Brave New World

The Irons are back with an album of overblown air-punchers which, as ever, scavenge the plots of wizards-and-goblin fantasy novels for their lyrical content, with references to 'the piper at the gates of dawn' and 'the ferryman' replete with disturbing Chris de Burgh associations.

Given the cinematic title of the opener 'The Wicker Man', the uninitiated might be expecting something dark and unsettling, but, surprise surprise, it's a big rock stadium-filler.

Bruce Dickinson pushes his voice to its not inconsiderable limits, while the band play safe and don't trouble themselves with anything like testing musical boundaries. Most of the songs are futuristic, post-apocalyptic sci-fi tales in keeping with the Brave New World theme i.e. 'The Mercenary', 'The Nomad', etc.

But this being Iron Maiden, the lyrics ain't really what it's about - the most satisfying part of 'The Wicker Man' is its 'Wooa-ohhh!' coda, while the most enjoyable musical minutes of most tracks are, believe it or not, the extreme duration of the guitar solos.

It may not be either brave or new, but the world of Iron Maiden still has its good points.