The new issue of Metal Hammer is a tasty smorgasbord of heavy metal brilliance, with everyone from Poppy to Opeth to Sleep Token to The Black Dahlia Murder to Within Temptation involved. Eagle-eyed Iron Maiden fans, however, may have spotted that there’s a special feature inside the magazine celebrating 40 years of one of the heavy metal icons’ most beloved albums, Powerslave.
Fans wanting to commemorate the occasion can now officially go one step further as we announce that a special edition of Metal Hammer featuring an exclusive Powerslave cover is now on sale in Tesco stores across the UK.
Released on September 3, 1984, Powerslave saw Iron Maiden hone their songwriting chops to whole new levels, featuring not only hallmark anthems like Aces High, 2 Minutes To Midnight and the battering title track, but one of their grandest and longest songs ever in the classic, 13-minute prog metal epic Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.
“The funny thing is, no one actually thought it was 13 minutes long at all”, Maiden bassist and lead songwriter told Metal Hammer in 2008. “We thought it was only eight or nine minutes long, maximum. When [Powerslave producer] Martin Birch timed it at 13 minutes we were all like, ‘Fuckin’ ’ell, 13 minutes?!’”
“I can remember all the words and have a cup of tea in the middle of it”, singer Bruce Dickinson joked to Billboard that year. “It’s the closest thing you’re going to get to an Iron Maiden symphony movement.”
Read more about the making and legacy of Powerslave as well as a whole lot more in the new issue of Metal Hammer. Remember, head to Tesco if you want that lovely ‘mummy Eddie’ cover.