‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’ was the final album Iron Maiden made with its classic line-up and in a sense, the album takes them as far as that line-up logically could go. It is quite progressive by late eighties metal standards, the synth experiments that were only partially successful on ‘Somewhere In Time’ are incorporated into the music much better here and the songwriting has a dramatic flair that Iron Maiden has not had before or since. In their quest to make their music interesting for themselves, yet accessible enough to sing along, this is the ultimate Iron Maiden album.

Technically, ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’ this is a flawed concept album. There are themes of clairvoyance and second sight sprinkled throughout the album, but the narrative traditionally associated with concept records is nowhere to be found. Yet somehow, that does not diminish the album’s quality one bit. The theme gives the album some consistency that ‘Somewhere In Time’ was lacking, while the songwriting and the production reflect the lyrics rather splendidly. Another notable feature here is that the tempo changes, which were usually reserved for the longer tracks, are all over the songs, including the short, punchy ones.

It is hard for me to be objective about ‘Moonchild’, the first heavy metal track I have ever heard. But even now, more than two decades later, the song sounds incredible. It manages to combine Maiden’s melodic class with an aggressive drive in both the rhythms and Bruce Dickinson’s amazing vocals. The massive title track is the one that profits the most from the presence of keyboards, as they adorn the middle section with a theatrical layer it would not have had with guitars exclusively. And for progressive majesty, look no further than ‘Infinite Dreams’, in which tempo changes, subtle synths and incredible melodies blend into one atmospheric masterpiece.

Besides ‘Infinite Dreams’, the album contained three other top ten singles, of which only the lightweight ‘Can I Play With Madness’ misses the mark. ‘The Evil That Men Do’ is powerful and uncomplicated, while ‘The Clairvoyant’ is such a work of art that it’s easy to forgive the first melody’s resemblance to the verses of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’. On the other end of the spectrum is ‘The Prophecy’, which due to its lack of an actual chorus often goes by unnoticed, but is a guitar harmony tour de force.

Following the tour for ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’, guitarist Adrian Smith – Maiden’s melodic conscience – would leave and the band would head in a somewhat more aggressive direction. And though he would return for a run of decent to really good albums, Iron Maiden was never the same again. Along with ‘Powerslave’, ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’ stands as the best work by the best Iron Maiden line-up and a blue print for many heavy metal bands to follow. It is one of those rare instances where everybody involved outdoes himself, creating something that is both musically interesting and highly listenable in the process.

Recommended tracks: ‘Moonchild’, ‘Infinite Dreams’, ‘The Clairvoyant’