#Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

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[formulas-fatal-to-your-mom]

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Iron Maiden cover art by British artist Derek Riggs

[heavymetal]

Iron Maiden 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' Released April 11, 1988

[dijidweeeb]

Eddie (1988)

[forathousanddays]

Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of A Seventh Son (REQUEST)

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (hereafter shortened to just Seventh Son because wow is that long) is Iron Maiden's seventh studio album, inspired by the novel Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card, which was in turn inspired by the folklore concept of the Seventh Son, who, in an unbroken line of sons, is destined to inherit mystical abilities. The abilities vary on different tellings, such as clairvoyance, supernatural healing, or even ailments like lycanthropy or vampirism. Seventh Son is Iron Maiden's most successful steps into power metal, a soaring and esoteric concept album following the titular seventh son of a seventh son. There's a wide variety of sounds and atmospheres in the tracklist, which really helps the feel of an epic quest, or a life of significance. This one comes with a special kind of difficulty in reviewing, because I need to pay close attention to the lyrics to follow the story. We'll get into that more below the cut.

TRACK 1 - MOONCHILD

We don't really get any time to acclimate before Seventh Son dives straight into its themes and overall vibe. The lyrics are roundabout with a general aesthetic of "lots of occult words," and allegedly come directly from Satan himself. He accosts the mother of the Seventh Son, promising her he'll make her child serve him. The synth line after an acoustic opening very quickly sets our tone as a power metal epic, and everything to come in after that just keeps elevating the sound. There's a minute and a half of mostly just sound before the main melody and lyrics come in, and it adds a special something to the scale of the story.

Excellent introduction to the world and sounds, just alright as a song. The synth opening is the best part, but the solo's good too. 7/10.

TRACK 2 - INFINITE DREAMS

This is our first song from the Seventh Son (the first one) himself, recounting the torment he feels from his clairvoyant dreams. As is customary with power metal concept albums, no two songs blend together; the tone and scene of Infinite Dreams is a much more intimate and proggy experience next to Moonchild. This song very nearly lost a ton of points purely by virtue of putting "unbeliever" and "neither" in consecutive lines, but not pronouncing them with the same inflection on the ie-ei syllables. That one hurt my feelings.

Every part of this one is a treat, even with that glaring issue. 9/10. The guitar never stops moving, and never rests on the same feeling for any prolonged time.

TRACK 3 - CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS

This one feels most like your standard late 80s heavy metal, with a lot of major chords and hopeful tones. The Seventh Son (still the first one) visits a prophet to inquire about the impending birth of his seventh son, but he's not really saying anything decipherable. My personal theory is that what he sees in his crystal ball is incomprehensible, and impossible to communicate beyond "yeah, dude, you're going to hell."

I'll always have a soft spot for that nostalgic late 80s heavy metal sound I grew up on, 8/10.

TRACK 4 - THE EVIL THAT MEN DO

Like I said before, no power metal epic has two songs that start the same. The Evil That Men Do has a slow, ambling intro, with some of the most evocative playing on the record. The song is about God and the Devil both wanting to claim the child as their servant on earth for his powers, hence the lines about balancing on a razor's edge. This has some of the best lyricism on the album, and is arguably the most immediately "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" track, if that makes sense.

Bonus points for the Shakespeare quotes. 8/10

TRACK 5 - SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON

Lo, the miraculous cataclysm of his birth is upon us! Title track! As a power metal record, there's an obligation for at least one nine minute song with very few lyrics of substance. This isn't a complaint, it's a staple of the genre and I'm glad it's a thing. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son marks a turning point, both in the story and in the structure of the record itself - we've just passed the halfway point out of our eight songs. The chugging guitar and powerful vocals do well to communicate the air of significance this song holds in the story.

This is probably higher than it should be. Favourite solo on the album at the end of the third minute, saving it from receiving a 5 or lower. 7/10

TRACK 6 - THE PROPHECY

The title here bothers me, because the first, like, three songs were also a prophecy. That being said, this one's different! The Seventh Son (of the Seventh Son) manifests his supernatural abilities, and foresees a disaster coming for the village. The intro solo is awesome, and another one comes in after the first chorus. By the start of the second verse, it's clear this solo was representing/happening in conjunction with the disaster he prophesized. The second verse is his true realization that his abilities are a curse, not a blessing.

Thematically great, but the sound isn't anything to write home about outside of the intro. 4/10

TRACK 7 - THE CLAIRVOYANT

The Seventh Son can now control his visions, and is a fully-fledged seer. It seems that Iron Maiden have foregone the traditional legends about the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as a healer in favour of clairvoyance, which is much less prominent but still has its foundations in folk concepts. This song has an ironic tinge to it, with the general concept being that for all his power and insight, the Seventh Son can't foresee his own death. This foreshadowing doesn't really set anything up, though.

The sound is occasionally great, but it's aimless. The tone and style change frequently, and without warning. This should have been multiple songs. 3/10

TRACK 8 - ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

The Son realizes that his service will stay thankless, and for every prediction he makes, he'll receive only more blame from the village. He's foreseen more calamities, and he knows he can stop them, but to do so would mean a great sacrifice. The title here alludes to his decision in this song; he'll die young, but only if he stays good. He leaves the village behind to live a life of indulgence and comfort, presumably never using his abilities again. The good in him died young, and his sinful and selfish side carries on living. The song closes off with the same mantra the album opens with.

I suppose that's our answer to the argument at the start of the album, about whether he'll be claimed by God or by The Devil. 6/10

RETROSPECTIVE

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son has a lot of great ideas, but the execution is a little rough around the edges. The story is prioritized over the sound, and the album as a whole suffers for it. Investment in the story is a lot harder when songs like The Clairvoyant are a slog to listen through. The highs are very high, but the lows are genuinely difficult to sit through on their own. I can and will listen to a lot of this album again, but the songs that don't hit really don't hit.

If you're interested in the story, I'd just recommend reading the lyrics over listening to the album the whole way through. It's more good than bad, but the bad is really hard to look past, unfortunately. I'm still comfortable giving it a 7/10 for the opening half, but I can't see it going any higher than that. This hurts me more than it hurts you, Seventh Son. I really want to love this record!

[bestmothertournament]

Propaganda Under Cut:

Mam Ward (Mother of Tom): Mam was upset when the Spook came to take her son as an apprentice knowing the danger and also hiding her own existence as a witch. She gave him a talisman making him promise to never take it off to provide him protection.

Martha Kent (Mother of Clark): Martha and her husband found a strange child in the middle of a meteor storm. She loved him from the start and struggled to protect him from those who may harm him if they knew what he was and help him understand what he was and support him in his destiny. She tried to advise him in his relationships and support him where she could.

[doctorslippery]

Shrug…IDK…that makes my paranoia sound much better than it actually is.

[band-ranking-polls]

[dickinson-devotee]

As for Gun N’ Roses’ music, it’s a fast, gritty, and loose sound reminiscent of Aerosmith, with guitars aplenty and screeching vocals. So it wasn’t surprising that, backstage after their show, Slash was seen wearing a black leather jacket with Aerosmith’s logo emblazoned across the back. Between sips of J.D., Slash chatted amiably with Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who had to dart away when he heard his band’s intro music going over the P.A.

“I gotta do a tune, mate,” he explained before running off.

When Maiden hit the stage the difference in sound was like night ‘n’ day. Although loud enough to give elderly folk nightmares, it was also very clean (the band is noted for sparing no expense when it comes to gear). The stage resembled the barren arctic landscape portrayed on the cover of the group’s latest album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son–everything was painted white and frosty-blue, with icebergs stuck here and there.

Dickinson didn’t waste any time in lambasting the Coliseum staff for moving the stage-front barriers back three feet because they thought the crowd was “dangerous”. And when he noticed one particular security guy roughing up a kid, Dickinson jumped down, mike in hand, and grabbed him.

“He wasn’t doing anything, you big ape,” shouted Bruce, adding some choice expletives, and the red-faced bouncer was hustled off, to be replaced by a more understanding member of the band’s road crew.

[lukesalbumawheneverhefeelslikeit]

3585: "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" by - Iron Maiden

[formulas-fatal-to-your-mom]

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Iron Maiden - Only the Good Die Young

[floridaboiler]

On March 20, 1988, IRON MAIDEN's single "Can I Play With Madness" was released from the album "Seventh Son of A Seventh Son".

source - https://twitter.com/HeavyMetal_999

[animalb0y]

Eddie? 🤔