after i bought iron maiden's seventh studio album, aptly called "seventh son of a seventh son", last year - which i am pretty sure by now is a recent bootleg - i said to myself to pick up old maiden records whenever i come across a used one in a store for a reasonable price. of course they had to be in a good condition as well. those criteria made it quite difficult to obtain any maiden vinyl but when i visited blitz records in kiel last weekend i lucked out.
i stumbled upon two lovely maiden records in the used bin. the first was "piece of mind", their fourth studio album from 1983. what a great record this is. the a-side is pure heavy metal greatness. the band had a unique feeling for epic riffs and hooks that it is no surprise this record peaked at no. three in the u.k. album charts. rightfully maiden is one of the biggest players in the metal genre.
i love this feeling of nostalgia when i put on this record. i feel the urge of growing my hair, wearing nike air sneakers to my skin-tight jeans and leather jacket when listening to this album. the vinyl copy i found at blitz records looks super clean and sounds like the pre-owner wasn't really a fan of "piece of mind". minimal to no scratches on the vinyl - awesome! whereas the cover has some wear here and there.
most notable the tear at the front cover resulting from the removal of a price sticker, i suppose. the same is to be seen on the back, just less distinct in form of a circle. given the almost pristine condition of the vinyl itself i could live with those damages and took this cracker for a decent price. as there is a considerable number of copies out there, which is only logical considering the time when vinyl was the format number one, i am not sure what i have here. following the label code on the back this is a european first press copy. emi records. 1983.
