personnel
- Bruce Dickinson - lead vocals
- Dave Murray - guitar
- Adrian Smith - guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris - bass, backing vocals
- Nicko McBrain - drums
- Additional personnel
- 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
Additional notes
Catalogue
- (1984 LP) EMI POWER 1/EJ 2402001 [UK]
- (1984 LP) Capitol ST-12321 [USA]
- (1984 CD) EMI/Capitol CDP 7 46045 2 [Worldwide]
- (1998 CD) EMI 7243 4 96920 0 8 [UK]
- (1998 CD) Sanctuary/Metal Is/Columbia CK-86212 [USA]
- (2002 CD) Sanctuary CK-86044 [Album Replica] [USA]
