Iron Maiden have been my favourite band for over twenty years now so maybe my review is somewhat biased. Having said that, I have always felt that Maiden albums always need a few listens before you truly "get" them and so I have always been willing to persevere with each album they release, where maybe the casual listener will not. And I feel that A Matter Of Life and Death is the perfect case in point. First listen - ok. Second listen - still ok. Third listen - starting to hit the spot. Fourth listen - really like this album. Fifth listen and beyond - absolutely love it. As mentioned in some of the other reviews, the length of some of the songs may be offputting for some but, once you really get to grips with this album, you are compelled to play it again and again. Standout tracks for me are actually the longer ones - Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, The Longest Day, For the Greater Good of God and The Legacy. An absolute must for all Maiden fans and also for those who quite like Maiden without being diehard fans (provided they give the album a chance)!!!

This album is amazing! The best £4.99 I have ever spent!

There are a lot of Maiden fans who love this album, but also a lot who found it a disappointment. I was one of the latter initially, but I've found that the more I listen to it the better it seems to get. Being the first 'new' album I bought by the band it took me a while to get used to it, but now I have, it's a great album.

Ive been a fan since 79 and to date this has to be one of Maidens best albums it certainly ranks up there with the no. of the beast ,powerslave etc like a fine wine they seem to get better with age. up the irons!

Everyone goes on about their old albums like number of the beast and powerslave but I personally think their new ones are pretty damn good too. You have to remember, that although the old albums are great, there is always a little nostalgia surrounding them, especially for old fans, which magnifies their brilliance. I think that If this was the first maiden album you had heard, you would still be impressed.
Yes the band have changed in some ways, but the backbone of their music; hardcore headbanging riffs, spell binding acoustic parts and anthemic melodies are still here in full force.
They have developed in some ways too, on this album there are some clever, evocative lyrics, not to mention some superb and memorable guitar solos; just what you would expect of Iron Maiden.
The first three songs, Different World, These colours don't run and Brighter than a thousand suns are great and all stick in the mind. The album as a whole is strong but 'The longest day' and 'The reincarnation of benjamin breeg' really stand out for me as some awesome songs. The longest Day, based on the evacuation of dunkirk, is one of maidens modern day masterpeices in my opinion (akin to Montsegur on the dance of death album for lyrics/riffs) it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and once it gets going it is guaranteed to make you rock, rush and headbang!!!! Other songs really hit you after a while as well, For The Greater Good of God has got one of those great instrumental parts they do.
In short, I see it like this, if this was the first Iron Maiden album you ever bought and you had metal in your veins already you would still get hooked immediately!!!! An essential for maiden and metal fans alike, for other people, you might just like it.

it's a good album. by no means their best, but it's quite enjoyable. the only thing that stops people liking it immediately is the length of songs. shortest being 4 minutes, and the longest being about 10. I'm a fan of Dream Theater, so i'm not bothered by long songs, but it might alter people's viewpoints.
however, they don't seem very long, as once they start they grab your attention all the way through. however, the album is a bit inconsistent. i think it's trying too hard to be an epic. i'm not sure if that's what they were going for, but it's what it seems like. the best tracks are "These Colours Don't Run", "Different World", "Brighter than a Thousand Suns" and "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg". i like this album, but it's probably a "fans-only" Maiden album.

been a maiden fan since 1979,watched the band have its ups and downs till the roaring comeback of `brave new world`,the stunning follow up `dance of death` but this album is such a disappointment.10 tracks is a good number to have but they all drag on for 6 & 7 minutes by which time all the tracks sound the same.2 of the tracks are well over 9 minutes and really do outstay their welcome.come on fellas,we want 3-4 minutes sharp,snappy stuff.we dont need you to turn onto elp or yes.

If your a maiden fan or enven if your not this album will not dissapoint,. But when listening to it, its hard not to notice that its not quite up to the standard that we are used to from the guys. Songs such as 'these colours dont run' and 'for the greater good of god' truly are classic maiden tracks but although othersongs are still really good ther not quite there! So id say that this album is not as good as previous maiden album but its extremely close.

I am not a huge Maiden fan, but i do very much like their material and we all know that their first five or six alums ruled. Then there was a period of lesser good albums. Now with this new release they have returned with a set of good, strong songs.

However, it is blatent they can't beat their older material but this cd is a five star metal release but a three star maiden album. The reason being (my personal opinion) is the album is realy realy long, the songs are easily forgetible because of the length of them.

The songs are all fantastic but they've crammd too much into one cd.

To summerize, this is a very good set of songs with the musicmanship being top-noch. But far too long and none of the old flair that was there before (e.g. number of the beast, bring you're doughter to the slaughter) but have wrtten a group of clean and power songs (e.g. the evil that men do).

Buy it, great metal album, average maiden album. Still very good.

So many years on, Maiden are still producing and delivering the goods. I am a big fan and prefer mushc of the later albums than the earlier mix. I believe this album is the deepest of them all, all tracks with significant meaning, performed with pure heart. It will be difficult to surpass this release, but never say never. The whole record contains strong lyrics and exceptional music arrangements, a truly fantastic addition to any Maiden fan.