British Lion

It goes without saying, that as the founding member, bassist and principle song-writer of Iron Maiden, Steve Harris is a genuine giant of rock and metal music. It also goes without saying that in Maiden's 30+ years of recording, some of their albums have been better that others.

Most would consider The X-Factor (1995) and Virtual XI (1998) to be weak points in Maiden's history. Both these albums shared some common features. In addition to being Maiden's weakest albums in terms of chart success, there were also the only two albums were Harris was the lead producer and both these albums featured Blaze Bayley on vocals. Now, one should not benchmark this 'British Lion' album against Maiden's output as it is a different creative force for Harris, but it is interesting that the flaws of the Blaze album, seem to be apparent with this British Lion album.

Like, the Blaze era Maiden albums, the biggest issue is not the songs. Rather, it is a weak vocalist who struggles on much of the material and, just as bad, terrible production that lacks dynamics. It's a real shame, because amongst the 10 tracks on offer, there are some very respectable songs here that are fine examples of hard classic rock delivered with a modern edge. The closing track, 'The Lesson', also shows Harris pursuing a musical direction that will take many by surprise and wonder why he will not allow Maiden to be a bit more expansive on their own albums?

A great bassist, admirable band leader, fine song writer but, it would seem, Harris isn't cut out for 'production'.

Below is an honest review of this album.

When listening to this album it is important to remember that this is NOT iron maiden.

Lots of people have said, I'm not comparing this to Iron Maiden and then go on to do just that. Although many of the tunes on here are similar in style to lesser known tunes on Maidens album Fear of the Dark, and Steve Harris is the main man here, this isn't Maiden.

As an album this is a grower in places. Some of the tracks are not instantly accessible but on 2nd or 3rd listens they become so. My first listen left me feeling a bit confused. Was not what I expected and to be honest i was a bit Underwhelmed. That was last Friday , and since then I have become hooked on this disc and have listened to it 3 times a day every day since.

I would definitely reccomend this to fans of the genre and urge to keep an open mind and have a few listens before making a judgement. The slightly negative reviews remind me of when X-Factor was released............this does not have Bruce Dickinson on it fools. Stop comparing it to Powerslave and take it for what it is!

The sound on the disc is much better to the crap sound on the free stream on the Maiden site (which was almost enough to make me cancel my order) - that being said, the worst thing about this is the production on 1 of the tracks. Steve Harris is'nt a producer. He is a song writer and musician. Unfortunately Kevin Shirley isnt wonderful either in my opinion......and judging from the opinion of many on the official Maiden Forum, I am not alone.

This is partly the reason I gave this 4 stars and not 5. Songwriting, performances, packaging great are all great, but the production on the first track in particular is dire. When listening to the CD it sounds like they are maybe 2 different albums. Track 1 is from 10 years ago, and the rest are all pretty well done. That being said the track itself is great, just could've been better.

The other reason I gave this 4 out of 5 is because I didnt enjoy one of the tracks 'Judas'. Out of 10 tracks, there are 8 great sounding well produced tunes. 1 turkey and 1 that could've been excellent. Not bad Mr Harris, not bad at all.........

standouts - us against the world, eyes of the young.

Interesting songs from the Maiden bassist. My main gripe, as with a lot of other reviews, is the mix is very poor. The vocals appear on every song almost like an apology. Otherwise some good instrumentals.