Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son: 11th April 1988

Purgatory beckons souls lost forever

Life after death or heaven hereafter

Heard the call of the seven whistlers again

Now Lucifer laughs hell awaits

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is a special album. It is the last of the great classic albums and represents the culmination of the creative evolution that began with Somewhere In Time. It's also Iron Maiden's seventh studio album, which makes a neat tie-in with the album's title and the subject. The guitar and bass synths are still present, but are somewhat less intrusive and seem to complement the music more effectively than before. For Maiden, guitar synth is like a woman's make-up – if you specifically notice it, then there's too much of it. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son seems to have achieved a good synth balance in most songs.

Other albums have had the feel of concept albums, most notably Killers because of the incredible cohesiveness and similar feel of its songs. However, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is the first album with a definite theme and story that carries through the songs. Although all of the songs have mysterious, magical, and occultic themes, the true story is told on the last half of the album, beginning with 'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son'. It might be possible to tie in the earlier songs, but not without wild speculation. However, the album does begin and end with similar passages:

Seven deadly sins, seven ways to win

Seven holy paths to hell, and your trip begins

Seven downward slopes, seven bloodied hopes

Seven are your burning fires, seven your desires...

According to ancient western myth (of which I've been unable to find a source), the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter or the seventh son of a seventh son possesses heightened occultic abilities. The album is based on the fantasy novel Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card that tells the story of such a child, who from the moment of his birth is subject to manipulation by the forces of good and evil, and must come to terms with his powers and how to use them.

The story that unfolds along the various songs on this album can possibly be summarised as follows:

'Moonchild': the Devil addresses the parents of the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, mostly the mother, and warns them that "all resistance is futile."

'Infinite Dreams': the Seventh Son's father, himself a Seventh Son, has visions he does not understand and that torture him.

'Can I Play With Madness': the Seventh Son's father looks for an explanation of his visions and consults a prophet; he doesn't like what he's told.

'The Evil That men Do': the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is conceived; the father possibly dies.

'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son': birth of the child with supernatural powers; Good and Evil both try to take him over.

'The Prophecy': the young man has harnessed his powers to discover that disaster looms; naturally, no one listens to him and the village is destroyed.

'The Clairvoyant': the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is now a seer who has control of his powers, although they quickly submerge him and are probably the cause of his death.

'Only The Good Die Young': bitter reflection on the events; was it all worth it? Back to square one.

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son is a masterpiece in several respects. Its musical complexity and lyrical depth make it a showpiece for the band's song writing and performing abilities, and its power and emotion are epic and spellbinding. For someone who is new to Iron Maiden, this might be one of the best albums to begin with. Many people consider this to be their best album ever.

Sadly, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son represents the end of an era for Maiden. It is the last album with the classic lineup of Harris, Murray, Smith, Dickinson, and McBrain that had remained stable since Piece Of Mind. It is the last Maiden album with Dickinson in top vocal form and the last album with a unified mood and feeling until years later with The X Factor.

Moonchild (Smith, Dickinson)

"'Moonchild' is a magically inspired song, based on the Liber Samekh ritual by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947). The ritual is described as being a ritual employed by the Beast (Crowley) for the attainment of knowledge and conversation of his holy Guardian. Some of 'Moonchild''s lyrics are extremely similar to those in the ritual.

This is another perfect opener, setting a perfect mood for the rest of the album. The synth is a little heavy in the intro, but it blends pretty well."

"What does this introductory song tell us about the story of the Seventh Son? The "Bornless One" is obviously the Devil, known as the "Fallen Angel", or, as stated in the song, Lucifer. Quite interestingly, the name Lucifer means "Light-Bringer", and is the Christian equivalent of the Ancient Greek myth of Prometheus, the unfortunate Titan who made the mistake to give fire to the humans, just like Lucifer gave them knowledge. Both characters were severely punished by their respective god who preferred to preside over a species of sheep-like hairless apes instead of the independent free-thinkers they had become thanks to Lucifer/Prometheus. (Many humans are still at the level of the herded woolly creatures, but there is no relevance in discussing this here.)

Trump XI from the Thoth Tarot (Tarot of the Egyptians). Painted by Lady Frieda Harris and designed by Aleister Crowley. The image is of the Scarlet Whore of Babylon.

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