Iron Maiden - The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg (EMI)
UK release date: 14 August 2006
So who the hell is Benjamin Breeg then? Steve Harris and the boys must be loving this - for years you could trace the origins of most Maiden songs with a quick stroll down the Oxfam bookshelf, or the bargain bin down the video shop. Now they've deliberately (it seems) set out to be a little cryptic.
Not that there's anything surprising about the track itself - it's the usual blend of power-guitars, epic theatricality, big riffs, bigger Brucie vocals and the occasional prog indulgence just for fun. It's as daft, unfashionable and strangely brilliant as ever.
Iron Maiden are on better form now than they have been since their mid-Eighties peak - with the new album appearing shortly, and Maiden back on the road again, The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg is just the right kind of aperitif to get the hoards excited.