Year: 2021
Total Time: 06:13
Label: Parlophone
In the recent days, a strong gossip based on data discovered by their followers around the world, put us in the process of talking and waiting for the Beast to present something (unknown what), but which would probably concern the upcoming-seventeenth album of IRON MAIDEN.
All the gossip surrounding the famous “Belshazzar’s Feast” (or “writing on the wall”), the famous prophecy that Daniel interpreted and foretold the fall of Babylon and the liberation of Israel, through a strange writing that appeared on a wall in front of Belshazzar during a big feast, the Beast came to confirm them, with a video – invitation to the whole metal world, in which Bruce Dickinson invited us to participate (however without our moms), on the 15th of July.
The coveted day has arrived and the biggest Heavy Metal band of all time, presented new music to its audience, after six years of absence. The brand new song is called “The Writing On The Wall” and is accompanied by a music video, a short animated film.
So, starting from the visual part, we have a very beautiful video, descriptive, adventurous, full of meaning, well-rounded and with a lot of Easter Eggs, so many that in order to find them all one has to see it and see it again and again many times. From various incarnations of Eddie over the years and the discography of the Beast to hidden “secrets” for the new album that we are looking forward to.
No matter how good an accompanying video might be, it remains an accompaniment. What actually matters is the song that accompanies. So what do we hear from this first music sample from MAIDEN after the very good “Book Of Souls”?
“The Writing On The Wall” starts calmly, with a mid tempo rhythm which it maintains until the end. Its introduction is reminiscent of Western style, while the song itself would be said to flow quite towards a more Hard Rock sound. However, from the beginning and the first riffs, as well as from the moment the emblematic bass of leader Steve Harris makes his appearance, you understand that this is an IRON MAIDEN song. The solos bear the signature of Adrian Smith, while, although it is not a fast song, it holds you to its addictive rhythm. Bruce Dickinson’s Air Raid Siren vocals may sound a little out of the ordinary, but here’s a footnote below.
Getting to the production of the song, one might probably locate most of the complaints. The song retains this style of the Kevin Shirley era, which wants MAIDEN’s recorded songs trying to have the style in which they are presented live. As a result, the production is not crystal but sounds quite dirty. Some like it, some do not.
In the note we took before, like the “dirty” production, as well as Bruce’s vocals, in the Spotify version of the song, things are noticeably better, with the production looking better and the vocals not being heard, neither in the background, nor as if they were recorded with a single pass.
Overall, “The Writing On The Wall” is a song that maintains the style that the Beast has adopted in its post-reunion era. It is a very good song, it does not have to envy anything from its predecessors and, given that in recent years MAIDEN never releases the best song as a first single, expectations are where they should be when we talk about the ultimate British Beast.….soaring!
Rating: N/A
Editor: Fanouris Exintavelonis
Related Link: IRON MAIDEN – Official Page
