The new Iron Maiden album, released about two weeks ago, has reinvigorated my interest in the band and it has given me hope that older metal bands can age with some class and intelligence. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other metal band, save the reunited Judas Priest, who have been around for so long and yet have produced such a satisfying, mature album.

Iron Maiden has actually put together a solid collection of music filled with long epics, time changes, and guitars, guitars, guitar — even some nice acoustic playing. There are some recurring themes, including war, salvation, faith, and (of course) death.

This album is meaty enough to cause me to listen to it several times before attempting to write my thoughts down. It's not the type of album you can easily digest in one sitting, and thank goodness for that.

The opening track, "Different World," has what sounds like some of the band members joining lead singer Bruce Dickinson for the friendly sing-a-long chorus. It's an uplifting way to begin the album. No one sings metal quite like Dickinson, who injects so much passion into his stylings you believe you are being told an important tale by a seasoned storyteller. You can hear he's not quite hitting the heights he used to, but then again, he is 48 years-old, having joined Maiden when he was 24-ish.

You don't hear Maiden gallop a whole lot on A Matter Of Life And Death, but they do so in the superb third track, "Brighter Than A Thousand Suns," which references a Robert who is most certainly Robert Oppenheimer, widely known as "the father of the atomic bomb." The music varies from solemn quietness to the sound of a freight train barreling down at you.

I've listened to this album a fair bit now and, in my humble opinion, there are no weak tracks among its ten songs. The album clocks in at about 72 minutes. It's their longest album by one minute (X Factor is about 71 minutes) and per song, it's also their longest offering. You shouldn't expect to hear compact, instantly appealing rockers along the lines of classics like "The Trooper," "Run To The Hills," etc.

But listen to the acoustic guitar opening to "The Legacy" (a 9:20 track) and see if you don't find it musically interesting. Like some of their best material, you have to let the songs sink in with multiple listens. They improved with each listen for me and I appreciate the obvious craft Maiden has put into making a most uncompromising, quality album. Compared to Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death seems less anthemic, although there are similarities, particularly in the guitar playing in the song openings.

On the first day of sale, the CD was priced at $9.99 Canadian. I ended up opting for the limited edition, which has a 45 minute DVD, including a 30 minute "making of" documentary.

The album, their 14th studio disc, has been one of their most successful ever and has charted in the top 20 in several countries. It's sold over 500,000 copies in three weeks.

# 1 Germany, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Greece, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Brazil
#2 Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Columbia
#3 Chile
#4 UK, Austria, Spain, India
#5 France, Ireland, Arabia
#6 Iceland, Belgium
#7 Holland
#8 Denmark
#9 USA
#10 Mexico
#11 Portugal, Japan
#12 Australia
#15 Hong Kong
#16 New Zealand

My rating for this album is 4.5/5.