IRON MAIDEN – Somewhere In Time (2015 Remaster for iTunes)

As previously featured here, let’s continue with IRON MAIDEN catalog albums which have been Remastered for iTunes, encoded from 24-bit / 96 khz high resolution masters. All these albums have been freshly mastered from their original analog sources with iTunes in mind, delivering the music to listeners exactly the way the artist and recording engineer intended.
The other Iron Maiden brand new 2015 iTunes remasters can be found (HERE).
Now it’s time for “Somewhere In Time“, perhaps the more ‘modern’ (and sonically awesome) Iron Maiden album.

Indeed, “Somewhere In Time” is very mid-80s on its approach, glossy and bombastic from the production view.
With such superb previous albums as Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, and Powerslave, Iron Maiden had forged a completely original, own heavy metal sound. Feeling that they’d taken it as far it could go, the band decided to broaden their sound with the use of synthesizers for their sixth studio album, 1986’s “Somewhere In Time”.
While many other metal bands used synths in the ’80s to appeal to the wider audience, Maiden wisely did not overindulge. Instead, they used them in the form of guitar synthesiser to create textures, and were rewarded with one of their most commercially successful releases.

And although Maiden’s next album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son would perfect this new approach, “Somewhere In Time” contains many highlights on the songwriting department.
Both the ‘do it now’ terrific rocker “Wasted Years” and the more melodic “Stranger in a Strange Land” were successful singles/videos, while other prominent tracks included the album-closing epic, “Alexander the Great,” the frenzied opener “Caught Somewhere in Time,” and the singalong concert fave “Heaven Can Wait.”
The artwork is awesome as well, with many ‘hidden’ references to Maiden’s previous albums / songs.

This brand new 2015 remaster exclusively produced for iTunes bring to the forefront a deeper bass sound and brighter vocals.
Iron Maiden’s founder member Steve Harris comments about this superior mastering technique:
“The Remastering for iTunes procedure allows the listener to experience the music as close as possible to the way the artist intended it to be heard. So, of course, I was very keen for the Iron Maiden albums to be mastered in this way.
The records have been available digitally before, when this medium first became a platform for music distribution, but were mastered with CDs in mind. The iTunes process involves a different approach and it’s great to finally deliver the music to our fans in as close to a pure and accurate sound as we could possibly achieve.”

Steve Harris continues; “Now with this fresh mastering, the guitars are louder, the drums more substantial and the overall tone is so very much improved, in my opinion.
Tony Newton and Ade Emsley, who worked closely with me on the project, did a terrific job recapturing everything from the original masters, and together we’ve re- mastered them all digitally and I’m really happy with the results.”

Tony Newton adds: “The process started with locating all of the original album mix tapes (or whichever format they were mixed to). Then the choice of analogue to digital convertor was chosen for the most accurate capture to make it as close as possible to the sound of the mix as it was intended by the band.
When a lot of these tapes were last captured it was in the 1980s, early days of digital and only 44.1khz/16bit files were possible. On top of this, the new A/D convertors are far superior now, and, of course, it is possible to produce files of far higher resolution.
The result of this is that the songs now sound more defined with added depth and warmth.

Steve Harris ends; “I was very excited to be asked to be part of this project. I honestly feel that there is a massive improvement in the quality of these classic albums.”

I really love these new Iron Maiden’s remasters. All sound great in the car and with headphones the sound is wider.
“Somewhere In Time” is one of my favorites from the band, because of the really ’80s feel. The album succeeded in broadening Maiden’s sound without alienating their longtime metal fans, and bringing new listeners to their flock.
To me, a must have Classic.

01 – Caught Somewhere In Time
02 – Wasted Years
03 – Sea of Madness
04 – Heaven Can Wait
05 – The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
06 – Stranger in a Strange Land
07 – Déjà Vu
08 – Alexander the Great (356-323 BC)

Bruce Dickinson – vocals
Dave Murray – guitar, guitar synthesiser
Adrian Smith – guitar, guitar synthesiser, backing vocals
Steve Harris – bass, bass synthesiser
Nicko McBrain – drums, percussion

BUY IT !
itunes.apple.com/us/album/somewhere-in-time/id979696022
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