Brave New World by Iron Maiden

Brave New World, Iron Maiden's twelfth studio album, came out on EMI in 2000 and marked a homecoming. Bruce Dickinson, gone since 1993, and guitarist Adrian Smith, gone since 1990, had rejoined in 1999, and since Janick Gers stayed put, Maiden became a six-piece in the studio for the first time: three guitars from Smith, Gers and Dave Murray, Nicko McBrain on drums, and bassist Steve Harris, who also produced.

The result is a galloping, triple-barreled beast, all sweeping, twisting songs and huge choruses, with "The Wicker Man" and "Out of the Silent Planet" out front as singles. The title song and the cover tip their hats to Aldous Huxley's novel, with Derek Riggs painting the top half of the artwork and Steve Stone handling the bottom digitally. The reunion kicked off a real resurgence for the band, and the tour's Rock in Rio stop became a live album and video.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.