The Matter of Life

2003's Dance of Death marked the triumphant return of old-school Iron Maiden. Gone were the murky, over-produced set pieces that clogged 2000's Brave New World and in their place fell blistering slabs of Piece of Mind-era metal. That trend continues with their 14th full-length album, Matter of Life and Death, a more elaborate and meandering experience than Dance of Death, but a rewarding one for fans willing to indulge the group's occasional excess. At over 70 minutes, Matter of Life and Death is closer to 1988's woefully underrated Seventh Son of a Seventh Son than it is to Piece of Mind, but with far less keyboard tickling. Recorded live in the studio, epics like "Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg," "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns," and the brutal "Longest Day" – the whole record is a loosely-knit song cycle with war at its core – exhume prog rock complexity and discipline yet manage to bristle with the kind of small-club intensity usually reserved for acts half their age.

From Guy Manning's opening solo album back in 1999, his work with Parallel or 90 Degrees and The Tangent, he has clearly proven that he is a major progressive force that deserves even more recognition. He is a creative songwriter, lovingly molding fables with fantasies, owner of a distinctive voice that resonates with credibility, master of a multitude of instruments from mandolin to acoustic and electric guitars, seemingly expert on a variety of keyboards and bass, plus he can bash a good drum too. Guy is more than ably supported by Laura Fowles on sax, Gareth Harwood on guitars and Rick Ashton on bass. Guy has also employed other instrumentalists to add fiddle, melodica and cello, embellishing the rich musical tapestry on show here…

Parlophone Records continue their reissues series of the IRON MAIDEN catalogue with 'The Studio Collection – Remastered', covering the band’s sixteen-strong studio albums across their career to date. Following on from 2014/2017’s black vinyl releases and 2015’s 'Mastered for iTunes' project, 'The Studio Collection – Remastered' is now available on Digipak CD format, with the track listing matching the original UK releases. The recordings are taken from the same remasters as the 2015 hi-res digital releases.