Iron Maiden's Piece Of Mind: A 40-Year Retrospective

A song-by-song look back at Iron Maiden's groundbreaking album released in 1983: Piece Of Mind.
Guitars:
1981 Ibanez Destroyer DT300FR
Fender Dave Murray Signature Stratocaster
Plugin: Neural DSP Archetype: Petrucci and Bias FX II
DAW: Reaper Audio
Audio Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Strings: Ernie Ball 9-42 and 9-46
Picks: JAZZ III XL 1.5mm

[@ronnielopez3267]

Nicko absolutely was the final piece of the puzzle, but Clive Burr's performances and contribution should NEVER EVER be down played. Long Live Clive!

[@azzajames7661]

R.I.P Clive Burr you absolute legend🤗 Long live Nicko McBrain🤘

[@darrenc8776]

Yeah mate Clive was brilliant.

[@davidredmond292]

Rest Easy Clive..

[@elinino5275]

Clive was way better

[@iancocks9408]

Clive was awesome especially on the number of the beast. Nicko coming in is the band everyone knows.

[@briano_505]

My all time favorite album. Revelations is my favorite song. The storytelling is amazing

[@erva1976]

You can’t rank Maiden albums against each other. Each and everyone is special in their own ways. The intro on Where eagles dare is pure gold.

[@morpheussmith4366]

Piece of Mind and Powerslave are the two most definitive records in their career for me personally. Those records to me just represent the very best of what makes Maiden great.

[@Aurainmaker]

Piece of Mind to Seventh Son are an unbeatable, unbelieveable, impossible to beat series of albums. Most bands struggle for a 10/10 album. Iron Maiden released 4 11/10's in a row for my estimation. Many would include NOTB in this series too, can you actually believe that a single band could have such a string of amazing releases???

[@alexrevolv4305]

In France 🇫🇷 in 1982, i was 6. And on the TV News at 1pm for lunch, the anchor made 2mn of the Paris iron mainden’s show. That’s the first time i heard about IM. I spend the week to talk about it with my schoolmates. It is one of my favorite memories.

[@odpro5587]

My first Maiden album. MASTERPIECE OF MIND ♥️🤘

[@azzajames7661]

Bahaha 👏 Great one 👍 🤣😂 I like it😜 Great word play, mate👌

[@barbarianblood2316]

My favorite Maiden album. Found this in my friend’s father’s tape collection in 1988 and it blew my mind. That same weekend I noticed somebody had graffitti’d “IRON MAIDEN” in the exact lettering on the factory building behind our houses. I love what you’re doing with this channel. Maximum Respect man!

[@azzajames7661]

You are not alone, mate🤯 Many minds have been blown by the might of Iron Maiden😜 Up the mighty Irons!!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Cheers!! 🤜🤛

[@MofosOfMetal]

Brilliant content for us Maiden nerds! The more IN DEPTH the better! It is a testament to this album that 40 years later we can analyse the details and even listen to it with new ears. It may be 40 years old but music as great as this never gets old - it's as vibrant and vital as the day it was first pressed!

[@stavrosdrakopoulos7551]

I wish they played To Tame a Land live..... It would be such a great fit at the coming tour 😉🤘

[@nikospaleologos3907]

I moved from NY to Greece, in my early teens, never having listened to IM. Led zeppelin, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Rush, were some of the groups that I liked. A friend in Greece suggested that I buy an Iron Maiden album, so I asked the guy at the store to give me one, he asked " which one"? I had no idea so told him to pick one for me, so he pulled Piece of Mind out, their latest one. I went home, put it on the record player and within seconds I was blown away, couldn't believe how good this "new" sound was . When " Trooper" started playing, I must have stood motionless with my mouth open for a while.. Great memories....

[@olivergarner1746]

Summarising this masterpiece in 17 minutes is quite the achievement. I’d prattle on for hours. Really good video.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

I appreciate that very much! Thank you 🤜🤛

[@ilikevideos4868]

Exactly what I love about this channel. He knows what he wants to say, says just that and nothing else.

[@ColtraneTaylor]

It's 40 year anniversaries now, every year for Maiden and us. 😣😞 Happy 40th Piece of🧠.

[@modmorning1262]

“Pieces of Mind” was the first Iron Maiden album I bought in 1988 (I was 10 at the time) I still remember when I turned the stereo volume all the way up and on Nicko’s first snare hit on “Where Eagles Dare” I jumped off my chair yelling…my love for Maiden was starting!!

[@LionMetalMusic-videochannel]

me was 6 , *(discover Maiden in adge 10-11)

[@darrenc8776]

Were eagles dare, to tame a land, the Trooper classic

[@williamgainford9332]

i bought it when it came out - id turned 20 that day - its still my favourite maiden album - along with killers - gr8 review and playing - i turned 60 today - the 40 years have flown by - but the my love for that record never diminishes - i still think its their finest moment

[@tomusic8887]

This was one of my first elpee's I bought, the cover art is so hauntingand so is the sound and the melodies on the album...❤🤟

[@Gkoulidis]

My 2 cents. Powerslave is my favorite album. SSOASS probably their finest moment. Still Piece of mind was the one I've spent more time with due to the mesmerizing melodies.

[@mikem3779]

Powerslave is also my favorite album, and where I discovered them back in the 80s when it came out. Piece of Mind is my second favorite. I went backwards from Powerslave after discovering Maiden and loved all the early Maiden records, but I felt that after Powerslave, with Somewhere in Time and beyond, they began to repeat themselves, which is why I didn't get into SSOASS so much, although I know many people think that one is their best.

[@bendyloco]

I’m with you on Powerslave! My favorite album of all time 🤘 my entire youth had all of Maiden’s albums throughout though and they are definitely my favorite band ever. Could not imagine life without these albums and the positive messages on life in general that they contain. 🙏

[@yxxx0001]

Thanks to you, I’ve been listening to Maiden’s entire catalog with a new appreciation. Up the irons from Tokyo🤘

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

ありがとうございます 😊

[@ericsyre9418]

What a strange coincidence! I listened to this album while driving to work and had no idea it turned 40 years old today. That bass tone mixed with the drums is one of their best. We used to cover Still Life with an old band of mine, especially for its mesmerizing feel but also because no one cared covering this one. What an album!

[@rabarebra]

40 years only feels still a little. Feels more like 60 years ago.

[@TheEricthefruitbat]

Definitely my favourite Iron Maiden album. The strongest lineup of songs, with good variety.

[@tomdurkin5149]

Still my favourite album. The pinnicle of their chemistry, performances and sound for me. The perfect balance of vigor and refinement and restraint. Nicko came in with a bang too of course. It helps that it has my favorite Maiden song in Revelations. The production is my favourite production of any Maiden album too. The guitars have the right amount of crisp distortion and smoothness. For me the planets aligned on this album. Definitely a huge stepping stone for what Maiden would become from their first 3 albums. Their live performances from this time were so good too and especially Bruce sounded phenomenal during this era. I can't see Piece Of Mind ever not being my favourite Maiden album to be honest. Great breakdown as always Nico. Cheers!

[@volkerjansen3901]

Awesome video!!! My first contact with Iron Maiden was a weird mix tape that contained parts of Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind. Sun and Steel was actually the first song that I liked, with it pop-like chorus. Then came Revelations, and soon I was hooked on Maiden. After seeing the Maiden England VHS tape and seeing Steve Harris on stage, I picked up the bass and started my first band, although I never played an Iron Maiden song in a band. I only saw Maiden live on stage once, on their Fear of the Dark tour, but I have listened to their albums and watched live videos many, many times over the years, and still love the band and their music!

[@augmentedhat16]

This was the album that made me a lifelong fan when I was 13. I still have the original tape (bought on an overseas holiday) I’m 44 now and this album is STILL a an absolute blast from start to finish!!

[@miou118google]

Flight of Icarus, Revelations and The Trooper are absolute classics

[@hollowayscc3924]

One of my top three albums of Maiden! 40 years old? Damn I‘m an old man. 😅

[@wilfredmcgillicuddy7902]

I remember when my buddy bought the record right after it was released. We'd sit in his room learning the licks. My oh my, where does the time go!!

[@benoitgiroux8964]

Piece of mind is the album that defined the next 40 years of music for me. This is where it all began

[@cri774]

Great video! Piece of Mind was my most played album back then, I couldn't get enough of Bruce voice and the chilling musical athmosphears, like some kind of magical fog surrounding all over the place. Still Life intro to this day is one of their best.

[@daniel69]

A fantastic video. Interesting fact... the voice shouting "yeah" at the end of Still Life is actually me (even though it was 2 years before I was born!)

[@alexandremaireno-ni4ec]

"Die With Your Boots On" has one of their best solo sections ever, and it's been one of my favorite Maiden songs from the 1st time I heard it

[@szithaanu9934]

For me, and not to show any disrespect for Paul, after Number of the Beast, I don't think the band could have written and performed the songs on Peice of Mind, and the following albums with Paul on vocals. I think Paul would have performed the songs on Number of the Beast very well, and as good as Bruce, just differently, but with Bruce on vocals, the band now could reach highs they perhaps couldn't have had Paul stayed. I 100% agree that Peice of Mind established the classic Maiden sound and therefore is the most important album. And yes, Nicko was the final piece of the puzzle. With Bruce and Nicko now in the line-up, we'll,....we know the rest.

[@KnightFace3000]

The dowdy brownness of the artwork, plus the fact I had no context to this album (I had no idea what any reviews said, I just used my paper round money to buy it because it was Iron Maiden) made for a low-key intro to the album, but once I got familiar with it, I realised it's really their best album. It's brilliant. I have just one tattoo, and it's a tattoo dedicated to a song on this record. This is Iron Maiden at the height of their powers. Great review.

[@rafamurciano8364]

When I started to listen to Maiden, I didn't like so this album so much (I was 7 years old). But, when I grew up a little bit, I started to pay attention on things, details I haven't paid before on it. So, now that's one of my favorite Maiden albums

[@erikcarter4436]

P.O.M. was my first Maiden album to own and it will always be my favorite.

[@r.b.587]

This album brings back the best of memories. In my late teens, this tour was my first concert in San Diego. We had forth row and my buddies and I paid about $100 each for our tickets, which was a lot back then. It was so epic. To me, the guitar tone on this album is probably my favorite.... just humbuckers and that Marshall tone. So great! We also saw the Power Slave tour. Twisted Sister opened up for them, which we thought was pretty lame. That concert about blew my eardrums out. Thanks for the video.

[@miguelanxomuradolo2638]

I absolutely agree: POM's cemented cohesion conveys something like a sense of arcane knowledge that has been achieved 😶🤯 That subtle but solid unifying style of an entire album, even between songs with distinctive styles, is something recurrent in his best works, always different. Regards, Nico 🎸🎵🎶

[@l.thegirl2581]

Cinematic was a perfect way to describe this album's songs. There are just so many hooky niches here on this album. Nice breakdown!

[@RicardoVelozo]

I too was a teenager back then! The catch: 80's in Brazil, not an English speaker. So it was all about the music and how it made you feel. We would try and translate by ourselves until some rock magazine would publish their translation. Now, hearing the analysis and understanding the musical aspect and the language itself, which is very much different from translations, feels like another layer has opened up.The magic is still there! Thank you!

[@afunkadidljazzfuser9298]

Totally agree with everything you think about "Piece of Mind" Like you, "Somewhere in Time" is my favorite record; but there is no doubt that "Piece of Mind" was the turning point for the band to be what it is today in every way. Thank you for your videos and their complete content.

[@Vreth6]

I love this album, still life is one of my all time favourite Maiden tracks. And even though it is cheesy, die with your boots on just makes me happy every time I listen to this album ❤️

[@azzajames7661]

As of March 2023, all audio-visual releases of Iron Maiden have sold more than 200 million copies all over the world. So the best-selling metal band ever😉 Even better than the over hyped metallica🤘 Up the mighty Irons!!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@christschinwon]

Came here from Uncle Steve's Maiden zone podcast. I'm glad you appreciate Die with Your Boots on, he didn't! Great track and I hate gang vocals in choruses but this was pre chorus and worked very well imo!

[@juangallardo134]

I don´t know how it´s posible, but I´ve never listen to Piece of Mind, Powerslave and Somewhere in time before, not really. For 20 years I called myself a Maiden fan, go figure, without truly appreciatng those albums. I can´t explained it, it just happen. Well, it all changed thanks to you Nico. My love for Maiden is bigger than ever now that a get to listen to songs like Deja vu, FLash of the blade and To tame a land for the first time. And that is why i´ll never forget this channel and what it did for me.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

It's interesting how everyone tends to gravitate towards different albums or eras of the band's history. I guess that's what happens when a band is so prolific for 40+ years 🤷🏻😃 Glad I could help you rediscover some of their music and I hope I can keep doing that! Cheers, brother 🤜🤛

[@darrenc8776]

Thanks again Nico these videos sure bring back memories.

[@werc85music]

Piece of Mind is in my Top IM albums list as a shared 2nd place with Powerslave.. Absolutely a masterpiece! 🤘🏻😎

[@DavorMagdic]

This is an album I can listen to in my mind anytime I want, I've heard it so many times. The mysticism as you called it of Still Life is to the sky, I've carved that ominous but still enticing and characteristically Bruce-energized world in a part of my mind and revisit it every time I hear the song. Every song here has been a gift, and the most "transcendental" moment of the album is in To Tame a Land when Bruce sings "he's the ruler of the stars" when the voice takes you to all the way to the stars, and by the time you realize it the voice has trailed off and you're left with only a memory of having been there. I don't know why I'm writing in this way, maybe inspired by the way you present the back story to the songs, really like the breakdown! I've got so incredibly much from this album over 40 years, but in some ways I got the most from the Revelations: I've sung along the lyrics a thousand times and only recently the full force of the words struck me: "bind all of us together, ABLAZE WITH HOPE AND FREE". That is what I realized I've ever wanted from life, nothing more and nothing less, to be ablaze with hope and free, and have tried to live like that, without a doubt moved by this album that I received as a gift from God when I was 12. I found Bruce's wonderful rendition of the anthem in the Canterbury Cathedral in 2011 where you can hear it again in its full glory: ablaze with hope and free. Thank you Maiden, Bruce, Steve, Dave, Adrian, Nicko, everyone who made that happen, and thank you Nico for this tribute to this masterpiece (of mind).

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Always love it when someone shares the feelings they experienced with these songs. Thank you! And I'm glad you enjoyed the video 😊

[@seansullivan9758]

Can't believe it's been 40 years! Up the Irons!

[@davroshalfbeard8368]

Wow 40 years really remember it like yesterday a truly great album

[@spiralespirale5355]

Hi Nico, thank you very much for this pleasant moment. I love this album.🖖🤘

[@markbreslin7189]

Great video. I love this album. My first ever concert was Iron maiden early days tour in Dublin 2005, so this album and the first three hold a special spot in my memories.

[@sabrepax9012]

Great analyses 👍 I personnaly think that Piece of Mind is the quintessencial Iron Maiden album, it has by far the most classics standard in its opus. If I had an album only to bring on a desert island, that would be it. Best vocals, greatness of Smith Dickinson songs, greatness of Harris songs and good inspired solos harmonie , great drumming, great topics and ambiance Drawback: bass sound

[@folkandmyth]

It was my first Maiden album and still holds a dear place in my heart. I ruined that tape playing Eagles, Icarus and Revelations over and over. It was also one of my first metal albums that transitioned me from GnR and Leppard to metal. But as far back as I can remember, when I was young, I'd go to the record store and would just stare at the metal vinyl covers. Very young, I was kind of scared of what might be inside, but super intrigued. PoM and Powerslave were two that held my rapt attention long before I heard Maiden (I got into Maiden in the space between 7th Son and No Prayer). Anyway, great video again, and really a landmark album for me to this day.

[@rmehl12]

My 11 year old self begged my parents for this album. It has not disappointed at any point. I love every song with Still Life being one of my favorite Maiden songs. Thanks Nico for doing a great retrospective.

[@guitarist22lespaul90]

Hello Nicko, I remember my parents bought album for me, I was out school for 1 month being sick in 1983 and it a excellent album and all the songs were great, Adrian Smith and Dave Murray are Best Guitar Duo, I finally got to see them in concert in 1987 on Somewhere in time , they were freaking awesome in Concert and Musicianship was Superior from all Band members and they know how put on Great Show,. Thumbs up Great review on this album.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Your parents sound like wonderful people! And I really envy that you got to see them on the SIT tour!! Dammmnnnn 😃

[@guitarist22lespaul90]

@@LicksOfTheBeast Hello Nicko, Thank you for your reply, 1983 when I started playing Guitar, My Mom played Piano and Keyboards and Organ to, That where I got my talent from, my Mom was Metal Head, she love Scorpions and Klaus Meine Vocal and Quiet Riot and too many Bands write down, My Mom actual went see Bad Company and Dam Yankees with me and we ran into her Friends from her Job, they told her she Rocks and I Miss Both my parents a lot and my Mom was cool she would Buy me Guitar Magazines and Guitar strings to and sometimes she buy cassettes for me and she told me one time that European Bands like Scorpions, Accept, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Rainbow, Deep Purple,WhiteSnake, Dio, have that Classical feel in the Guitar Playing, in the Song Writing, where song take you Magical places and get you in a Better mood, and she was right to. Her song was Stargazer, Nicko the 80s 70s.is Best Music and times .Thank you for your awesome Channel.and you are awesome 😎 Guitar Player and Awesome Teacher 😎 to. Thumbs up to.

[@thomaskaba5600]

Hey Nicko, thanks as always for this upload. In many things you took the words right out of my mouth. Piece Of Mind is my 3rd favourite maiden record right behind Somewhere In Time and 7th Son. When I first heard this album back in 1998, I already knew songs like The Trooper, Revelations, Flight Of Icarus and Where Eagles Dare (from Live After Death and A Real Dead One) for a couple of years. Can you imagine, how I was blown away by listening the studio version of Where Eagles Dare, after only knew the lacklustre live Version from Real Dead One? The full epic power of Nicko introducing himself combined with cinematic storytelling? The jaggedness of the solo part? No comparison to what I used to know of this Song before. My favourite songs are the eerie Still Life and the cinematic epic To Tame A Land. This song led me to Frank Herberts Dune. Thanks to Steve, a new universe was opened to me. Kind regards and Up The Irons

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Hey I'm really glad you enjoyed the video! I had a similar experience with phantom of the opera as I knew the Live After Death version a bit before hearing the original album version. That album and especially the VHS is what made me fall in love with Maiden. Real Live/Dead One have some cool moments but yeah they weren't sounding their best. They're a bit sloppy, not as tight as usual, they're rushing in some spots... But I still find them fun to listen to sometimes 🙂

[@flavy1000]

I bet it's my Maiden 's fav album of all, if there can be a fav.. Epic songs, harmonies, the use of scales, Bruce's voice and of course Steve & Nico, interlacing to produce a true gem Thanks a lot for this retrospective !!

[@gillesouimet2093]

Excellent video. Revelations was fantastic on the last tour. I recall having Piece of mind on cassette, then on CD, then on mp3

[@PedroCaminoMUFC]

Nicko! Thank you so much!

[@metalinsights9664]

The sound engineering on the album is a masterpiece. The guitars are thick, yet crisp and super tight, with a thick midrange and a roundness to it, without sacrificing presence. I have been chasing this tone in my home studio for years and am still working on it. As a record, Piece of Mind is also incredibly well mixed, as everything sounds crisp and prominent, but also cohesive. One more thing I find so elusive about the guitar sound is how the palm-muted low E pedal notes aren't prominent; all one hears is just the bite in the chords. When I first heard Piece of Mind, I was about 14 or 15 years old. At the time, I found it quite inaccessible, but with time, it has become one of my favorite Iron Maiden records, only surpassed by the untouchable Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

[@erickmonzon4]

So it shall be done that Frank Herbert and Crocket will be punished for all eternity... It's fun to see how the real villains of the Iron Maiden saga are being revealed in each video, lol Amazing and very heartfelt analysis of one of history's greatest albums. Thanks, Nico. You rule!

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Hahahahahahahaha 🤣 Cheers! 🤜🤛

[@franco.torriani]

The first album I bought from Iron Maiden was Seventh Son, which is still is my favorite one. Then I bought all the previous ones. When I listened to Piece Of Mind I had the same reaction of yours. I immediately understand the big step forward made by the band if compared to IM, Killers and The Number Of The Beast (which are great albums, no doubt about it). Great review!

[@kattycat3502]

Thanks for reminding me how old I am.😂. Love that album. 16 year old me listening to this Maiden album two years straight every day. Good times...

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Not old... Fortunate! The experience of discovering and falling in love with this album when it was brand new is something many viewers of this channel will envy forever! Good times, indeed!! 🤘😃🤘

[@javierdelarco5762]

Happy birthday POM!!! I was 8 years old when I first listen "Flight Of Icarus"... blew me away, became a fan eversince. Up the Irons!!! 🤘😎🤘

[@Trygvar13]

Being a fan of the Dune series this album always had a special place in my heart. And Quest For Fire is so good yet almost always overlooked in album reviews.

[@chilly6470]

This was my first Iron Maiden album to buy. I wasn't crazy about the guitar sound on this album compared to the albums that came before and after in the 80s. To Tame a Land is definitely the highlight for me.

[@francescogambino3892]

After 40 years, it's still a great album. Of course, it's the turning point for their sound. Find me another album with 3 first explosive tracks like Where eagles, Revelations and Flight of Icarus!!! Trooper and To Tame a land went down the history. Your retrospective is as sublime as this album 👍

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

1000 thanks!!

[@rabarebra]

Flight of Icarus is boring, so you fail with your comment. It is a mediocre Maiden song. It is a good album, though. Edit: You forgot Die with Your boots and Still Life. Only other mediocre songs after Flight of Icarus on that album is Sun and Steel and Quest for Fire. If they swapped those three songs out with better ones, it would go ahead of The Number of the B. You may say it is subjective, ok, but from a musician and music writer perspective and ridiculous strict sense, you are wrong, but you may have you rights to like them. 😂 Three-songs opener on their debut, Killers and The Number and Powerslave (yes, even Losfer Words is great in a composer perspective), beats Piece any time.

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

My fav album! Best guitar tone ever along with SIT which has the best chorused guitar tone ever on its part. This album led me to endlessly search for that perfect dark-growly guitar distortion and thick drumsound. All my musical gear was build around this album (marshall jcm800, super distortion pickups, g12-65 speakers, concert toms, Remo CS drumheads). Now I only need Martin Birch, may he rip.

[@matsnilson7727]

Once again - great video! I have always held Piece of Mind as my favorite Iron Maiden album, and (as I might have mentioned before) it was the first heavy metal abum I owned after only being able to listen to random heavy songs recorded from the radio. It's obviously hard for me to look past the nostalgia, as the album was such a big part of my formative years, but it IS a classic, regardless of how it affected me personally back in '83. It also has one of the greatest album covers ever IMHO. Nowadays I don't listen to it that much, as it's practically part of my DNA. I feel the same about many other albums from my youth, like Metallica's Master of Puppets and Accept's Restless and Wild. Absolute masterpieces in my book, but a listen from start to finish every two or three years is usually enough. I guess at least some can relate to the feeling.😄

[@bghammock]

The first Maiden album I owned. I had heard Beast at a friends house, but this was the one I bought. My favorite Maiden album and I really can't believe it's 40 years old!! Still Life is probably my favorite deep cut, too.

[@johnuruski651]

Absolutely great production!! Thanks so much covering one of my favorite band’s best album!!

[@izzy2112]

Piece of mind album cover was my first tattoo back in 87

[@raymondmathisen225]

My favorite Maiden album along with Somwhere In Time!

[@eszterszabo5103]

Thanks again for another nice indepth look at a great Maiden album. You are our guide to everything Iron Maiden. 😊 My favourite songs from this album are definitely Die with your boots on and Revelations. I was lucky enough to hear the latter sang by Bruce on his booktour and he blew me away. He sang it without even a mic. It was amazing. Thank you for doing what you do and for always being so nice. 🙏 Have a great day! And Up the Irons! 👋🤘

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

That book tour was so much fun, wasn't it? 😃 So glad to see you're enjoying the channel and I want to say a truly heartfelt thank you for your very kind encouragement! 😊

[@eszterszabo5103]

@@LicksOfTheBeast 🤗

[@Jacobin777]

I saw Maiden on this tour (Alpine Valley), first concert ever! In fact I even have my ticket stub from the show! Fastway was the opening band. 😁🤘✌

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

WOW!!

[@Jacobin777]

@@LicksOfTheBeast Yes, very fortunate to have been a Maiden fan from back then. Still am. In fact, I saw them last year (2022) as well. IIRC, my 18th time. I've even seen them with Blaze Bayley...LOL. 😁

[@marianoperez8079]

Nicko... What an album! Piece of mind was the first Maiden album I bought. Soooo many memories! Sun and steel, one of my favorite riff is in that song... And the lyrics about Musashi Miyamoto and the wheel of life are fantastic! Thank you for this, my friend! 🤘🤘

[@karljackal994]

Piece Of Mind was the first album i bought. I was 12 in '83. For me it is still my favorite Maiden album. Cheers and thanks for the video.

[@freakazoid314]

Hi Nico, at the cost of repeating myself time and time again: excellent video. 17 minutes and a half and yet you feel like you need more. Indeed, a lot more about the songs of this album could be said. Which is amazing, considering 40 years have passed. It's timeless music. I think you said a very important thing at the end: this album feels mysterious and this aura of mystery doesn't come just from the music; the artwork plays a key role in this and I believe this is actually the first album (again, another 'first time' this album manages to achieve) with such a "curated" artwork that really captures the feeling the band wanted to express. It's a very important idea and again this, to me, is when they first started to consider the album as a "whole" piece of art, artwork included. Grazie ancora Nico, è sempre un piacere.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Grazie a te!! 🙏

[@craigmitton5047]

Great video, the time went by so fast. If they ever invent a time machine I 'll be punching in to a spot just outside the buildings of the recording studio at Compass Point. From there I' ll just groundhog day it. There was some kind of magic.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

I think you'd have company 😁

[@maiden4greece572]

Epic ...nice my friend

[@simonedwards2703]

I have this original album on vinyl and was lucky and old enough to see them played live on the Piece of Mind tour in 1983 in Nottingham

[@toothyfangface1583]

16:44- you nailed it, Nico. I've always used the word "magical" but with the same intention in that it holds powerful and ancient power. Great review and I have the same shirt. One of my first metal albums and of course I am still obsessed wit the mighty Maiden!

[@Elric70]

I think when I wound up getting this, I had it on cassette and it had XDR which was Extended Dynamic Range, well sounded pretty damn good, for a cassette, though I don't recall if it was one of the many tapes that my car stereo ate in that era. Fond memories of discovering all the music I did back then.

[@strangetone383]

The first Maiden albums that I heard were Killers, Iron Maiden, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, back to back in that order. I was 8 years old at the time and my older cousin had all four of them in vinyls. This was around the No Prayer era..I would get lost on the album covers for hours while listening to these albums on vinyl with some big ass headphones on my 8-year old head, lost in the sounds, the colors, Eddie and his maniacal evilness, the live photographs, trying to make sense why the first two records sound so different yet so similar to the two other ones. I loved the Di'Anno records and especially Killers while I also loved Bruce's mid 80s masterpieces with the band. I did not listen to any Maiden records other than those four for about 4 or 5 years. And then when I was 13 I was able to buy my very own first Maiden album with my allowance. I went to the record store and I chose Piece of Mind on vinyl without knowing anything about it. The cover was insane, the band photograph with actual brains on the table. I said this is it. I put it on and was blown away, the energy of where eagles dare, the romanticism of revelations, the fantasy of icarus, the humor of DWYBO, the Trooper will probably never sound as amazing as it does to virgin ears, Still Life's darkness, the melodies of Quest for Fire, the brightness of Sun and Steal and of course the grand vision of To Tame a Land. Like I said, by then I had listened to Powerslave and SiT so much that I was very familiar with the band, but Piece of Mind bridged the distance between Killers and Powerslave in my ears, though it would be Number of the Beast that would later help me make sense of the evolution of the sound of what was already my favorite band. I really enjoy this channel, awesome work.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

How many of us spent hours getting lost in the magic of those album covers... 😊

[@cr1s1s0ff41th]

very insightful video again man!! :) piece of mind was the second maiden album i bought, without hearing it before. obviously becoming a maiden fan in the age of streaming usually allowed me to listen to the albums before buying the vinyl in case i disliked it, but i saw the cover and i had enough money so i just went ahead and bought it. i did the same with number of the beast and in both instances it worked out. incredible album through and through!! flight of icarus, revelations and die with your boots on were always my favourites!

[@richardcharlesworth6069]

Bought this on day of release back in 83. I was only 12 but already had many years of Maiden under my belt! Great review but no mention of the backwards messages before Still Life! I spent some time spinning my record backwards but never really got it right!

[@clavier69]

@Nico, this was my 1st Maiden & Real Heavy Metal Album, i must have been 14/15 bought in 1983 sometime, I likely chose it for the Artwork, which was eventually painted as a mural on my bedroom wall, This was a very special time, young and influenced by this, mesmerized by the music of and the whole gatefold to look at, inside out, you spoke so perfectly about how this record visually and mentally takes you into the dong, the story, the vibe, such wonderfully heavy simple riffs blending with melody and epic other worldly images and places, serious sentimental value here, still holds up to anything since, timeless album, Revelations being the great piece to come from them in my opinion Still Life Massively underrated, oh and I tried to read Dune, but love the song better, its a 10/10 album, up there with Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son, all 3 are a 10 cheers!

[@enriquesoto6534]

Awe inspiring record, really. My favorite cover, due to the fact that, as a young sprout, I was mesmerized by its mysterious, ominous, phantasmagorical effect! As soon as I was able to get my hands on it, I really enjoyed it thoroughly! Elegant and full of character, quite different from the Beast! Overwhelming experience altogether!

[@crystalplanet023]

A la sortie de l'album je me souviens avoir été choqué de voir qu'ils avaient osé raser le crane d'Eddie à une époque ou on étaient tous avec nos cheveux très long par contre j'ai adoré le nouveau son de cet album et encore maintenant il fait partie d'un de mes préféré et j'aime jouer quelques un de ses morceaux. Merci pour la petite anecdote avec l'écrivain de Dune , Maiden a souvent des thèmes dans ses morceaux et il est intéressant d'avoir ces petites précisions.

[@KTB3007]

Excellent break down and dissection of the songs

[@lpslissu8841]

Went to buy a newly published W.A.S.P. with my mum. First ever time in a record store. Gladly that was sold out and I have to choose something else. Piece of minds cover art work got my 9 year old attention. It has been love ever since.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

That's awesome!! Your mom sounds like my mom and my aunt... My cousins and I would go to record stores or the record section of a big box store with our moms and they'd never object to buying an album for us based on the artwork. I always consider myself very fortunate because of that... Not to mention how much fun it was to discover a band just because the album cover looked amazing! Cheers 🤜🤛

[@Nghilifa]

"He has the power To make it all end" last sentence of the masterpiece that is "To Tame A Land". Bruce's performance here just gives me the shivers, it's one of his best performances in the studio in my opinion, along with the scream in NOTB, COTD & Total Eclipse. PoM is a great album, "Quest for Fire" is the only one that doesn't really speak to me, other than that, solid album indeed.

[@davidredmond292]

A good analysis of the album, thank you from a fan of the band since about 1985!

[@ronnielopez3267]

"Die with your boots on" and "Still Life" are my favorites off of POM.

[@azzajames7661]

I never liked "Die with your boots on," but through my life, I came to realise I was wrong, lol 😆 Piece of mind is one of my favourite albums, but they have so many great works of art😜 Up the mighty Irons!!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@bengoshi4]

"Die with your boots on" is my fav 😍😍

[@mikem3779]

Those plus To Tame a Land

[@StratoReinXeed]

I've said this before in a comment on a previous video, but I think its something worth pointing after this great analysis on Piece Of Mind. You've managed to create the best Maiden related channel imo. There's a lot of ''reacting to'' or ''first time listening'' to some Maiden songs around, but this channel really feels like something made by not only a fan, but a true enthusiastic with the necessary musical knowledge and skills to unfold every single detail on an album or song, even those details related to a particular band member style of playing/writing. Really amazing and enjoyable. Cheers from Argentina, Nico!

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Hey thank you so much!! It makes me really happy to read this 😊

[@russmartin1814]

Your analysis of this record (my first Maiden purchase, and the tour for which was also my first) is fantastic. I feel like you are speaking for me when you describe every detail.....the maturation of the band's sound, Dave's decision to play a cinematic, more textural solo in Where Eagles Dare, Nicko's HUGE contribution to the forward growth of the band, Bruce's songwriting contribution, etc.....I feel you're the man as far as clearly and eloquently telling the musical story of Maiden's music goes. And, oh yeah......your playing is outstanding. Now- I personally kind of jumped off the bandwagon as far as new material is concerned after Adrian left (though I did actually purchase No Prayer For The Dying and went to the supporting tour's show in my area, and did buy Brave New World and have seen the band on several tours since then- the most recent being The Book Of Souls Tour). I don't dig Janick's playing style in the context of Iron Maiden, and I REALLY hate his stage antics....I'm always on Dave's side of the stage in the pit. Regardless.....I really appreciate your analysis of one of the most important bands in the history of metal (my favorite) and though I don't really listen to a lot of metal any longer, Maiden still casts a long shadow in my life. I'll always love them. Huge. Thank you for your channel. You are awesome.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

I'm glad this channel resonates with you! 😊 Thanks so much for your encouraging comment and...I'm just a bit jealous that you caught this tour! 😅 Cheers!

[@xiiistory]

Outstanding presentation! Captivating and very informative. Learned a few things and made me go back and relive memories of going through their back catalog when I was first introduced to Maiden with this album.

[@CC-qb9sm]

Brilliant! Nice work Nico!

[@DolkkarToyznstuff]

Such a great breakdown of such a legendary album, one o fmy all time favorite albums from any band. Thank you for the excellent presentation and... Up the Irons!

[@jonathandanielmartinez2949]

Nico, Awesome Video! Thanks!