Ranked #93 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006.", 3 stars out of 5 -- "The album has all the traits of classic Maiden: multipart epics, time changes galore and the thick clank of Steve Harris' bass.", 4 stars out of 5 -- "Classic heavy metal. There's a strong progressive rock influence at work...The metal album of the year has arrived.", "A refresher course for anyone who's forgotten that war is hell, the Brit metal overlords' new album is strewn with gruesome references to the horrors of conflict."