Ok, here are my humble thoughs.
Iron Maiden : Simple, direct and impressive. Mainly impressive. With a load of agressivity this cover is a very good one, though its not 1% of what iron maiden covers were about to be at that time. The second edition is a little bit more realistc, we can almost feel the dead skin of eddie under our fingers but I prefer the first one because it combines so much with the album feeling. A not so well produced album deserves a not so well produced cover.
Killers : The first one with blood. Eddie killing someone in a dark street (22 Acacia Avenue ?) with only the black sky for witness. As we all know the little axe of Eddie its still dripping blood. Fresh blood of a victim. The sarcastic and also aggressive smile of Eddie can send a shiver through your spine, as if you were the next one to feel the axe. But the detail that always calls my attention is the curve of Eddie’s back. I don’t know if you agree but it’s a very femine curve. Not, I’m not saying that Eddie is a woman. But this detail improves the sarcastic feeling of the picture. Just remember how the Catholic Church used to treat women like devil beings, a lusty being dripping with blood and sexuality. I know, it has nothing to do with the cover. But for me its just a special detail wich makes this cover even better.
The Number of The Beast : What can we say ? Simply awesome. A very huge Eddie controling devil wich controls another a little Eddie wich is of course a symbol of all mankind. Flames and bodies everywhere says that we are not in hell but in Purgatory. I almost can hear the screaming of those children of the damned. The second edition with black sky is also a good one. The one with black sky for me increasses the feeling of a huge creature with supreme powers, taking control of even the devil himself. And as for the blue one, for me again, is somewhat more to something mystic and unknow is about to happen. Anyway, this cover is THE classic cover.
Piece of Mind : My favorite album and the cover wich I like least. For me is too simple. Yes, is a good one, Piece of mind to Mr. Eddie please because he’s got no brain. But where are the details and the feeling of we are seeing a living picture ? Its just a still life, a still picture..
Powerslave : Yes ! Here we got a Mr. Cover again ! Its impressive, awesome, huge, great like the ancient egypt was and like this album is. Yellow is the predominat colour, the colour of gold. Come on, bring Mr Dead to the pyramid of Eddie V ! The god’s figures on the side of Eddie statue, along with the serpent above and the very realistc perspective of the whole picture is something that can grab your attention for hours and hours. Only the camels are missing ! [!--emo&
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Somewhere in time : This is THE cover !!! Details, details, details and more details is what we got. Good for the one who have a vinyl copy of this one (and I’m one of this blessed by god). We can lost a huge time just looking and looking to this picture. And yet, we can look it a million times, always we are going to find a detail that we have never seen before. For exemple, Derek Riggs signature is in two places. Eddie’s breastplate and in the door of his space shuttle, besides the opend door of it. The back cover is also impressive. And the band avatars are perfect. I really like Mr. Nicko Mcbrain with his “Iron what ?” shirt.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son : Blue. Blue is the water and blue is the sky. And blue is this cover that is clearer than the previous ones. But it has the same power and energy as the others. I only wanted to know WTF are those “lights” in the upper side, behind Eddie’s head and the letters from the band name logo. They seem to be like a flaming da Vinci’s helicopters. Are the the seven burning fires, or something like that ? Does anyone can answer this question for me ?
No Prayer for the Dying : With this happens something like the Piece of Mind cover. Is a just to simple cover. However it returns the agressivity of Iron Maiden and Killers covers. The second edition was absolute unnecessary. Why drop the gravedigger and the plate with the inscriptions ? Why take details from a lacking details cover ???
Fear of the Dark : This one is very special for me. It was my first Iron Maiden album, so you understand why its so special. The idea of merging Eddie with a tree and create an evil tree is fantastic. Also, we don’t know if Eddie’s face is twisted of anger and lust for blood or of pain. Maybe both. The blackned sky and the haunted moon adds more feeling to this cover, certainly causing fear of the frightfull dark.
The X Factor : I really don’t like this one. Of course its really scaring and fantastic. And also it translate all loss, sadness and pain of the whole album. However for me this cover has a somewhat “unfinished” feeling. I also agree with Maverick as he said in the commentary
“The X Factor cover has abandoned Riggs's familiar comic-book style in favour of a much more life-like and macabre portrayal of the surgery which transformed Eddie into a lobotomised monster. This brings up my only complaint about the album – the cover is a bit too graphic for my tastes, and I do not enjoy the portrayal of the obvious pain and torture of any living being”
But yet again, as for piece of mind, a not so good cover for my tastes and a great album though !
Virtual XI : Good one ! Great concept and vivid colours. My only complain for this cover is ths soccer match in the bottom left of it. Yes, I really don’t like soccer, in fact I hates it. But that’s not the point. The problem is that, only because this detail, I have read in lots of magazines (stupid magazines I must say) that in this album “Iron Maiden mix up themes from virtual reality to soccer games” Come on boll*cks ! Listen to the album first ! Ok ?
Brave New World : Another one that is quite simple if you compare with others. But it combines so well with the album feeling that I can’t really complain about this one. Also, it has a awesome concept. Iron Maiden was up coming from the “so called decline” and instead to burst in the face of the world, they prefer to be above it, only observing, as if they were the rulers of all that. All right, sorry, I got a bit too far.
Dance fo Death : What the hell is this !? Even I could make a better CG cover, without those necks and feet out of place. Come uncle Steve, I know that the band wanted it to be like that, twisted and broken. And I really agree that it was a great idea. But did it have to be so twisted !?!?!?
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