1982–1989: Heavy Metal Megastar
At the beginning of 1983, the band, together with producer Martin Birch, began the recording session for the next album, and for this purpose Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas was rented. The fourth studio album was the first in a series of three released here. On May 16, the album Piece of Mind was released, which reached number 3 in the UK and reached the high, 14th place on the Billboard 200. The album produced two popular singles with the songs "Flight of Icarus" (the first big hit in the USA) and "The Trooper" - a kind of anthem for the group's fans, played at every concert from then on. The album also heralded a departure from the typical NWOBHM style of raw heavy metal, in favor of a more progressive approach in the compositions "Where Eagles Dare", "Revelations" and the lyrically referring to Herbert's Dune - "To Tame a Land". There was also room for battle and historical themes: the Crimean War in "The Trooper" or the commando operations known from the eponymous entitled film in "Where Eagles Dare".
