Poll

What are your favorites of these Iron Maiden songs?

Strange World
11 (4.5%)
Innocent Exile
5 (2.1%)
Twilight Zone
4 (1.7%)
Invaders
14 (5.8%)
The Prisoner
25 (10.3%)
Die With Your Boots On
17 (7%)
Sun and Steel
6 (2.5%)
The Duellists
11 (4.5%)
Sea of Madness
23 (9.5%)
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
14 (5.8%)
The Prophecy
13 (5.4%)
Run Silent Run Deep
6 (2.5%)
Judas Be My Guide
12 (5%)
Look For the Truth
3 (1.2%)
The Unbeliever
6 (2.5%)
Lightning Strikes Twice
4 (1.7%)
The Educated Fool
5 (2.1%)
The Fallen Angel
11 (4.5%)
Montsegur
17 (7%)
New Frontier
2 (0.8%)
The Pilgrim
4 (1.7%)
Out of the Shadows
4 (1.7%)
Mother of Mercy
8 (3.3%)
The Alchemist
6 (2.5%)
When the River Runs Deep
6 (2.5%)
The Man Of Sorrows
5 (2.1%)

Total Members Voted: 36

Author Topic: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Senjutsu  (Read 183557 times)

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Offline JayOctavarium

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1680 on: January 31, 2018, 09:44:02 AM »
Oh boy.

So this was the first Maiden Release since I became a somewhat fan. The first Maiden Album I listened to on release day. I love it.


With that being said.. I was at one of the North American shows with Dream Theater opening. Dream Theater was fantastic, but I was really disappointed in Maiden... because at the time I only knew the older hits.  After the first few songs, I looked up the setlist and saw that we weren't going to be hearing much that I knew at the time. That combined with the fact that the 2 buddies I went to go see them with weren't Maiden fans at all, lead us to leave about 1/3 of the way through the show.

Several months later, I took the time to listen through a lot of the Post Reunion albums.

I still hate myself.
I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Offline Grappler

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1681 on: January 31, 2018, 09:56:00 AM »
They played the outdoor amphitheater in Chicago in 2010 and drew 18,000 people, which is their LARGEST crowd in Chicago, ever.  More people attended that show than any previous Maiden tours, given that the setlist was all new material.  That's incredible.

I haven't listened to the record for a while, but it's not near the top of the reunion discs for me.  I do love a lot of the songs, but I think they just started to drone on and on.  I'll have to give it a few spins soon and see how it fares for me now.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1682 on: January 31, 2018, 09:59:01 AM »
They played the outdoor amphitheater in Chicago in 2010 and drew 18,000 people, which is their LARGEST crowd in Chicago, ever.  More people attended that show than any previous Maiden tours, given that the setlist was all new material.  That's incredible.



We had I think 30k people in San Bernardino. It was massive. 
I just don't understand what they were trying to achieve with any part of the song, either individually or as a whole. You know what? It's the Platypus of Dream Theater songs. That bill doesn't go with that tail, or that strange little furry body, or those webbed feet, and oh god why does it have venomous spurs!? And then you find out it lays eggs too. The difference is that the Platypus is somehow functional despite being a crazy mishmash or leftover animal pieces

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Online Mladen

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1683 on: January 31, 2018, 12:45:45 PM »
What an epic write up! Mosh outdid himself once again.  :hefdaddy

I'm honestly surprised by how many facts were news to me! I had no idea about the following information:

- Coming Home was the first song recorded for the album.
- The original title for The Alchemist was The House of Dr. Dee
- Steve started working on When the Wild Wind Blows in the 90s! Whoa!
- The solo on The Man Who Would Be King is backwards. I've never noticed that.
- I've never seen the artwork for the Coming Home single.

Reading about the sound of the album, I think Adrian was right. The Final Frontier is one of the few Maiden albums where I have an issue with the sound. It truly could have used some polishing, especially in the guitar department. Listen to that riff on Starblind compared to the riff on Lord of Light. They kind of dropped the ball.

However, Steve did make the right decision to include the demo version of the intro on the album. It truly has a fantastic cosmic feel that would have maybe been lost when recorded by the band. I love hearing it every time. Combined with the title track, it makes the album opener strikingly different to the previous three openers. I find the title track significantly slower.

I have really fond memories of this era. It was also the first Maiden album that came out since I'd become a fan. Although initially slightly disappointing, the album did grow on me. The Man Who Would Be King and The Alchemist stood out immediately, while songs like When the Wild Wind Blows, Isle of Avalon, The Talisman and the opener took a while to become great. The entire album is pretty brilliant overall. Along with The X Factor and Dance of Death, it's their most underrated album. Such a shame it's sandwiched between AMOLAD and The Book of souls, both of which were more celebrated as far as I can recollect.

The tour was also fantastic. I saw the 2010 summer tour (kudos to the band for including so much reunion era material), as well as the 2011 tour. It makes me sad that most people I know don't look back that fondly on the space station stage set and the alien Eddie. I still think it was amazing. Fresh, original, spacey. I'll never forget it.

EDIT: Oh yes, and the biggest news for me was that all of Bruce's vocals were re-recorded. Where is this coming from, Mosh?
« Last Edit: January 31, 2018, 12:57:52 PM by Mladen »

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1684 on: January 31, 2018, 02:51:23 PM »
Well, forgot to mention, but the Eddie alien was kinda meh. On the tour it was ok, but on the cover... for a moment I thought "whoah, for the first time they went without Eddie?", before realizing that "thing" was Eddie.
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Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1685 on: February 01, 2018, 08:36:43 PM »
EDIT: Oh yes, and the biggest news for me was that all of Bruce's vocals were re-recorded. Where is this coming from, Mosh?
Forgot to link it in the OP, but much of the information comes from Kevin Shirley's diary, a must read for Maiden fans https://ironmaiden.com/news/article/the-final-frontier---recording-diary-by-kevin-shirley

It's a day by day account of the making of the album, starting from Kevin landing in Nassau. Lots of great factoids about the album but it's also probably the most revealing account of how the band operates in the studio.For example, apparently the guitar harmonies and leads are often not written until they're overdubbed in the studio.

The story of Bruce redoing his vocals is there as well as from Bruce himself, possibly in his book. The story of When the Wild Wind Blows comes from an interview before the album came out I believe. When you listen to the song it's pretty obviously from the 90s, lots of the same traits as some of the stuff on the Blaze albums. I could even imagine Blaze singing on it, doesn't utilize Bruce's range at all. Janick is also probably most prominent on this song.

I actually never saw the artwork for Coming Home either until making the writeup. When the single was announced, all that was shown was the cheap crop of the album cover. When I went to google that, the comic book styled Coming Home came up. Wasn't sure if it was real at first, but after doing some research it appears that it was a tshirt design on the UK tour.

As an aside, it's a travesty that they didn't put out physical singles with the comic book artwork. If Maiden ever wants to do a record store day special again, I'd like those on 7 inch.
 
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Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1686 on: February 02, 2018, 01:37:31 AM »
Some considerations about the tour.

The 2010 leg is the second and so far the last time I missed a Maiden show since I started to attend their concerts in 1998. I missed the Gimme the 'Ed tour 'cause I was in Germany for the Blind Guardian Open Air in the day of the italian gig, but at the very very least, I saw a streaming of the Nurburgring show as it happened, live. Not even close of course, but at least I was virtually there. This didn't happened for the 2010 show, which remains the only one since 1998 I never saw unfolding from start to finish - be it live or in a live, real time streaming. And I would have killed for seeing such a daring setlist focused on the reunion albums, I should have been there instead of the whiny people wanting The Trooper and Run to the Hills over and over and over!!!

I saw at least the 2011 leg, the "proper" one. It was a Sonisphere festival, and the organization screwed up badly: there were meant to be two stages, but for whatever logistic reason a stage couldn't fit at the last minute, and so barely 24 hours before the organization told that there would have been a single stage, meaning less playing time for everyone (of course not Maiden) and said stage placed at the end of a narrow section, which meant a funnel effect and a huge chaos to try to got back and forth from the concert area.

So, by the end of the day, I was knackered by all this situation, I almost didn't bother to see any of the other shows that I would have checked out in a less stressful situation (on a side note, this was the last time I would see Motorhead live). Also, this was the toppling of what I dubbed the "two weeks of the gods": in 14 calendar days I had seen Judas Priest, Metallica and Iron Maiden. What a half month!!! :metal

Judas Priest were on their Epitaph tour, a long show with a massively awesome setlist. Metallica's show was the Big 4 one, so I got to see Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer and finally Metallica for the first time (with an obscenely fan friendly setlist full of classics), while this was giveo r take the 9th Maiden show for me, so the bad festival organization and the massive Priest and 'tallica concerts just seen made, for once, this experience "just another" Maiden show.

Still, "just another Maiden show" equals to "just another time in bed with a gorgeous supermodel", it might have not been the best ever, but it was still totally worth it  ;D

I liked the show and I was mostly surprised by the presence of the reunion era songs, Dance of Death and The Wicker Man were the highlights for me. All the new songs were great also, ElDorado is more catchy when you hear it live.

I thought the setlist was weirdly shaped, but I understand that there was only so much one could do with so many long songs. The Talisman already fourth in the set is too early and anticlimatic, but I understand Bruce struggled to sing it later at the first show and they moved it earlier. Also it's a pity that there are "just" five new songs, but then again, what else can you add with Talisman and Wind in the set?

Maybe a solution could have been to sacrifice The Wicker Man for The Alchemist, Blood Brothers represented Brave New World anyway. Or, even better, make this change, and keep The Wicker Man as show closer instead of Running Free. A new classic song, fast and uplifting, with a singalong at the end? I could think of worse ways to end a Maiden show.
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Offline The Curious Orange

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1687 on: February 02, 2018, 04:20:42 AM »
What I love about TFF is that the band aren't afraid to experiment. Even at this late stage of their career, they're still bringing in new elements, new influences and keeping things fresh. Sure, it's not always successful, but at least they're not resting on their laurels. I can't think of many other bands of a similar vintage still making new music as original and powerful as Maiden.

Also, there is some exceptional guitar work on this album. There's some amazing solos, and all 3 guitarists are really bringing their A-game to this one.

I caught the tour at the O2 in London, and while it was visually very impressive (one of the best productions I've seen), I felt the set-list left something to be desired. Both The Talisman and When the Wild Wind Blows saw mass exoduses to the bar/toilets. I'd have swapped either of these for Isle of Avalon, and would happily sacrificed Dance of Death for any other song, really.
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1688 on: February 02, 2018, 07:43:15 AM »
I can still remember my dissapointment from this album the moment I hit play.  My buddy and I were soooo excited.  I enjoyed El Durado, didn't love it but also didn't get the hate from some fans.  It was a solid single, certainly didn't make a dent in my anticipation for the album after AMOLAD.  We sat down in my living room, put the album on, and after 5 songs we decided we will just listen to it later on our own and spend our time together that day doing something more fun.  We were both so depressed that our first half listen wasn't very positive. 

Now, I don't think the album is bad, I just think it's near the bottom of the rankings and a clear least favorite of the reunion era.  I really did like The Talisman though.  That song really felt good, sadly I didn't listen to it that first session otherwise I may have had an initial better reaction.  WTWWB is also a solid song, btu felt it didn't touch the other epics.  Also, MoM is really enjoyable.  But I just find the rest of the album, and most importantly S15, somewhat boring.  Musically, there's a lot there that's interesting, but I feel like a lot of that IM energy was gone in this album.  Slower songs, taking what they did with AMOLAD and only exaggerating the parts I didn't like such as the long intros. 

Either way, when it was time to tour, I knew I would be there and to find out DT was opening, I just felt like this was going to be another magical moment with IM.  DIdn't get on stage or anything special, but I did catch two shows and both of which I was really up close to see my #1 and #2 bands perform together.  I was at that MSG show linked up front about 5 rows from the barrier.  MP actually brought up this show during his Shattered Fortress NYC show as his last DT concert in NYC.  I LOVED the setlist.  All the DoD and BNW songs I hadn't seen live before were AMAZING, plus a second time seeing the couple AMOLAD songs.  I was actually really happy to have gotten this setlist vs the heavy TFF setlist that would come.   By this time the setlist was static and I thought it was interesting set of reunion era songs

BNW: 4 songs
DOD: 3 songs
AMOLAD: 2 songs
TFF: 1 song

Seemed fitting to me.  Maybe because I was up close for these shows, but I also don't recall any negativity towards the setlist like I saw during AMOLAD. Maybe the fans were more adjusted to the new songs by this point?  I can't really say, I just know I LOVED this tour.

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1689 on: February 02, 2018, 11:02:10 AM »
If only they had found the way to include The Alchemist into the set list. That song would have been perfect in a live setting. Maybe they should have gone with that one instead of The Talisman. I mean, I get that The Talisman is a brilliant epic track, but I find The Alchemist just as great. Maybe it would have also worked better at that early spot in the set list.

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1690 on: February 02, 2018, 11:37:14 AM »
If only they had found the way to include The Alchemist into the set list. That song would have been perfect in a live setting. Maybe they should have gone with that one instead of The Talisman. I mean, I get that The Talisman is a brilliant epic track, but I find The Alchemist just as great. Maybe it would have also worked better at that early spot in the set list.

How about this set? as I said above, let The Alchemist take The Wicker Man's spot, by either sacrificing the song or moving it to concert closer (Running Free would have done that for 3 years to come), and rearrange a bit the set to not have too many epics too close, and have The Talisman not too late to avoid that Bruce would choke on it:

Satellite 15... The Final Frontier
El Dorado
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Alchemist
Coming Home
Dance of Death
The Trooper
The Talisman
The Evil That Men Do
Blood Brothers
When the Wild Wind Blows
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
=================
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Wicker Man
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Offline TAC

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1691 on: February 02, 2018, 03:43:29 PM »
Humongously awesome writeup Mosh!



So, TFF is actually my favorite Reunion Era album. I had always felt that each Reunion album built upon the previous one up through AMOLAD. I remember thinking there is no way they top that. I actually think TFF is right on par with AMOLAD, and I give it a slight edge as it is a little easier on the ears overall. I have no issue calling AMOLAD the Reunion Era's masterpiece, but I slightly prefer TFF.

What I love about TFF is that the band aren't afraid to experiment. Even at this late stage of their career, they're still bringing in new elements, new influences and keeping things fresh.

Oh, I totally agree. I find the arrangements really interesting, especially on the epics. I thought the S15 opening was incredible, and totally unexpected.
I think Coming Home might be my favorite lyric in their catalog. My favorite tune is The Talisman. That song f'n rocks.



What I remember about TFF's release was that the TACs were vacationing in Chicago when TFF was released. In fact, we drove from Massachusetts to spend a week at Disney, and then drove from Orlando to Chicago. It was a long trip, and I bought TFF for the drive home. It was such a nice, but long trip, and for whatever reason, while listening to TFF for the first time, I remember a tearing up (as in crying), thinking this album was incredible. The Lovely Mrs TAC looks over at me, and is like, what is wrong? I told her that the new Iron Maiden album was amazing.. She responded with an eyeroll saying "you are tapped."

would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1692 on: February 02, 2018, 04:49:34 PM »
 :lol :lol that's great

Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1693 on: February 02, 2018, 10:01:48 PM »
What I remember about TFF's release was that the TACs were vacationing in Chicago when TFF was released. In fact, we drove from Massachusetts to spend a week at Disney, and then drove from Orlando to Chicago. It was a long trip, and I bought TFF for the drive home. It was such a nice, but long trip, and for whatever reason, while listening to TFF for the first time, I remember a tearing up (as in crying), thinking this album was incredible. The Lovely Mrs TAC looks over at me, and is like, what is wrong? I told her that the new Iron Maiden album was amazing.. She responded with an eyeroll saying "you are tapped."

 :lol
That's awesome.

This was an extremely exciting time to be a Maiden fan. I had just discovered online forums about a year earlier and was checking regularly for new info on the next album (I actually discovered the official IMBB by googling "new Iron Maiden album" and coming across a speculation thread). I remember the slow drip of tour dates before a countdown on the official website led to a full blown US tour announcement. Then there was the subsequent countdown closer to the tour where a detailed press release for the album was put out (along with El Dorado).

Then there was the concert. It was the first time Maiden had came to Denver since 2005 and the wait felt excruciatingly long. I made sure not to look at any setlists before hand (which wasn't too difficult since it was one of the earlier dates on the tour) and managed to go in almost completely fresh. I knew they were opening with The Wicker Man and I knew that there was heavier emphasis on newer material.

This show was extra special because it was my first time hearing this band called Dream Theater. I had heard of them but didn't really know anything about them or "prog rock." I remember a bigger deal being made about them than most opening bands though. At the venue there were a ton of people in Dream Theater shirts. The show started and I was won over instantly with that epic bass harmonic intro to As I Am. I was extremely impressed. I also loved that Portnoy seemed to put on a show. He was a much more lively drummer visually than anything I had seen before. He also played the opening to Where Eagles Dare at one point in the set. I was instantly made a fan. It was really the perfect storm too. The proggier side of The Final Frontier really caught my attention although I wasn't sure what it was exactly. I started to realize the aspects that I liked in songs such as Isle of Avalon were also found in bands like Rush and DT. A few months later, I found Awake at a used record shop. But that's a different story.

Maiden themselves were amazing. It's worth noting that there was no intro tape at my show. They just went straight into The Wicker Man after Doctor Doctor. Not sure how common this is, if any other shows on the tour were like that or how rare it is these days to see a Maiden show without an intro tape. I'm guessing it was for curfew reasons, but I'm glad they didn't drop any songs. The Wicker Man and Ghost of The Navigator were an epic 1 - 2 punch, such a perfect way to start. In retrospect I'm kinda bummed that I missed BTATS, but Wrathchild was really a much needed classic in the set. It really energized a crowd that already seemed bored. Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg was probably the most memorable moment of the show, it was just an incredible performance. These Colours Don't Run too. I loved that show because I felt like Maiden were doing it for fans like me who knew every album and liked the new stuff just as much as the old. It was also around this time that I was really starting to get into their newer material, so again perfect timing. The one disappointment was finding out that they were switching back and forth between Paschendale and Dance of Death, and we got Dance of Death instead.

Following that show was two months of buildup to the album. That was also exciting. From the video dropping to a user posting lyrics on Maidenfans (the IMBB crashed during the tour announcement and never came back up) to reading reviews and finally the album leak (I waited for the album but it was extremely tempting). I did get the CD early though. This was when albums still came out on Tuesdays and I happened to visit the record store the Saturday before and they were selling it early. Coming home and immediately listening to it is still one of my most vivid Maiden memories and one of my best first album experiences. I'll post my thoughts on the album later.
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Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1694 on: February 03, 2018, 04:48:01 AM »
So, in order to save time, they kept the entire pre-show song which lasts 5 minutes, but they skipped the 2 minutes (at best) intro?  :lol
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Offline stargazer18

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1695 on: February 03, 2018, 06:42:47 AM »
Like many I looked forward to this show so that I could see my two favorite bands play at the same show. I knew DT was the opener and would have a much shorter set but they did a great job setting the tone. Maiden were on fire and really sounded great. It was the first time I had heard anything live off of Dance of Death or A Matter of Life and Death. They played Dance of Death at this show but I would have gladly seen them play Paschendale instead. But No More Lies and Wildest Dreams are both great songs and came across great live. From A Matter of Life and Death they played The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg and These Colours Don't Run. Both are good but not my favorites from this disc.

El Dorado was the only song played from the upcoming album given the fact that the release date was still about a month away. Too bad they didn't bring the tour back through after the album came out as I would have loved to have heard more.

As for the The Final Frontier, I bought the "metal clad" version at Best Buy the day it came out. I loved the intro simply because it was so "anti-Maiden" sounding and the title track because it's steady groove reminded me of songs like The Flight of Icarus. The rest of the album is pretty good to excellent. I can listen to this album all the way through and not skip anything. Starblind is one of my favorites from the second half of the disc. When the Wild Wind Blows shows incredible restraint as you expect the song to pick up and start moving but instead carries on in a similar fashion as the beginning. It doesn't plod along but it does have the "familiar" Steve Harris Epic sound.

Comparing the four albums out since 2000 up to this point it seemed pretty clear to me that Maiden had cultivated a new sound in the reunion era. In many ways I think that Maiden were evolving into crafting music that was something of a blend of their individual influences. Steve Harris has always cited early prog bands like Yes, Genesis and Jethro Tull as being his while others like Bruce mentions Deep Purple as one of his. I know some people who laugh when I tell them I'm a Maiden fan because they say that Maiden haven't done anything new or innovative since The Number of the Beast. Nothing could be further from the truth as far as I am concerned. These four albums prove the band moved on from the classic 80's sound to something that to me is a bit more substantial.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2018, 07:00:27 AM by stargazer18 »

Offline stargazer18

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1696 on: February 03, 2018, 06:51:31 AM »
I did get the CD early though. This was when albums still came out on Tuesdays and I happened to visit the record store the Saturday before and they were selling it early. Coming home and immediately listening to it is still one of my most vivid Maiden memories and one of my best first album experiences. I'll post my thoughts on the album later.

My local "record store" gets music in early too. In fact, reading this forum days before the official release date of the electronic version of The Book of Souls, I already had the deluxe version in hand and had listened to it twice! My wife, who is more modern and hip than me asks me why I still go out and buy a hard copy of CD's. I tell her it's my backup copy that it just happens to have lyrics and cool pictures in the case to boot.  :lol

Offline DTA

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1697 on: February 03, 2018, 07:21:03 AM »
I think this album is great, and while AMOLAD feels long to me, TFF doesn't for some reason (even though it is actually longer).

My thoughts:

-When The Wild Wind Blows is their best 10+ minute song IMO. It feels unique somehow and less reliant on repetition than the other ones. Plus the melodies are extremely good and memorable. What a masterpiece. I'd take this in a live set over Rime any day.
 
-Coming Home's chorus is magnificent and should take the place of Blood Brothers as their reunion-era "anthem".

-Starblind is severely underrated. In fact, all of the longer songs in the 2nd half of the album rank among the best of their 8+ minute songs. They all feel unique to me, and while they contain normal Maiden long-track tropes, they feel fresh and less obvious here somehow. The melodies are just so damn strong.

Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1698 on: February 03, 2018, 08:54:57 AM »
So, in order to save time, they kept the entire pre-show song which lasts 5 minutes, but they skipped the 2 minutes (at best) intro?  :lol
Yea idk what the deal with that was. Could've been some technical error too I suppose.

So I listened to the album last night and it was a lot better than I remembered. I had a similar feeling listening to it that I had back when it was still fresh. I still say it hasn't aged quite as well as some of the others, but it's still a very strong effort. WhatI like most about the album is that each song has its own unique sound that's unlike anything else on the album. A Matter of Life and Death was a very one dimensional album, in the same way that Train of Thought is a one dimensional album. It's intentional and works to the music's advantage. With TFF they went in the total opposite direction by making sure that no two songs sounded the same. The solar landscapes depicted in the booklet help with this idea of each song being its own world.

I also like the way the album is divided. I know five epics in a row can be pretty trying for a lot of listeners, but I love it. It especially helps that, again, each epic has its own distinct flavor. Isle of Avalon has some of the proggiest bits of music Maiden has ever done. It's easily my favorite song on the album and a top ten Maiden song overall. The instrumental section is so killer, especially when it goes into that 7/4 groove. Adrian's solo there is easily my favorite of any Maiden guitar solo. It's got such a nice fusion-y sound to it. So tasteful. The interesting thing about Avalon for me is that despite being so long and proggy, it's actually pretty simple in structure. There's a very long verse followed by a pre chorus, then a chorus, then the instrumental section, then it all repeats up until the final chorus. Starblind is similarly proggy but in a totally different way. They give the vocals and lyrics a ton of emphasis which is appropriate for the song. It also contains more tasty guitar playing from both Adrian and Dave. Another incredible song that is still one of their most powerful.

The other epics are good but not quite up to the level of preceded them. The Talisman was one I couldn't get into at first. It actually took watching live footage to "get it." I love the song now and it's very close to Starblind and Avalon in my rankings. I think of all the songs on the album, this one best matches the lyrics. I think you could take the vocals out and still get a vague idea of what the song is about. That's something Janick certainly excels at perhaps more than anyone else in the band. The Man Who Would Be King is probably one of my least favorites on the album, it just seems to meander a lot and the vocals are awkwardly written and performed. Some lovely melodies though and I love the instrumental section. When the Wild Wind Blows was easily the most anticipated song on the album for most fans, myself included. The Harris epic is always a highlight and it sounded like this would be one of Steve's most ambitious. I really like how steady the tune is. It builds as the story unravels but it never goes off the rails or meanders, which is impressive for an 11 minute song. There are also no repetitive choruses or overlong parts. Everything feels just right. One of Steve's best moments.   

Another thing I remember about this album is that each epic kind of "revealed" itself to me over time. Isle of Avalon clicked pretty instantly but it took awhile for the rest to gel. But when a song did click, I was obsessed with it for a good week or two. And every single song had that moment, even The Man Who Would Be King. This made it really hard to choose favorites at the time, although I think now my rankings have settled and pretty much solidified.

It's easy for the first half of the album to be overshadowed by the epics, but the shorter material on here is also among some of their best. I remember El Dorado got a lot of mixed reviews when it came out and to this day I don't get it. It was probably the most classic sounding Maiden song since the reunion. It had the gallop-y riff, a huge chorus, and a theatrical performance from Bruce. Not to mention an epic three guitar onslaught in the solo section. I just don't see what isn't to love. I like to describe Mother of Mercy as A Matter of Life and Death condensed into five minutes. It really seems to hit a lot of the same beats both musically and lyrics, but it still sounds fresh. Love the riffing on this and it has one of Adrian's best solos. Also an amazing buildup. Another song that seems to get a lot of criticism that I'll never understand. The Alchemist reminds me of some of the early 90s rockers from Bruce and Janick, stuff like Be Quick or Be Dead. Wouldn't feel out of place at all on Fear of the Dark (other than perhaps the lyrics). Just a great rocker. Coming Home is also a solid ballad with some great guitar harmonies and solos. The only thing I really dislike on the entire album is The Final Frontier. Satellite 15 is very cool and I love how experimental it is, but the proper title track just feels like a generic Maiden rocker that's significantly less inspired than the rest of the album. It also has the same riff through the verses, chorus, and instrumental, which seems lazy to me.

The strange thing about the album is that despite being so diverse and musically ambitious, they don't really cover a lot of new ground. Almost every song (especially in the first half) could be traced back to something they've done before. A lot of it also seems to be a direct progression of the previous album. Mother of Mercy seems to take from several different songs on AMOLAD, Starblind feels like a followup to Lord of Light, The Talisman is very similar to The Legacy. This isn't really a bad thing, but in retrospect the album feels like a summary of the last ten years of the band while The Book of Souls feels more fresh. As MirrorMask pointed out, it's starting to become obvious that there's a formula for modern Maiden.

The biggest thing holding this album back is the sound. I'm generally an advocate for the raw production style the Maiden have opted for on recent albums, but TFF is the only album where it seems to be a disservice to the music. To make it worse, the guitars have more of a processed lush sound but it clashes with the raw vocals and drums. My guess is the guitar sound was a concession to Adrian who probably would've preferred a more polished production. I get the impression he wasn't happy with how songs like Isle of Avalon came out, which may partially explain why he didn't contribute as much to the next album and didn't really bring in any epics. I think the album would've benefitted quite a bit from more of a Somewhere In Time style production, and it would've been refreshing.

I also think Bruce's vocals are probably weaker here than on any other album since rejoining the band (including The Book of Souls). They're not bad and he makes up for it with the delivery (some of his most theatrical vocal work is on this album), but it's starting to become obvious that his voice is aging. This issue has only become worse for me over time since he sounded so much better on TBOS. But again, it's a small issue and it's not like his vocals are bad. In fact on yesterday's listen I thought they were better than I remembered.

Overall The Final Frontier is just a very special album for me and was a worthy followup to AMOLAD. I still go back and forth on whether I prefer this or TBOS, but either way I hold it in pretty high regard. Having this followed AMOLAD made me seriously reconsider whether the 80s albums were better than the reunion albums.
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Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1699 on: February 08, 2018, 10:04:00 PM »
I said before that I can think of two truly disappointing setlists since the reunion, one of them being SBIT. The other has to be TFF 2011. I was very disappointed in the selection of new songs. After the entire previous album being played live, only getting five from TFF was such a disappointing amount. I felt that, like AMOLAD, this album deserved to be played front to back. I'm not sure if I still think that's true, but I still believe they could have done at least one more. The Alchemist would've been a good addition, and I was very disappointed that my two favorite songs were omitted (Isle of Avalon and Starblind). In interviews, it also felt like the new material was being treated like an afterthought. I remember one in particular where (I think) Bruce was talking up how they would be bringing back older classics and "maybe 4 or 5 from the new album." It didn't seem as important as, say, Brave New World when the new material was the most important thing about the new show in their minds.

The rest of the setlist was OK but extremely predictable. I remember seeing footage and the eventual DVD and thinking the band seemed kind of tired. Definitely not one of my favorite periods in Maiden history, even though I really liked the album.
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Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1700 on: February 09, 2018, 01:10:53 AM »
Well, there's only so much you can do. Once there is the mandatory Harris epic in the set, and as another epic you pick The Talisman, there's not much room for a lot more. The show was basically 2 hours long, usually they play 1h40-45 minutes.

As I suggested above, they could have either sacrificed The Wicker Man, or moved it at the end as show closer in place of Running Free, making room for The Alchemist. Or sacrifice Dance of Death for Isle of Avalon, but that song was so well received that some reunion era songs just had to be there.
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Offline cramx3

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1701 on: February 09, 2018, 06:33:51 AM »
I still stick to my opinion that the NA tour before the TFF tour was the better setlist, less TFF and more other reunion era songs was a much better fit for me.  I'm not sure there's better songs from TFF that would work well in a live environment than the songs they chose though.  Maybe Alchemist, but I'm not even sure that works better than any of the songs they played.

Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1702 on: February 11, 2018, 10:24:58 AM »
Well, there's only so much you can do. Once there is the mandatory Harris epic in the set, and as another epic you pick The Talisman, there's not much room for a lot more. The show was basically 2 hours long, usually they play 1h40-45 minutes.

As I suggested above, they could have either sacrificed The Wicker Man, or moved it at the end as show closer in place of Running Free, making room for The Alchemist. Or sacrifice Dance of Death for Isle of Avalon, but that song was so well received that some reunion era songs just had to be there.
I think TBOS served as a pretty good model for what they could've done, as that tour had 6 songs including two 10+ minute epics. The Wicker Man didn't need to be there, they could've also cut either The Evil That Men Do or Two Minutes To Midnight. Both of those songs were really starting to become overplayed and predictable at that point. Another problem I have with the setlist is that they weren't very adventurous with the classics. It almost felt like damage control after people complained about the 2010 leg.


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Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1703 on: February 12, 2018, 09:42:02 AM »
Random trivia - it was these days, 19 years ago, that the reunion was announced. 19 years. Wow. That means that at this point in time, when the reunion happened, they were actually HALFWAY their recording carreer.

The time it passed from Iron Maiden (the debut album) to the reunion is the same time that passed since the reunion 'til now. Again, wow.
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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1704 on: February 12, 2018, 09:42:53 AM »
Thats amazing  :metal

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1705 on: February 12, 2018, 10:46:59 AM »
The time it passed from Iron Maiden (the debut album) to the reunion is the same time that passed since the reunion 'til now. Again, wow.
Mind. Blown.

The funny thing is that I'm sure people at the time called the reunion one of those things to do to grab more cash before the retirement. Almost twenty years later, no sign of retirement.  :metal

Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
« Reply #1706 on: February 25, 2018, 05:10:57 PM »
Primal Rock Rebellion - Awoken Broken (2012)


Primal Rock Rebellion was one of the less predictable things to come out of the Maiden camp. A collaboration between Adrian Smith and Sikth frontman Mikee Goodman. For those who don’t know, Sikth is a Progressive Metal band from the UK with a heavy emphasis on Deathcore, djent, and other hardcore styles. This pairing was unexpected, but it brought the opportunity of a very interesting blend of musical styles.

This was to be Adrian’s first solo project since the second Psycho Motel. That is, the first time he did work outside Maiden where he was the primary writer and creative director. After learning that Adrian had some grievances with the final product of The Final Frontier, it would be interesting to hear what an album with Adrian writing and producing the music would sound like. The songs were written and recorded during “creative windows of opportunity.” In other words, the collaborations probably took place in between Maiden recording and touring.

The album was meant to be combine Adrian’s melodic touch with Goodman’s vivid lyricism and manic vocal style. Again, an unlikely combination, but a huge opportunity for some unique sounding music. For Adrian Smith’s reputation as the more melodic/commercial side of Maiden, this project was a surprise. However, Adrian did have a heavier side and a proggier side. The proggy side was on full display with The Final Frontier and some may remember Adrian’s heavy side on Bruce’s solo albums and the Psycho Motel material. Still, Awoken Broken is really unlike anything else the guitarist has done before and is one of the more left field Maiden side projects. 

Similar to most of the announcements in the Final Frontier era of Maiden, the album was announced through a countdown on Iron Maiden’s website, which actually led some to think it was an announcement about Maiden. Naturally there was some disappointment when it turned out to be “just” a solo project. It was still an exciting announcement for those interested in Adrian’s work. There had also been rumblings about Adrian doing work with Mikee Goodman and a secret concert was even planned for earlier in the year but was unfortunately called off when the details leaked on the internet.

The album was predictably met with a mixed reception. Many fans loved the offbeat and unique sound of the album. But naturally an album with this level of experimentation turned a lot of people off. The unique vocal style of Goodman also turned a lot of listeners off. It is worth listening though for those who like Adrian’s writing and guitar playing, of which there is a lot of great moments. There are also a few moments where Adrian takes the lead vocals. In retrospect it seems like this was another short lived project as there has yet to be a followup or any live performances. The album was released, there was some promotion for it and music videos made, but once the Maiden Machine got rolling again that year the project faded into obscurity. However, there is still a significant block of fans for which this album endures.

Maiden England Tour (2012 - 14)


After the massive success of the Somewhere Back In Time tour, it came as no surprise when Iron Maiden announced that they would be doing another “history tour in 2012. The Maiden England tour was promoted as the band revisiting the Seventh Son era with both the stage and the setlist. Unlike the Somewhere Back in Time and The Final Frontier tours, Maiden opted for a traditional bus tour instead of using Ed Force One. It is uncertain why they decided to go this route, although it might have to do with bringing a larger stage set than usual which wouldn’t fit on the plane. However, this traditional method of touring resulted in a more typical tour itinerary of North America, Europe, and South America. It was very much like the 2010 Final Frontier tour, but stretched out for two years. Once again, the tour started in North America with a schedule that was even more extensive than the last. In 2013, they made their way to Europe for the summer festival circuit and finished off in South America where they performed more festivals, including their third appearance at the legendary Rock in Rio festival.

Predictably, the tour also coincided with the long awaited DVD release of the Maiden England video. The band used the video to promote the tour by stating that they would perform about two-thirds of the original Maiden England setlist. This caused quite a bit of excitement as there were several songs on the video that had not been played live by this lineup and it was almost certain that at least one of those songs would be performed on the new tour. In the end, three songs saw their first performances by the current lineup. The first was Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, which acted as the centerpiece and was an expected return. It was the first time the song was played live since 1988. The second was The Prisoner which was last played at select shows on the No Prayer On the Road tour in 1991. The last time it was on the setlist for an entire tour was also 1988. The final song was a true surprise that it’s safe to say nobody saw coming: Afraid To Shoot Strangers. Strangers was a staple in the 90s, being one of the Dickinson era songs that remained in the setlist when Blaze was in the band. Since the song was from after the Seventh Son era, its inclusion was a pleasant surprise.

The setlist heavily focused on the Seventh Son album, but with one song noticeably absent. The only song from the album that was originally played in 1988 but not 2012 was Infinite Dreams, much to the dismay of many fans. Most fans assumed that all Seventh Son songs from the video would appear in the set, like all the Powerslave songs from Live After Death found their way into the Somewhere Back In Time setlist. The band supposedly rehearsed the song but was unable to make it work. Much was made about the difficulties they had rehearsing Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, so it is possible that they never got a chance to work on Infinite Dreams and went with something easier at the last minute (Afraid to Shoot Strangers). That is all just speculation though.

Another noticeable and even more surprising absentee was Hallowed Be Thy Name. This was a very surprising choice as the song had been performed at every Maiden show since 1982 and there was even an interview once where Nicko McBrain stated that he would not play if Hallowed was not on the setlist. The official reason given at the time was that they simply felt the setlist flowed better without Hallowed. However, when the band made an official statement in 2017 that Hallowed was once again dropped due to the legal dispute with Beckett over alleged plagiarism, many speculated that this was also the reason for its absence on the Maiden England tour (there was another dispute in 2012).

The rest of the setlist was fairly standard with few surprises or differences between Somewhere Back In Time. In fact, with the exception of the three songs previously mentioned that debuted with this lineup on the tour, all the songs on the setlist were previously present on the Somewhere Back In Time tour. Although it is worth noting that Phantom of the Opera was only on the 2009 leg, so it was a new addition for many fans. On the other hand, Moonchild was only played on the 2008 leg. One slight surprise was the presence of Aces High as the first song in the encore. This was an unexpected addition and the first time the song was used for anything besides the show opener.

Like the Somewhere Back In Time tour, the stage for Maiden England was an attempt at maintaining the general vibe of the original design with some slight modifications to keep it modern. The light up drapes that first appeared on The Final Frontier Tour made their way into the Maiden England stage and the light show was far more elaborate than in 1988. The two large Eddies from the Seventh Son tour returned with the addition of a third walk on “colonial” Eddie. The latter Eddie appeared during Run to the Hills, which was the first time Eddie came on stage for this song. The other two Eddies were very faithful to the original designs and even came on stage for the same songs (Seventh Son and Iron Maiden). Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was a particularly theatrical moment. In addition to Eddie, Michael Kenney (the band’s live keyboardist) made a rare on stage appearance with a large pipe organ and a costume. This was Kenney’s first onstage appearance since the original performances of Seventh Son in 1988.

Unsurprisingly, the tour was a huge success. This in turn prompted the band to extend the tour for a third year, making it the longest lasting Maiden tour ever and the only to span three years. The 2014 tour was brief, with the band performing again on the European festival circuit. The setlist was altered, with Afraid To Shoot Strangers, The Clairvoyant, and Running Free all being replaced. In their place Revelations, Sanctuary, and Wrathchild were added. Although Wrathchild was surprisingly dropped midway through the tour.

The Maiden England tour was long but very successful for the band. The tour ended with a high profile headline performance at Sonisphere Special, where the show was preceded by a demonstration commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I. A dogfight was recreated above the festival crowd, with one of the fighter planes being piloted by none other than Bruce Dickinson. Video of the event can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq9c78qsExU

No official recordings were put out for this tour, although many of the performances were streamed live on the internet. In fact, this is probably one of the best covered tours in the band’s history, so an official release is almost unnecessary. I’ve included one professionally recorded video from 2013 and one from 2014, so you all can experience both setlists. The first comes from the headline Rock In Rio performance, where Maiden’s continued growth and relevance since 2001 is on display. This video also has arguably the better setlist. The second video comes from the band’s performance at Rock Am Ring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXcPQlIbO1w&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVcKRF5y7s0



Steve Harris - British Lion (2012)


One thing few Maiden fans ever expected was a Steve Harris solo album. But, in July 2012, such an album was announced with no prior hints or warning. Steve Harris has always been known as the unquestionable leader of Maiden. He is the main writer and everything on a Maiden album is approved by him. Furthermore, four of the last five albums contained his input on every song. Consequently, a common question for Steve in interviews was why make a solo album when he could do whatever he wants with Maiden? The answer becomes obvious when listening to the album. Musically British Lion is like a tribute to the music of the 70’s that influenced Steve early on. Steve cites bands such as UFO specifically as influences. It is more of a Hard Rock album than a Metal album and has a slight Progressive Rock influence, in the vein of bands such as Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash.

The history of British Lion actually dates back to the 90s, when Steve was mentoring and producing a young group of musicians. After the group split up, Steve continued to write music with the core members during downtime between Maiden albums and tours as a side project. Eventually enough material for an album was written and an album was produced by Steve (with mixing help from Kevin Shirley). The album features several musicians associated with British Lion and some other friends of Steve’s. 

The album was released to fairly mixed reception. Fans of 70s styled Hard Rock seemed to really enjoy it, while others found it to be fairly bland. A lot of criticism was aimed at vocalist Richard Taylor, who was found to have a somewhat weak voice. It also had the muddy production that characterized recent Maiden albums, but even less polished here.

Similar to Bruce Dickinson’s Skunkworks album, British Lion was intended by Steve to be a full band rather than simply a solo project. A core lineup was established to play music from the album live. Unlike Primal Rock Rebellion, British Lion remains active and performs live in clubs around the U.K., providing fans a rare opportunity to catch Steve Harris in a small venue. They have even performed some new songs live and Steve has voiced a desire to release a live album as well as a second studio album.

Not all British Lion performances were in clubs, however. They have had some high profile gigs including an appearance at Wacken last summer. The Wacken performance was also streamed live and is available on YouTube. Here it is for anyone who wants to see what the band is like live (some of the new songs are also in this set).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdYrDkXVjXU
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Offline Anguyen92

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1707 on: February 25, 2018, 05:31:44 PM »
I remember watching the Rock AM Ring stream live back in 2014.  I think I finished or closing in on finishing my associates degree in my local community college and I had a reduced schedule where I start my weekend on Thursday afternoon.

Anyway, I was so excited watching the Rock AM Ring live stream that weekend when you got all these kinds of great bands from The Offspring, Iron Maiden, Linkin Park, Trivium, Black Stone Cherry, Alter Bridge, Avenged Sevenfold, and Metallica and many more playing that weekend and all (or most) of it was live streamed.

I know that when I tuned in I was watching The Offspring's set and they were playing their album, Smash, in its entirety to commemorate its 20th anniversary and they seemed pretty thrilled to know that after their set, Iron Maiden would be next.  Iron Maiden did a good show that day.  I personally didn't really enjoy the setlist too heavily since for reasons stated above, most of the songs were already from the Somewhere Back in Time shows and I already saw their live stream in Rock in Rio the previous year to a much more enthusiastic Brazilian crowd. 

For some reason, I thought that German crowd was apathetic to them for some reason.  I think I remember Bruce doing what he can to get them into it.  I also knew that the show was still in broad daylight until the halfway part of the set.  It was around 7PM-8PM German time on a summer day and the sun was still out.  Not often you see an Iron Maiden show be in the sunlight.  Also, during the encore, that Bruce and Nicko was wearing some weird hats (Bruce was wearing an aircraft hat and Nicko was sporting a birthday cake hat, since it was his birthday around that time).  All in all, I thought it was a good show, not as great as their set in Wacken 2016, but we'll get to that part later, even though they played less songs (15 total) than in Rock AM Ring 2014 (17 songs).

Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1708 on: February 25, 2018, 08:24:18 PM »
The Maiden England tour 2012 was an amazing set. Got to see 2 of my favorites, Seventh Son and Aces High. I was happy they were coming to Albq, and with Coheed and Cambria opening. It was windy and Coheed had to cut their set short a song. But maiden kept theirs the same. Hearing the middle section of seventh son was one the best live sections ever. Love build-ups like that.
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Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1709 on: February 26, 2018, 02:15:51 AM »
Maiden England was awesome. Sure, after the fact, we can coldly analyze the setlist, the repeated songs, the missed oppportunities etc, but seeing once again a show that was performed 10 years before I would start to see Iron Maiden show, was absolutely great.

Even at the concert I already figured out that Afraid to Shoot Strangers was a blatant stand-in for Infinite Dreams, it was obvious that that moment in the set was reserved for a slowish song like Infinite Dreams. Still, seeing Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was alone worth the price of admission, and the general vibe during the show was great. I remember that after Afraid they launched without pauses in a classic after the other: The Trooper, The Number of the Beast, Phantom of the Opera, Run to the Hills, Wasted Years, one after another, without pause, a full onslaught of beloved classic songs played with energy and enthusiasm. Wow. And after that it came Seventh Son no less. Majestic!!!

I saw both runs in Europe - in 2013 at a Sonisphere festival with Ghost (loved seeing Pope Emeritus) and Megadeth among others, and in 2014 in the same place in mid-Northern Italy where I've seen the Somewhere Back in Time tour, the venue was kinda of a large "cave" so I could stand on the slopes and have a perfect clear vision of the stage, the "Run to the hills" approach hehe, rather than standing in a flat cement wasteland like in 2013, I have seen more on the screen of my camera than with my own eyes, damn.

In the 2014 show, after the initial assault of the four songs, I remembered thinking to myself "It would be cool if they'd play Revelations now"... AND THEY DID!!! I can concede that as awesome the song is, it's starting to become a cheap choice for the shows, like "We're gonna give you a rare song" which is however well played and rehearsed, but who cares, it's the song that made me fall in love with Bruce's voice, Iron Maiden and heavy metal in general back in 1995, I will always dearly love the song and its life performance. Swapping The Clairvoyant for Wrathchild was a big WTF move however, and Sanctuary for Running Free was almost an afterthought.

Still, I'm beyond happy of having seen twice such an amazing show. Rising Mercury leading into Moonchild's intro, and their stage entrance itself, was one of their best opening ever. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was matched only by Rime of the Ancient Mariner when it comes to big epics performed in a theatrical way. And the usual classics, especially the rarer ones (good move having Aces High as encore opener), were the icing on the cake.

I'd rank Maiden England 2013 as my third best Maiden show, behind the 1999 reunion and Somewhere Back in Time tour. Still, more awesome concerts came in between and would have followed, as we'll discover in the next installment!!!
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Offline The Curious Orange

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1710 on: February 26, 2018, 02:54:51 AM »
I saw the Maiden England show at the O2 London, and I have to say it was one of the best Maiden tours I've seen. Seventh Son is a brilliant album and it was great to see some of those songs return to the set - the audience sure as heck appreciated them.
"And if love remains, though everything is lost,
We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost..."

Offline cramx3

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1711 on: February 26, 2018, 07:27:24 AM »
I caught the show near the beginning of the tour in NJ.  Alice Cooper was the opener and my friend and I were right up front again for the show.  I remember really loving Alice Cooper as the opener.  He put on a really awesome show (and this opener slot was the reason why I really wanted to see him again last summer).  I stayed away from the spoilers so I didn't know the setlist and was really surprised with the Prisoner and Afraid to Shoot Strangers, but I thought both songs were great live.  Aces High also really surprised me in the encore slot, I really dug it because the fireworks in your face and surprise energy of the song was fantastic experience, but felt like the show kind of lacked something.  I think the setlist just wasn't what I expected.  It wasn't bad, but besides SSOASS, it didn't feel very Maiden England like.  Moonchild was awesome but having been done before and now without the acoustic intro live, it didn't make it feel as special.  At the end of the day, the concert was fucking awesome.  I was a bit disappointed in 2013 when it became clear 2014 was not going to be a year for IM to progress towards a new album or new tour.  I was thinking maybe they were really going to be calling it quits soon.  So much time off and not really doing anything new or different, but boy was I glad to be wrong when they finally got back into doing something new.

Online Mladen

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1712 on: February 26, 2018, 12:55:44 PM »
I saw them twice on Maiden England tour and loved it. Luckily I managed to witness both set lists.  :metal

Brittish lion wasn't too interesting. I liked Us agains the world and A World without heaven, but was turned off by the mellow vocals and thin production. It's still an issue I'm bothered by. Nonetheless, it's fantastic that Steve felt the need to do it. Him doing a tour with those guys is an absolute proof he's still doing this because he loves to play.

Offline MirrorMask

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1713 on: February 26, 2018, 02:54:15 PM »
Couldn't post it earlier from work, but if anybody is interested, I have on my FB photo page some photos of the 2014 show in Bologna, Italy!  :metal

https://www.facebook.com/612493155488167/photos/?tab=album&album_id=647041055366710
I use my sig to pimp some bands from Italy! Check out Elvenking (Power / Folk metal), Folkstone (Rock / Medieval metal), Arcana Opera (Gothic/Noir/Heavy metal) and the beautiful voice of Elisa!

Offline Mosh

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Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
« Reply #1714 on: March 15, 2018, 10:35:09 PM »
The Book of Souls (2015)


After a longer touring cycle than normal, it was time for Maiden to shift the focus back to new music. This time around, they decided to write the album in the studio where it was being recorded. By doing so, they could record a song as soon as the writing was complete to preserve the initial spirit of the track. As Maiden themselves and many other artists have stated, it can often be hard to recapture the vibe of a demo when going for a finished recording. Writing in the studio was also appealing because it removed the ever growing risk of a fan coming across the rehearsal space and recording from outside (not that this ever happened, but Bruce voiced concerns about it in his book). Like The Final Frontier, the band decided to revisit a studio they used in the past. This time it was Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, where the band recorded Brave New World 15 years earlier. Kevin Shirley was once again at the production helm and, being the fifth album with this lineup, this would make the current lineup the longest surviving Maiden lineup both in terms of years and albums recorded.

While the majority of the material was in fact written in the studio, some of the songs date back a bit earlier. Before the sessions began, Bruce and Adrian met up for what became a very lucrative writing session that harkened back to their legendary partnership in the 80s. Of course the two continued to collaborate on recent albums, but it was usually along with Steve Harris (who was often more involved in the music than Bruce). Not counting the songs that involved Steve, this was the first time the two collaborated with each other since Bruce’s solo albums in the late 90s. Adrian had also played a large part in the proggier direction of the last two albums and contributed many of the longer songs. For The Book of Souls, a conscious effort was made by the guitarist to dial it back a bit and return to the straightforward Metal sound of classic Maiden. Consequently, Adrian and Bruce came up with two of the catchiest and most high energy rockers that have been produced by modern Maiden: the Deep Purple-esque Speed of Light and the World War I based Death or Glory. Speed of Light was particularly driven by the guitar and heavily influenced by players such as Eric Johnson. Adrian stated that listening to Johnson inspired him to revisit the pentatonic scale to create new interesting riffs. On the other hand, Death Or Glory is a rocker with a shuffle feel that describes the triplane piloted by the Red Baron. Classic subject matter for Maiden and unsurprising coming from Dickinson, who owns a triplane replica and took part in a World War I dogfight demonstration at Sonisphere just months prior. Ironically, the song is largely reminiscent of the war inspired tunes of the 80s such as Aces High and Where Eagles Dare, both songs that were penned by Harris.

Other material that was considered before the album sessions began also came from Dickinson. Earlier that year, Bruce met with long time collaborator Roy Z to work on some new solo material for a potential new album (his first solo album since 2005). A concept album was conceived titled If Eternity Should Fail and demos were recorded. In a surprise repeat of history from No Prayer For the Dying with Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter, Steve Harris asked if Maiden could “borrow” some of these songs for the next album. Two songs were chosen: the album’s title track, If Eternity Should Fail, and another track called Nightmares. The latter was ultimately rejected because the band would’ve had to give Roy Z a writing credit and Steve has a strict no outsider writers in Maiden rule. However, If Eternity Should Fail was written solely by Bruce Dickinson and was therefore eligible to be on the album. Bruce initially assumed that the intro and outro would be removed from the Maiden version, since they were related to his album’s concept and these sections wouldn’t make sense out of context. But Steve insisted that they be left on since by then The Book of Souls was chosen for the album title and Steve liked how lines such as “here is the soul of a man” would connect to the title. If Eternity Should Fail is also notable for being the first Maiden song where the entire band was tuned to drop D. Adrian and Janick had used drop D before in other songs (Adrian in particular even reworked older songs to add an extra frequency layer to the music), but this was the first time all three guitarists used the tuning on the same song.

Once in the studio, the more traditional writing partnerships once again took shape. The three guitarists all came in with their own ideas and Steve Harris worked to help arrange them into fleshed out songs. The amount of contributions from the guitarists actually ended up being about the same as on the previous two albums, with five songs from Adrian, two songs from Janick, and one song from Dave. Two of the Adrian songs were the previously mentioned collaborations with Bruce and the remaining three were collaborations with Steve. These two were also on the shorter side, making The Book of Souls the first album since Brave New World not to contain an epic from Adrian. Instead, the guitarist brought forth some more quick rockers in the form of When the River Runs Deep, The Great Unknown, and Tears of a Clown. Of these three songs, The Great Unknown was probably the closest to the proggier output on the previous albums, with a slow intro followed by a steady beat akin to Mother of Mercy or one of the many songs on A Matter of Life and Death to use this format. The song also showed Adrian experimenting further with his guitar playing by using an open tuning in the intro. The Great Unknown is also notable for being the first song that the band came up with and recorded during the proper album sessions.

One of the songs that received a lot of buzz in the weeks leading up to the album was Tears of a Clown. It piqued the interest of many fans early on for two reasons: because Bruce stated that it was his favorite on the album and because it was revealed that the lyrics were inspired by the death of Robin Williams. Steve Harris is no stranger to depression and has tackled the topic several times in past Maiden songs both directly and indirectly. Close to the making of the album, the bassist suffered the losses of several close friends and family members which had a large impact on his output for The Book of Souls. Needless to say, the story of Robin Williams’ depression and suicide impacted him deeply and inspired one of the songs on the album. Tears of a Clown is not directly about Robin Williams, but the influence is prominent. Bruce found out about the song’s theme when he asked Steve what it was about while recording. It is obvious when listening to his performance that it greatly inspired the singer.

Another song that was influenced by the events in Steve’s personal life is The Man of Sorrows, also the album’s obligatory Dave Murray contribution. Not to be confused with the song that appeared on Bruce Dickinson’s Accident of Birth, The Man of Sorrows deals with mortality and the experience of watching those who are close to you pass away. Of all the songs on the album, this is the one that most directly addresses what Steve was going through at the time. Along with Tears of the Clown, it’s somber but also among the heaviest songs on the album.

For the third album in a row, Janick’s output was limited to two songs: Shadows of the Valley and The Book of Souls. Although they were both on the longer side, The Book of Souls in particular stands out for being one of six Maiden songs to cross the 10 minute mark (three of these appear on this album alone). This song follows the progression of Janick epics that began all the way back in 2000 with Dream of Mirrors. When the album and tracklist were announced to the public, the length of this song suggested that it would contain another long acoustic intro akin to those found on The Legacy and The Talisman. However, Janick and Steve subverted expectations quite a bit. The song does contain an acoustic intro but it’s very brief. The bulk of the song is heavy and contains many different parts. The lyrics, inspired by Mayan mythology, also helped to shape the theme and art direction of the album.

Of course the album wouldn’t be complete with Steve’s own stab at an epic. This time he attempted to outdo himself by bringing in a track that equalled the length of Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which was the longest Maiden song prior to this album. Being in the shadow of Rime (not to mention another epic that we’ll get to later) probably didn’t help this track in the end as the songs share very few (if any) similarities. In fact, The Red and the Black probably has more in common musically and lyrically with The Angel and the Gambler than Rime of the Ancient Mariner, although that is not necessarily a bad thing. Like Angel, the song seems pretty clearly influenced by the heavy and progressive rock of the 70s that Steve listened to growing up. It is a song that gives the band a chance to flex their musical muscles and jam. The instrumental section is so long that in itself it could qualify as the first Maiden instrumental song since Losfer Words (just that section even dwarfs the lengths of most of Maiden’s instrumentals). In fact, the vocal parts really seem to just serve as a jumping off point for the instrumental. Steve also gets a chance to show off his bass playing with bass solos bookending the track. The vocal parts are Steve’s typical wordy affairs, which Bruce struggled to sing in the studio. The lyrics predictably describe fate and chance, all of which Steve has dealt with before.

Meanwhile, Bruce was notably absent from the writing sessions for the album. Normally he was heavily involved in the songwriting, especially working with Adrian and Steve. However, this time around he spent the writing sessions isolated in a soundproof booth with a grand piano. Bruce had been messing with several musical and lyrical ideas without knowing for sure which direction he was going to take. At one point he thought the piece would be about World War I triplanes, but that ideal ultimately manifested itself in Death or Glory and Bruce did not want to repeat himself. Around this time, Bruce was fascinated by the R 101 Airship disaster. He had collected material from the event and recently finished a biography about the incident. The book, titled To Ride the Storm served as inspiration for the first line of the song and the story that Bruce’s music would illustrate. The process of writing the piece was a slow and laborious process. Secluded in the piano booth, Bruce would slowly pound away each section. He would think about which part of the story he was on and write music that suitably fit the mood he needed to convey. The entire thing was written on piano and Bruce imagined it being performed not with electric guitars, but with horn sections and strings. Bruce spent the entire period of writing and recording The Book of Souls working on this piece. Consequently, it was his only contribution other than what he had previously worked on with Adrian and Roy Z outside of the Maiden sessions.

After weeks of work, Bruce presented his opus, Empire of the Clouds, to the band. He performed the song to them on the piano, which was made particularly tedious thanks to his limited proficiency at the instrument. Since everything was to be based around the piano, the first step was to record the piano parts Bruce came up with. The piano part was recorded not on the Steinway grand piano that the piece was written on, but a MIDI keyboard so that Bruce’s mistakes could just be edited to save time. The real challenge came when it was time for the song to be Maidenized and arranged for the band. Some piano melodies were translated to guitar, some new riffs and chord progressions were conceived to support the piano parts, and dynamic heavy sections were created to increase the drama. A major help with the piece was actually Nicko McBrain, who collaborated with Bruce on percussion parts that would illustrate the story, specifically the crash of the airship. He brought in orchestral percussion for embellishment and to add density to the music. The band also employed Jeff Bova to create an orchestral arrangement, although these parts were performed by a synthesizer using orchestral sounds. It was an ambitious and challenging project, but the band came through with the help of Bruce and Kevin Shirley’s direction. The end result was not only the longest song on an album that already contained some of Maiden’s strongest material, but the longest song the band had ever recorded at a whopping 18 minutes.

To that end, it became obvious very early in the recording sessions that there was enough material for a double album. They approached this with the attitude that “if it is to be a double album, then a double album it will be.” Of course this was to the dismay of Rod Smallwood, who jokingly suggested that they instead release them separately i.e. Use Your Illusion or Load/Reload. Separating the album was out of the question as a lot of time and effort was invested into making sure that a complete and coherent piece was produced.

By December 2014, the recording of the album was finished and the band was ready to set their sights on a new tour, starting Summer 2015 in North America. These plans came to a quick halt when, just weeks after wrapping up production, Bruce was diagnosed with tongue and throat cancer.

Bruce’s battle with cancer was well publicized during the promotional cycle for the album and the man himself chronicled the story better than I ever could in his autobiography. So instead of rehashing that story (which you’re all probably well familiar with), I’ll just recommend checking out the book if you haven’t already. What I will say is that Bruce recovered remarkably quick. The end of 2014 was unusually quiet from the Maiden camp. There were reports of the band booking studio time in Paris but the new year passed without any concrete information. It wasn’t until Bruce had finished chemotherapy in February when it was announced to the public that he had cancer. There was then much uncertainty about the band’s future and, more importantly, concerns for the singer’s health. The official statement was vague but optimistic. Naturally, there was question of the severity of Bruce’s cancer, whether the press release was intentionally downplaying something more serious, and if he would ever sing or perform with Maiden again. Things remained quiet in the Maiden camp again for the first part of 2015 until Bruce was given the all clear in May. It was then confirmed that a new album would be released later that year and that Maiden intended on returning to the road once Bruce fully recovered.

Meanwhile, the Maiden promotional machine geared up for the new album promotional cycle. Being the ever shrewd manager, Rod Smallwood saw an opportunity to use Bruce’s cancer fight and recovery as an effective promotional tool. As if the first Maiden album in half a decade wasn’t enough, the album could be advertised as a comeback for Bruce despite being recorded prior to the cancer treatment. Given that the album was bookended by two behemoth tracks from the singer, putting him in the spotlight for the album promotion made even more sense. The press release highlighted Bruce’s story and every interview inevitably addressed the topic. Bruce also gave a majority of the interviews promoting the album, although he had always been a prominent part of Maiden’s publicity apparatus.

The album was finally formally announced in 2015, complete with a title, cover, and tracklisting. Instead of the slow drip of news and countdowns that came with The Final Frontier, everything was dumped in one unannounced press release. Later on the first single, Speed of Light, was also announced. Unlike El Dorado from The Final Frontier, Speed of Light had a physical release and an accompanying video.

The Mayan theme of the album allowed the band to revisit familiar thematic territory in the album artwork. They could revisit the Powerslave aesthetic with pyramids and ancient artifacts. They decided not to replicate the grandeur of the Powerslave cover, however, and instead went with the most minimalist Maiden design arguably since the debut. The cover was designed by Mark Wilkinson, who is perhaps best known for designing the Marillion covers, as well as Best of the B Sides and Live at Donington by Maiden. He also designed some iconic Judas Priest covers, including Painkiller. The simplicity of the front facing Eddie on the cover brought a lot of mystique to the album. Of course a more elaborate design became visible when opening up the album booklet or the gatefold of the triple LP release (The Book of Souls was also the first Maiden album since Fear of the Dark to receive a black vinyl release).

The heavy promotional campaign worked. The album saw the band’s first second consecutive #1 album in the UK and fifth overall, in addition to #1 in many other countries and #4 in the US. It also outsold The Final Frontier in the UK and USA by a considerable amount, despite the same chart positions. Overall, The Book of Souls became one of the band’s best selling and most buzzed about album in years. It was also received to high praise from fans and critics alike, being heralded by many as their best since Brave New World. In interviews, the band also seemed far more energized than they had been in years. There was more enthusiasm about the album than what was present for The Final Frontier and it felt like Bruce’s cancer had revitalized the band. However, the quality and energy of the album suggested that this revitalization was already taking shape before Bruce was diagnosed. It was a long wait, but now fans had yet another classic Maiden album.



« Last Edit: June 19, 2023, 08:12:07 PM by Mosh »
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