Sunday 18 September 2011

Iron Maiden - Mother Russia

Imperial Russian history class has turned me into a nerd about my family's homeland.  I'm mostly enjoying their violent times before the Mongol invasion in which tribesmen were buried alive in ships and anyone who disagreed with the town majority was thrown off of a bridge.  Though living in Kievan Rus sounds like it'd be a good time, I'd have to say it's a good thing I'm reading about it and not living it.  Now, if there was only one band in the world who could take theatrical metal guitars, historical lyrics and the country of Russia and put it into an epic song, who would it be?

Iron Maiden.  No contest.

"Mother Russia" is what Iron Maiden does best.  With lyrical genius, the song goes from audio to visual.  You will be in Russia after five and a half minutes.  And you will like it.  Arguably the best song from 1990's No Prayer For The Dying (sorry, it's not "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter"), it brings the album to a climactic close just as intricate, vast, and complex as its namesake (unless you got the US version of the album, then you're not done yet).  While staying true to their bread and butter, the band gives "Mother Russia" the attention it needs, yielding fantastical results.

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