Piece of Mind

Piece of Mind
Studio album by Iron Maiden
Released 16 May 1983
Recorded Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, January - March 1983
Genre Heavy metal
Length 45:50
Language English
Label EMI
Producer Martin Birch
Iron Maiden chronology
The Number of the Beast
(1982)		 Piece of Mind
(1983)		 Powerslave
(1984)
Singles from Piece of Mind
  1. "Flight of Icarus"
    Released: 11 April 1983
  2. "The Trooper"
    Released: 20 June 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Sputnikmusic [2]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Piece of Mind is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was originally released in 1983 (see 1983 in music) on EMI, and on Capitol in the US; it was reissued later on Sanctuary/Columbia Records. It was the first album to feature drummer Nicko McBrain, who had recently left the Paris-based band Trust and has been Iron Maiden's drummer ever since.

The album ranked 21 on IGN's list of the top 25 metal albums.[3]

In 1983, Kerrang! magazine published a poll of the greatest metal albums of all time, with Piece of Mind ranking number 1, and with The Number of the Beast at number 2.[4]

Contents

Background

Lyrically, the album reflected the group's literary interests, such as "To Tame a Land," based on Frank Herbert's science fiction novel Dune,[5] and "The Trooper," inspired by Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade,[6] as well as film, such as "Where Eagles Dare", a film by Brian G. Hutton, and screenplay & novel by Alistair MacLean,[1] and "Quest for Fire", based on the film by Jean-Jacques Annaud.[5] On top of this, the writer G. K. Chesterton is quoted at the beginning of "Revelations".[7] More exotic influences include Greek mythology, albeit slightly altered for "Flight of Icarus". Aleister Crowley influenced a good piece of the remaining lyrics of "Revelations", which was written by Dickinson.[8]

This is the first of four Iron Maiden albums that were not named after a song featured on the album itself (though the words "peace of mind" appear prominently in the album's sixth song, "Still Life"). Originally, the release's working title was Food for Thought, once the band had decided that Eddie would be lobotomised on the front cover, until the band came up with the title Piece of Mind in a pub in Jersey, during the album's writing stage.[4] The name of the last track was meant to be entitled Dune, but, after seeking permission to do so via Frank Herbert's agents, the band received a message which stated, "Frank Herbert doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and especially bands like Iron Maiden."[5]

Included in the liner notes is a slightly altered version of a passage from the Book of Revelation, which reads:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more Death. Neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more brain; for the former things are passed away.[9]

The actual text (from Chapter 21, Verse 4) is nearly identical, except that it says "neither shall there be any more pain", rather than brain, which was added as a pun on the album's title.[9]

World Piece Tour was the tour in support of the album.

Hidden message

At the beginning of the sixth track, "Still Life", the band included a hidden message which could only be understood by playing the album backwards. This was a joke and an intended swing back at the critics who had accused Iron Maiden of being Satanic. The backwards-message features Nicko McBrain mimicking Idi Amin (or rather mimicking John Bird mimicking Idi Amin) uttering the following phrase "What ho said the t'ing with the three 'bonce', do not meddle with things you don't understand...", followed by a belch. The phrase itself is taken from the satirical album The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin by Bird and Alan Coren. "What ho" and "What ho said the t'ing" are phrases that also crop up regularly on McBrain's "Listen With Nicko!" tracks from The First Ten Years collection.

According to McBrain, "We were sick and tired of being labelled as Devil worshippers and all this bollocks by these fucking morons in the States, so we thought, 'Right, you want to take the piss? We'll show you how to take the bleeding piss, my son!' And one of the boys taped me in the middle of this Idi Amin routine I used to do when I'd had a few drinks. I remember it distinctly ended with the words, 'Don't meddle wid t'ings yo don't understand.' We thought, if people were going to be stupid about this sort of thing, we might as well give them something to be really stupid about, you know?"[10]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Where Eagles Dare"   Steve Harris 6:10
2. "Revelations"   Bruce Dickinson 6:50
3. "Flight of Icarus"   Dickinson, Adrian Smith 3:51
4. "Die with Your Boots On"   Dickinson, Harris, Smith 5:28
5. "The Trooper"   Harris 4:15
6. "Still Life"   Harris, Dave Murray 4:53
7. "Quest for Fire"   Harris 3:41
8. "Sun and Steel"   Dickinson, Smith 3:26
9. "To Tame a Land"   Harris 7:27
Total length:
 45:50

Cover versions

In 2010, Maiden uniteD, featuring lead singer Damian Wilson, released an all-acoustic reinterpretation of the album entitled Mind the Acoustic Pieces.[11]

Two songs were covered for the 2008 tribute album Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden; "The Trooper" by Coheed and Cambria and "To Tame a Land" by Dream Theater.[12]

"The Trooper" has been covered by Finnish doom/death metal band Sentenced on their 1994 EP The Trooper,[13] the death metal band Vital Remains on the 1998 tribute album A Call to Irons,[14] and Christian hard rock band Stryper on the album, The Covering, in 2011.[15]

"Where Eagles Dare" has been covered by Bethlehem (translated into German as "Wo Adlers wagen" on the Limited Edition version of Dictius Te Necare)[16] and Fozzy on their second album, Happenstance, in 2002.[17] Fozzy has also covered "The Prisoner" (from The Number of the Beast) on their debut, Fozzy.[18]

"Die with Your Boots On" has been covered by Sonata Arctica.[19]

Chart performance

Album

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart 10[20]
German Albums Chart 8[21]
Norwegian Albums Chart 9[22]
Swedish Albums Chart 6[23]
UK Albums Chart 3[24]
U.S. Billboard 200 14[25]

Singles

Single Chart (1983) Peak
position		 Album
"Flight of Icarus" Irish Singles Chart 14[26] Piece of Mind
UK Singles Chart 11[27]
"The Trooper" Irish Singles Chart 12[26]
UK Singles Chart 12[28]
Single Chart (1990) Peak
position		 Album
"Flight of Icarus / The Trooper" UK Albums Chart[note 1] 7[29] —
Single Chart (2005) Peak
position		 Album
"The Trooper" (live) Canadian Singles Chart 5[30] Death on the Road
Irish Singles Chart 16[26]
Italian Singles Chart 8[31]
Swedish Singles Chart 5[32]
Swiss Singles Chart 61[33]
UK Singles Chart 5[34]

Notes

  1. ^ Re-release of both singles as part of "The First Ten Years" box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart.

Certifications

Country Certification Sales/shipments Year
US 1x Platinum[35] 1,000,000+ 1986
UK 1x Platinum[36] 300,000+ 1995
Canada 2x Platinum[37] 200,000+ 2006
Germany Gold[38] 250,000+ 1996
Finland Gold[39] 25,000 1990

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b Huey, Steve. Piece of Mind at Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
  2. ^ Stagno. "Sputnikmusic Review". http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/7491/Iron-Maiden-Piece-of-Mind/. Retrieved 5 March 2011. 
  3. ^ IGN: Top 25 Metal Albums
  4. ^ a b Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 247. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  5. ^ a b c Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  6. ^ "Iron Maiden- blabbermouth". http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=123892. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 
  7. ^ Doran, John (2005). "Brain Damage". Metal Hammer presents: Iron Maiden 30 Years of Metal Mayhem: 134–135. 
  8. ^ Touchard, Philippe (December 1983). "Enfer Magazine". Bruce Dickinson interview (8). 
  9. ^ a b Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 245. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  10. ^ Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 1-86074-542-3. 
  11. ^ "Maiden uniteD". http://www.maidenunited.com/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  12. ^ "Kerrang! The making of Maiden Heaven". Kerrang.com. http://www.kerrang.com/blog/2008/07/the_making_of_maiden_heaven.html. Retrieved 13 January 2011. 
  13. ^ "Metal Storm- Sentenced, The Trooper". http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/album.php?album_id=1675&band_id=128&bandname=Sentenced. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  14. ^ "A Call to Irons- Amazon.com". http://www.amazon.com/Call-Irons-Tribute-Iron-Maiden/dp/B00000606W/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1317658292&sr=8-5A. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  15. ^ "STRYPER: 'The Covering' Album Pushed Back To Early 2011". http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=148204. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  16. ^ "Bethlehem - Wo Adlers Wagen (Iron Maiden 's Where Eagles Dare cover) - Alles Tot (Ep) 2004 video". http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/7mYsf2lTGas/search/benighted-swe. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  17. ^ "Happenstance- Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r598043. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  18. ^ "Fozzy- Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/album/fozzy-r503992. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  19. ^ "Sonata Arctica- Die With Your Boots On, Last.fm". http://www.last.fm/music/Sonata+Arctica/_/Die+With+Your+Boots+On. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  20. ^ "Piece of Mind- Austria". http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Piece+Of+Mind&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  21. ^ "Piece of Mind- Germany" (in German). http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=Iron+Maiden&title=Piece+Of+Mind&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  22. ^ "Piece of Mind- Norway". http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Piece+Of+Mind&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  23. ^ "Piece of Mind- Sweden". http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=Piece+Of+Mind&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  24. ^ "Piece of Mind- UK". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1983-05-28/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  25. ^ "Piece of Miind". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200#/album/iron-maiden/piece-of-mind/9073. Retrieved 2009-08-01. 
  26. ^ a b c "Irish Singles". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
  27. ^ "UK Singles Chart- 30th April 1983". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1983-04-30/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  28. ^ "UK Singles Chart- 9th July 1983". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1983-07-09/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  29. ^ "UK Albums chart archive- 24th March 1990". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/1990-03-24/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  30. ^ "Iron Maiden Billboard Singles". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/iron-maiden-p4560/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  31. ^ "Iron Maiden Italian Single Charts". http://italiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  32. ^ "Iron Maiden Swedish Charts". http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  33. ^ "Swiss Singles Chart- the Trooper". http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Iron+Maiden&titel=The+Trooper+%28Live+2003%29&cat=s. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  34. ^ "UK Singles Chart- 27th August 2005". http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/2005-08-27/. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  35. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database-Piece of Mind". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=piece%20of%20mind&artist=iron%20maiden&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved February 23, 2009. 
  36. ^ "BPI: Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
  37. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for October 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
  38. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Peace of Mind')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Peace+of+Mind&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. 
  39. ^ Kulta- ja platinalevyt IFPI.fi. Retrieved October 19, 2010.