Seventh Son of a Seventh Son [Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Iron Maiden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B000063DI9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (262 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,946 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #54 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Progressive Metal
  • #67 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > British Metal

Editorial Reviews

CD-Rom enhanced version of the original, re-packaged in a slip-sleeve. - 1998

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rip Roaring and Epic: The way a Maiden album should be, October 5, 2003

By 

M. B. Link "wildfirelink" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Audio CD)

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988). Iron Maiden's seventh studio album.

From their debut all the way up to Powerslave(1984), Iron Maiden successfully showcased that they were on top of the NWOBHM scene, rocking hard and riding free, with few bands able to rival them. Come 1986, Maiden decided to experiment with guitar synthesizers and bass synths and managed to create the moody masterpiece progressive album, Somewhere In Time (IMHO, one of my two favorite Maiden albums). Now we arrive in 1988 when Maiden decided to take the progressiveness even further to an epic level. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son takes its style from Hemispheres and AFTTK era Rush (back in 77-78) and fuses it with Iron Maiden's early sound creating a masterful concept album. It follows the story of a cursed child who is born with special powers and it tempted by the side of both good and evil. Whether you understand the concept story or not, all fans must agree that SSOASS has excellent musicianship by the band, and the chemistry of the "perfect 5" Maiden lineup is completely intact. Unfortunately, this is the last time that they play this well for a good twelve years, as the classic lineup is shattered. But for the rest of the 80s, Iron Maiden managed to stay on top of the game and gave the fans an album to remember them by. Let's take a look at this album:

1) Moonchild- Starts off with an accoustic passage giving this album's theme and then it builds into a fast rocker. Great usage of keyboards in the background. Bruce's vocals are very aggressive here. 10/10

2) Infinite Dreams- This one may take time for fans to get used to as it alternates between a softer and harder section. Great song though. 9/10

3) Can I Play With Madness- A short commercial rocker similar to the previous album's Wasted Years. I understand that this track was played to death back in the day (though I'm much more inclined to believe that # Of The Beast and 2 Minutes To Midnight got overplayed if anything), but it's still an excellent song nonetheless. I like it. 9/10

4) The Evil That Men Do- Another phenomenal rocker. I didn't like it at first because the chorus got rather tedious to listen to, but it does grow on you. A noteworthy gem. 10/10

5) Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son- IRON MAIDEN TACKLES THE 10-MINUTE PROGRESSIVE EPIC CHALLENGE, and succeeds! They've done it before with Rhime Of The Ancient Mariner and Alexander The Great, but this is the first time in which they create the story themselves. Wonderful musicianship throughout. 10/10

6) The Prophecy- Some say that this track is the worst on the album, but I have to disagree. While it's certainly not one of the best Maiden songs, it does stand out quite a bit, as the band has never done anything that sounds quite like it up to this album, and for that the song deserves credit. Bruce's vocal ability shines here. 8/10

7) The Clairvoyant- A MASTERPIECE! Of the more commercial progressive styled rockers on the album, this track shines far above the rest. My favorite track on here. 10/10

8) Only The Good Die Young- This song would tie with The Prophecy as far as good songs on the album go, but unfortunately unlike The Prophecy, this one fails to really stand out at all. Still decent though. It ends with the same accoustic passage as the intro of Moonchild. 7/10

So how will fans judge SSOASS? It really depends on how much you enjoy progressive rock music. If you've got a short attention span and you're a fan who can't sit through any song longer than four minutes, then you may not like SSOASS much. Give it time and it should grow on you. I on the other hand have come to appreciate more complicated works in the past year, and I enjoy hearing the different guitar parts, time-change signatures, and concept story SSOASS has to offer. Therefore I give it five stars. Also, hardcore fans shouldn't be stringent on their usage of keyboards. They are used as a nice background texture, which has very little presence. Cripes people, if you think that the keyboards are dominating here then you need to actually LISTEN to the music. There are certainly no shortages of guitar parts here. Dave and Adrian are playing dual guitar solos as great as ever, but unfortunately Adrian departs after this album, which started a chain of progressively worse Maiden albums until the dawn of the new millenium arrived. Don't hesitate to pick this up if you are already a fan. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The Evil That Men Do lives on and on, and so does Iron Maiden! They still have it in them as proven by their new album, Dance Of Death(2003). For that and their devotion to true heavy metal, I salute them. Keep on rocking forever guys.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic metal album!, December 5, 1999

By 

M. U. Siddiqi (New York, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Audio CD)

I wouldn't give it a 5-star rating because I simply don't give 5-star ratings, unless a work is revolutionary or at least evolutionary in the rock realm.

Putting that aside, this is one of IM's finest albums. This was the THE album which baptized me as a metal lover. When I heard it for the first time at 16, I discovered that there was more to metal than just cacophonic string jamming and neck-cramps.

It's got some spectacular, gut-wrenching guitar riffs. And it's not just string-plucking, head-banging all the way. It's got a mesmerizing rhythm. Most of the tracks have that characteristic Maiden gothic hum; you can feel it in your bones. This is one of Iron Maiden's yesteryear works, before Janick Jers replaced Adrian Smith. The trio of Murray, Smith and Harris have produced some of the finest guitar-work I've heard in a life-time. And combined with Dickinson's powerful vocals, it's a masterpiece.

The album is very thematic -- all songs are actually chapters from a story, which unwinds. (Read the lyrics from each song and connect the dots.) From 'Moon Child', which tells the tale of a child with special powers, to 'Infinite Dreams', where he's haunted by his clairvoyance but doesn't know what it is. As he grows in 'Can I Play With Madness', these powers take on a stronger form and he begins to realize his mystique. In 'The Evil That Men Do', he falls in in love which ends in betrayal, followed by the title track, '7th Son Of A 7th Son'. In 'The Prophecy' and 'The Clairvoyant' he learns the purpose of his powers and what to do. In the last track, 'Only The Good Die Young', at all ends.

Definitely a collector's item for anyone who appreciates and sees a metal classic!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hear those mandrakes scream, January 21, 2004

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Audio CD)

It has been interesting to read the disparity of opinions held about this album. I bought this CD when it was released and have always enjoyed listening to it, but for some reason I have not yet familiarized myself with this band's other work. Thus, I can't put this particular album in any context when it comes to the history and evolution of Iron Maiden. All I can do is to comment on my own appreciation of each of the eight songs collected here in and of themselves. By my count, there are five really good songs and three absolutely great songs on this album; you won't have to go reaching across the dash to find the Next Track button when you have this CD rocking you down the road. My favorite has always been Can I Play With Madness. The band jumps right out at you from the very start with an a cappella delivery of the question at hand before proceeding with the heavy rock instrumentation. The lyrics are quite catchy, and the idea of playing with madness is not a novel concept to my somewhat abnormal mind. Infinite Dreams may really be the most impressive track here, however. The words of this song really carry a deep if not philosophical meaning, as the subject at hand deals with life's ultimate meaning. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the third true standout track on the album; it is a lengthy musical tour de force that conveys the image of the ultimate archetypal battle between good and evil, helped immeasurably by a segment in which the lead singer speaks as if he is reading from some ancient tome of sinister origins.

The remaining five songs, as I said, are all keepers as well. Moonchild gets the album off to a terrific start, giving us none other than Lucifer himself making threats of Biblical proportions while conjuring up the musical accompaniment of screaming mandrakes. The Evil That Men Do has the listener balancing on that razor's edge and taunted by the inevitable truth that the evil that men do lives on and on. The Prophecy warms the cockles of evil's black heart, while The Clairvoyant's metaphysically potent chorus takes the listener to a plateau inhabited only by the most psychically formidable (or disturbed) of minds. Only the Good Die Young is probably the weakest song on the album, but its seemingly endless refrain that only the good die young while the evil seem to live forever stays with you as you go out to interact with the denizens of an increasingly bewildering world. I don't know where the music on this album stands in terms of Iron Maiden's formidable musical discography, but I do know that these eight tracks are certainly most agreeable to my dark soul.