After recovering from the Powerslave tour Maiden started work on a new album, Somewhere In Time. This time they would experiment with synthesisers.
Unlike the last two albums the drums were recorded in Nassau and the vocals/guitars were recorded in Holland due to the equipment needed for the new sound.
On 6th September 1986 Wasted Years was released and reached no. 18 in UK charts, giving the public a little taster of the album which would follow. Somewhere In Time was
released and unfortunately recieved bad reviews from the press. Thrash-metal had broken out in the USA and was beginning to reach the shores of the UK. The press thought
that Maiden's new release did not stand out as much as bands like Metallica and Slayer. The funny thing about the statements is that Maiden actually heavily influeneced both bands mentioned.
Somewhere On Tour lasted 8 months and was very popular in all continents, even the USA. The album reached the 2 million sales level in the US, which is incredible since
trash-metal was getting all the media attention at that time.
A video was released at the end of the tour called 12 Wasted Years- a documnetary about the story of Maiden up
to that point. Live footage and interviews with past and current members made the package complete.
Caught Somewhere In Time