Review by Adam M on September 23, 2025.

This album represented a shift for the band as they started to attempt to become more progressive and apply synths to their sound.  The result is the most epic album in the band’s catalogue and one that also has a very streamlined sound for a very accessible and songs like “Can I Play With Madness” are very sing along worthy.

The musicianship on the album is very solid and perhaps some of the best the band has ever showcased.  Guitars glide along and are very memorable and drums provide a nice backbone to the music.  The performance of Dickinson is one of his more solid efforts and he makes the songs more interesting with his dynamics and range.

If there is a flaw to be found with the album it is in how other albums like Brave New World are also epic and perhaps surpass what is to be found here in some senses.  This is also not as memorable as some of their other works like Piece of Mind and The Number of the Beast.  Despite these quibbles, this is still stellar stuff.

This is a great album overall and one of the most progressive the band has ever done.  It has epic compositions like the title track, mixed up with more catchy numbers for a maximum effect.  There is very little to dislike here and this remains a classic within the band’s discography that is one of the more memorable and adventurous albums they have crafted.

Rating: 8.1/10

Review by Tobias on January 21, 2002.

"Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" is probably the finest zenith that metal has ever seen. Its release epitomized all that great metal was to date and opened the gates for much of what metal was soon to become.

Track after track, the lyrics of Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson provide the listener with one fantastically surreal experience after another. And like an energy-based symbiotic being, the music slides itself in coils around the words that Bruce delivers with torrential potency.

From the opening notes of Moonchild, the music is branded with Iron Maiden’s name, and more importantly with the name of this album; to clarify, while being uniquely Iron Maiden, it is also uniquely recognizable as Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

If you’ve been around metal for more than a year, you know about this album. Most people speak of tracks such as 'The Evil That Men Do', 'The Clairvoyant' or the hit single 'Can I Play With Madness'. But there are other tracks on this album that I believe need some attention! Particularly, the track that delivers one of the greatest Dickinson performances of all time, 'The Prophecy', as well as the title track which quite possibly is the best cumulative representation of Maiden’s musicianship could use more recognition.

And it’s that musicianship that renders this one of the all time greats. The harmonies of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith have never created such perfect double helixes, while the dynamic rhythms provided by Harris and the stoic Nicko rile up an aggressive and flawless dance to carry the rest of the music.

Considering that I’ve been listening to this album regularly since 1988 (14 years?!?! Holy crap) and it has never lost its luster, I could write a dissertation on this disc. But the longevity of such a classic and all the best words I could muster would never do justice to owning this album.

Bottom Line: This is the most enduring and fantastic metal album of all time.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Originality: 10
Production: 10
Overall: 10

Rating: 10 of 10