Somewhere in Time Songs Ranked

Somewhere in Time is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 29 September 1986 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. It was the band’s first album to feature guitar synthesizers. Since its release, Somewhere in Time has been certified platinum by the RIAA, having sold over one million copies in the US. Somewhere on Tour was the album’s supporting tour. Somewhere in Time is the band’s first studio effort following the extensive World Slavery Tour of 1984–85, which was physically draining for the group, lasting 331 days and comprising 187 concerts. The resulting exhaustion is credited as the main factor in the complete lack of songwriting contributions from lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, whose material was rejected by the rest of the band. Here are all of Somewhere in Time songs ranked.

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8. Heaven Can Wait

“Starts with another cool riff… then immediately kicks into an amazing verse and chorus. Damn this song is really fast. Once again, it’s a case of lyrical excellence that Maiden shines in. Slows down during the break, but it doesn’t lose any of its impact, and becomes even more charming during the chanting section. It soons returns to the fast-paced main section after a short instrumental break, and it does so wonderfully. Awesome track, I have no idea why I didn’t like it much during my first few listens of this album.”

7. Deja Vu

“”Filler”iest track on the album, and yet it’s been a personal favourite of mine for a long time. Man, that main riff is just awesome. So is the singing, and the guitar + drumming combo during the mid-song break. There’s not much more to the song than those factors, but that’s really what makes it such an extremely charming song, and I just love how the first and second halves of the song are extremely alike, being true to its title. Super underrated deep cut.”

6. Sea of Madness

“A pretty cool “filler” piece that isn’t filler at all. It’s a little downturn from the awesomeness the first 2 songs provided, as the verses aren’t really strong, but the chorus is very impactful to make up for it, and again contains some fantastic drumming. The bridge is very nice as well. But if only the verses had been a little better… I think this is the weakest track on the album, but just like Powerslave has it, I’m only relatively speaking”

See more: Iron Maiden Albums Ranked

5. Stranger in a Strange Land

“Pretty cool drum and bass intro, I like it. Some nice singing (although I tend to mishear a lot of the words in this song) to be found too, but the instrumental work isn’t as great as it is on every other song here, so it suffers as a result. However, the way the story of a lost Arctic explorer is presented, is amazing, which brings it up. Cool solo too.”

4. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

“Third song on the album that starts off with a relatively slow riff, before slowly building up in intensity and moving into a hectic fast-paced song, very much like the subject matter. Once more, amazing verses and chorus, and I really love that riff w/ drum interjections right after the first chorus. This is an underrated gem, a definite deep cut.”

See more: Iron Maiden Songs Ranked

3. Caught Somewhere in Time

“That synthy guitar riff in the beginning pretty much sets the course for the album. It’s very reminiscent of an 80s vision of the future. Afterwards, the song kicks in with a great riff, and it only gets better from there. The vocals are some of the best Bruce has offered. Once again, per Maiden tradition, there’s an amazing instrumental break after the first chorus where the duelling guitar leads gets to shine in all their glory. The story in the song is a little weird though, I mean, Jack the Ripper as a time traveller? It’s cool though, and Bruce really makes it work. Fantastic album opener, the best to any Maiden album.”

2. Alexander the Great

“History has always been a subject I loved a lot, and my favourite band singing about one of my favourite topics makes it even better. This is the perfect song to the legacy of Alexander the Great. Again, it contains amazing guitar work, fantastic singing, and very nice drumming underlying it all, with the trademark exceptional mid-song instrumental break. This one is longer than usual, akin to The Duellists, but of course, it’s very enjoyable. Afterwards, the main section comes around again and finishes the epic in a spectacular way. The perfect closer to an album like this.”

1. Wasted Years

“The crown jewel of the album. That fantastic intro riff, you know it marks the beginning of an excellent song. This song has Bruce at his very best, it’s impossible to not be enchanted with his singing here, and man this song is very amazing and inspiring lyrically. Especially the chorus. Once it gets to that solo… goddamn. That’s the best ever Maiden solo, right there, supplanted by some amazing drumming too. It might not be as showy as some other solos, but it’s the one that always had the most impact on me. It’s a bit hard to believe this song has absolutely no synths on it, considering how futuristic it sounds. Definitely a Top 5 Maiden song, and definitely one of the best songs of all time.”