a young god – actually better and more expressive than ever – and has based his songwriting on the milestones of his Maiden years, with the new/old sidekick Adrian Smith coming at the right time" to deliver "their best material since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". In 2005, Accident of Birth was ranked number 338 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. Contemporary reviews are equally positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic defined the album "intriguing" and "better than many latter-day Maiden efforts". Canadian journalist Martin Popoff described Accident of Birth as "an unabashed metal record, produced smoothly and firmly" and added that it "would have made an intelligent, and ironically daring Maiden reunion record". Track listing 2005 Expanded Edition Disc 2 An extended edition of the album was released with the following tracks on CD 2. Tracks 1–4 appear on the CD single of "Man of Sorrows". Tracks 5–9 also feature on the Japanese CD release of "Man of Sorrows". Personnel Band members Bruce Dickinson – vocals Adrian Smith – guitar Roy Z – guitar, Mellotron, piano, producer, engineer, mixing Eddie Casillas – bass David Ingraham – drums Additional musicians Silvia Tsai – violin on "Taking the Queen", "Man of Sorrows" and "Arc of Space" Rebecca Yeh – cello on "Taking the Queen", "Man of Sorrows" and "Arc of Space" Richard Baker – piano on "Man of Sorrows" Production Stan Katayama – engineer, mixing at Brooklyn Recordings, Los Angeles except tracks 2, 6, 9 Joe Floyd – engineer, mixing on tracks 2, 6, 9 at Silver Cloud Recordings Greg Fidelman, Tom Banghart – assistant engineers Norbert Newfied – string arrangements Charts Album Singles Accident of Birth References 1997 albums Bruce Dickinson albums CMC International albums Albums produced by Roy Z Albums recorded at Sound City Studios Castle Communications albums