A mere two months after we placed the order, our copy has arrived this pm.
My expectations are quite low, being that I've auditioned it on iTunes already and the production seems as dreadful as everything they've released in the last 15 years. But I'm sure there is some good Iron Maiden music on it, as always.
HOWEVER... 92 minutes?!! Don't those guys realize that people' attention span has decreased dramatically in the last 20 years?
In all honesty, I can't think of many pop artist whose artistry deserves a 90 minute album, unless it's a retrospective, greatest hits sort of thing. In the case of Maiden, where the formula to their music is relatively obvious, they should be happy to get away with 40 minutes.
Killers and Beast were both under 40 minutes. Both left you wanting more, so you'd play them again, over and over. And they became classics.
Having just unpacked this one, I am forced to abandon the idea of listening to "the newest Iron Maiden album". I don't have an hour and a half to spend on that tonight.
So I'll probably be listening to a few songs here and there over the coming week. And by the time I've made my way through the whole thing, I'll have lost any potential connexion I could have with the music...
But I guess it works for lots of people, considering how long it was back order. And the packaging isn't too bad either.