Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of A Seventh Son

RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK:

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son of A Seventh Son

This week’s Recommendation of the Week is one of my favorite albums of all time, and my favorite Iron Maiden album. “Seventh Son of A Seventh Son” by Iron Maiden was released in April 1988. It is a concept album, and deals with our eternal struggle with the power of good and evil within ourselves, and the consequences of our actions with that power.

It boldly speaks to our self-worth as humans, and whether we are an achievement or disappointment in our existence. As we choose our path, our actions decide our fate. The album is a great concept, and it is up to each own’s interpretation. That struggle of our inner conscious, and the forces that pull us, becomes more than just a question of our choices, rather it becomes more about our responsibility to ourselves, versus those who stake a claim on us.

This is something I have had intense struggle and battles with for much of my life. This album has always cut deep within me, and truly has me contemplating my existence, my place, my worth.  It hits on different thoughts on each listen, and is one that I don’t always go to, but seek out when I need it the most. It has always given me some comfort when I’ve needed it. There is no better example of this that the song “Infinite Dreams”, which really explores the power and prophecy of our dreams and innermost thoughts and fears. It symbolically creates a crystal ball gaze into our deepest inner visions, as we question whether they are real or a manifestation of our deepest fears, like a mirror revealing baring our souls, for better or for worse.

I sought the album in my darkest times, and always was provided comfort, and even guided to clarity through my struggles, even if the outcome wasn’t what I desired.

Remember…“The Evil That Men Do” lives on and on… in our actions and especially in the consequences.

The album’s  central theme is redemption and regret, drawing from grief, loss, immortality, torment, reality versus perception and our inherited depravity and responsibility. We may find our self-truth reveals that the nightmare is our reality, and the dream is our only escape.

But what if we’ve gone too far…

“Suffocation, waking in a sweat
Scared to fall asleep again
In case the dream begins again
Someone chasing, I cannot move
Standing rigid, a nightmare's statue
What a dream, when will it end?
And will I transcend?
Restless sleep, the mind's in turmoil
One nightmare ends, another fertile
It's getting to me, so scared to sleep
But scared to wake now, in too deep”

Essential Track: “Infinite Dreams”