Iron Maiden-A Matter Of Life and Death (2006)

Considered by many critics and fans to be one of their most powerful and complex albums, "A Matter of Life and Death" saw the British sextet Iron Maiden continue their exploration of progressive heavy metal with one of their densest and darkest works. Here, the band seems to have attempted to continue the epic sound they had established with their album "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", released almost twenty years prior. That formula consisting of slow intros, dizzying rhythms, sophisticated instrumental developments, great dynamism, and epic grandiosity reappears on this fourteenth album by the group. Composed of a repertoire of songs, most of which exceed six minutes, it is a work as solid as it is enjoyable, despite a sound that may be somewhat inaccessible to the uninitiated. Despite not being a typical concept album, war is the album's central theme, and thunderous sounds appear throughout, as demonstrated by tracks like the complex "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns" and "These Colours Don't Run". More conventional heavy metal is also present in the rock-oriented "Different World" and "The Pilgrim", while "Out Of the Shadows" becomes the album's catchiest and most commercially viable track, standing apart from the intricacies of the other songs. Complex and sophisticated structures return with the memorable "The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg", the impulsive "For The Greater Good of God", and the progressive "The Legacy", the latter a sublime epic with tremendously powerful vocals and instrumentation.