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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Deadeye21 on February 07, 2024, 09:01:18 PM
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"What ho said the ting" - Nicko McBrain
Well, it's been a while between drinks, but I felt like doing another of these deep dives. I figured since I met and watched a live show from Paul Di'Anno back in January and am set to see the first performance of The Future Past tour's international leg in September, Iron Maiden might be the go.
With this new series, there is no time frame I'm trying to adhere to. I'm a busy man with gigs, work and travel booked in the next few months. That said, I'll be aiming to be a minimum of every two weeks and if I'm feeling particularly motivated I might even get to posting once a week or more during that time.
This won't be quite as history laden as the Metallica deep dive was. I'll certainly be trying to cover as many of the major events as possible, but these deep dives are about the music. I'll also be mainly keeping to the seventeen main studio albums, but I see it rather likely I'll be diving into the occasional live album. Real Maiden fans wouldn't be too happy with me if I didn't give my rather controversial opinion on Live After Death here, would they?
So yeah, that said, join me for a bit of an extended run through the highs of the 80s, the lows of the 90s and the varying peaks and valleys of the last 24 years of Iron Maiden!
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Iron Maiden – 1980
Original Tracklisting: 1. Prowler. 2. Remember Tomorrow. 3. Running Free. 4. Phantom of the Opera. 5. Transylvania. 6. Strange World. 7. Charlotte the Harlot. 8. Iron Maiden.
Also featuring: Sanctuary
Album: https://open.spotify.com/album/3DNeMApEMCo4IDXNMYnlFi?si=TIwvq7hhQTWEqDbBu9rvNA (https://open.spotify.com/album/3DNeMApEMCo4IDXNMYnlFi?si=TIwvq7hhQTWEqDbBu9rvNA)
Sanctuary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFs-nUNGFGg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFs-nUNGFGg)
The first thing anyone needs to know about the story of Iron Maiden is that this is the story of Stephen Percy Harris and the friends he’s made along the way.
Steve was originally in a band named Smiler. While he was in that band, he started to write his own music. The band couldn’t really handle the more progressive nature of Steve’s songs, so he quit.
Apocryphally, Steve then founded what would become Iron Maiden on December 25th 1975. The band underwent numerous lineup changes, each one lasting for only a short time. The band as they appear on the debut album didn’t actually come to be until late 1979, with the final member to join being drummer Clive Burr. During this period, Iron Maiden had recorded a demo called The Soundhouse Tapes, which they ended up selling 5000 copies of. One of the singers who joined the band for a short time had a penchant for the dramatic arts and it was around this time that a papier-mâché mask came to be part of their backdrop for live shows. A larger version made of fibreglass soon appeared, with the ability to light it’s eyes and breathe a red smoke from its mouth. The band came to know this as “the head”, or in their thick English accents, “the ‘ead”. This began the origin of the band’s mascot, Eddie.
Once the lineup was completed with Paul Di’Anno, Dennis Stratton, Dave Murray and Clive Burr on vocals, guitars and drums respectively, the band found themselves at Kingsway Studios in London in January of 1980, armed with 9 songs ready to record. The final product would feature 8 tracks and be known simply under the band's name, Iron Maiden.
Since Maiden's artwork is almost as important to the band as the music is, lets take a moment to discuss the front cover, which depicts Eddie as a long haired punk standing against a brick wall with streetlights in the background and a building with coloured windows, which I believe we may see again with Killers, but we'll talk about that another time.
This timeline obviously skips over a lot, but if you’re interested in learning more about it, go and check out the History of Iron Maiden documentary, which the band has released for free on YouTube. (https://youtu.be/qDc5Px5f0OE?si=MnRKyRPTZ-y1gHNa (https://youtu.be/qDc5Px5f0OE?si=MnRKyRPTZ-y1gHNa))
The album opens with Prowler, and you’re immediately hit by very jagged sounding rhythm guitars, followed by the scream of the lead. Paul, Steve and Clive all come in together and you’re taken by the sound of early Iron Maiden rather quickly. The lyrics are rather lewd, speaking of, well, a prowler. “You see me crawling through the bushes with it open wide. What you seeing girl? / Got me feeling myself and reeling around”. Not exactly the greatest image to open a band’s discography with. However, it’s not the lyrics that have me coming back for more. This song really encapsulates a strong melodic drive through the strength of Paul’s vocals and the twin guitar attack. Less than a minute into the song, you’re already hearing the first guitar harmonies. By the two minute mark, you’re already hearing a band pulling off tight rhythmic phrases as a unit. This song sets a high benchmark for what’s to come.
In the second track, we’re met with a melodic ballad. Remember Tomorrow highlights the vocal talents of Paul Di’Anno, interspersed with some fantastic guitar riffs. I have no doubt that the structure of Remember Tomorrow served as inspiration for Metallica’s Fade to Black with the verse/instrumental chorus/verse structure, and Metallica would go on to cover this song in 2008 (which was re-released on the Hardwired bonus disc). This song is truly a special one in the Iron Maiden discography as it’s such an early standout song. The trade-off solos, intercut by the tight riff is such a cool section that still holds up today. Paul’s restrained vocals followed by the screaming he lets out at the end of the song are one of his signature songs. The lyrics here are less direct, but seem to be almost indicating towards another plain of existence, even conjuring the images of the Illuminati symbol of the All-Seeing Eye. Quite different from anything else on this album, for sure.
Up next, one of the few songs that still gets included in the band’s setlist every now and again. Running Free. This is such a straightforward song, with lyrics depicting more or less your average punk/rebel type. This song was the band’s very first single in February of 1980, which peaked at no. 34. There are a few interesting instrumental sections, but the song follows one main riff the whole way through and lets the vocals do a lot of the work. The drums also remain fairly locked into one groove for most of the song. This song was once featured on BBC’s Top of the Pops, but Iron Maiden insisted they’d only do the show if they could actually play it live and became one of the only bands to do so.
Phantom of the Opera follows. This is the longest song and, by far, the most progressive on the album (possibly the whole Di’Anno era, if memory serves). While the title likely conjures the image of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, this song is much more directly based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux. In fact, this predates the show by 6 years. This is a huge song in the band’s discography to this day, and for good reason. The tight rhythm of the main verses that give way to a much slower solo and then a massive wall of instrumental is fantastic. Everyone gets a moment to shine here, and it’s a powerful first look into what the band would become in subsequent releases. The two main harmony guitar lines will forever serve as a reason why the twin guitar attack was such an amazing asset to the Maiden sound. There is an interesting coda on the end of this where the last line of vocal repeats with an effect on it after a moment of silence. I really don’t know why this is here, but it is, so I mentioned it.
Ok, onto the first of only 4 instrumentals the band has ever written, Transylvania. This is just a great rocking collection of riffs that breaks down into two halves. The first sees the band following one riff as a unit, with Clive’s ride patterns even following the same rhythms. This breaks off into a pretty cool lead break before returning to the intro of the song. This then breaks into a second half defined by a harmonised riff and solos from Dennis and Dave. As a whole, Transylvania isn’t exactly anything to write home about, but it is certainly a fun listen while it lasts. The coda serves more as a bridge between this instrumental jam and the ballad that follows.
As the wall of feedback that ends Transylvania gives way, we hear a clean guitar begin to come into play. This song is very much defined by some great solos and a great vocal take from Paul Di’Anno. The lyrics depict the Strange World which the song is titled after. This gives me similar vibes to Planet Caravan from Black Sabbath’s Paranoid, though much more fleshed out. This song isn’t often talked about, but it’s worth a listen. There are plenty of interesting guitar effects to talk about too if you listen close.
Now, if you’re a big enough Maiden fan, you probably know about a character that appears across 4 Iron Maiden songs named Charlotte the Harlot. This next song is her first appearance, written solely by Dave Murray. This is definitely not one of my favourites, but it’s definitely worth talking about. The first half is really punky and aggressive, but has a great melodic middle section. This is another one of those songs that I feel they’ve tried to improve upon in the 40+ years since it’s release. Interestingly, this is one song that I feel only really works with Paul Di’Anno’s vocal, sitting alongside Strange World from this album. We’ll talk more about this idea after the Killers dive.
Since Iron Maiden is such a strong closing track that it still remains as the main set closer to this day, I figure now is a good time to talk about a song that didn’t make the album but still maintains a ‘classic’ status in the band, Sanctuary. This song was released as the second single from the album, however, it didn’t make the original UK pressing for various reasons. One of which being it’s controversial artwork, depicting a full bodied Eddie killing Maragret Thatcher, the Iron Lady.
Anyway, onto the song. This song has a fairly different structure to much of the album, with a rather prominent bridge section that almost forms a second chorus. The lyrics here are almost a relative to those of Running Free, once again telling of a character on the run asking for sanctuary from the law. The solo section here is still classic and culminates in one of my favourite instrumental sections from the album’s sessions. This song was included on the US version of the album and the 1998 remastered version of the album. As it is, this song would be my second favourite on the album if it had been featured as part of the original 1980 release.
Onto the song that has never left the band’s setlist and bears both the band and album’s namesake. Iron Maiden. This is such a punky tune and arguably doesn’t really hold up to being the band’s title song when it’s so different from the majority of their catalogue. The song’s lyrics are about the medieval torture device, though the chorus promises that Iron Maiden is gonna get you, no matter how far. There is some odd production on the snare drums at times, but the main riff is hooky and the harmony in the interlude is strong. I probably like this song the best on the album version at the higher speed, but at the same time, I really like the interlude at the slower tempo found in the live version.
So that’s the band’s debut album and it’s not too shabby. I wouldn’t say this is as great of a first attempt as something like Kill ‘Em All, but it definitely starts the band’s evolution well. If it had been better produced, this album would probably be more often revisited by me, but as it is, I will tend to listen to the live versions more often. I give this a 7.5 out of 10.
I’m not gonna do my one word synopsis of each album as I did with Metallica, simply because there’s way too many to do. But I will give my ranking as the albums progress. Being the debut, this is currently at my top!
But what do you think. Does this stack up higher for you? Are you a Charlotte the Harlot fan? Tell me what you think and I’ll catch you some time in the next fortnight for Killers.
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Oh I am so following this. Great writeup!
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Also following along and very much looking forward to doing so.
Did you know the iron maiden is actually fictitious?
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Did you know the iron maiden is actually fictitious?
I certainly didn’t!
#themoreyouknow!
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I didn't, either, until about two weeks ago. I was all, "wait, what?!" :biggrin:
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Love this thread already!
The debut is full of classic songs, though I don't necessarily like them all. It's taken me a very long time to warm up to Remember Tomorrow - I'm usually listening to the faster songs on this disc. I love Prowler to no end, with awesome riffs up and down the song.
Since I'm not a musician, does anyone know if Phantom of the Opera borrows from Toccata in Fugue? When TSO put out their version of Toccata, the main riff is very reminiscent of the main riff in Phantom. It made me wonder if Maiden adapted some of that classical song.
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Deadeye, I'd love to get involved in this thread, but are you going to be able to see this thing through?
Serious question.
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Yea TAC, that’s why I’m giving myself the looser timeframes instead of being too strict with it, and choosing to stay with the major releases only. .
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Happy to follow too if it's going to be regular updates.
I never ever grabbed this album to listen to. I knew most the songs beforehand from live versions as it was one of the last IM albums I picked up when discovering them. If I were going for a Dianno album, it's always Killers. The legacy and history of these songs is undeniable though. I'll have to give it a fresh listen.
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I can confirm that the Killers writeup is actually already done. So yeah, should be pretty regular. Thankfully the early albums are all reasonable lengths. I think it's once we get past Seventh Son it might slow down.
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In a sign of good faith, let's restart the minimum two week counter with Killers.
Killers – 1981
Original Tracklisting: 1. The Ides of March. 2. Wrathchild. 3. Murders in the Rue Morgue. 4. Another Life. 5. Innocent Exile. 6. Genghis Khan. 7. Killers. 8. Prodigal Son. 9. Purgatory. 10. Drifter
Also featuring: Twilight Zone
Album: https://open.spotify.com/album/5REF2imQI3lMAmeWcDXE3D?si=xv9CM9b1S4mQ0DpAPD3Lbg (https://open.spotify.com/album/5REF2imQI3lMAmeWcDXE3D?si=xv9CM9b1S4mQ0DpAPD3Lbg)
Twilight Zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViZbO0fl0q0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViZbO0fl0q0)
Iron Maiden went on tour with Kiss in 1980, following the release of the debut album. After this tour, guitarist Dennis Stratton would be dismissed for creative and personal differences. Following his dismissal, Adrian Smith was brought into the band and the new lineup found themselves in the studio. Having been thoroughly unimpressed with the production of their eponymous debut, they found themselves working with Martin Birch, well known for his work with Fleetwood Mac, Deep Purple and the recent Dio era of Black Sabbath.
The artwork for the new album, titled Killers, once again depicted Eddie standing under a streetlight on a busy London street. This time, he’s more full-bodied, and in his hand you can see a bloodied axe, with two hands pulling at his shirt. In the background, you can see a building named the Ruskin Arms, which is a tribute to one of the venues where Maiden got their start.
Onto the music! We open with Iron Maiden’s shortest song, The Ides of March. This is an instrumental track that the band recorded to be an intro tape. From the opening bars, you can feel the upgrade in the band’s overall tone, and by the time the first harmony section kicks in, you can absolutely feel the new level of cohesion in the band. Clive Burr’s drumming is absolutely pounding with huge tom rolls and marching snare patterns, with Dave and Adrian both taking a turn at soloing. This is only a minute and 45 seconds long, but it sets the tone for the album to come.
Wrathchild follows immediately, as if intended as a single song in two parts (I'm sure we're all used to that her at DTF *coughing in ItPoE*). Paul comes in strong with his signature growl. Wrathchild is another really short song, actually equal second with a Blaze Bayley track called Futureal, but it really has just about everything you’d want out of an early Maiden song. The lyrics here depict an angry young man searching for his father, who is allegedly “nowhere to be found”. This song has become a bit of a meme for Iron Maiden, as it is often used as the go-to for replacing a song in the band’s setlist (it's also the only song from Killers that's seen the light of day since 2005). However, I must admit, I’m a big fan of this one. I think it’s got a strong groove and I do enjoy getting to see the band go back to their roots.
Next up is Murders in the Rue Morgue. This clean intro is my absolute favourite intro of the entire Paul era. It just sets such a mood before the utter chaos of the rest of the song. The lyrics here are based upon the short story of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe, telling the story of an Englishman in France who hears two girls being murdered and ultimately being falsely accused of being the killer. Instrumentally, this song is very punky, and Paul spits out the lyrics with aggression. The harmony guitars that serve as the song’s main instrumental interlude are huge, and Clive provides a lot of great fills, just take a look at the drum roll between the intro and the main body of the song. Everything about this song is just great, and it may be my favourite Paul song overall.
We get into a song that I’m not as huge on called Another Life. This suffers from a pet peeve of mine that I didn’t really talk about in the debut chapter, but these lyrics can seem a little uninspired when we only really get 8 lines of vocal repeated 3 times. This is a trend found in Prowler and Iron Maiden and repeated again here. The story here is fairly basic, with a guy hearing voices and realising he’s tired of living and resolving to off himself. Or at least in my interpretation. The guitar work is decent, and we get something close to a bass solo in the song’s middle instrumental break. Live, this song tended to feature a drum solo after that mid-point and then come back for the third verse. That’s omitted here and I don’t really miss it, though it would’ve been nice to have at least an extra drum fill here. All in all, not one of my favourites from the album.
The sheer force of the band’s instrumental section comes to light again for Genghis Khan. This is an interesting groover of a riff, almost like an evolution from Transylvania the album before. This then changes into a rhythmically complex riff with evolving harmonies and key changes, before evolving into a riff that I’ve always loved. You may know this better as the main riff of Last Resort by Papa Roach. Yep, this is where they lifted it from folks! This is tailed by harmony guitars with a delay that just sounds really cool! It’s a short track, but a tour de force instrumentally.
Entering the second side of the vinyl, we have a bass hook from Steve that kicks off Innocent Exile. This is a big jam of a song and I’m here for it. Once again following a template from Another Life (albeit with a better riff), the first half of this song is dominated by the same few vocal lines followed by a guitar harmony. But what Innocent Exile does much better is it evolves past there. We get a bridge section that goes into a little bit of a halftime feel and then opens back out into the opening bass hook. But it’s from this point on that the song takes on a different form. We get a new riff that absolutely rocks under the twin solos, underneath which is a descending bass line. As this section comes to an end, the guitars follow this descending line and then expand upon the earlier harmonies by dropping back to just the rhythm of that section to close out the song. It’s tricky to encapsulate why I like this song so much, but I think it slaps.
Not as much as the title track though. Killers opens with one of Maiden’s best bass intros, cut into by the guitars and Paul’s iconic screams. This intro turns into a simple, but effective, gallop of a main riff. Enter Killers! This song is self-explanatory lyrically, being about a psychotic killer’s internal monologue as he kills people. There’s just so much to love with this song and I love it! The solos rock, the bass rocks, the drums rock and this is Paul’s second best vocal track with the band for my money. Second longest track on the album, one of only two to surpass the 5 minute mark, and the one most deserving of being the title track. Dammit Maiden, bring this song back already!
The longest song on Killers is also one of the most unique. Prodigal Son, a semi-acoustic ballad, is an absolutely beautiful track. Lyrically, this song is about a man who dabbled in black magic and ended up being cursed. I find it difficult to talk about this song too much, but it’s beyond worth the listen. Adrian has the main guitar solo feature here and it’s a powerful and moving piece of guitar work. The song is maybe a little too jammy at points, being that the entire intro is repeated after the solo section, but man, it’s a really good song. Critically overlooked.
Next is another song I feel has been overlooked for far too long, Purgatory. This is just a fast-paced track with great work from every member of the band. Almost the entire song depends on having two guitars, being as packed full of harmonies and solos as this is. Paul’s vocals are no slouch either, with lyrics being about the concept of purgatory, the place between hell and heaven. This song just straight up rocks and was the second single from the album. Interestingly, the artwork for this single which depicts a half devil/half Eddie head was not the original design from Derek Riggs. In fact, the original artwork that was intended for this single was indeed the artwork that ended up being used on The Number of the Beast, as they felt it was much too good to be lost on a single.
Once again, we’re here to talk about a song that was left off of the original album, but was released as a single. Originally tended as Wrathchild’s B-Side but deemed worthy of being a double A Side, we have Twilight Zone. This has such a great rocking feel to it, quite similar to Purgatory. It’s bouncy and just fun. Lyrically this song depicts a ghost mourning for his living lover. The cover of this single features our friend Charlotte holding a tarot card of death next to a picture of Eddie, with his ghost reaching out in the mirror. This could also be taken as the band’s first love song. Great track, would’ve preferred it to be on the album and have Another Life as Wrathchild’s B-Side, but you get that and much worse on Beast (we’ll cover it when we get there).
Closing the album is Drifter, and this is not the song’s first official release. An early live version of this track appeared on the Sanctuary single. Drifter is about a guy who wants to be a rockstar falling in love. The instrumental to this song really gives me a hopeful feeling. There’s an odd scratching and popping sound right after the big solo section that I’ve noticed. Sounds like Steve switching the pickup on his bass. All in all, Drifter’s not one of my favourites, but I do enjoy listening to this when I do.
And that’s Killers. Definitely a stronger album than Iron Maiden in my opinion, and a huge step up in quality in less than a year. Killers released in February of 1981 and spent eight weeks on the UK albums chart. The remainder of 1981 saw the band touring with Judas Priest, but another major change was looming.
What do you think of Killers? Let me know and I’ll be keen for a chat between here and The Number of the Beast.
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I'll echo the statement on Adrian's Prodigal Son solo, so good.
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I've always preferred the debut to Killers. I usually only care to listen to Wrathchild, Murders in the Rue Morgue and Killers, where I really enjoy every song on the debut.
Giving Killers a full listen though - I haven't heard some of this album's songs in decades.
Seeing Bruce sing Killers on the Ed Hunter tour was amazing though!
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Killers is the album I'd take to a desert island if I were only allowed one Maiden record. It pretty much was my first proper metal album after the debut and it's so much better. It sounds terrific still. So much energy. The vocals are savage. I love it so much. I wouldn't change a note.
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The Number of the Beast – 1982
Original Tracklisting: 1. Invaders. 2. Children of the Damned. 3. The Prisoner. 4. 22 Acacia Avenue. 5. The Number of the Beast. 6. Run to the Hills. 7. Gangland. 8. Hallowed Be Thy Name.
Also featuring: Total Eclipse
Beast: https://open.spotify.com/album/5S3gls8Kjn8KVmqlIDEBbO?si=--OuaqwDR-SjYbSDD2-hBA (https://open.spotify.com/album/5S3gls8Kjn8KVmqlIDEBbO?si=--OuaqwDR-SjYbSDD2-hBA)
Total Eclipse: https://open.spotify.com/album/2ezMH9oXTMB7Murdiob84h?si=jy1Gxf8cRmKaSFovgf3DLQ (https://open.spotify.com/album/2ezMH9oXTMB7Murdiob84h?si=jy1Gxf8cRmKaSFovgf3DLQ)
The Killer World Tour took Iron Maiden to new heights. This trek saw the band play their first shows in the United States, Canada and Japan. A live EP was even recorded at their show in Nagoya, called Maiden Japan (what a creative title, derived from Deep Purple's Made In Japan). The original cover for this EP featured Eddie holding the severed head of Paul Di’Anno, as the band opted to fire him at the end of this tour. Paul had become a bit of a loose cannon, to say the least, adopting a “rock and roll lifestyle” which Di’Anno claimed he did because he couldn’t find his way to the end of the band’s extensive touring schedule and thought it was what you were supposed to do as a singer.
With Paul’s departure, it was of the utmost importance that Maiden hire a new singer. This is when they reached out to a man named Paul Bruce Dickinson, originally the singer of Samson. The bands had crossed paths a few times over the years and Bruce had the reputation of being the “human air raid siren”. While his former bandmates had given him the nickname of “Bruce Bruce”, manager Rod Smallwood insisted it wouldn’t fly. The decision was also made that it would be more practical to not go straight from Paul to Paul, so Dickinson was known by his middle name of Bruce (hey, this reminds me of the story of Kevin LaBrie…)
The album that came as a result of Bruce’s joining is often regarded as one of the greatest metal albums of all time, but this is my review, and to be honest, I definitely don’t share that sentiment. Let’s dive into why.
Invaders is the opening track here. This one packs a strong intro and a killer hook of a main riff. The verses waste no time in putting the new singer’s voice on full display. It’s just that the song is a little bit weak. The main chorus line strikes me as being a little bit goofy, which is not what I would want from lyrics like these. The solo section has a great turnaround, and I particularly love the rhythm guitar riff during the second half. The song as a whole is somewhat of an evolution to a Di’Anno era B-Side called Invasion, but we will hopefully cover that in a separate dive for Best of the B-Sides after Brave New World. Invaders is a really odd song to talk about because so much of it is great, but it still feels like it all falls apart when that chorus hits. Definitely a good choice for the opening song, but one that isn’t without issue.
Children of the Damned follows, this one following into more of a ballad territory. This one is a classic Maiden tune and for good reason. The lyrics somewhat loosely follow the plot of the film by the same name, but it’s not at all the reason any of us love this one. We’re here because the instrumental to this song is amazing. Spiritually, this is a successor to Remember Tomorrow, taking the best aspects from it and dialing them to 11. It’s also an absolute tour de force by Bruce, take that closing scream for example. This one is harder to really talk about, but so worth the listen.
Following, we get the second most iconic spoken word intro the band has ever created, this one being taken directly from a TV Show called (you guessed it) The Prisoner. The song properly starts with one of the grooviest drum lines ever in an Iron Maiden song, which has been the subject of much debate as to whether it was Clive Burr or Bruce Dickinson that came up with the rhythm. The lyrics to this song are sung from the point of view of “Number Six” trying to escape “The Village” from the show. The harmony in the chorus leads for epic live singalongs and Adrian Smith’s lead guitar work here is fantastic. I’m not a huge fan of Clive’s drumming in the instrumental break though, as I find the use of the toms an interesting but off choice.
The fourth song from the third album is also the second appearance of Dave Murray’s Charlotte the Harlot, this time focussing on her work at 22 Acacia Avenue. This is a bit of an extended song-form, quite unlike anything they’d done prior. The opening verses take on almost a verse/chorus structure of their own, alternating between Adrian’s chugging with the band adding stabs to support and the whole band playing together. This then drops us into a completely different section with it’s own set of verses and choruses. This song starts up with almost an invitation to number 22, before starting to take a more bleak look and questioning why Charlotte is in this life, before ultimately ending up with the plea to leave this life behind. This song appeared semi-regularly until the end of the No Prayer tour and only got revisited for a short run in 2003, but hasn’t been seen since. I hope Maiden pick this one up again sometime before they call it a day.
Do we even need to discuss this next song? There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this far into my deep dives, this song is the reason why. The Number of the Beast opens with a spoken passage by actor Barry Clayton before leading into some of Bruce’s greatest vocal work with this iconic intro. This song is taken from a dream that Steve Harris had after watching the film Omen II. It’s also Iron Maiden’s second most played song live with 1900 performances listed on Setlist FM to date. This song is simply iconic and deservedly so.
The same can be said about Run to the Hills really. This one is much more upbeat, almost disco tempo. The iconic intro riff has always reminded me of the opening instrumental passage to Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds from 1978. The lyrics are about the American Indians, though taken from both sides. The intro takes the perspective of the Indians, while the rest of the song takes the perspective of the American soldiers. I’ve never heard a massacre sound so upbeat. This song currently seems to be on a rotation where it will be played one tour and skipped the next, and I’m kinda glad for that. While it is one of Maiden’s most instantly recognisable song, I feel like it’s a little overdone at this point but it’s still a bit of fun when it does show up.
Ok., let’s talk about Gangland. Oh boy. This song is kinda weird. The story goes that Iron Maiden wrote nine songs for this album and could only fit in eight. The band chose this one over Total Eclipse and Steve Harris has regretted it ever since. To be honest, I think this easily the weakest song on the album. It’s a fast paced rocker, one of only two songs to ever have a writing credit from Clive Burr and it’s got a strong drum beat. Interestingly, this song features the line “murder for vengeance or murder for gain” which is the third time that killing for vengeance is mentioned on the album (appearing in The Prisoner and Run to the Hills). While I think this song is genuinely the weakest, this still manages to have one of my favourite moments on the whole album. This album isn’t the strongest when it comes to guitar harmonies, but Gangland features one in the lead up to the solo that absolutely knocks my socks off. Weirdly, the guitar solo is actually only half finished, with Adrian’s solo coming to a close and an intended follow-up from Dave having reportedly never being tracked.
The other track that could’ve been track 7 is Total Eclipse, and I’m a big fan of this song. Lyrically, this is a warning of a world on the edge of collapse from an ecological disaster. This song did make it as the B-Side to Run to the Hills, but the band ultimately felt that this song was meant to be on the album instead of Gangland. This perfectly fits many of the dark, brooding themes that are on the rest of the album. There’s so many great lead guitar fills, the chorus of “sunrise is gone” sticks in your head, the whole song is just ten times more epic and probably would’ve been my second favourite song on the album. In 2022, for the 40th anniversary of Beast, an alternate version was released with Total Eclipse replacing Gangland, which is cool, but I think I prefer the 1998 version of the album which features both.
We come to the end of The Number of the Beast with what I feel may be Iron Maiden’s best song, even if not my favourite, Hallowed Be Thy Name. Beginning with a haunting, melodic intro that breaks into an epic harmony before setting up the main riff of the song. Everything that is Iron Maiden, past and future, comes together in this song. The extended song form, Bruce’s soaring vocals, amazing solos, and an unfolding storyline in the lyrics that brings chills every time. Hallowed is about a man facing his imminent death at the gallows’ pole, expressing anguish, then terror before hope that he will return. Unfortunately, this song does steal a line from Rainbow’s Gold by Beckett, which ultimately caused the band a rather lengthy lawsuit, which was ultimately settled out of court. I honestly can’t express enough evidence as to why, but this is easily the best song Iron Maiden has ever written as far as I’m concerned.
So, why then, do I think that Beast is not the greatest album that Iron Maiden has? Well, I just feel that everything that is here is still so formative. There are songs with tonal inconsistencies, there’s no real big harmony moments within a half of the album which has always been such an Iron Maiden staple, and overall it just feels like the band is still only just finding their feet. Take this in contrast to Master of Puppets, which is also a third album that is generally regarded as the band’s greatest. On that album, so many things that were already present on the former two albums have been refined to a gold standard that was never surpassed. Here, I feel that these elements are still being honed in.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m totally wrong. Maybe The Number of the Beast is your all time favourite album. I’m keen to have the discussion with you all. Catch you next week when we trade in hell for some Piece of Mind!
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I gave this album a listen last week and enjoyed it all the way through, but usually, I only opt for my favorites (Children, 22, NOTB, RTTH, Hallowed). 5 amazing songs. For a long time, I considered this my favorite album of theirs, but I don't anymore. But it's still an iconic album, from the art, to the big songs. Sadly, I've never seen them play Children or 22 live.
Strangely enough, every time I've seen them, they did play NOTB, RTTH and Hallowed live, at all 4 shows. I usually only catch them on tours where they play mostly classic material though.
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The Number of the Beast is my number 1 album of all time from any artist. It is the first metal album I ever heard and changed my life. Still love it dearly to this day.
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With Paul’s departure, it was of the utmost importance that Maiden hire a new singer. This is when they reached out to a man named Paul Bruce Dickinson, originally the singer of Samson. The bands had crossed paths a few times over the years and Bruce had the reputation of being the “human air raid siren”
The Air Raid Siren was a pejorative description given to Bruce's singing by someone not impressed with how Paul Di'Anno's replacement sounded!
With typical British robust sense of humour Maiden marketed him accordingly.
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As to the albums covered thus far. I'm really not a fan of the debut. I love Phantom Of The Opera (the young'uns and the non-Brits probably aren't aware of the following advert for Lucozade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4YTB5FZeHQ that was on TV a lot for a while when I was growing up) and Transylvania but otherwise the rest is pretty so-so. I really dislike Di'Anno's vocals on Running Free that're less gritty and more gurgly.
Killers, on the other hand, I love. This might have something to do with it being the second Maiden record I heard (after SSoaSS, which seems odd and is, but it was to do with which albums they had available in the local Woolworths at the time!) but I do really like all of that record.
As for Number Of The Beast...
The album that came as a result of Bruce’s joining is often regarded as one of the greatest metal albums of all time, but this is my review, and to be honest, I definitely don’t share that sentiment.
...yes, I'm on board with that view. Half of the album is great stuff - The Prisoner, Number Of The Beast, Run To The Hills and Hallowed Be Thy Name - the rest I feel is on the weaker side. It's almost like a second debut album with H and Bruce's contributions and Bruce's singing providing a slight pivot in approach.
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It's never stood out to me as to why this is THE Iron Maiden classic. Even when I first got into them as a kid (my mates brother recorded their LP's on tape for me - this was up to and including Somewhere In Time) I thought it was one of the weaker ones. Hallowed and the Title Track are awesome - but there is a lot of filler, something you don't get on many (non 90's) Maiden albums.
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Piece of Mind – 1983
Tracklisting: 1. Where Eagles Dare. 2. Revelations. 3. Flight of Icarus. 4. Die With Your Boots On. 5. The Trooper. 6. Still Life. 7. Quest for Fire. 8. Sun and Steel. 9. To Tame a Land.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7I9Wh2IgvI3Nnr8Z1ZSWby?si=f3DRYKceQ26Wh2F_73E6SA (https://open.spotify.com/album/7I9Wh2IgvI3Nnr8Z1ZSWby?si=f3DRYKceQ26Wh2F_73E6SA)
Yep. That was the first little break in the action I was talking about. Sorry all, been a rather eventful little stint there. Went out 7 hours into the desert to play a couple of solo gigs then ended up playing a fairly significant show for my band’s album launch (https://gyro.to/TooLongBetweenDrinks (https://gyro.to/TooLongBetweenDrinks) for anyone kind enough to give that a shot).
Anyway, here we are with the first album from the band’s most classic lineup of Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, now joined by Nicko McBrain. In December of 1982, at the end of the Beast on the Road tour, the band fired Clive Burr. While Steve would say it was because offstage activities were affecting his onstage performance, Clive would go on record saying it was unfair dismissal. Funnily enough, Nicko McBrain had left the French band Trust to join Maiden, where Clive would end up joining the band not too long after.
The band soon found themselves taking over the out of season Le Chalet hotel in Jersey, arranging and rehearsing in the restaurant, before heading to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas recording the songs. These sessions yielded the band’s fourth album, Piece of Mind. The album’s artwork of Eddie being lobotomised was conceived first, but for quite a while the album was known as Food for Thought. The final title came as a part of a drunken conversation towards the end of the writing period.
How do you start an album with a new drummer? Well, you open up with one of the most classic drum intros in metal, of course! Where Eagles Dare is an absolute tour de force instrumentally with one of the band’s heaviest riffs to date taking centre stage, sitting beautifully above the percussive powerhouse of Nicko’s drumming. Bruce’s vocals are in top form here too, screaming out the plot synopsis to the 1968 war thriller starring Clint Eastwood by the same name. The middle solo section is rather unique, serving to provide breathing space in the song’s rather frantic feel before ending up with a tight rhythmic section between all instruments. This is easily the best opening track to this point, really serving a high point of the entire album in its opening minutes!
Inside the album’s liner notes is this rather peculiar passage. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more Death. Neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more brain; for the former things are passed away.” While this is playing on the themes of the album cover and its title, if we replace the word brain with pain, this becomes a direct quote from chapter 21, verse 4 of the Book of Revelation. Enter track 2, Revelations, which takes its first verse from a hymn titled O God of Earth and Altar. The rest of the lyrics take more direct influence from Aleister Crowley. This song is rather unique, standing as a rocker and a ballad at the same time. It’s also the first song that features Bruce Dickinson as its sole composer and as a composer in any sense. The riffs in this song are fairly simple, but the lead work is beyond reproach. Just listen to the amazing solo section and the harmony that wraps it up. Dave and Adrian have taken it a step beyond with this album.
A fairly simple song follows, this one recounting the Greek story of the Flight of Icarus. This song is fairly centred around the vocal work rather than the guitar work, but it really allows Bruce his first foray into what I call his “storytelling vocal delivery” and for the first shot, I think he carries it out fairly well. There’s still some really enjoyable solo work from Adrian and Dave here, but this is really a Bruce song. This was the first single released from the album, and they toured Piece of Mind and Powerslave with it in the setlist, but it disappeared after the first Somewhere in Time show. It then reappeared over 30 years later as part of the Legacy of the Beast setlist (and I’m hoping it might end up replacing Can I Play With Madness when the Future Past hits Australia in September, but dreams are free, right?).
The instrumental prowess I didn’t feel from the riffs of Icarus are more than made up for with the opening of Die With Your Boots On in my opinion. It’s definitely an interesting riff, counting as both the main riff and a harmony, but I just love it! I’m also a huge fan of Bruce’s vocals on this song, here taking on people who like to spin the end of the world to anyone who’ll listen (wait, was this song released in 1983 or 2023?). The harmony section straight after the solo is probably my second favourite harmonised section on the entire album, but damn, I love that riff. This song is simply awesome and yet so often overlooked, even in the fan groups. If reading this gets any kind of response from you, I hope it’s to give this song one more spin.
“Into the valley of death rode the 600. Cannons to the left of them, cannons to the right of them, volleyed and thundered, THE TROOPER!!” – Bruce Dickinson, Rock in Rio, 2001.
Is there really anything to say about The Trooper that hasn’t already been said? Take a look at any streaming platform and this is their number one song. It’s their fourth most played song, so big it’s the one staple they kept on the Future Past tour It’s The Trooper, man. The song is based on the Crimean war, most specifically the charge of the light brigade and it’s also the name of Iron Maiden’s beer line. I think that’s about all I can really say, this is Iron Maiden’s signature piece, even more so than their self-titled song or Number of the Beast. It was the second single from the album, one of the few songs of Maiden’s to ever get radioplay in America and it remains essential metal listening to this day. Let’s move on.
Still Life is an interesting one. The Number of the Beast arrived kinda close to the whole Satanic Panic era, and soon after that came the whole thing about backmasking. For those not sure what that is, it became a bit of a thing where people would play albums in reverse and listen for hidden “evil” messages. Well, the intro to Still Life has a very drunk Nicko making a vocal cameo. Played forwards, it’s a very strange sound. But, played in reverse (which I guess is playing it forwards since the track is reversed on the album, confusing) Nicko starts with an Idi Amin impression saying “What ho said the t'ing with the three 'bonce, don’t meddle with things you don’t understand” and then burping. A piss take, to be sure, but the message was clear. Don’t mess with it, you don’t get it.
Onto the actual song. Here’s a rare Dave Murray contribution, and a rocking yet creepy one at that. This song is grim, with a character seeing demons at the bottom of a pool that slowly drive him insane and convince him that he should drown himself and his girlfriend and the bottom of the pool. DARK! The riffs supporting the song are great, providing just enough to propel the vocals forward while also allowing some lead moments. I love the progression into the final verse where Nicko’s drumming becomes even more staccato, driving the desperation of the final moments. The song is far from common live, but you can find a pretty good performance of it on Maiden England ’88 along with a good handful of other rarities.
Everyone has opinions on what’s the best and what’s the worst when it comes to music. This is definitely taking a long lead towards the latter. Quest for Fire is a really goofy song where Bruce overshoots a lot of his vocal notes on lyrics about cavemen and dinosaurs. This song has a really cool instrumental section, and the bass on this is really good, not to mention the solos. But man, when you look at the last few albums holding back a song to be a B-Side, it raises the question of why this made the album. Maybe they needed something a bit more light-hearted after the grimness of an insanity based drowning? It’s a hard pass from me.
Sun and Steel on the other hand, this is a pretty decent song. This is very much the biography of Miyamoto Musashi, a samurai renowned for double-bladed swordsmanship and an undefeated dueling record of 61 victories. The chorus on this one is an earworm if ever I heard one, and it just leaves me in a good mood. Really not one to say a whole lot about, but it’s a good time and that’s still more than I can say about Quest for Fire.
Now, the delay on this chapter has made for excellent timing, seeing the last song of this album has a certain literary theme to it. To Tame a Land is the only song that Maiden has ever had to change the title of after initial pressings of the album. Originally, the song was called Dune, but when Rod and Steve asked Frank Herbert’s agent for permission to use the title for the track, they received a written response that said “No. Frank Herbert doesn’t like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands and especially rock bands like Iron Maiden”. According to Bruce, Frank threatened to sue them and prevent the album from coming out if the song was titled Dune. So they named it To Tame a Land, but maintained the lyrics that will seem beyond strange to anyone who hasn’t read the book or seen any of the films. Mention is made of Freman, Caladan, stillsuits, the Gom Jabar and the Muad’Dim. The song has a particular Middle-Eastern feel which lends well to the desert. The best parts of the song all begin from 2:55 when the song drops back to bass and vocals for the final bridge. This then kicks into an absolutely beastly instrumental coda to Piece of Mind, starting with a great trading solo and then capped off with not just the best harmonies of the album, but one of the greatest harmonies of all. This shifting section is just HUGE, and then they make it even bigger by breaking the bass and drums down to simple sustains. Man, it’s a beast of a song, and I can see why Steve remarked at the time This is the best song I've ever written. I was really pleased with Phantom, but now I have to say that this is the best." Shame they haven’t done it since 1983, but Nicko has recently done it with his Rock n Roll Ribs house band Titanium Tart, so I hope there’s a growing interest in the song for next tour.
And that’s Piece of Mind. What an album! So why do I not come back to it more often? I feel like while this album is very much known for being “the one with The Trooper and Revelations”, there are songs like Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel which get looked down upon as being lesser entries from Maiden, especially when compared to where the discography had been going to this point. It’s a part of the classic trio of Beast-Powerslave, but it just feels like the middle child in a sense. It’s so good that we don’t pay attention to it. Well, maybe we should. Maybe it’s time to give this one another go.
Next week should still be a go, but Somewhere in Time may be another delay as I'll beheading to Adelaide to catch Dsiturbed and Pantera. Sorry if ther delays are bothering you, but life first, right?
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For the longest time, I've only ever liked the first 5 songs on Piece of Mind. I re-listened a couple of weeks ago and loved Still Life. Sun and Steel is alright. And I've always found To Tame a Land to be boring.
I've seen them play Revelations, Flight of Icarus and Die With Your Boots on, along with the Trooper, of course. Only missing Where Eagles Dare, which I missed on the first Legacy tour go-around. 4 out of 5 favorites being caught live isn't bad!
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Nice work, Deadeye.
Such a classic. The cover adorned the first metal shirt I ever owned. 🙂
The whole band is on fire at this point. Love what you said about DWYBO. I've always felt it gets less attention than it should. Quite a fun, positive lyric, really. Useful in this day and age, even.
Revelations is my favourite song on the record, probably. Bruce sounds amazing on it. And that part where it speeds up might be one of my favourite parts of the whole discography.
The rhythm guitars sound a teeny bit thin on the album, maybe, and I don't love TTAL as much as everyone else. I like it always found it a tiny bit awkward and clunky. Would probably feel differently were I a Dune fan. If pushed, I'd rather listen to the 2 preceding tracks over it, tbh.
I have to defend Quest For Fire. Always loved it, always will. Those lyrics with that vocal. Amazing. :lol The music to the song is also great. The rhythmic stanza (?) opening and closing it. The rolling gallop under verses. The break. Seriously, if you can take the goofy lyric as a piece of fun, it's a cracker. Sun & Steel also really great. Smashing riffs, great chorus. The band could do worse than try to write more concise 4 min rockers at this point, imo.
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I've always enjoyed both Sun And Steel and Quest For Fire. What I've never enjoyed though is Die With Your Boots On. That song stops this album from being an amazing one to me.
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Powerslave – 1984
Tracklisting: 1. Aces High. 2. 2 Minutes to Midnight. 3. Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra). 4. Flash of the Blade. 5. The Duellists. 6. Back in the Village. 7. Powerslave. 8. Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
https://open.spotify.com/album/309KOMEivisMmBuzk09635?si=-AirVItDTnCH-RVX-OJHdA (https://open.spotify.com/album/309KOMEivisMmBuzk09635?si=-AirVItDTnCH-RVX-OJHdA)
Who’s in the band now? We start every single one of these with the rundown of the changes in personnel that it almost seems fair to ask if you’re not entirely familiar with the history of Iron Maiden.
Well, for once, Steve managed to keep everyone on board. It took 4 albums, but once Nicko McBrain took the throne, it would stay that way for the next few years.
Once again the band found themselves in Jersey and then in Nassau for the next record. This period produced eight new original songs, and with the central theme of power taking hold of most of the record, the band settled on the name Powerslave.
The album starts with one of the most iconic intros the band would ever produce, Aces High. The harmonised guitars kick up strong while Steve and Nicko provide an intense rhythmic backing, then into that legendary riff with Bruce’s vocal intro to the album being the strongest he’s ever sounded. Aces High is about the Battle of Britain, and it’s probably the biggest opening song Maiden has ever made. The song has only seen inclusion on 5 tours since its release and its influence as an opener can’t be overstated, since using Aces High as a closing song on the Legacy of the Beast’s final leg in 2022 felt so utterly wrong. This song is adrenaline and power all rolled into one, masterfully highlighting the sound of the album into 4 and a half minutes.
Next is 2 Minutes to Midnight. This one is more of a protest song, taking aim at the commercialisation of war and using it to fuel the global economy, which then leads the already rich politicians to profit and leaves the world in a much worse state leading to development of better weaponry that will ultimately spurn another war. With a rather important message to the song, it’s an odd choice to have made this such a fun banger. This was the first single from the album and the first Iron Maiden single to run longer than 5 minutes, remaining in the top 5 longest to this day with it’s 6:03 runtime. Adrian’s riff here is a quintessential metal riff and the song even appeared in the soundtrack of GTA: Vice City on the V-Radio station. This one has kinda been overplayed for me, having been a staple of so many tours (setlist.fm shows the band to have played this one 1388 times, their 6th most played song), but it’s still a good time. One last fact about the song; despite fundamentally criticising the atomic age of warfare, the single released on August 6th 1984, which is exactly 39 years to the day of the Hiroshima bombing. Scary.
Track three is the band’s final instrumental song to date, Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra). It’s likely that most people will disagree with me here, but I think this is the band’s best instrumental. Given that the song was originally supposed to have vocals, but no lyrics were able to be completed for it, it earned the title of Lost For Words, which then became Losfer to make light of Steve’s accent. I think this is the best structured of the instrumentals, using a lot of repeated theming. I love the two sections immediately following the solo, which has almost an early glimpse of Wasted Years, followed by such a triumphant theme. The ‘chorus’ section is just awesome. Since it is an instrumental, there isn’t too much to say, so I’ll wrap up by saying I once performed this at a high school talent showcase, albeit unable to do the harmonies with only one guitar, and I like to think I did it well.
Flash of the Blade is next, another song fully attributed to Bruce like Revelations. This one takes up a Medieval theme of a young boy who liked to play swordfighting becoming a master swordfighter as he adults. This one is often overlooked, but it’s a great tune. I love the middle instrumental section with a lot of great guitar work, even sans a true solo, but it would be far too much for them to ever carry out without the modern day three guitar lineup. Given that the song is attributed solely to Dickinson, I’m guessing he must be one hell of a guitarist. Sadly, until last year’s Future Past tour, there was an unwritten rule of “not on the original tour, never gets played”. This is a great song with some really cool vocal harmonies, but oddly enough, I think this is another song like Remember Tomorrow, where I actually prefer a cover version. In 2008, Avenged Sevenfold recorded a cover of this for the same Maiden Heaven tribute that featured Metallica’s Remember Tomorrow cover. I think the interplay between Shadows and the rest of the band works a little better for me than the wall of Bruce, and I think Shadows’ delivery actually works better overall in my ear (tease: might be doing Avenged after Maiden).
Almost as if to answer Bruce’s swordplay song, Steve Harris wrote The Duellists and put it up next. The lyrics are secondary to the song in my opinion. Despite the chorus being pretty catchy, the verses only serve as a bit of exposition before the duel begins. The duel itself is between Dave and Adrian here. This is a perfect bit of duelling guitar. We get the tradeoff solos, we even get two harmony sections running against each other to start the whole section off. This song really has it all for guitar work, there’s even some great moments where Steve and Nicko drop out, or where Steve plays some interweaving bass fills that cut through perfectly. Man, what a cool song.
Track six already? Cast your mind back to The Number of the Beast, specifically a song called The Prisoner. Well, here we are with a rather rare part 2 with Back in the Village. The Village was the name of the prison from the BBC show, and we even get a direct lyrical reference at the very end of the song with the “I don’t have a number, I’m a name” referring to the famous “I’m not a number, I am a free man!” from the show’s intro. Man, this is a fast song and no part of it is easy to play for you musicians. Steve’s got some funky bass fills here, and every riff that Adrian threw into this song is top tier. Severely overlooked, and oft debated as it seems this song may have been played live for the first few dates of the World Slavery Tour, but no bootleg from the era has ever recorded it. It remains a mystery, but it does mean that it could be brought back someday.
Now, when it comes to my metal bands, it seems I have a bit of a type where I seem to favour the title tracks of albums released in 1984. Yes, much as my favourite Metallica song is Ride the Lightning, Powerslave puts up a serious fight for my favourite Maiden song of them all. Once again solely attributed to Bruce, this song has some of the heaviest middle eastern inspired riffing the band has ever had, plus one of Bruce’s strongest vocal performances. Couple that with a massive chorus and one of the best guitar solos ever played from Dave Murray, and it’s hard to resist this song in any way. I was lucky enough to see this one on the Book of Souls tour in 2016 and I’m praying for something that great from the Future Past tour in September.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner takes up a rather significant chunk of the album’s length, running for 13 of the album’s 51 minute length. This is a musical retelling of the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem of the same name, which tells the story of a mariner who kills an albatross (known to be a bird of good omen) which brings down a curse of grave misfortune for his crew. Section one of the song is fairly straightforward, primarily carried by Bruce’s vocals to drive forward much of the story, though there are a few moments where the guitar get to shine. The second section of the song starts around the 3 minute mark and elevates the song to another level. This is where Bruce starts to get a little more aggressive and the bass rhythms become much more frantic. The song then breaks down into an ominous spoken word section that then builds into a rather pretty bridge section that reminds me of The Clairvoyant (though that song won’t come to be for another two albums yet). This then kicks up into a killer instrumental section with some fine work from the whole band. The song then ends where it began sound wise. There’s definitely a lot of distinction between the different sections, which fall in line with where the story is at the time. It’s a great song, but not one I’m always in the mood for, which seemed to be the case this time around. Nonetheless, a huge song and a perfect closer to such a massive album.
Powerslave. What an album! This is definitely in my top 3, and it earns it throughout every song. Even the overlooked songs that many would point to as filler is absolutely killer. This then spawned an iconic tour with World Slavery, which in turn gave birth to Live After Death, which we shall have to talk about, or I’m thinking my fan card would end up revoked. Anyway, what do you think of Powerslave? Let me know, I’m keen to talk about it!
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Powerslave is one of my top Maiden albums, usually fighting NOTB for the top spot. I even have a Powerslave coffee mug that I bought on Etsy a year ago. :lol
I love the album and can't agree more with your writeup, even the middle four songs that don't get much love from the band anymore. I've seen Maiden four times so far and have caught half of the album played live:
Opened with Aces High twice (99, 08), closed once (22)
Played Powerslave twice (99, 08)
Played 2 Minutes three times (99, 03, 08)
Played Rime once (08)
Happy to have seen those songs played live. Given how rare it is to see Aces High in the set when they tour for a new album, I've seen them play it at 3 out of 4 shows.
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One: I LOVE Back In The Village (it was 23 on my list, and second highest Powerslave track after Rime).
Two: we used a variation on the Revelations quote for my father's funeral card. He suffered greatly from arthritis for most of his adult life, and for him there was literally no more pain. (Shout out to Scotty for helping me with that, by the way).
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Powerslave is my favorite or 2nd favorite (depending on the day) Maiden album. This is a great album from start to finish. Also, my favorite Maiden cover art. What a killer album cover!
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I love the album cover so much - when I saw that they made a Funko pop of the cover, I had to buy it!
(https://d3nt9em9l1urz8.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/3/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/f/k/fk57606-1.jpg)
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I’ve got that one too! So cool!
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Abs top drawer Maiden, this. Lots seem to not enjoy a fair bit of it but I think it's pretty flawless. Love Losfer and Village, I don't get what's not to love. The title track really is incredible. Captures the vibe so well.
Not to take away from NOTB or POM but Powerslave, Somewhere and Seventh are a simply colossal trio.
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nice writing here by deadeye
I was there at the beginning of IM w Paul and loved them till Powerslave after Powerslave they became a bit "samey" and to me a bit stale
Powerslave is prob my fav IM with Bruce album and had a great time on that tour
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Somehow I missed this thread, but great job Deadeye! Not much I can add, so I'll do a quick rundown:
Iron Maiden: shame about the production, but song-writing is top notch. Really great debut. Love every song except Running Free and the title track. Phantom always in my top 3.
Killers: much better sound and Adrian on board. More killer tracks, pun intended. Innocent Exile is a very underrated tune. More great drumming from Clive whom I prefer over Nicko.
Number: not including Total Eclipse on the official release just a massive blunder; my second favorite song on there after Hallowed. A big leap forward with Bruce.
Piece of Mind: begins with my favorite Maiden song. Sucks that the kick drums are so low in the mix. Still Life is another standout, great instrumental section. Great album, Bruce's best vocals.
Powerslave: the first one released after I became a fan, played it to death. Best sounding album probably, the guitars rip on here. Steve starting to re-use ideas which would become endemic.
Looking forward to the next couple write-ups since it will be my 2 favorite IM albums.
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Live After Death – 1985
Setlist: 1. Intro - Churchill’s Speech. 2. Aces High. 3. 2 Minutes to Midnight. 4. The Trooper. 5. Revelations. 6. Flight of Icarus. 7. Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 8. Powerslave. 9. The Number of the Beast. 10. Hallowed Be Thy Name. 11. Iron Maiden. 12. Run to the Hills. 13. Running Free.
Bonus tracks – 1. Wrathchild. 2. 22 Acacia Avenue. 3. Children of the Damned. 4. Die With Your Boots On. 5. Phantom of the Opera.
So, Live After Death. I didn’t really want to spend too much time on the live albums with this deep dive series as I feel I got a little bogged down in doing the live releases with Metallica. It made that series go on a little too long for me, and I kinda want to just keep moving with Maiden when they have so much ground to cover with the studio material alone, plus a few B-Side tracks I really want to look at. However, Live After Death warrants a look into because I feel like I’d kinda be short changing the band if I didn’t look into one of the biggest live releases of all time.
The World Slavery was the band’s biggest tour at this point, lasting 331 and spanning 189 concerts. It saw the band perform behind the Iron Curtain and all over the rest of the world. The production value was massive, jam packed with pyrotechnics and sarcophagi done up to look like Eddie, plus a massive walking Mummy Eddie. It’s a show that Steve Harris still thinks of as one of the best the band ever did, and he’d be right. This is most likely exactly what you would think of when you hear “Iron Maiden concert”. The tour ran from August of 1984 into July of 1985, and is known for being one of the most arduous tours the band has ever done, leaving the young quintet demanding a break for the rest of the year immediately following the final show.
As it turns out, the band had two strings of four nights at the same venue. Firstly, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, where Bruce Dickinson mentions that the footage should’ve been taken from. However, the lighting co-ordinator and the video team seemed to be at war with each other, and ultimately ended up with brilliant audio but unusable video. Luckily, their next chance was at Long Beach Arena in California, which ended up being perfect for the band’s first live video and double album.
Aces High is up first, with the first time we get to hear the amazing Churchill’s Speech preceding it. Man, what an epic intro to a concert it makes. Not gonna lie, having been a Maiden fan from a young age, Aces High ruined history class a little, since every time I hear the “we shall never surrender” my head automatically inserts the start of the song. The band kicks off well, but by the time we get to the key change in the first verse, you realise that Bruce isn’t necessarily in as great of a form as he could be. I love hearing Adrian actually joining in on the chorus harmonies. Instrumentally, this is a great performance of the song.
2 Minutes to Midnight up next, and you can hear the crowd going nuts during the intro. This is a strong performance from the band, and I love the chorus with the gag vocals. Solo here is expertly executed. I must say, being way more into the three guitar era live albums, I kinda miss Janick’s ending flurry out of the bridge, it just makes it a little more exciting than just the chords climbing back out again. My favourite part of this performance is actually a tiny little bit of extra lead guitar added to the “midnight is all night” section after the last chorus.
The Trooper sounds fantastic here, though I don’t really like Bruce’s random wailing right at the start. This is one of Bruce’s better performances for the main concert in my opinion, and a really strong performance from everyone overall. Bruce really struggles with the closing verse here, and randomly adding yeahs and other sounds than just the straight “oh” in the chorus doesn’t do it for me.
After a rather random introduction from Bruce, Revelations is up next. This is another one where Bruce just overdoes it when he doesn’t need to, with a random scatting in the intro. While we’re talking about Bruce though, a little interesting tidbit for you is that this track still features a third guitar during the opening harmonies, a clean chord line played by Bruce. This then goes on to omit a great bit of lead guitar from the album before the second verse. Bruce loses the pace and rhythm of the vocals at many points during the verses, which is a shame, because I really love the vocal line as written. One thing I do like is the post-solo riff being harmionised in the back half instead of just straight up harmony. Ultimately, some of the choices made for this song end up making this my least favourite of the three live versions we have of this song. There is a pretty funny moment where Bruce holds out the final notes of “all of you”, only for (I think it is anyway) Steve to shout out “mother***ers!”
Flight of Icarus follows, though the tempo is absolutely overcharged. Yes, bands tend to play a lot of their material a little faster live, but this is ridiculously quick, everything happening about 20 seconds earlier than it really should. Many of the songs are significantly shorter than they should be in this performance, simply due to the racing tempos. Bruce’s scream at the end of this song is deadly, but I would prefer to stick to the studio version with this one.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a song that would be an absolute set piece of any other Maiden show, is up next as the 6th song of the setlist. This starts with possibly the most iconic introduction to a song Bruce has ever made up. “This is what not to do if a bird shits on ya”. This one is sped up a little, and it makes the song that much livelier. The band is on fire for this whole song, Bruce even makes some embellishments that really suit the song. The rapid fire second section sounds AWESOME here, Bruce even has a really evil voice on the words “roll the dice” in the second verse for this section. The creepy spoken word section still kills the song dead for me here though, but it does sound like the reading is a little different. The sound effects in this section that sat well in the studio version seem to sit oddly in the mix here. Steve really ups the pace for the bright bridge section, really adding to that Clairvoyant feel I mentioned in the album review. Bruce’s scream here is a little disappointing, but the energy of the solo section makes up for it nicely. The harmony in this one really needs the addition of Janick Gers to flow perfectly. Hearing this after knowing the Flight 666 version’s perfection is almost a curse.
Powerslave follows, which we’ve established is one of my favourite Iron Maiden songs. I’m sorry to say it, but I feel this performance is a little sloppy during the first verse. The increased tempo doesn’t work for this song, since the slower groove made it feel that much more ominous. That said, it doesn’t really matter how fast it’s played, Dave’s solo is still a masterpiece. The whole instrumental section is brilliant, as is the ending cacophony, but this performance could’ve been better.
Number of the Beast is kinda meh. Bruce fails the run up to the scream in the intro, which is some of my favourite vocal on many live recordings the band has produced since. He’s also very shaky on most of the verses. This really isn’t his finest moment. The band sounds great, and the breakdown between the two solos is particularly masterful here. Steve’s bass solo is also fairly strong.
Hallowed Be Thy Name is another song like Rime where it really depends on a strong vocal performance to go right. So, why does Bruce put on a weird accent for the intro here? It’s a little jarring actually. At least he nails the low sustains. Band is still absolutely in top form here and Bruce isn’t too bad on this one, though I do miss many of the higher notes that Bruce omits, possibly due to the speed. It’s great to have a live version with Adrian playing the second solo though, as it usually falls to Janick. These are some of the finest guitar solos on the album too.
Iron Maiden is strangely, the one song that slows the hell down from the album version, almost giving the riff a new rhythm entirely. I actually prefer this version to what’s on the original album. The instrumental breakdown is awesome too, and I really love Nicko following Steve’s bass solo.
Run to the Hills is interesting, with it sounding like most of the harmony is actually between the lead guitar and the bass, not the other guitar. Bruce does a pretty decent job of the verses on this one, and I’m not even against his reworking of the chorus melody. Nicko makes the drum work on this sound like a breeze too, even at the higher tempo. Solo is great, Bruce’s big scale is really good here too. This is probably Bruce’s best performance in the main concert overall.
Running Free is presented here as the final song of the concert, though the true closing song would later be presented as the B-Side to Running Free’s single release. If you don’t like this song on the album, you’re probably not gonna like it much more on this one, with the added five minutes of crowd banter and screaming. Bruce sings it well, the harmony sections are really fluid, but it’s actually a slightly disappointing ending to the concert as a whole. A nine minute version of a four minute song, extended by a crowd singalong and Bruce yammering over the same riff for five odd minutes doesn’t really grab me.
So, Live After Death's main performance doesn’t actually hold up for me at all. These performances were from March of 1985, a fair ways into the tour, and you can tell the band is starting to fatigue from spending so long on the road. This album was received so well that I hate to be the guy, but I don’t think it’s all that great.
However, this is a double album. With the five bonus tracks, we rewind back to October of 1984 at the Hammersmith Odeon. The difference between Bruce’s voice at the start of the tour is noticeable with Wrathchild. He seems to have much less trouble with this than something like Number of the Beast. The guitar tone also seems much fuller, and I love the sound of Steve and Adrian singing on the chorus. The odd thing is that I can’t see where this performance would have come from as the song was only performed a small handful of times on the World Slavery tour, and neither the Odeon nor Long Beach Arena had this song in any setlist. Odd.
22 Acacia Avenue is next, and unlike most of the main show, I think I actually like this performance better than the album. Bruce has a certain vigour in this performance that wasn’t as present in the album version. The second half on this performance absolutely ROCKS!! I think I prefer Nicko’s drumming on this to Clive’s original. This whole thing just sounds so good live. There’s a whole different vibe to Dave’s solo here that I wish is what the album had done. Yeah, sure, Bruce misses some notes in the final verse, but man, he’s working hard on this one. This makes me want it back more than ever. Would not be disappointed if Prisoner got swapped out for this one on Future Past if they still want to have a Number of the Beast deep cut there.
Children of the Damned up next, and what a great performance. This is most probably Bruce’s best song on the whole album, and I think it comes down to getting to restrain himself a little more during the song’s verses. Everything on this performance is done to a very high degree, and I absolutely love it. Not only is it one of Bruce’s bet, but this might be the second best from the band overall on Live After Death.
A true rarity in the form of Die With Your Boots On next. This is another high energy performance, and absolutely rocking the whole way. If you thought the album version was a little sluggish, just get this version in your ears instead. The solo here is blistering, and the only really downside is that the harmony riff that I love so much isn’t quite as strong as I wish it were. It sounds like there’s a slight drag from Adrian with the lower end of the riff, or a bit of a rush from Dave coming out of his solo. This song was played a whole 4 times on the World Slavery tour, and this is the only official live version of it that ever released, so I’m really glad we have this.
Completing this collection of bonuses is Phantom of the Opera. If you want the band to go beast mode for 7 and a half minutes, here ya go. People will debate if Bruce sounds good singing the Paul Di’Anno songs, but man, he tears this one up, staying steady to the original lines while still adding that Bruce flair. Steve and Adrian are here singing the backing vocals, and it’s just a great time. The instrumental section has never sounded better, which is amazing when you consider 3/5 of the band weren’t there when the song was written. This is absolutely the best song from the whole Live After Death package, and I’m so glad it’s here!
With that said, I think the real best way to way to experience the World Slavery tour would be to find a bootleg of the Hammersmith Odeon shows that I once found circulating. Sadly, it’s since been removed from YouTube or I would add the link. I’m not ashamed to say I find this release to be less spectacular than it is culturally important. This was Iron Maiden at the peak of their popularity, and it’s great to have a document of that. I’m glad this album has sold as well as it has. But for me, I would prefer to listen to Flight 666 for my Powerslave live performances, as I think the whole band had matured far beyond this point. You can tell Bruce learns to sing live sustainably far later in his career than he does here.
But I digress, that’s just me. What do you think, am I wrong? Is Live After Death a godly performance that I'm just not hearing properly? Or are the Odeon bonus songs the best of the album overall for you too? Keen to hear your thoughts.
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I have always felt that Bruce's voice on Live After Death was not that great. When Rock in Rio came out, I was amazed at how much better his voice had become with age. He seems like he's always screaming or yelling on Live After Death and not actually singing. I do love the Hammersmith songs though, and he soars through those.
That being said, the album is 100% iconic - the cover art is amazing, the band is generally on fire and their greatest tour is represented in audio and visual form. I remember listening to this album after I became a fan in the mid 90's, seeing the pictures in the CD's, with the big Eddie mummy towering over the stage, thinking that if I could see one tour from the 1980's, it would likely be this one (over Metallica in 1989).
Thankfully, we got the Somewhere Back in Time tour in 2008, with a really amazing recreation of the tour, and I finally got to see the giant Eddie mummy in person. :metal
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I'm not a live album fan in general and LAD might be why. Doesn't do anything for me. The gatefold sleeve was hugely exciting though, with the live shots and amazing artwork.
I'm amazed they never went back and tagged Churchill onto the studio Aces High. It's the mightiest of intros.
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Phantom kills on that album! I wore the VHS version out when I got it in ‘85.
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My favorite live album ever! While the performances may not be the best, the energy the band exudes overcomes any flaws. To be honest, this was my introduction to Maiden when I was a freshman in high school, right around the same time that Somewhere in Time was released.
I'm surprised that you didn't comment on the much faster tempo that Revelations was played - I remember when I finally got Piece of Mind, I was shocked at how much that song dragged. I agree on your comments on how Running Free is annoying with the audience participation. Funny enough, I didn't discover it until much later since my friends (who lent it to me) had the cassette which had that whole crowd thing edited out.
One other thing you didn't mention was the 3 other tracks that ended up as live B-sides: Los'fer Words, Sanctuary and Murders in the Rue Morgue - all which are worth giving a listen, IMO.
While I highly doubt it will happen, I would love it if one day the band reissued the album and put everything in the correct order, placing what was "side 4" as well as the B-sides, in their relative spots (I know not all the songs were performed throughout the tour) as a sort of "ultimate version". Ah well, one can dream...
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Somewhere in Time - 1986
Tracklisting: 1. Caught Somewhere in Time. 2. Wasted Years. 3. Sea of Madness. 4. Heaven Can Wait. 5. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. 6. Stranger in a Strange Land. 7. Deja Vu. 8. Alexander the Great.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0OEg65hPhgP7B0Dy9TqP2L?si=swkKW6OAQP6o__4K7vcFoQ (https://open.spotify.com/album/0OEg65hPhgP7B0Dy9TqP2L?si=swkKW6OAQP6o__4K7vcFoQ)
Happy Easter everyone! In honour of the double meaning of Easter Egg, I purposely waited for today to talk about an album with a cover chock full of references. I could get into them all, but we’re primarily here to talk about the music, so here’s a link to an iHeart article all about what’s hidden in Derek Riggs’ iconic artwork. https://www.iheart.com/content/2017-09-28-32-hidden-references-on-iron-maidens-somewhere-in-time-cover/ (https://www.iheart.com/content/2017-09-28-32-hidden-references-on-iron-maidens-somewhere-in-time-cover/)
Following the World Slavery Tour, the band needed a proper break, and subsequently took the later third of 1985 off. This absolute exhaustion led to Bruce Dickinson writing several acoustic-based songs, feeling the band needed a Physical Graffiti type album to avoid fading away, though this material was rejected by the rest of the band. On the other hand, Adrian Smith ended up contributing three fully formed songs for the album, two of which became the album’s singles. The band also had time to experiment with some new equipment, incorporating guitar synthesisers into the music, creating a major shift in the band’s sound. Recorded once again at Compass Point studios in the Bahamas, here is my deep dive of Somewhere in Time
The sonic shift is felt immediately, with the immense opening to Caught Somewhere in Time. Oh man, what a way to open an album. Straight out of the gate, we’re met by two harmonised guitar riffs, leading into the band’s signature gallop and Bruce’s quickfire vocal delivery. The structure of this song is a little all over the place, adding quick turnarounds within the verses and a rather interesting guitar segue into the iconic chorus. Structurally, one could argue this is Aces High but prog. The solos on this one are great, and to save time for the rest of the album to come, Adrian Smith is absolutely the MVP of this whole album. You know a song must be pretty good when it acts as the double threat of opening song and title track. Aces is definitely much more iconic, but this is probably tied for the best opening track the band has ever produced.
Wasted Years follows, and this is a powerhouse of a single. This song deals with the subject of homesickness and a sense of alienation, almost in direct response to the World Slavery Tour and all that had been in the last few years. The opening riff is iconic to the band’s sound, and it was one that Adrian had written off as being “far too commercial for Iron Maiden” when it was originally written, though Steve convinced him to write something with it. The chorus is anthemic live and having been used as the closing statement of the Book of Souls and Future Past tours, carries almost a different sentiment now of “look at everything we’ve done”. At 5:08, it’s also the second shortest song on the album. It’s also one of only 3 to have been played on more than two tours. It also stands as number 5 on the band’s most streamed songs, so do with that what you will.
Sea of Madness up next, and this is a real thrashy song by Maiden standards. I find the lyrics a bit more abstract, but I have to say that this chorus absolutely slaps. The harmony vocals on this album are definitely much more prominent on Adrian’s songs and they are real highlights. One of my favourite parts of this song is the breakdown into the bridge section and the way it builds back out into the main riff. The song is vastly overlooked, and I’m kinda bummed this one didn’t make the cut for Future Past as it stands as one of my favourites from the album. Everything here results in a total banger! Maybe on this year’s leg?
A song that I don’t like quite as much on the album is Heaven Can Wait. This song is about a nightmare of dying and going to heaven, but not wanting to go for feeling that things are left undone. I don’t really like the verses and chorus section on the album, though the bridge is pretty good. I really like the way Bruce handles the key change in the bridge, and the “oh oh oh” chant is fairly fun. I don’t really have enough words to explain why I don’t like this as much, and I’m really hoping seeing it live will help that out. Everyone does a great job, and I think this is one of Nicko’s best drum parts on the album. I think a lot of it comes down to the chorus, which is just a little too corny for me. Feel free to tear me a new one, but these deep dives are all about my opinions. This is the most played song from the album live, so maybe it’s a little overplayed.
A deep cut that was only ever played once live, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a rather complex little number. Opening with a beautiful melody into a chaotic verse, and I have to admire Bruce for sticking it out for the song to ever be recorded. What absolutely floors me is the instrumental to the song. This is such a fast song, yet the band still finds ways to sustain the lead notes and create some truly captivating melodic sections, not to mention the solo section. This song is honestly a masterpiece from the band, but I absolutely understand why the song didn’t last live. Speaking to the nature of the long distance runner himself, this song is a test of endurance for every member of the band. Dave, Adrian and Bruce are the only members who get to even slow down at any point during these six and a half minutes. It’s amazing how much goes into this.
Track 2 on Side 2 is also Single #2. Stanger in a Strange Land is a fantastic song depicting the story of an Arctic explorer who dies and becomes frozen in ice for future explorers to find. Everything about this song slaps, but then we reach the solo section, which may be Adrian’s solo of all time, much as Powerslave is Dave’s. It can bring a tear to the eye if you really stop to listen. This is the third of the three songs that’s made it to more than two tours, though it only saw the first couple of dates for the 1999 Ed Hunter tour (which is a big deal that we’ll get to down the line). This is also one of only 5 songs Iron Maiden has ever released with a fade out, which I’ve always taken as being symbolic of the explorer’s frozen body dying out. Maybe it’s morbid, but that’s my interpretation anyway.
Deja Vu sees the return of Dave Murray’s writing, after an absence on Powerslave. You can often tell a Dave song because of the opening solo over clean chords. This one absolutely erupts straight after it though. This song is about the concept of déjà vu, as the title would suggest. Instrumentally, it’s one of the more interesting songs, like Long Distance Runner, but the lyrics are a little bit lacking. This is now the only song from the album that has never been played live, but if any song has stood out as filler on this album, it’s definitely this one. Still worth a spin, but it’s just not as strong as the rest of the album for me.
We’ve had songs based on historical events from Iron Maiden before, but have you ever wanted a straightforward “here’s the facts” kind of lyric, but set to awesome music? Then I present to you Alexander the Great, this album’s closing song. Bruce absolutely nails his vocal delivery here, and while the riff is a simple gallop, it moves around enough to stay interesting. Couple this with the instrumental link between chorus 1 and verse 2, and you’re already off to a great start. But when we get past the second chorus, oh man. The second solo for the song sets such a magical vibe, building into one of the most evil sounding riffs the band has produced to this point. And from there? Let’s just have one of the best harmony sections ever. Not enough for you? Adrian, can you please do a segmented solo, between which we’ll have Steve and Nicko lock in on a really cool little run, then get Dave to send it on home with the final solo of the album. DUDE! Alexander the Great is that good, the fans demanded it live from 1986 to 2023! And at that point, Iron Maiden made a tour around Somewhere in Time just to play it live. Lord, what a song. Hallowed be thy Name may prove me wrong, but Alexander might be the best album closer the band has ever produced.
And that, my friends, is Somewhere in Time. What else can be said except that this is the middle chapter of my favourite trilogy of albums from the band. It might be my favourite album of all, though there is another coming in about 20 years time from here that rivals it. What do you guys think? Banger or not a banger? Was the band right to ignore it all these years or should this have been in their good graces this whole time? Let me know what you think, and I'm especially keen to hear what everyone's favourite song is on this album.
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For a long time this was my favourite Maiden album. It's now at #2 after Seventh Son.
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One of my favorite albums ever!! Loneliness is the only song I don’t love. HCW is vastly over-criticized for the chorus, it’s a top 10 song for me as everything else absolutely smokes. Great write-up! I’ll add more later.
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Definitely my favorite Maiden album. It was also the first studio album I heard from them, so that might have a little to do with it. But I agree with pretty much your whole writeup Deadeye! Disappointed that SoM didn't make it into the setlist for the current tour (although as you said, we can hope for it this year!) because it is such an amazing song. Definitely the underrated of the trio of songs that Adrian penned for this album - I think the chorus for this one is the best of the three. Maybe he needs to write more songs on his own?
Notwishstanding the repeat-the-song-title-in-the-chorus-numerous-times, which I believe someone (Jammindude?) pointed out started with this album, I absolutely LOVE the title track. In particular I love how the solo section flows right back into the main song (from about 4:45-4:52) without nary a breath!
For me, HCW is the lowpoint on the album (I've actually grown to love DV over the years) and figure it's really down to the chorus - not only the repetitive lyrics, but also the cheesy music. Had they done something better and more interesting, that song would have risen up the rankings.
TLotLDR is the one other track that's just OK for me. I think I've grown in appreciation of it over time, but it still would rank in the bottom half of the album for me. The intro, as beautiful as it is, just seems so foreign to the rest of the album, even with it being recalled at the end of the song. To an extent I view it the same way as others view the original '96 version of Burning My Soul. Would be interesting to see what they would've done had they separated the two sections and come up with something more complimentary for each.
Love AtG - so glad it's finally getting a proper airing live. Such a great track, especially the instrumental section.
And it goes without saying that this is the best Maiden cover art bar none! I'm a sucker for futuristic stuff anyway, so this is right up my alley, especially with all the cool easter eggs (ha!) that Riggs included. While I know the vast majority of them have a connection to the band and/or their history, one that I'd love to know why it was included were the 4 Hebrew letters that spell out God's name (the Tetragrammaton). Anyone have a clue as to why they were included?
edit: BTW Deadeye, where's the link to the iHeart article about the cover art?
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Dejavu is super catchy.
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Amazing record. I love LotfLDR but never play Heaven Can Wait.
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edit: BTW Deadeye, where's the link to the iHeart article about the cover art?
Oh my god. I don’t think I even put the album link on this one, now that you mention it. WHOOPS! Thanks for calling me out on that one. Editing now.
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I have always loved this album! The only song I don't really care for is Long Distance Runner, but I need to listen to it again. Heaven Can Wait is ok, and I wish they'd play other songs from the album live. Deja Vu and Sea of Madness are both AWESOME and deserve to be played live.
I'm really excited for this year's Future Past show so I can finally see a few more songs from the album live (i've only seen them do Wasted Years and Heaven Can Wait). I plan to go apeshit for Stranger in a Strange Land.
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Oh my god. I don’t think I even put the album link on this one, now that you mention it. WHOOPS! Thanks for calling me out on that one. Editing now.
No problem. Actually, I found this link thanks to the Wikipedia page about the album which has a lot more info on the making of the cover art. Pretty interesting read. And the Wikipedia page itself lists many references/easter eggs in the artwork including some not in that iHeart article.
https://www.ironmaiden-bg.com/web/index.php/somewhere-in-time-artwork
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Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - 1988
Tracklist: 1. Moonchild. 2. Infinite Dreams. 3. Can I Play With Madness. 4. The Evil That Men Do. 5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. 6. The Prophecy 7. The Clairvoyant. 8. Only The Good Die Young.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1rG6IgNdwE1IGFuIKuYosz?si=ZQJ72IrCSnSrG3I_0UoYsg (https://open.spotify.com/album/1rG6IgNdwE1IGFuIKuYosz?si=ZQJ72IrCSnSrG3I_0UoYsg)
For the last two albums, Iron Maiden had been working with concepts that ran through the majority of the songs. Powerslave had dealt with the concept of power and Somewhere in Time with the concept of time. But as the 87 leg of Somewhere on Tour ended, Steve Harris had a vision. Inspired by the novel Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card and the recent death of Doris Stokes, a well-known psychic, Steve handed down to the band the idea of doing a concept album about the titular seventh son. Bruce, who felt a little jaded that his role on the previous album was only as a singer, fully supported the idea.
While the final product isn’t perfectly a concept album, this is one of Maiden’s most ambitious efforts to date, and probably the absolute furthest it could have been pushed with the lineup as it was. We have full blown synthesizers, we have some of the thickest guitar tones from the band to date, and we have the band debuting at number one on the UK charts to boot.
We open in an antitypical way for Maiden. A simple acoustic guitar strumming with Bruce’s vocals opening with a passage about “seven deadly sins”. The synth swells in with a kickass riff, and the band stabs on a few chords underneath. As this swells into action, Bruce lets rip with an absolutely sinister vocal rasp. Moonchild, the album opener, is more or less the devil issuing a warning about the upcoming birth of a child, warning to kill the child at birth lest the devil take control of his fate. Everything about this song is pretty banging, though I must say a slight step down from the last two album openers we’ve had. Dave Murray has the first solo here and it’s downright evil! Adrian plays some controlled chaos in his licks too, but Dave steals it on this one for me.
Infinite Dreams seems to be cut from the same cloth as Children of the Damned, leading with a much more withdrawn approach, though growing more and more chaotic as the track goes on. While Infinite Dreams clearly paints the picture of nightmares and visions of the afterlife he fears he may never awaken from, to me, this is the father (the original seventh son, who I’ll name call SS1) dealing with the warning from the devil’s warning. This song has probably the best overall instrumental section for my money, as the harmonised riffs on this track are beyond reproach! Special props to Nicko who is on fire across the whole album, but absolutely smokes this song.
Track three, Can I Play With Madness, is possibly one of the band’s most divisive songs from the classic era, right next to Heaven Can Wait. This is almost bordering on a pop song for Maiden, given its huge harmonised vocal hooks and straightforward rhythm (now complete with cowbell!). This is a song that goes through phases for me, and I gotta say, I really enjoyed listening to it this time through. With all the darkness of the last two songs, it’s really somewhat refreshing to hear. The lyrics are straightforward; following on from the events of Infinite Dreams, SS1 goes to see a prophet to help him decipher his dreams to no avail, though the prophet stares back and says that he’ll burn in hell. Great little instrumental section here which is really effective!
The good that men do is oft interred with their bones, but The Evil That Men Do lives on and on. Here’s a fan favourite if ever I heard one. The Evil That Men Do is probably the closest to a love song that Iron Maiden has ever written, and it’s fantastic! I don’t really know that I could say it furthers the story too much, though it does reference having “slept in the dust with his daughter” and “the book of life open before me” so I believe this is the final moment before the seventh son’s seventh son is born. Adrian’s solo on this song rivals the Stranger in a Strange Land solo, and the riff leading into it is such a banger. It’s really hard to not name this song the highlight of the album!
Opening side 2, we have the birth of the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. This is a barely under 10-minute epic, very much driven by Bruce’s vocals. This is where we find out the true importance of this child. Firstly, he is from an unbroken generation of sons, which is a statistical nightmare. He has the power to heal, plus the powers of clairvoyance. In the second verse, the son’s powers begin to take hold, and it is told that he is struggling with using his powers for good or for evil. At around the 4:18 mark, the song take a dramatic shift into a clean guitar and a bassline, with some iconic narration from Bruce. This then starts to open out, with chugging distortion echoing out before becoming much more constant. By god, the havoc that ensues once this section meets it’s ending is an eargasm. We get the most intense soloing that Dave and Adrian have ever recorded and it’s all put together as a massive duel! Between bouts of soloing, there are also some amazing bridging riffs. ARGH! Is there anything this band can’t do!? The song closes out on a great couple of harmonies and sinister chord movements backed with a choir. Such an amazing song! Nicko is once again an MVP here, keeping the song rhythmically captivating, even while the band are simply chugging during the verses. This song is amazing!
After the first five songs though, the story seems to slip a lot. The Prophecy is the only song that really deals with the titular character’s (let’s call him SS2) clairvoyant powers. Sadly, the people do not listen to his prophecy that undisclosed is coming, and when it comes to pass, they blame him for it. While lyrically weak, I actually really love the main riff of this one, and there’s a great bit of studio produced vocal from Bruce where he sings as both the light and dark side of the Seventh Son’s conscience. Yeah, it’s pretty close to filler, one of only two songs I can say that about on this album, but at least it’s got some strong instrumental hooks. My favourite of which is actually the acoustic outro, which features the second fadeout in an Iron Maiden original. Those with a keen ear will almost certainly have spotted the handiwork of Dave Murray in the writing team for this one through the intro alone.
The Clairvoyant is another great song, and the one that actually started the whole process on this album. The first verse of the song deals with SS2 describing his own powers and contemplating how they’re only growing stronger, but he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to control the for much longer. The chorus poses that “there’s a time to live and a time to die”, before some major key soloing which feels really upbeat. But when we return for the second verse, we’re met with a third person perspective that offers the information that SS2 couldn’t see his own death, despite all of his power. It’s never explained how he died, but that’s the main character dead.
Only the Good Die Young is the least progressive song on the album, though probably the fastest paced. The lyrics here paint the picture of the disaster that SS2 predicted but no one heeded. It laughs in the face of those, asking if miracles are all they can trust and likening SS2’s life to a pawn on a chessboard. Steve Harris actually gets a mini bass solo in this one, while both Dave and Adrian get a turn in. The album then ends up going full circle, finishing up with the opening of Moonchild, though omitting the “your trip begins” line.
And that’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. You know, this used to be one of my favourites, but listening through again, I’m not sure it still holds up. Don’t get me wrong, this is the third part of an epic trilogy that started with Powerslave, but I almost feel a fatigue in this one rather than an expansion from where we left off with Somewhere in Time. This album absolutely has it’s highs, but it just doesn’t stick the landing as well as I would have hoped. I could liken it to the Original Trilogy for Star Wars fans. This is Maiden’s Return of the Jedi. It’s great, but it’s greatness doesn’t go beyond what Empire/Somewhere in Time did a few years earlier. And I may not be the only one who shares that sentiment, given that this is the last of the classic era.
But, that’s just me. Now I scream allowed to the readers, I say don’t lie, don’t say you don’t know. What do YOU think of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son? Does it end in heaven or in hell for your rankings?
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My #2 so yeah it holds up. I like The Prophecy a lot too. The vocals and melodies on this are some of their best and the drums sound fantastic. Title track is a top 5 song for me.
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It's a good album, but yeah, the execution isn't quite there. This album came out the same year as Operation: Mindcrime, and after hearing that album, Bruce admitted (I'm going by memory from a long time ago, so don't hold me to this) something to the effect of SSoaSS not being as well done as O:M in terms of telling a story as a concept album. It does make me wonder what the album would have been like if they had worked the story out more. Musically the album holds up fairly well, but the "repeat the song title in the chorus several times" started to get really long in the tooth with this album - especially on TETMD and the title track. I can put up with the title track because of the instrumental second half, but TETMD is this album's HCW which is the track I'm prone to skip because of how repetitious it is.
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It's been my favourite Maiden album for a long time now. I love every track (even CIPWM which seems to be getting some undeserved hate) except The Prophecy, but that outro is cool though.
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Love this one, unsurprisingly. The first Maiden album that came out when I was already a fan.
There are a couple of things I don't adore (CIPWM lyrics are garbage, title track chorus) but nothing I hate.
Oddly, I love The Prophecy particularly. Great lyrics and vocals, imo. OTGDY is one of my top Maiden songs.
Following SIT, the guitar tone is again quite unusual. I think they were using a different brand of amps for this one. Anyone remember what they were? Much like SIT, I don't recall hearing another album that sounded like it.
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I like about half of Seventh Son - Moonchild, Infinite Dreams, The Evil that Men Do (:metal), Seventh Son, The Clairvoyant.
Can I Play with Madness is my least favorite song on the record. Not much else for me to share - I've seen them play Moonchild, Evil that Men Do, The Clairvoyant and CIPWM live, which is good enough for me.
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This is my favorite Maiden record, with Powerslave close behind. Moonchild is one of their best album openers and one of my favorite Maiden songs. I love Can I Play with Madness. Yes, it's poppy, but it is so damn catchy, and it has a good instrumental section. The title track is another highlight for me. The Prophecy is my least favorite track, but I don't find it skippable or terrible. Only the Good Die Young is a great way to close out this album too. When I was discovering Maiden, this is one of the first studio albums I bought (Rock in Rio was the first Maiden album I snagged). My local music shop had a used copy so I grabbed Seventh Son and never looked back.
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No Prayer for the Dying - 1990
Tracklist: 1. Tailgunner. 2. Holy Smoke. 3. No Prayer for the Dying. 4. Public Enema Number One. 5. Fates Warning. 6. The Assassin. 7. Run Silent Run Deep. 8. Hooks in You. 9. Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter. 10. Mother Russia.
https://open.spotify.com/album/21ZEAwY2TDnoQvVMJKkjUk?si=OsK4rbcxT522JZq-COBnvw (https://open.spotify.com/album/21ZEAwY2TDnoQvVMJKkjUk?si=OsK4rbcxT522JZq-COBnvw)
The sound of Iron Maiden had become very synth heavy with Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son, though I would dare argue that it still felt like somewhat of a natural progression. However, facing the turn of the decade and seeing the rise of Grunge throughout 89, Maiden revaluated their trajectory and went for a “back-to-basics” approach. Boy, how I wish I could say everyone was on board. Through a growing dislike for how fast the band were playing songs live and a disagreement on the change in direction, Adrian Smith decided to call it a day with Iron Maiden. His departure would mark the start of a decline for Maiden in the eyes of many.
Replacing Adrian was no easy task, but the job was ultimately given to Janick Gers, who had played with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple between 1980 and 1982. He had also teamed up with Paul Di’Anno and Clive Burr, as well as Pete Willis (ex-Def Leppard) for the Gogmagog EP in 1985. As luck would have it, Bruce Dickinson had been approached to record a song for the Nightmare on Elm Street 5 soundtrack, and he had asked Gers to play on it. This gave him an in for the job when the time came.
With the new lineup in place, songs were recorded using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio on Steve Harris’ property in Essex. The outcome of which became No Prayer for the Dying, an album which consistently ranks very low for fans and has been largely ignored since 1993. But is that reputation deserved? Let’s dive in!
The album opens with a bass lead over chugging guitars and Nicko’s hi-hats, which then opens into the first verse. This is Tailgunner, looking into the battle over Dresden back in World War II. It’s almost a sequel to Aces High in it’s own way, with a similar structure of verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus, out. However, I find this one stripped of a certain identity that many of the Maiden openers have had to this point. This is a very straightforward song. No real harmony lines, no big opening moment. Even Bruce’s vocals seem to have dipped an octave or two from his usual operatic forte. The chorus is very repetitive lyrically, though I must say I like the key change throughout. The solo section here is pretty effective though and does set up Janick really nicely. I think it’s a good song, but it just doesn’t have a certain factor that makes it Maiden for my ear.
Holy Smoke delivers on the harmony guitars from the start. The instrumental is much simpler, but Bruce has a frantic pace to his vocals here. The lyrics here take a very critical stance on televangelism, with Bruce giving his vocals a real raspy quality. This is one of the first times in memory that we’ve had a slightly expletive word here, with the line “I’ve lived in filth, I’ve lived in sin, and I still smell cleaner than the shit you’re in”. The solo here really doesn’t stick with me the same as so many before it have. If this is Iron Maiden’s Leper Messiah, then I think Metallica had them beat on this particular subject.
If Tailgunner felt like a sequel to Aces High, No Prayer for the Dying is a direct sequel to Infinite Dreams. The intro melodies are very similar, though I think I actually enjoy this version a little more. I’m not a huge fan of Bruce’s delivery on this song, which is a shame because I think it’s actually a very good lyric. These lyrics deal with the questions of the meaning of life and asking God for answers in the song’s closing bridge. I really like the pacing of the second half of the song, ramping up from the quiet approach the first two verses had taken. Still, the solos don’t hit me, but the riff beneath them does. I really like the rhythm bursts beneath the ending flurry of the solo.
Public Enema Number One is a politically charged song, talking about the dire ways of the world. Everything about this song really works for me, Bruce’s snarl is perfect and I love the riffing on this one. What’s even better is that the solo actually really hits me, aided significantly by the way the instrumental section begins. This is one of my favourites on the album, though I haven’t got much to say about it. The title pun speaks for itself coupled with the lyrics. I want to highlight the line “I don’t need a crystal ball to sell ya”, which I feel is not just a good line about “I know what’s going to happen and I can’t see the future” but also a throwback to Can I Play With Madness and, in context, almost contrasts with Die With Your Boots On. Just something to think about next time you visit the album.
Fates Warning is sadly not a tribute to the kickass proggers, but is a song about the inevitability of fate. This song is definitely a Dave Murray song, which you can tell from the intro. This is fairly bulk standard for this period of Maiden but actually has one of my favourite bridges on the album just because of the sound that almost calls back to Total Eclipse in my ear. This has one of the cooler solo sections on the album, topped off by a really decent harmony section connecting the two solos. This one never saw the light of a live performance, but it’s a ripper of a song IMO.
The Assassin is a real mixed bag. I really love the instrumental in the verses which are full of tension. There’s also some riffs supporting the chorus that feel very reminiscent of To Tame a Land. The soloing is awesome! There’s so much to love here, I even like the fact that the lyrics are almost a retelling of Killers but from the killer’s perspective. So why do I not think this song lands? Well, firstly, it’s too short and never hits a true climax worthy of what’s been set up throughout the rest of the song. Secondly, that chorus is awful on the album version, and I specify that because I think it actually works far better live. But, sometimes, Iron Maiden can be like that, prioritising that live moment even if it makes the recorded version a little bit worse. Ah man, this could have really been up there for me if it had been done slightly different.
Run Silent Run Deep opens with such a mysterious air to it, which is extremely fitting for the subject matter of submarine warfare. Bruce has recounted that these lyrics actually date back to some of his rejected material for Somewhere in Time and while they wouldn’t have fit that album, I’m really glad they made them off of the cutting room floor, for the most part (that Davy Jones line is kinda dumb). This has my favourite harmony of the album for sure, it’s just so upbeat. Everything on this song should’ve added up to being a classic Maiden track, even if in the same category as songs like Sea of Madness where its off the beaten path but still loved by the fans. However, Maiden never brought this song to the stage and Run Silent Run Deep is a forgotten deep cut.
Hooks in You features a riff written by Adrian Smith before he left the band. The instrumental to this song is awesome, though I must admit the lyrics are kinda dumb. Bruce has explained this song is about a bit of an S&M vibe, in the non-Metallica sense. I must admit, I really love the vibe of the bridge with the lead guitar shining above the chord chugging. Great song for instrumental, but just not a great vocal or lyric. Some have argued that this is the third part of the Charlotte the Harlot quadrilogy due to the opening line of “I’ve got the keys to view at number 22”, but it has very little to do with the character ultimately.
Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter is the second to last song on the album, and this is almost a cover as far as Iron Maiden is concerned. This is the song that Bruce had written for Nightmare on Elm Street that Janick had played on. Well, the lyric here is actually not about slaughter as in a killing, but rather much more personal. Bruce didn’t think very much of the films so decided to write something a bit daft. Steve Harris ended up liking it, so the band rerecorded it for this album. Somehow it ended up being the band’s only number one single in the UK, though it’s had very little airplay. This is the only song from the album that has been played since 1993, and I don’t think it really needed to be. There are so many better songs on this album, and I think I’d end up putting this dead last in my ranking for the album. There's just nothing here for me to really get into. The verses are boring as anything, and the chorus is very repetitive. Don't get me wrong, there are Maiden songs coming up that do the repetitive chorus well, and there's definitely worse songs coming up, but I just don't dig it.
Mother Russia, on the other hand, is pretty rocking. This is the ‘epic’ for the album, and as such, I feel there are some slight similarities to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’s title track. Bruce has said the song is about a great land with a terrible of being overrun and people being massacred and wishing they could get things together and live in peace. Well, this song came out in the 90s and we’re currently in the tenth year of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Many Russians don’t like the song as they feel it to be a little patronising and I can definitely see that point of view. This doesn’t exactly end the album on a triumphant note, nor really give it any closure but to peter out sadly.
And that’s No Prayer for the Dying. I have to say I don’t think it’s as worthy of the hate that it has received over the years, but it certainly isn’t a great album by any stretch of the imagination. I find this to be largely forgettable, though it has some really strong moments. I would urge you to take another listen to the middle of the album, specifically Public Enema Number One through to Run Silent Run Deep again, as I feel these songs deserve a bit more love than they’ve seen in recent years. I find it odd that this has two more songs than Seventh Son did, but according to Spotify, these two albums are exactly the same length and according to Wikipedia, this is actually the shorter album.
What do you think of the album? We’ve finally entered the really divisive era of the band, so I think the discussion here is gonna be great!
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Barf emoji
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I like it more than most do. It’s a time period thing.
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I like it. Not my fave, but definitely better than the next…
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The best thing about No Prayer is when Jack Dalton sang a tiny bit of Mother Russia on the MacGyver reboot at the end of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jS9YZ9CUI8
:lol
Tailgunner is cool, Bring Your Daughter kicks ass, but that's about all I usually listen to from this album.
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The best thing about No Prayer is when Jack Dalton sang a tiny bit of Mother Russia on the MacGyver reboot at the end of this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jS9YZ9CUI8
I had never seen that before! That’s awesome
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Pretty much in agreement with Deadeye on No Prayer. Run Silent Run Deep is one of my favourite Malden songs.
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Sorry Deadeye you deserve better than “barf emoji” after all that effort you put in. Here’s my story with this album. Bought it upon release and after taking it home and seeing the track lengths I knew I was in trouble. My two favorite Maiden albums were the two previous ones with the epic songwriting so when I saw all the 4s at the beginning of the songs (not to mention some lame titles) I knew I was screwed. The opener was nice and peppy so I liked that but afterward it was a slog until the last song which had a nice epic feel. Since then I’ve come to appreciate Run Silent Run Deep but this album has always been my least favorite except for the 2 albums with you-know-who (not talking about Dianno). Production also took a giant step backward and with no Adrian on board it was a huge dip in quality for me.
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Fear of the Dark - 1992
Tracklist: 1. Be Quick or Be Dead. 2. From Here to Eternity. 3. Afraid to Shoot Strangers. 4. Fear is the Key. 5. Childhood’s End. 6. Wasting Love. 7. The Fugitive. 8. Chains of Misery. 9. The Apparition. 10. Judas Be My Guide. 11. Weekend Warrior. 12. Fear of the Dark.
https://open.spotify.com/album/16Su3EUFLPqWVyrwN1q5wO?si=lpzSdLoxSqOciFr_J7wiFw (https://open.spotify.com/album/16Su3EUFLPqWVyrwN1q5wO?si=lpzSdLoxSqOciFr_J7wiFw)
WARNING: There is a song on this album that really irks me, and I wasn't afraid ripping it a new one. I have used the censored emoji, but if it offends you to see this song being torn apart, remember that all of this is subjective. Right, onto it!
After using the Rolling Stone Mobile Studio for No Prayer for the Dying and having less than stellar results, Steve Harris ended up fleshing out his set up into a fully-fledged recording studio, nicknamed Barnyard, which Martin Birch helped to supervise the sound of. The first album produced there became the longest to date and the band’s first double LP. Inspired by the turn of the decade, there were a lot of darker themes on this album, with the concept of fear permeating through in several places.
So is this album a light in the black, or a dark spot in the band’s discography? Let’s dive in.
Be Quick or Be Dead wastes no time in smacking you over the head with it’s aggressive, almost thrash metal sound. This song is absolutely ferocious, opening with a killer riff and an awesome scream from Bruce. Lyrically, Be Quick or Be Dead targets dodgy deals and corruption within the political system at the time. While many would probably find fault with Bruce’s vocal style on this song, I have to admit this is a highlight for me straight out of the gate. I really hope this makes a comeback someday. Nicko’s drumming is absolutely driving here and it’s just a high point for the album, adding some much needed ballsiness that I felt was missing from No Prayer.
The same cannot be said for From Here to Eternity, however. This song is the return and ultimate end of Charlotte the Harlot, who meets up with the devil and takes a motorcycle ride that ultimately ends in their deaths. Sadly, the lyrics are lacking, even from the lust filled lyrics from her debut. The solos on this song are an absolute highlight, and the chorus does have some real singalong quality, but ultimately, there’s no real body to the song and kinda feels like a song written just to be a single. Bruce ends the track saying something about “Get on your M11” which is the highway linking North-East London to Cambridge, so at least we have an approximate location of where she died, I guess? I don't know why, but I just don’t really like this song much.
Back to some killer Maiden material, and one of the only songs that Maiden has ever returned to after the initial touring behind the album. Afraid to Shoot Strangers is about the Gulf War and “how shitty war is that it's started by politicians and has to be finished by ordinary people that don't really want to kill anybody” as Bruce puts it. It’s a unique position for a war song for Maiden in that this doesn’t deal with the combat like The Trooper or the aftermath like Metallica’s One. Instead, this gets into the head of a soldier about to go to battle. While the final verse is a little bit shaky, I think this has some really great lyrics. With the opening ballad section over, we move into a classic sounding Maiden with great guitar leads and impressive soloing feats. This is a great song, and another huge highlight on the album. This was brought back on the Maiden England tour in 2012 and 2013 until it was replaced by Revelations, but I really hope they bring it back again before Maiden calls it a day. It's pretty special with the three guitars, so here's a quick link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZNkhRyUVHU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZNkhRyUVHU)
Fear is the Key is a song about AIDS. I think the riff rocks, and there’s definitely a bluesy element to it all. There’s actually a lot of greatness in this song, and I have to really agree with one of the key lines to this song, being “nobody cares until someone famous dies”. And then you get past a decent solo section into the second bridge, and the song just changes for the worst. I think the instrumental under this bridge has a lot going for it, but Bruce just goes too far into weird territory for me. It’s not a bad song, but there is some odd choices made and I think it could’ve been a far better song. Ah well.
One song that I really love that I never see anyone talking about is Childhood’s End. These lyrics take a look at children dying because their so-called leaders don’t care about them, and basically goes on to say that humans can’t remain children when there are so many pointless wars and catastrophes. Everything about this song is amazing. There’s a real emotional element to the riffs and a huge tension in the verses and the sparseness of the choruses. And then there’s all the soloing goodness, of course. And it all comes to an abrupt halt with the only utterance of the title. Hands down, one of my favourite songs from the 90s and wouldn’t you know, Maiden never touched it live. If they’re gonna start changing the rules and playing songs that have never been played after 37 years, they can turn around and do this one from 32 years ago next tour, thanks very much.
Wasting Love is probably the closest that Maiden ever really got to a ‘love song’, and it’s also one of their first real power ballads. This talks about the loneliness that comes from having sex with a lot of different people but never really coming to love someone or care about them beyond that momentary pleasure. This is Iron Maiden’s 9th most streamed song on Spotify, which I find interesting as, while it is a decent song, it’s so outside of what I consider classic Maiden that it almost doesn’t register as being their song, it always feels like solo Bruce to me somehow.
One of the deeper cuts for the album is another one that I’ve always really liked, The Fugitive. This is much like The Prisoner in that it’s based off of the TV series (which coincidentally was made into a film with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones the following year). This just has a great vibe to it, and Bruce sells the story perfectly. I’ve always really liked the intro, starting heavy and then breaking down into the clean. I also really like the way this comes back around after the first solo, which manages to have an air of mystery and danger to it. This also pulls off a great plot twist, where Bruce says “even if I’m proven innocent, now I gotta get them all and make them pay”. I think it’s a great song, so of course, it’s another one that Maiden never played live. They’re getting great at that on the last few albums.
Going back to the bluesier vibe, we have Chains of Misery. According to Bruce, this lyric is about the devil on your shoulder, dishing out the worst possible advice that, if heeded, would absolutely ruin your life. It’s such a rocker of a song, and the solo section is a totally different vibe that compliments the song so well. This is a song with a co-writing credit from Dave Murray, and it’s probably the least Dave Murray song since Charlotte the Harlot. This is a pretty short song that doesn’t really leave me with a whole lot to say about it, but I enjoy it.
Ok, the f :censored just happened? The Apparition takes all the good will I had for this album, crumpled it up and threw it back in my face. This song is terrible. And the problem with that is that the riff that kicks us into the solo section would have been a perfect main riff for the song. The solos themselves are great, and the harmony is absolutely killer. But when you stick that in the middle of something so bland and repetitive as this, it just can’t save it. The lyric itself is actually excellent and full of great life advice. Just, I don’t want to hear Bruce out. This song shouldn’t have happened, and if it had to, they should have done a lot better. Bruce is almost kicking back like he’s about to bust into an early 90s rap, the backing track is uninspired, and the “chorus” turnaround is weak. No stars awarded. EUGH!
Judas Be My Guide takes on the hard task of trying to win us back after that, and it actually does a fairly admirable job. This is another Dickinson / Murray credit, and this absolutely slaps! As one of Maiden’s shortest songs (not counting Ides of March), this takes on a solid pace and doesn’t waste much time. On Bruce’s first solo album, there is a song called Son of a Gun with a lyric that mentions “In a blood red sunrise, take me to Jesus with Judas my guide”. That line gave Bruce the inspiration to flesh it out into a full song, and I’m glad it did, because this is another highlight. Everything here is top notch, and I’d even recommend checking out the LORD cover, which came up during my roulette.
Weekend Warrior is a bit of filler, which a lot of people don’t really care for, but I like enough when it’s on. Lyrically, this song is about football hooliganism, and the “fake fans” that don’t care about the game in the slightest but live for starting fights. I have to say, I like the reset between at the end of verses, though I wish it had reverted to just the guitars without Bruce repeating the last line. The solos are killer, the harmony is fantastic, and even if the rest is a little bit mundane, it’s good filler unlike The Apparition which is a total waste of nearly 4 minutes. Sorry, that song was that bad.
We end the album on the title track and the big classic that hasn’t left the setlist for more than a single year since release, Fear of the Dark. The lyric here is exactly what we all know, being the fear of something being hiding in the darkness that we can’t see until it’s too late. I must admit to something that I think every single Maiden fan has found since probably 2002 when Rock in Rio released, I don’t think the studio version has much impact on me, while the live versions are always stellar. I don’t know what it is, but this song really comes to life on stage, where I don’t know that the album version ever really did. Nonetheless, this closes the album out on a strong note that I think we all needed. Since I did make mention of Wasting Love’s streaming record, I may as well mention that this is currently Maiden’s number 3 most popular on Spotify. If there’s one thing I don’t love about this song, it’s that it all closes on the clean closing vocals. I just wish it had ended a bit stronger since it is the album closer.
And that’s Fear of the Dark. I must say, I wasn’t looking forward to revisiting this one, which did contribute to the lateness of this writeup. This does mark the breaking point for the band, as shortly after this album’s release, Bruce left the band in a far less than positive manner. The third show of the tour was particularly notable though, as the opening band was none other than Dream Theater, who were still a month out from Images and Words.
This album is such a mixed bag that I don’t know if I like it or not. There are a few pretty great songs, and then there’s tunes like From Here to Eternity and The :censored ing Apparition that kinda plague this album. I’m keen to have some discussion on this one to see what you guys think. With Bruce gone, The X Factor comes next.
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Childhoods End always reminded me of Fish-era Marillion, like something from Script or Fugazi. The title is also a Marillion song title.
I find the two early 90’s albums really enjoyable. There’s a dumb simplicity to them that I appreciate, and I’ve been kind of hoping they would go back to shorter song lengths like these two.
The Apparation is indeed garbage but I really enjoy the rest of the album. The Fugitive is one of my top underrated Maiden songs.
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FotD feels really unfocused and messy, just a collection of songs rather than a cohesive album (even No Prayer feels like Maiden had a vision for that album). Without a shadow of a doubt the worst Bruce Maiden album in my opinion, and the title track while decent isn't worthy of a legendary status.
Oh yeah and :censored is terrible! ;D
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I think the album starts incredibly strong and finishes strong.
BQOBD / Eternity / Afraid / Fear is the Key / Childhood's End - all killer songs for me, right from the start.
Then the album plods along, The Fugitive kicks ass, Judas Be My Guide is AMAZING, and the title track caps it off.
This was the very first Iron Maiden album I had ever heard. When I was 13-14, (93/94) I realized that my town's library had cassettes and CD's that you could check out. Being a new metalhead, I looked through the rock and heavy metal sections and found a cassette of this album. I checked it out, enjoyed it and copied it onto a blank tape. I knew nothing about Maiden other than the fact that some of the songs on this album grabbed me as a teenager getting into metal. Years later, I bought Best of the Beast and heard the older songs for the first time and had my mind blown.
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FotD feels really unfocused and messy, just a collection of songs rather than a cohesive album (even No Prayer feels like Maiden had a vision for that album). Without a shadow of a doubt the worst Bruce Maiden album in my opinion, and the title track while decent isn't worthy of a legendary status.
Oh yeah and :censored is terrible! ;D
About the same. JBMG is the only really great song for me. BQOBD, ATSS and FOTD are good but not great. The breakout riff on the title track is an absolute piece of perfection, mind.
The rest is a dull, mediocre or crap. It sounds dry and dull, too. I still remember the disappointment teenage me felt with it. Flush.
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The X Factor - 1995
Tracklist: 1. Sign of the Cross. 2. Lord of the Flies. 3. Man on the Edge. 4. Fortunes of War. 5. Look for the Truth. 6. The Aftermath. 7. Judgement of Heaven. 8. Blood on the World’s Hands. 9. The Edge of Darkness. 10. 2 AM. 11. The Unbeliever.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3irqbaStVsDR9IEdg8Cdwz?si=ZCDcI_x_TdqQkQUKO03A-Q (https://open.spotify.com/album/3irqbaStVsDR9IEdg8Cdwz?si=ZCDcI_x_TdqQkQUKO03A-Q)
Ok, whoever decided a 7-day work week was a good idea is an :censoredhole. I literally haven’t had the chance to sit down with this album and give it the 71 minutes it deserves until now. Sorry if you’ve been excitedly awaiting this chapter. “Are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I’ll begin.” - Dr. Stephen Falken, War Games.
Bruce quit Iron Maiden in 1993, wanting to have a solo career but fearing no one would take it seriously as a side project. No one was happy about it. The band stuck it out for one more year on the road, touring behind the live album A Real Live One, which was made solely of material post-Powerslave. From March 25th to June 4th, Iron Maiden performed an eclectic setlist with plenty of deep cuts all across Europe. This wrapped up with two shows at Pinewood Studios in London in August for a televised special which would see Bruce Dickinson killed off by magician Simon Drake. This would be the second time that Maiden donned a singer’s final release with their deaths, with Eddie having beheaded Paul for the original, now scrapped, cover for Maiden Japan back in 81.
But now the band is left with a conundrum, who’s going to be the new singer of Iron Maiden? There was a long period of auditions with many great singers. Of course, we may never know everyone who auditioned, but the rumour mill says that James LaBrie was once considered after impressing the band during the launch of the Fear of the Dark tour. Doogie White from Rainbow and Damian Wilson of Threshold / Landmarq / Ayreon fame were both highly in contention, but ultimately the job went to the singer of a band called Wolfsbane, a man named Bayley Cooke, or as he’s more commonly known, Blaze Bayley.
The band once again found themselves at Steve’s Barnyard studio in Essex, now forging the reinvention of Iron Maiden. Fuelled by Steve’s divorce and the tension within the band after Bruce’s departure, this album was to take a much darker turn. But these sessions did prove to be productive. 14 songs were recorded, 11 of which made the final album and the other three scattered amongst the singles. We’ll cover those soon when I look into the Best of the B-Sides, but for now we look at the band’s tenth album, The X Factor.
This album immediately does away with traditional tropes, instead opting to open with the 11 minute Sign of the Cross, which opens with an ominous Gregorian chant. The opening musical motifs from the band are dark and brooding with Blaze setting the scene of eleven saintly shrouded men come to wash his sins away. With an instrumental swell, we open into the classic Maiden gallop, though a little slower. This song seems to be less based on The Name of the Rose then the chorus would have us believe, and instead seems to be about someone facing torture at the hands of the Inquisition, who were known for their cruelty. Stepping away from the lyrics, Blaze’s voice has a certain conviction and power that Bruce was starting to take too far in the last few albums. Coupled with a genuine Harris epic, this is a strong first step for the album. This song is one of the few Bayley-era songs that has been brought back since Bruce’s return and it is always welcomed by the fans. Look no further than the Legacy of the Beast tour where this song was an absolute highlight. If we’ve start how we mean to continue, this is going to be a great time.
Lord of the Flies is based upon the book of the same name and its central theme that there’s an evil within us that, when the barriers cease to exist, breaks loose in extreme situations. This is a great song with a real raw feel to it. The lyrics break down all of the book’s characters into one, but mixed with the power of Blaze Bayley’s vocals, this really works. Another one that has been brought back with Bruce in the band, but I feel like Blaze absolutely owns this. This was the album’s second single, and honestly, I think it’s an ideal look at what the band is bringing to the table with the new sound.
Man on the Edge was the first single from the album, and what a great choice. This song is based on the plot of Falling Down where a seemingly ‘normal’ guy goes insane from the stress and frustration of every day life in the city. While this song isn’t as lyrically deep as many of the songs on the album, this is probably the closest to a good time, upbeat rocker you get on the album. It is by far the shortest track on the album. This song served as the opener to the X Factour and was a staple of the band’s setlist until the release of Brave New World.
Track 4 brings in much more of the darkness with the song Fortunes of War, tackling the subject of the nightmares and terrible memories that come from returning from war. One thing that really stands in my mind is that this is where Steve first introduces his acoustic bass to the sound of the album, and man what an effect it has. Lyrically, this song feels like a sequel to Afraid to Shoot Strangers. Blaze perfectly portrays the soldier who has returned home, mentally broken. My only really problem with this song is that this is another one where the chorus is so repetitive, only really offering the title and one extra line. This is huge shame when the song is as instrumentally diverse as this and a topic that could’ve gone so much deeper. However, instrumentally, this offers quite a lot to make it worth the listen.
Look for the Truth also starts with a clean intro (which is honestly a defining feature for many of the songs, making up 6 of the 11 intros!), with Blaze singing about the fear that lives in his dreams before the song kicks off properly with a really melodic hook! I actually really like the chorus lyrics here “look for the truth / deepest cut of all from you / knife of the truth / blade of hatred slicing through”. The song is all about whatever memories are locked away that haven’t been dealt with, win or lose you have to face them with a clear mind to really conquer them. Some pretty decent life advice I wish I had heeded earlier in life.
The Aftermath takes us back to the war themes, here questioning the validity of it all through the perspective of a soldier fighting in the First World War (implied by the reference to the mustard gas). This is another strong melodic hook that’s going to get stuck in your head. And it really should, because this song actually slaps! The “after the war” bridge is one of my favourites on this album and one that poses an important question; what does a soldier become after the fighting 'ends'? Man, this is a great song.
The next two songs are some of my favourites from the album. Judgement of Heaven is one that is definitely not a popular choice, but I love it. This song follows in the footsteps of No Prayer for the Dying in asking for answers about life from a power beyond. This song just has such an upbeat feel, Blaze crushes it vocally and the tune is another one that gets stuck in your head after a few listens. Something I would like to ask in the chat here, the riff that kicks off for the solo section, does that remind anyone else of Lord of the Flies’ main riff? As I said, this is a song that I really don’t see anyone talking about, but I think it really deserves some more attention. Spotify shows this as only having been played 1.5million times, so let’s bump that stat.
We’ve heard some stellar guitar work on this album, but have you ever wanted a Steve Harris bass solo? Well, Blood on the World’s Hands has you covered! Performed on not just his classic Fender, but also his new acoustic bass, Steve delivers the goods with some real nice tension and release that precedes a pretty angry song about the world’s reactions to conflicts happening all over. While written about the Bosnian war and the absolutely vile things that happened to a small region in the world, and how despite so many news broadcasts showing the horrors, no one was able to do anything about it. Reading into what this song is about make my heart sink. Blaze answers it with a barking aggression in his voice, couple this with the savage riffs from Steve, and you’ve got an absolute banger. This song only made it through the X Factour, but this really needs to be brought back because, much like Pumped Up Kicks about Columbine, this song has only become more relevant with time, and isn’t that just a little bit :censoreded?
Then we reach The Edge of Darkness. This song is about the film Apocalypse Now, which was based on a novel called Heart of Darkness. The song tells the story of a solider (yep, back to the war themes) making his way up a river into the jungle during the Vietnam war to hunt down one of his own commanders who had gone rogue. The song tells the story well, explaining the corruption of his colonel gone rogue and saying “where sat a warrior, a poet, now lies the fragments of a man”. I’m not a huge fan of this song, but it is pretty decent. This is more of a story-based lyric, so more defined choruses and verses aren’t present. There are a few lines that are a bit clunky, but it’s mostly well written.
2 AM is about questioning the meaning of life, and more specifically if there even is one. They seem to be very literal in describing a man waking up in the dead of the night and having all these questions, and I’ve been there. There’s a great tune to the song, and that’s really all there is to say about it. It’s a bit of a nothing song, but it’s perfectly serviceable to listen to. Blaze sings it nicely, the band pull off some cool motifs. Just not one to write home about.
The Unbeliever closes the album. This is one of the most out there songs on the album. The lyrics seem to tie it to Judgement of Heaven, asking questions from a place of depression and self-loathing, but realising all his life he’s just been letting his faith slip away. It’s really the final verse that leaves us with some great advice, “try to release the anger from within / forgive yourself a few immortal sins / do you really care what people think / are you strong enough to release the guilt”. This song is a really odd one, and the instrumental structure is a little bit all over the place, but if you give it a few tries and a proper chance, it’s actually worth a go.
And that’s The X Factor, the first album with Blaze. It’s definitely a curveball, and Maiden fans would be hard pressed to get into it if they’re firmly Bruce enthusiasts, but I’ll be honest, this is worth it all. It’s not classic Maiden, but what’s here is worth giving an open-minded listen to. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve allowed it time to grow on me and I think it’s a better album than the last two with Bruce were. What do you think? Keen to hear your thoughts, and hopefully I won’t be as long getting Virtual XI out to you.
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Haven't had a chance to comment on the last few, so I will now:
-No Prayer for the Dying - I feel like this one is quite underrated. I wouldn't say anything here is Top 10 Maiden, but I do think it is a solid set of songs. Honestly, Bring Your Daughter is my least favorite thing here. Tailgunner, Holy Smoke, the title track, Public Enema, Hooks In You, and Mother Russia are all quite good, and everything else is listenable. Overall, I feel like this record gets a bad rap, but there is definitely some good stuff here.
Fear of The Dark - I love this record, and it is in the top half of their discography for me. Be Quick or Be Dead is a great opener, and the album flows well from there. I'll agree that The Apparition is indeed terrible, and Weekend Warrior is unspectacular, but I really like everything else on this record. The title track is worthy of the praise it gets. Bruce sounds great on this record. Love the cover art on this album too.
-The X Factor - Okay, I rarely listen to this album. I just cannot get into Blaze's vocals. They just don't work for me. That's my main problem with this record. Instrumentally, there are some good things here, but I don't like the guitar tone on the album either. It just feels thin and has no balls. So, if I listen to anything from this era it will be the Rock in Rio versions with Bruce. Sign of the Cross and Lord of the Flies are both great songs. The Edge of Darkness is solid and Man on the Edge is decent too. I don't really like much else on this record.
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First of all, Deadeye, although I don't post here very much, I really appreciate your deep analysis. Thanks for sharing it with us!
I love very much Maiden from 80's until FOTD. Indeed, there was a drop of quality on No Prayer and FOTD, but IMO **very controversial opinion alert** those albums are quite at the level of the first 3 (yes, I know what I did here). Maiden from Piece to Seventh Son was just spetacular.
About X Factor: 1) Indeed WHAT happened with the rhythm guitar tones in this album?! (and in Virtual XI). They are really terrible and hollow, despite the actual quality of the guitar parts; 2) My personal "good album version" of TXF excludes Fortunes of War, The Aftermath (both songs with too boring choruses that kill the cool instrumental sections), Look for the Truth and 2AM. And includes all 3 B-sides, that are all very cool and fast, which brings a lot more balance to the album's pace.
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Virtual XI - 1998
Tracklist: 1. Futureal. 2. The Angel and the Gambler. 3. Lightning Strikes Twice. 4. The Clansman. 5. When Two Worlds Collide. 6. The Educated Fool. 7. Don’t Look to the Eyes of a Stranger. 8. Como Estais Amigos.
https://open.spotify.com/album/4olc018Cln2QaMRFy1sk7v?si=j7nMzSbPSyCq_JrvBWd0mw (https://open.spotify.com/album/4olc018Cln2QaMRFy1sk7v?si=j7nMzSbPSyCq_JrvBWd0mw)
And we’re back for another round with Blaze Bayley. With the release of The X Factor, Iron Maiden had somewhat reinvented themselves into a bit of a dark and brooding band with some slight progressive tendencies. While it did receive a lukewarm reception, Iron Maiden had shown they could make music without Bruce Dickinson. However, it seemed that a problem lay in the touring. Steve and the band refused to tune down for the range of their new singer, which led to some rather disappointing performances when Blaze would sing the classic material. I think there’s some songs that certainly went well for him, I think he did great at the Paul Di’Anno era tracks, and I love the majority of his version of Afraid to Shoot Strangers, which even received a live music video.
Once again, the band found themselves at Steve’s Barnyard studio, now ready to embrace something a little more upbeat than the last lot. Eight songs made the final cut for the next album, the band’s eleventh studio effort, Virtual XI.
Kicking off with Futureal was absolutely the right choice. Doing away with the extended intro of Sign of the Cross and going straight in on a rocking riff, this sub-3 minute rocker made for a perfect second single, though it probably should have been the first. The lyrics deal with someone so addicted to a virtual world that they can no longer discern between the line between the real world and the virtual one. The song’s last verse turns the lyric into somewhat of a suicide note, saying “when you’re reading this, I will be gone”. This is an awesome song, and also Maiden’s shortest full composition. This one stayed around for the Ed Hunter tour in 1999 once Bruce and Adrian returned, and there was a tremendous amount of lobbying for it to be on the Future Past setlist when the tour was announced, which only goes to show the love that fans have for this song. If we’re starting as we mean to continue, we’re in for a great time.
And that good time does not continue into the second song, the massively maligned Angel and the Gambler. This almost feels like Iron Maiden doing AC/DC in its main riff. The lyrics take a look at an incorrigible gambler and the angel on his shoulder trying to get him to stop. It could also be taken as a look at the co-existence and co-dependance of good and evil. However, I really hope you’re in for 10 minutes of the same chorus repeated ad nauseum, because this is easily the band’s most repetitive song. It’s actually really light on proper content to talk about. The chorus is repeated 12 times before the solos kick in and then a further 10 times straight to end out the song. The solos are pretty cool, but honestly not worth waiting through the whole song for. There is a shorter version of the song which does cut the song down by about five minutes, but it’s much more palatable, and I’d recommend checking it out.
Lightning Strikes Twice makes up for this interruption in my opinion, being under 5 minutes yet providing a much more cohesive composition. The lyrics use lightning as a symbol for a coming darkness for the protagonist, some kind of crisis that’s happened before. The chorus here gives Blaze at his strongest vocally for me, and I think the whole song is an absolute banger! It’s one that I feel has been overlooked a bit, but I love this song and I’d be keen to hear Bruce give this one a crack. Melodic, powerful, and altogether just a great song.
The Clansman. Man, even if you hate this album as many seem to, this is one of the best songs that Iron Maiden produced in the 90s. This song is about the struggle of Scottish clans to break from English oppression. As Bruce says on Nights of the Dead, “the movie is Braveheart, the story is true, the song is The Clansman.” I have to say that the song does feature the sloppiest performance from Steve Harris if you’re really listening to the intro, but it more than makes up for it with a chorus that you can’t help but scream along to. Blaze’s voice is perfect for this song, even if the version from Rock In Rio has become far more cherished throughout the years. This song has the perfect structure of instrumentals and vocal passages, and honestly, I’d be hard pressed to say there’s another song better from No Prayer or Fear, let alone the Bayley era. This stands as one of Maiden’s all-time classics for me, and I eagerly await it’s next return to the setlist.
When Two Worlds Collide is up next and this is another overlooked banger. The chorus here is killer, though the post-chorus is a bit much. Lyrically, this explores a concept that was becoming huge in the late 90s in movies like Deep Impact and Armageddon of the Earth colliding with something and killing all life on Earth. An alternate angle on this would be the collision of two different cultures, like Christian knights entering Jerusalem and finding the world of Islam. Whatever your interpretation of the lyrics, it’s supported by great galloping and guitar melodies. I love the Heaven Can Wait-esque “oh oh oh” section. Yeah, it’s not quite as good as three of the four behind it, but it’s still a pretty good track.
The Educated Fool is about a realisation that we all reach, that our education and ideals are often irrelevant to what is actually important in life. This is a song that opens with a really cool guitar intro, throws you great lyrics and has a really tight verse turnaround and a massive chorus hook! Add into that some really cool instrumental passagres and you’ve got a great Iron Maiden song cooking up. It/s not one where I feel I have a whole lot to say other than giver it a listen! This does make reference to “I want to meet my father beyond”, which is almost a catalyst to Blood Brothers on Brave New World, but we’ll talk more about that one soon.
At this point, I’m kinda wondering why this album is so hated by the Maiden fans as a whole. Six songs in, only one really sucks, and I’ve absolutely gotten more invested in this than No Prayer and maybe even more than Killers.
Don’t Look to the Eyes of a Stranger comes up next, and it’s got some really cool guitar work. I don’t like the opening vocals too much, but there’s a lot happening here. And it just keeps evolving to the point that the chorus coming up a second time gives it a completely new perspective. Lyrically, this song takes on a fear that’s ingrained at the heart of society, being that we’re supposed to fear talking to strangers as children. The middle section of this song does get quite repetitive vocally. Luckily, this isn’t enforced by the huge instrumental build that’s happening around it, about to turn into a really interesting instrumental section, complete with some wild solos! This song is pretty lengthy, but it keeps evolving into something different and keeps you hooked for its duration. I actually feel like the vocal repetition works in the favour of the subject, being that it’s something we here constantly from when we’re young. The ending is a little poor though, ending on such a random final salvo.
Como Estais Amigos finishes the album, the first closing track that Steve Harris doesn’t have a writing credit on. This song is a tribute to the Argentinian people, especially the soldiers that died in the Falkland Islands war, which again brings this one back in line with Afraid to Shoot Strangers. This is a very powerful song that ends the album with a call for resolution between the British and Argentinian people, asking to put aside the hurt and hatred and reach peace. It’s not your typical Iron Maiden closing song, but I think it definitely ends out much more evenly than The Unbeliever did for X Factor.
And that’s Virtual XI. Why do we hate this album again? Is it Blaze’s voice? Only if you're talking about it not being Bruce, because Blaze is absolutely giving his everything on this album. It can’t be the songwriting because we have 6 out of 8 songs as absolute bangers, plus a really powerful ballad to close out the album. Are we looking too much at the atrocious artwork and deciding the album must be terrible because of it? Makes sense, I suppose because that cover is pretty irksome. Maybe the album just has the reputation of being “the one with The Angel and the Gambler”, which is unfair because it’s also the one with The Clansman and Futureal, which are fan favourites nowadays.
Whatever your reason is to hate this one, I’d say it’s time to give this album another shot with an open mind, because I honestly think it’s a banger! Sure, it isn’t Brave New World or Seventh Son, the albums that bookmark the 90s are definitely always going to be more cherished, but it may be time to stop pretending that this is the worst thing they ever did, because it absolutely isn’t. I'll be happy to debate this one further in the comments, so let me know why you don't like Virtual XI, or better yet, why you do!
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For me, Virtual XI is probably my least favorite Maiden album but it's not bad. The Clansman stands out as not only the best song on here but one of Maiden's best songs period. I do think there's a handful of great songs overall. The biggest issue I have is that while The X Factor had a darker sound and a different vibe with Blaze, this album feels more like a return to the classic Maiden sound, and it just makes me miss Bruce more. If we're discussing other bottom candidates on a Maiden ranking, an album like No Prayer doesn't offer much more than Virtual XI for me but it does have Bruce. And I don't dislike Blaze by any means but I think The X Factor was almost a vacuum and then Virtual XI in a way feels like another band trying to make a Maiden album.
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I love Futureal and The Clansman...the rest I enjoy, but it doesn't really make me want to come back to it.
I've always loved how Bruce introduced The Clansman in 1999: "This song is NOT about men in pointy white hats, it is about freedom, it is about William Wallace....."
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What always bugged me most about VXI were the weak and digital-sounding guitar tones. I remember seeing Digitech mentioned in the liner notes and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they got those directly out of some multi-effect processor. This was an all-time low for them in that regard.
Even though it was clearly a step down from TXF, I liked the album well enough upon release. It has however aged terribly and the last time it got pulled off the shelf I was left with a persistent thought of getting rid of the CD.
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Brave New World -2000
Tracklist: 1. The Wicker Man. 2. Ghost of the Navigator. 3. Brave New World. 4. Blood Brothers. 5. The Mercenary. 6. Dream of Mirrors. 7. The Fallen Angel. 8. The Nomad. 9. Out of the Silent Planet. 10. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1hDF0QPIHVTnSJtxyQVguB?si=moxs_SV3S0SDbLkhqsh4NQ (https://open.spotify.com/album/1hDF0QPIHVTnSJtxyQVguB?si=moxs_SV3S0SDbLkhqsh4NQ)
It’s safe to say that 1998 was looking bleak for Iron Maiden. The venue sizes were shrinking, and unfortunately so were the audiences. The golden age of metal seemed to be well and truly over. The band’s tour saw them playing soccer as a team, which was a cool gimmick. But somewhere down the line, the future for Iron Maiden wasn’t what they’d hoped with Blaze still in the picture. He had been having trouble with the absolute strain of touring and had dropped several shows because his voice was in bad shape.
Rod Smallwood was managing Bruce Dickinson at the time, and when the word came down that Blaze was getting the boot, Rod kicked it into high gear. Bruce had been enjoying a moderately successful solo career with Adrian Smith as his right-hand man. But they were still not playing to as large a crowd as they had with Maiden. When Rod suggested it might be a good move to have Bruce rejoin, Steve was hesitant, believing Bruce would have no reason to return, but as fate would have it, Bruce was open to it. However, it wasn’t as simple as reverting to the No Prayer lineup. Steve and Bruce both wanted Adrian Smith back in the band. Adrian was also open to the idea but felt unsure on the reunion if it meant replacing Janick Gers. So, he didn’t. Iron Maiden would instead become a six man lineup.
When these meetings concluded and the deals were done, they knew they could shake the world again. 1999 saw the band back on the road from July to October on the Ed Hunter Tour with a setlist of classic tunes like Aces High, Wasted Years, Killers, Powerslave and Phantom of the Opera all making nightly appearances. Iron Maiden was back in arenas across America and Europe. Now it was time to make it even more permanent. Finding themselves in France at the Studio Guillaume Tell, armed with 10 killer new tracks, they made an album that revitalised the legacy of Iron Maiden in the new millennium. This is Brave New World.
The Wicker Man is absolutely the right choice to start off a new era for Iron Maiden. Opening with a simple chugging riff and then having the band join in for the chord stabs, this song is one of the most straightforward on the album. With lyrics about a general apathy in modern society, the titular wicker man doesn’t really have much of an impact on the overall meaning of the song. That said, there is one line that I’ve always misheard which would’ve had a great meaning to the song’s place in the catalog. The actual line is “hello to eternity and live for every breath”, which I’ve always heard as “Hallowed to eternity, I live for every breath”, which I interpreted as Hallowed Be Thy Name (one of their highest points) to From Here to Eternity (one of their lowest, imo), now we’re back in action and I’m here to make every moment count. Whatever your interpretation of this song is, nearly 24 years later (29th of May) this song is a classic!
Ghost of the Navigator up next. This is a huge song, harkening back to Rime of the Ancient Mariner with the nautical themes, though this one is more of a metaphor for going through our lives and finding our own way. This is the first song with a Gers writing credit here, and really establishes a lot of what his writing style will be like moving forward. Adrian is a lot more straightforward and leaning more towards the single friendly material, where I feel that Janick goes in a much more epic direction, and usually with a guitar doubling the vocal melody. This song isn’t necessarily a favourite of mine, but it’s got some pretty big hooks, and establishes that more epic Maiden feel well.
Brave New World, the title track, follows. This is a Dave Murray writing credit, which means in the first three songs we get to have one from each! This track is loosely based on the Aldous Huxley novel of the same name, This song goes in a bit of a Fear of the Dark direction (song, not album), with some straightforward guitars building to epic instrumental passages and held together by an anthemic chorus. This has one of the first huge three way guitar harmonies for the album, which I feel is a real focal point of the song and really defines what this era of guitar is going to be like. Bruce’s voice on this song is tremendous too.
Blood Brothers is a song that dates back to Virtual XI and is a real emotional centre point for the album. Inspired by the passing of Steve’s father and the memories of those who have passed on being left for those who remain. The third bridge also brings up being ashamed of the current state of the world and, like No Prayer and 2AM before it, asks for answers to the ways of everything. While Steve has a writing credit on every song on Brave New World, this is his only solo composition, and it’s one that has really stood the test of time, joining The Wicker Man as an absolute classic that is often brought back to the stage. This is absolutely one of my favourites, and I’m sure it’s up there for many Maiden fans, even those more sceptical of the reunion era. For those interested, there is a beautiful acoustic cover of Blood Brothers sung by Blaze on YouTube. Check out the link if you want something extra! (https://youtu.be/Lju5yaKglr8?si=EkPPtVf2oDRpokAT (https://youtu.be/Lju5yaKglr8?si=EkPPtVf2oDRpokAT))
The Mercenary is another song with origins in the Blaze era, and honestly one that I would have liked to hear his take on. Another Gers/Harris composition, this is about a bounty hunter according to Bruce, though very much feels like a continuation of The Assassin from No Prayer. While the chorus is beyond repetitive, the “show them no fear, show them no pain” lyric is strong, especially when coupled with the alternating guitar hooks between each. Really not one I can say too much about, apart from I love the way it boils down to just Nicko’s drum line after the solo section. Not a huge fan of the ending, but I think it’s a pretty ballsy song.
Dream of Mirrors is the first of three epics on Brave New World and, unfortunately, the only one that saw live play. Lyrically, this is another song about premonitions and dreams, which actually shares a fairly similar with Infinite Dreams.
“Scared to fall asleep again in case the dream begins again” - Infinite Dreams
“Scared to fall asleep and dream the dream again” - Dream of Mirrors
In any case, while I don’t know this song hits the same heights that Infinite Dreams did, I think Dream of Mirrors is a very well out together song, with the structure of its two distinct choruses, different verses and bridges all coming together to give a truly epic feeling to the song. Huge props to Nicko who orchestrates his drum parts perfectly to give the perfect tension and release to each section. The bridge section is one of the coolest riffs on the album too. Not a whole lot else to say, but it’s a sick song. Quite a long sucker too, at a whopping 9:21!
The Fallen Angel is the shortest song on Brave New World, and one of the ones I have the least to say about. It’s a good rocker, once again based on the balance of good and evil. I like the whole vibe of the song and the “you and only God will know” pre-chorus is pretty catchy. The band attempted this one a few times, but as much as it seems like it would be a good live track, it didn’t seem to work out that way, and I’d say a lot of that comes down to the harmonised vocals that really makes the whole thing pop, and the sheer difficulty of the vocal as a whole.
Track eight is The Nomad, the second longest song on the album. With a straightforward lyric about a mysterious nomad of the desert, the real highlight here is everyone else in the band. Bruce does sing it well, don’t get me wrong, but we’re all here because we were sucked in by the aggressive opening riff, sucked in by the middle eastern sounding lead, and then got absolutely swept away by the solos. The middle of the song is dominated by an absolutely beautiful clean instrumental that sounds so massive and cinematic that I’m gonna have to officially demand this makes the setlist if Maiden ever get around to doing their version of S&M. Even if it was the basis for a lawsuit against the band as the whole section is very similar to Life’s Shadow by Beckett. Still, that song sucks and The Nomad is gold. For your convenience, and to spark further conversation, here's a link with the two sections for comparison. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JzzWam9wUI
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JzzWam9wUI)
The Nomad ends with an orchestral hang that allows for Out of the Silent Planet to begin right over it. The intro, which isn’t present in the single version, is probably my favourite section of the song, with a funky little lead riff that then turns into a beautiful clean version of the song’s main hook. The main song is a little unremarkable, with its politically motivated lyrics over a pretty simple riff. This is definitely not one I would have chosen as a single personally, I’d have probably gone with Blood Brothers had it not been for its length. Maiden seems to have largely ignored this song live too. However, the solo section is pretty cool, and I have to say I enjoy the “out of the silent planet, we are” chant. Probably my least favourite from Brave New World, but at least it’s got some cool hooks!
The Thin Line Between Love and Hate, on the other hand, has always been an absolute favourite of mine that not a lot of people seem to care for. All relating to the core concept of free will and asking the questions of when does one choose the path they’ll take, and at what point does it turn bad. I don’t know why I love this song so much, as it is really basic. Bruce is in fine form throughout though, and I love the almost entirely harmonised vocal approach. All the solos are really well performed, and I absolutely love the clean section that comes around twice in the back half of the song which has always reminded me of I Will Always Love You when Bruce reaches for those high notes. I’d go as far as saying that this is my favourite album closer since Alexander the Great, six albums and 14 years earlier. IT perfectly encapsulates why Iron Maiden are still one of the best metal bands around.
As I said before, we’re about 10 days out from this album’s 24th anniversary. We are 25 years in with this iteration of the band, which has been serving of over half of the band’s career. Brave New World still stands as a perfect record of why this lineup works so well. Even on songs I’ve marked as “its not my favourite” in this deep dive still have some great high points, and I’m only marking them as not my favourite on this album, versus some other tracks that are absolutely stellar. All of this to say, this is absolutely one of the most important metal albums post 2000 to me, and I’d say stacks up with the debut and Number of the Beast as one of their most important albums.
We only have 5 main albums and the Best of the B-Sides compilation left to talk about now, so this may only last another 6 weeks. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me through this deep dive. I'm looking forward to getting through some great material as we reach this final stretch.
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Love it, and LOVE Brave New World. I remember the earth shaking with the announcement. I was a newer Maiden fan, and Bruce was returning to the band with Adrian in tow. I don't remember hearing The Wicker Man for the first time, but I do remember finding an MP3 of a radio broadcast, or from the single, and I would listen to it over and over. What a huge, powerful song.
The album came out and blew me away. Almost every single song is fantastic - Ghost of the Navigator, The Mercenary, Dream of Mirrors (!), The Fallen Angel, Out of the Silent Planet are all awesome songs, along with Wicker Man and the rest.
It remains my favorite of the reunion era albums, partially due to its strength, and partially due to the nostalgia of that era.
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Thanks Deadeye. Thin Line is a top 10 song for me. The album as a whole hasn’t aged well due to, yes, repetitiveness, but it sounds great.
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Perhaps my favourite of the reunion albums. This is where I became a fan, as this was the first album they released as I had become a fan in 1999.
And I'll always have a soft spot for Blood Brothers, regardless of the repetetive chorus (there are worse offenders out there).
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I remember being as excited for Bruce and Adrian returning to Maiden as I am for Mike returning to Dream Theater. I would add the Kiss reunion as my top three favorite or most anticipated reunions ever (for me, not objectively).
I wasn't blown away by the record. I wouldn't necessarily "rank" them in this order, but I think in real time that each release has been as good or better than what came before (not all of them have sustained that, thus my comment about "not ranking them that way"). I think it was an album that showed the promise more than it delivered on the promise, and I don't really listen to it all that much today.
For the record, I do not share the complaints about "repetition" (with one exception, "Montségur"). I think more often than not, it fits, and there's enough variation in the underlying music to make it musically sound.
Also for the record, "Blood Brothers" is one of those songs that is okay on record, but REALLY comes alive in the live setting. I was blown away by it when it was the encore on the Book of Souls tour.
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For the record, I do not share the complaints about "repetition" (with one exception, "Montségur"). I think more often than not, it fits, and there's enough variation in the underlying music to make it musically sound.
Also for the record, "Blood Brothers" is one of those songs that is okay on record, but REALLY comes alive in the live setting. I was blown away by it when it was the encore on the Book of Souls tour.
Firstly to your point about Blood Brothers, I know right? I was like “man, why would you want a ballad as the second to last songs of the show?” I was wrong. It was MAGNIFICENT
Now, why the heck are you against Montségur? That song is AWESOME!! No More Lies suffers much worse.
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I visited Montsegur off the back of loving the song. Amazing spot.
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My thoughts on the last 2:
Virtual XI - The 2nd album with Blaze and I just can't do this. I just can't get into his vocals. The guitars tones are a little better here than on X Factor, but I like the songwriting on X Factor better overall. The Clansman is definitely the best of the Blaze era though. It would likely crack my top 20 Maiden tracks overall. I listened to this album for the first time in a long time for this thread, and it was mostly in one ear and out the other. Thankfully, Bruce was willing to do some tracks from the Blaze era live when he returned, as there are a handful of good songs on the 2 albums. I just can't get down with Blaze.
Brave New World - Bruce is back! Adrian too! All is right in Maiden world again! Of course it helps that the band feels re-energized heading into a new millennium with the release of this album. This was the first Maiden album I bought. I had heard plenty of stuff before, but never bought any of their albums (someone gave me Number on a dubbed tape when I was younger). I heard and saw the video for the Wicker Man, and it just really caught me, so I went and grabbed my first Maiden album. There is a little nostalgia with this album for sure, but I truly think this is a great album with 10 solid tracks. It is also still my favorite of the reunion albums too. The Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, Brave New World, The Mercenary, The Fallen Angel, The Nomad, Out of the Silent Planet are my favorites, but I could list everything, as it all rules. I'm so glad Bruce and Adrian returned and the band released this banger!
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Sorry all, the Dance of Death one is taking longer to get to than I’d like. Since the start of May, it’s all been abuzz with a tornado hitting us and constructing a new shed to convert into a studio. Add into that a heap of work and preparation for my next eye surgery (yes, I’m called Deadeye because of having a donor cornea, soon to be two) plus a couple of gigs, and I just haven’t gotten to it. SOON! I promise.
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No rush, you’re doing great! Really hope the surgery goes well. :)
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Dance of Death - 2003
Tracklist - 1. Wildest Dreams. 2. Rainmaker. 3. No More Lies. 4. Montsegur. 5. Dance of Death. 6. Gates of Tomorrow. 7. New Frontier. 8. Paschendale. 9. Face in the Sand. 10. Age of Innocence. 11. Journeyman.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2Y8x0EEu7il0K2gCQIqVRh?si=Nlg1pduKSGWHA_iElvn3xg (https://open.spotify.com/album/2Y8x0EEu7il0K2gCQIqVRh?si=Nlg1pduKSGWHA_iElvn3xg)
Brave New World released in 2000 to critical acclaim. It was the comeback album that the band sorely needed after the prior decade of underwhelming releases. The tour saw them head out on the road for 83 shows, though 9 additional shows did get cancelled along the road. The song Teenage Dirtbag, which contains the line “listen to Iron Maiden with me” and uses a twist that the girl is also a big Maiden fan with tickets to their show, was released right at the start of the tour, which I have to believe was a mark of Maiden’s return to pop culture at the time.
So, it’s easy to say that the stakes were high with their return. Now, how would they follow that up? Was Brave New World lightning in a bottle, or did they really have something that would be sustainable? The band reconvened at Sam West studios in London during January and February of 2003. Come to May and Iron Maiden went back out on the road for a short 55 show run called the Give Me ‘Ed Til I’m Dead tour. Much like Ed Hunter, this was a throwback to some songs that hadn’t been played in years, including Revelations, Die With Your Boots On, 22 Acacia Avenue and strangely Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter. But in the 17 song setlist, one truly stood out. In the wake of Lars Ulrich’s lawsuit against Napster, this was a song that Bruce demanded the audience recorded and shared amongst their friends, as long as they bought and enjoyed the new album. That song was the upcoming single Wildest Dreams, the studio version of which would not be released until after the tour concluded (and only a week before the upcoming album's release).
That album would release first in Japan on September 2nd, followed by the later worldwide release on September 8th. The album was called Dance of Death, and honestly, if we’re doing the ‘judging the album by its cover’ thing, this album honestly should be worse than Virtual XI, like holy goddamn. Several characters here have broken necks, little bit of a cluster :censored to be honest. There are original versions that omit the oversaturation of unneeded characters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_of_Death_(album)#/media/File:IronMaiden_DanceOfDeath_OriginalCoverArt.jpeg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_of_Death_(album)#/media/File:IronMaiden_DanceOfDeath_OriginalCoverArt.jpeg) As it turns out, the original artist demanded to have his name removed from the album when the band went with an unfinished version of the artwork with alterations that Rod Smallwood had asked for. Yikes!
However, is the content within worth a listen? Let’s dive in!
Wildest Dreams, as I said, was the world’s first look at the new album. This is another fairly straightforward opening track from the Smith/Harris writing duo. The lyric is similar to Wasted Years in reminding us that life is short so it’s not worth sitting around moping, it’s time to take life by the throat and make the most of it. It’s not the most remarkable song musically, following a pretty simple chord progression. I do like the spacey bridge after the solo though. This one was definitely a song tailor made to be the big radio single from the album, and it certainly succeeds in that goal. The chorus has a big hook in the “I’m on my way” line, but all in all, while not a bad song at all, it just feels a little light on real content to dive into.
Rainmaker introduces the songwriting of Dave Murray to the album. This is one of your typical fast rockers from Iron Maiden, and the opening guitar hook is pretty damn cool. The chorus is super catchy, even if the lyrics themselves are rather repetitive. This uses the desert as an allegory for life, and explores the concept that the rain can completely change a desert landscape, and the rainiest moments of our lives can cause massive change for us. Couple this song with the more upbeat message of Wildest Dreams and you have two tracks saying “we need to be the creators of our own path through life”. The cracks in our lives like the cracks are in the ground are sealed and washed away. I love this song. Even if it is a bit repetitive, the shortness of the track keeps it all moving nicely. Musically, it’s got a real dramatic edge to it, the solo is great, the harmony is pretty cool, I dig it!
No More Lies is the first track over 5 minutes on this album, and is funnily enough just a few seconds shorter than the first two songs put together. The opening riffs of this song remind me a lot of the vibes from the Blaze era, which I find are echoed in the lyrical content as well. This song is about someone knowing his time has come and feeling that he hasn’t finished doing everything he’d like to do, though feels he’ll get the chance in another life. The chorus itself suffers in the same way that many of those in the post-reunion era do, it’s only the title repeated several times over. However, I feel that here it actually works. This song is one that I feel made the best use of the three guitars in the early reunion era, as we get three back-to-back solos in rapid succession that kick ass! The song doesn’t even feel overly bloated, it all keeps moving nicely. Check this one out if you’ve been sleeping on it.
Here’s the first time in this deep dive series I’ve actually been able to write about a song knowing that I’m defending it against one particular member. Stadler, this one’s for you mate.
Montsegur is a heavy sucker of a song, written about the true story of the Cathars. This is absolutely The Fallen Angel done right. The main chorus section of “as we kill them all so God will know his own” might sound a little too upbeat for the lyrical content itself. In actuality, the battle of the Montsegur stronghold was a rather violent one in the Albigensian Crusade. Stadler has said this is the song that bothers him the most when it comes to repetition, but here, it really doesn’t bother me at all, especially when we’ve just had No More Lies. The huge guitar lines that build beneath the pre-chorus and chorus are some of the most catchy riffs on the album, and even if you find yourself zoning out and just listening to the guitars, these sections are effective! The solos are fantastic, and I love the two harmony sections following it. Why this song was passed over for the live show, I will never know.
Speaking of songs that were absolutely built for live performance, we have Dance of Death itself. The song’s opening line sets out the structure of the song perfectly, “let me tell you a story to chill the bones”. The whole structure of the song is based around one continuous story, almost like you could hear this being told around a campfire. The intro is pretty grand, building out as the story progresses, but nowhere near as strong as the adventure that kicks off around the 3 minute mark. This song has a quintessential Janick Celtic riff at it’s core, and the second you hear it come in, you know you’re in for it. The whole song is a huge build, and I’m entirely here for it. With the mention that this story takes place in the Everglades, it’s implied that the dance involves a Voodoo ritual. The ultimate message here is, once again, about taking your life in your own hands, with the narrator ultimately resolving that he will never go dancing again until he dances with the dead. WHAT A SONG!
Gates of Tomorrow is one that I don’t see a lot of people talk about, and honestly I’m not sure I understand why as I really like this one. Sure, the lyrics themselves aren’t the most coherent. This could be about a character trying to save imprisoned sous by cutting them free from purgatory to allow them to ascend to the heavens, or it could even be a warning about the internet (it was 2003 after all). I love the harmony build up to the solo, though Janick’s style here does seem to be more inclined to hit a quota for notes rather than anything more memorable. For many, I can see this would be a “B-Side”, but I just love the way this song sounds especially with the entirely harmonised vocal lines. This one I’d be keen to hear your thoughts on!
New Frontier is certainly a song that I don’t see as being all that strong, though it does have one huge distinction as being the only song co-written by Nicko McBrain to date. The lyrics are a little weak, to be honest. They’re very much written from Nicko’s born-again Christian viewpoint looking at the advent of cloning at the time and saying “only God can create a real human as only he can give you a soul”. The soloing in this song absolutely turns it around, with a great twin attack from Adrian and Dave, the latter of which absolutely making use of three guitars. This one is definitely a bit filler for me. Sorry Nicko, maybe try again?
Back to the epics, and here’s one that I’m sure you’re all familiar with. Paschendale is one of the very best war epics that Iron Maiden ever wrote. The first verses alternating between the eerie calm of Adrian’s tapping lead and the bursts of the heavy main riff already symbolic of the periods of calm between open combat. The song opens out into some of the most poignant lyrics that Iron Maiden have ever written, speaking of the absolutely horrific conditions of trench warfare, telling of Allied troops mourning the loss of their friends, and ultimately closing with lines that speak to absence of hatred between the soldiers on either side. Paschendale is about a battle that happened in Belgium between July 31st and 10th November 1917, however this could be about any battle during this horrific war. This is honestly one of the most emotional songs that Iron Maiden has constructed, and it might be one of the best. It certainly stands as one of the very best from the post-reunion era.
Face in the Sand is a pretty great song as well. I love the shift from fairly calm to total drama in the intro, which sets up the theme of the song very well. With Dance of Death being the first album after the events of 2001, it seemed inevitable that this kindof song would have to be here. Much like Brave New World, this is a song about the current state of the world, particularly post-9/11. Everyone is waiting for a bigger disaster, waiting for news on TV, but not listening to what’s actually happening. This is a pretty big song that’s worth the listen. It’s also the only song that Nicko has ever used a double bass pedal on, as much of the song keeps a constant pace with the kick drum. Consequently, this song was never played live as Nicko felt his performance suffered.
Continuing these themes is Age of Innocence, which is a little hard to take seriously after the Nicko McBrain version. This is Steve’s response to very differing reports on criminal activity in the UK at the time, where it was showing that the crime rates where going down, but other reports were saying “yes, but the crimes themselves are far worse”. And as the third verse states “petty crime gets rewarded with a holiday”, as many criminals convicted for minor crimes were headed to conditions better than those they started from. Researching this song does point to the darkness of the time. The song itself is pretty basic, with the riff being more or less the James Bond theme’s bassline. However, it’s still worth a listen as that chorus is pretty beautiful. This is the other song I’d put in a pretty low rank for the album, though I do prefer this to New Frontier.
Journeyman is the closing track for the album, and it absolutely breaks the conventions of every other song on the album by being a fully acoustic track. It’s one of the hardest ones to say much about, as there aren’t really any main riffs or solos to speak of. Most of the song takes on a very simplistic approach, with Bruce singing of cheating death while being cheated by death, and that all of life has been a dream. The song itself is just beautiful though, and really worth the listen. I’d recommend checking out the live version from Death on the Road tour over the main album version. There’s also an electric version which was on the No More Lies EP.
And that’s Dance of Death. A massively enjoyable album, even if the quality does fluctuate a little. Is the album better than Brave New World? Probably not for most listeners, but there are certainly songs here that I’d prefer to listen to. It’s an album that proved they were back for good, and they were still improving together. I see a lot of people give this album a very low ranking overall, and I honestly don’t feel like it’s fair. I just did a quick album ranking and for how I feel right now, this sits in the top 5 of the 17 Iron Maiden albums to date.
But hey, that’s enough about me. What about you? Love it? Hate it? Wanna vent about it? It’s your turn to have a say about Dance of Death. Keen to see what you have to say.
Sorry again that this one took so long to get out, and I don’t promise that A Matter of Life and Death will come any quicker unfortunately. Life just finds a way to get in the way, doesn’t it? Just know I’ll keep cranking through whenever I get the chance and I’ll be with you as soon as I can. Deadeye out!
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One of my favorites, and an album I go back to OFTEN. I love everything about this album, even Montsegur (though I stand by my point that it's one of the few songs that I notice the repetition), and, yes, even the cover (which is haunting and weird in it's own unique way).
Journeyman is epic, and I think was no. 5 on my Maiden song list.
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I don't go back to Dance of Death as much as I should. I remember how excited I was when it came out, felt disappointed by the artwork and some of the music. It didn't hit me as hard as Brave New World did, but I never hated the album. I still love a lot of songs, but it's usually from the front half of the album, and then Paschendale.
I saw the 2003 Give Me Ed till I'm Dead tour, where they played Wildest Dreams and Bruce encouraged the recording and sharing of the song. I'd have loved to see other songs from the album played live, but they didn't tour this one in the US. Oh well. At least that tour brought back a few old classics.
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Dance of Death has aged very well for me, despite the crappy production. Paschendale is always a contender for my favorite Maiden song but overall I love how this album has so much energy and doesn't drag with the endless intros.
My criticism of Gates of Tomorrow: I absolutely HATE these types of Gers' intros, also found on the intros Angel & the Gambler and Lord of the Flies. I just can't stand those generic rock non-heavy nothingburger "riffs". Rest of the song is fine.
Deadeye: you made a nice defense for VXI, but if that's not the worst Maiden album which one is?
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Deadeye: you made a nice defense for VXI, but if that's not the worst Maiden album which one is?
Honestly, while No Prayer and the debut are both solid albums, I’d put those both under VXI. I’d actually put TXF under VXI. But at the moment, my least favourite seems to be how we’re ending the main run.
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DoD is a bit of an irregular album, although I truly love Montségur, DoD and the last 4 songs, which make the album really worth. Its last 2015 remaster to me is the best sounding album from the reunion era - I quite like how the rhythm guitars are upfront, almost like in the classic era. Regarding Montségur never been played live, I think it's a very very demanding song for Bruce - he sings the verses almost non stop, without catching a breath!
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Love this one. BNW was a solid return but this leaves it for dead. My favourite reunion album probably.
Age of Innocence is the only stinker.
I just need to reiterate how utterly fucking awful that cover is. They should have remastered it and removed the poser CGI characters as soon as they could have. A true embarrassment. Even more annoying is that the reaper Eddie is cool as fuck. Still so annoyed by it.... :lol
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IronMaiden_DanceOfDeath_OriginalCoverArt.jpeg
(Edit. How do you link to an image? Bah...)
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IronMaiden_DanceOfDeath_OriginalCoverArt.jpeg
(Edit. How do you link to an image? Bah...)
No idea, coz I did try to do it myself in the deep dive
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Dance of Death is one of their most overlooked albums in my opinions and a really great one. I wonder if its the placement it has in their discography - sandwiched between the big reunion album and AMOLAD which most consider their best reunion album. Personally I think DoD is up there among their finest albums since Bruce and Adrian came back.
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/IronMaiden_DanceOfDeath_OriginalCoverArt.jpeg?20211014000501)
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cb/IronMaiden_DanceOfDeath_OriginalCoverArt.jpeg?20211014000501)
:hefdaddy