1980s.FM - Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind

Request	Buy	#	Track Listing	Length	Played
		03	Flight Of Icarus Iron Maiden	3:51	154
		05	The Trooper Iron Maiden	4:11	247

Hint: Hover over buttons and album/artist name next to the cover for more info.

Reviewers Rating

2 reviews done for this album.

Flight of Icarus

By:	fatback
Date:	1 Jul 2009

This is a retelling of the classic Greek myth of Icarus' flight, but with a twist. In the original, Deadallus and his son, Icarus, escape King Minos' prison by building wax wings and flying away on them. Deadallus warns Icarus not to fly too high, but the cocky teen rebels, his wings melt, and he plummets to his death in what is now called "The Icarian Sea" (he was reportedly buried by Hercules). In the song, Deadallus watches from the ground, and his advice to his son is to "fly and touch the sun." The now obedient Icarus does so, and realizes his father tricked him just before his wings melt.

Steve Harris: "It's a really good song but we much prefer it live. We tend to play it a little bit faster live. Looking back on it now we feel we could have played it at the faster speed on the album. This little extra touch gives it a bit more fire. If you're counting solos, this is Dave (Murray)."

On the top right-hand corner of the back of the album 'Somewhere in Time', you can see Icarus falling from the sun with his wings on fire.

2 of 3 found this review helpful

Please log in to vote on this review

The Trooper

By:	fatback
Date:	1 Jul 2009

This song is based on the Crimean War, which was fought by the Russians and the Ottoman Empire (with England, France, and Sardinia). There are several mentions of the Russians such as, "The mighty roar of the Russian guns" and "When a Russian gets me in his sights."

The opening with the galloping horses is based on The Charge Of The Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Iron Maiden released a live version as a single that was recorded at Iceland's Reykjavik Egishorllin Stadium in June, 2005. The single was released to promote their double CD/DVD album Death On The Road, and hit #5 in the UK.

2 of 3 found this review helpful

Please log in to vote on this review

Please log in to write reviews and submit corrections.