Powerslave

After three weeks off in January 1984 the band rehearsed for six weeks at Le Chalet in Jersey, where most of the writing took place, then recorded from February to June at Compass Point Studios in Nassau. Birch produced, and the album was mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York.

The songs again drew on films, literature and history. 2 Minutes to Midnight, written by Smith and Dickinson, was inspired by the Doomsday Clock. Harris wrote Aces High about the Battle of Britain. Dickinson's Flash of the Blade came from his passion for fencing, and the title track is narrated by an Egyptian pharaoh wondering why he must die. Back in the Village is a sequel to The Prisoner. Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) is an instrumental, and Powerslave is the band's last album to date to include one. The Egyptian theme carried into the staging of the World Slavery Tour, which began in Poland in August 1984. The album debuted at number 2 in the UK and reached number 12 in the United States.