A Matter Of Life And Death

へヴィ・メタル界の王座に君臨するアイアン・メイデンの、2003年『死の舞踏』に続く3年振り、14thアルバム！プロデュースはスティーヴ・ハリスと、お馴染みのケヴィン・シャーリー。長尺の曲が多く、全10曲72分という構成は、プログレ的という意味では88年の「第七の予言」あたりを思い出させるが、常に最前線で闘い続ける彼らが単なる過去の焼き直しをすることがないというのはファンならご存知のハズ。より壮大に、よりプログレッシヴに、メイデンの美学が真骨頂に達した必聴盤！！

Rolling Stone (pp.84-86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] has all the traits of classic Maiden: multipart epics, time changes galore and the thick clank of Steve Harris' bass." Entertainment Weekly (p.161) - "[A] refresher course for anyone who's forgotten that war is hell, the Brit metal overlords' new album is strewn with gruesome references to the horrors of conflict." Q (p.116) - Ranked #93 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006." Mojo (Publisher) (p.105) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[C]lassic heavy metal. There's a strong progressive rock influence at work...The metal album of the year has arrived."

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. At just over four minutes, opener "Different World" -- a near twin of Dance of Death's "Wildest Dreams" -- is the only cut that screams single, but it's also the most misplaced. On a record that positions beloved avatar Eddy on top of a tank with a machine gun leading a weary troop of skeletal soldiers to their doom, any act of brevity, no matter how expertly crafted, sticks out like a saxophone solo. [Matter of Life and Death is also available with a bonus DVD that includes videos, live performances, and rehearsal footage.] ~ James Christopher Monger

トリプル・ギター編成では3枚目となる、ヘヴィーメタル・ビーストの通算14作目。〈これぞメイデン!〉なテンションの高いスピード・チューンの冒頭曲以降、スピード～ミッドと転調を繰り返す組曲的な楽曲が並ぶ。かといって冗長な印象は皆無で、シンセや3本のギターを活用した荘厳かつスリリングなインスト・パートでの昂揚感は過去最高だ。〈プログレ・サイドのメイデン〉が前面に押し出された、緊張感溢れる傑作。
bounce (C)加賀 龍一