Review: I've been anticipating this cd since the confirmation that Bruce and Adrian had rejoined the band. Maiden is three guitars deep and sound great. After hearing Brave New World, I thought to myself "this cd buries EVERYTHING I've heard this year." It's that good!! Bruce sounds like the Bruce of old (ie, the power and conviction of Somewhere In Time). Adrian sounds great like he did with Bruce on his solo projects as well as with Maiden. I like the direction of Brave. The cd combines the rawness of metal, yet the ambience of progressive rock. A couple of rockers such as The Mercenary and The Wicker Man make lifelong Maiden fans drool. Songs such as The Nomad, Brave New World and Blood Brothers represent a more progressive direction with clean, lush guitars and Steve Harris' brilliant use of orchestration. The Nomad is an epic masterpiece. After hearing the theme in the song, I knew this was a special song. I like how Bruce created a second chorus for the song. The interlude where the orchestration enters, sets an intriguing mood for the song. After listening to this cd a 1000 times (I'm slightly exaggerating), I emphatically feel that all 10 songs are of high quality(musically, vocally, and lyrically). Maiden could've played it safe by trying to replicate the Maiden of the mid 80's. Or they could've chosen to be heavier and try to fit in with the whole "heavy groove" scene. They did neither. Maiden showed their maturity and confidence by slightly altering their sound, yet staying true to
what has made them metal icons.

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