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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Mosh on May 10, 2017, 10:35:35 AM

Title: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Senjutsu
Post by: Mosh on May 10, 2017, 10:35:35 AM
Introduction
Welcome to the Iron Maiden discography! I am looking forward to this. It will be especially interesting since this is a DT board and there will probably be extra appreciation toward Maiden’s proggy side. We will look at all the studio albums, the live albums, and some compilations. Also, since Maiden is one of those bands best experienced live, I will try to include some live clips from every era. Luckily a lot of the stuff is officially documented, but some tours have not received official releases. Anyway, before we get to the first album, a brief history and some pre-debut releases:

The History of Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden was officially formed in 1975 after Steve Harris’ former band, Smiler, refused to play his songs. Apparently they found the music too difficult. Maiden has the reputation now as a band with pretty stable lineups, but this wasn’t the case initially. Maiden went through a ton of lineup changes early on. Some members only lasted a few days. Even Dave Murray, who joined fairly early, found himself out of the band at one point before rejoining. At one point, the band even experimented with a keyboard player rather than a second guitarist. Eventually, the lineup settled with Steve Harris, Dave Sampson (a drummer from Smiler),  Dave Murray, and singer Paul Di’Anno.

The band initially gained notoriety with their live shows, which were highly energetic and theatrical even back then. They started to really leave a mark when their demo tape gained popularity at a local Heavy Metal club. Which brings us to. . .

The Soundhouse Tapes (1979)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/covers/album0_the-soundhouse-tapes_350.jpg)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Lead Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Doug Sampson - Drums

Aside from being the first Maiden release, there are some other things that make the demo special. For starters, it is the only recording to feature drummer Doug Sampson. Dave Murray is also the only credited guitarist, making it the only Maiden recording with one guitarist (although some other guitarists have claimed to be on the recording). The result is a sound even more raw than the debut album. The demo also contains a tune that never made it on any album: Invasion.

Soundhouse Tapes is worth hearing. Most fans would probably be fine never hearing the song Iron Maiden again, but it’s actually really interesting to hear it in an earlier stage. The songs here are a little slower, a little more groovy, but the raw energy is still there. Invasion was later rerecorded for a b-side, but this version is still interesting.

Not long after recording The Soundhouse Tapes, the band were signed to EMI and finally found a second guitarist: Dennis Stratton. Doug Sampson also departed shortly after and was replaced by Clive Burr. Finally, the lineup for the first album was complete.

Metal For Muthas (1980)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/covers/album00_metal-for-muthas_350.jpg)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Lead Guitar
Dennis Stratton - Lead Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

This is a compilation of various New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bands but it was arguably meant to promote maiden (they are the only band with more than one song on the LP). It didn’t make a huge impact, but it gave Maiden some widespread promotion and showed that they were a band with major potential. The two Maiden songs are Sanctuary and Wrathchild (interestingly neither of these songs appeared on the debut later that year). Frankly these songs are pretty inferior to the later recordings. Wrathchild is slower and lacks energy. Sanctuary isn’t that much different from the single version, but the production isn’t as good. Still worth hearing for historic context and some of the songs by the other bands are actually pretty cool. I highly recommend Captured City by Praying Mantis.

Live!! + One (1980)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/covers/album000_liveplus1_350.jpg)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Lead Guitar
Dennis Stratton - Lead Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

This is a Japanese only release that contains some of Maiden’s earliest officially released live recordings. It was recorded in London the summer before the release of the debut album. The “+ One” refers to Women In Uniform, a Skyhooks cover that was later released a single.

There are two versions of this release. The first is the original Japanese release that features four songs. Both songs on side two are available elsewhere (Drifter was a b-side to Sanctuary). There was also a Greek version released a few years later with more songs from other gigs, however all the extra songs are found on the Maiden Japan EP and the Sanctuary single.

Still worth checking out for the two tracks on Side A. Never too many versions of Phantom and Sanctuary is a great live track. The live version of Drifter is also cool if you’ve never heard it. Really nice recording quality too.
-------------------------------------------------------

This is a pretty condensed account of Maiden’s pre-1980 history. If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend the Early Days DVD. Not only does it feature 4 vintage concert recordings, but it also has a really in depth documentary that largely focuses on the early history. Lots of interesting stories and some funny moments, as there were some colorful characters in the band early on.

There is also a live video recording from this era. Live At the Ruskin Arms 1980. This was a performance to celebrate the release of the new album. I believe it was a charity gig and was meant to be a thank you to the fans who had attended their many club gigs.

This video is essential. If you only check out one thing discussed, this is the one. The quality isn’t great but it’s a really energetic performance and features a couple tunes that aren’t played often. A great piece of early Maiden history.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bj3itGFGRU

There’s also this TV special that gives a look at the NWOBHM scene of the late 70s/early 80s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B83I0u0-7lk

Stay tuned for the debut album on Friday!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 10, 2017, 12:00:33 PM
I never realised that Sanctuary wasn't on the original release. I was only familiar with the american release of the album, and thought that it was there all along. Good stuff! I look forward to this thread.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 10, 2017, 12:02:40 PM
Following!

This will be very cool, thanks for doing it
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 10, 2017, 12:02:55 PM
Thanks for creating this!

I may be sorely biased because Iron Maiden is, and always will be by default regardless of how much I listen to them, my favorite band. Their beginnings are almost mythical for me, the story just has so much charm and fascinating there, maybe it's also the settings, the foggy days of East End in those hard working times... whatever, I just find so interesting reminiscing about thosse early days.

Speaking of "Early", I agree that the first history DVD is a must have for any Maiden fan, and it goes quite well into the details of this era. I remember hearing Iron Maiden from the Soundhouse Tapes, it definitively had a punk feel and it's very interesting to hear how it was rooted in the music of the time, and knowing how eventually it would have turned out.

Out of the revolving doors of band members, it amuses me the most the story of Paul Day, a guitarist that Steve Harris liked but quit because his girlfriend wouldn't allow him to be with the band  :lol I hope she was the love of his life and that they're married to this day, otherwise he must probably still have regrets!

Dennis Stratton is mentioned here... I've recently met him! he was special guest to an italian Maiden cover band, so I got his autograph on a special edition of the debut album. It was funny seeing this middle aged englishman and knowing he stood side by side with Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 10, 2017, 12:21:15 PM
Fantastic OP, Mosh. Great job.

Will obviously be following, and participating.

Hopefully people won't mind seeing my Iron Maiden concert pics again! ;D I'll try and scan some new ones in to debut in this thread.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Stadler on May 10, 2017, 12:23:24 PM
Another vote for the "Early Days" DVD. Essential.

Interesting that the first album IS so "punk-like", since Harris resisted any - and I mean ANY - attempt to make them LOOK more punk.    I think Killers is better, but those early days... you can hear the spark, the energy, the enthusiasm in all those early songs.   Plus, Dave Murray.  :) 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Samsara on May 10, 2017, 12:25:07 PM
What a fantastic start to a thread.  :metal

Well done. Really cool to read.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 10, 2017, 12:29:57 PM
Interesting that the first album IS so "punk-like", since Harris resisted any - and I mean ANY - attempt to make them LOOK more punk.

And yet, Eddie on the cover of the debut was quite punk  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mladen on May 10, 2017, 12:30:33 PM
Dennis Stratton is mentioned here... I've recently met him! he was special guest to an italian Maiden cover band, so I got his autograph on a special edition of the debut album. It was funny seeing this middle aged englishman and knowing he stood side by side with Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno!
Nice story.  :tup

Great start, Mosh! Thanks for starting the thread, I'll be following and participating as much as I can. Also, yeah, The Early Days DVD is awesome, truly an incredible documentary.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mosh on May 10, 2017, 03:13:51 PM
I never realised that Sanctuary wasn't on the original release. I was only familiar with the american release of the album, and thought that it was there all along. Good stuff! I look forward to this thread.
Yea the first two albums have different track orders. Then the 1998 remasters of the first three albums are also changed. We will go over all of that for each album.

Dennis Stratton is mentioned here... I've recently met him! he was special guest to an italian Maiden cover band, so I got his autograph on a special edition of the debut album. It was funny seeing this middle aged englishman and knowing he stood side by side with Steve Harris and Paul Di'Anno!
Cool story! Iron Maiden is also my favorite band and it isn't even close. Other favorites come and go, but Maiden is always at the top.

Hopefully people won't mind seeing my Iron Maiden concert pics again! ;D I'll try and scan some new ones in to debut in this thread.
Yes please. Like I said, I will try to give live Maiden extra attention so the concert pics aer encouraged.

Interesting that the first album IS so "punk-like", since Harris resisted any - and I mean ANY - attempt to make them LOOK more punk.    I think Killers is better, but those early days... you can hear the spark, the energy, the enthusiasm in all those early songs.   Plus, Dave Murray.  :) 

Maiden's relationship with Punk is an interesting topic. They definitely didn't want to be associated with it, check out the 20th Century Box documentary and you'll see that there wasn't much respect for punk in general from the Metal community at that time. Still, there are Punk fans who love the first Maiden and you can't deny that the band's sound and even elements of their image owed at least a little to punk. It took outside forces (Martin Birch/Bruce Dickinson) to really shed the punk influences.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 10, 2017, 03:20:50 PM
Plus, Dave Murray.  :)

Maybe one of the most under-appreciated guitarists of all time. You hardly ever hear him mentioned outside of IM discussions, and it's a shame.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 10, 2017, 03:24:07 PM
I think Paul DiAnno's look and stage manner had punk stylings. And you can see how the scene may have influenced some of the shorter quicker paced songs like Charlotte and Prowler.

I guess we'll get to that when the debut is posted.

Plus, Dave Murray.  :)

Maybe one of the most under-appreciated guitarists of all time.
You hardly ever hear him mentioned outside of IM discussions, and it's a shame.

Amen, brother. The guy, who has been there since the beginning, has helped build an empire.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mosh on May 10, 2017, 04:00:41 PM
Doesn't help that the guy is so laid back and humble. Seems like he has been a major help in keeping things together all these years though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 10, 2017, 04:06:53 PM
I love Kevin Shirley's comments in the AMOLAD liner notes:
"...Davey - well, I don't know what he does, but it's gotta be fun, because he's always smiling!"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mosh on May 11, 2017, 08:33:40 AM
I almost forgot, there's this great website dedicated to Maiden's early history and they've posted some really crazy stuff, including vintage recordings.
https://www.legacyproject.co.uk/

Here's a very early clip of Iron Maiden without Dave Murray and with Thunderstick on drums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qePSzUPxlxg

Strange World with Dennis Wilcock on vocals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SEHAKPUOGM

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: bosk1 on May 11, 2017, 08:45:04 AM
As someone who got into the band very late in the game, this is a great thread for me. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Samsara on May 11, 2017, 08:57:32 AM
As someone who got into the band very late in the game, this is a great thread for me.

me too. I didn't really get into Maiden until the mid-2000s, and then it hit me big time. It took the BNW record, then the Dance of Death record (which I wasn't huge on) and whatever tour that followed that to solidify me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: cramx3 on May 11, 2017, 09:00:07 AM
Following, was unaware of Metal for Mothas
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 11, 2017, 09:24:33 AM
I'm into Maiden since 1995. I feel ancient  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Stadler on May 11, 2017, 11:06:48 AM
I'm into Maiden since 1995. I feel ancient  :lol

DUDE!  My first (rock) concert ever was Maiden opening for Priest on the Number of the Beast tour.  Even with zero concert experience I knew I was seeing something special.   Bruce played that opening, 45 minute slot like he was headlining a 300,000 seat futbol stadium headlining a festival.   I couldn't believe a guy could make that kind of sound out of his throat. 

It was fun getting into Maiden then.  It was raw.   Remember, you had the slick and the polish of the 70's bands - the Zeppelin records came with sturdy covers and weird artwork; the Floyd and Genesis albums were like mini-books...   The "Live + One" had this flimsy cover, there were minimal liner notes...  the first album had no liner notes (that I can remember), just a few thank yous on the back, ending with the cryptic (to me at the time ) "Hammers rule, O.K!" and a picture of Di'Anno looking lost on a stage that was the size of my kitchen.   And the front cover!  Fuck me!   It was bad ass from top to bottom. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 11, 2017, 11:52:59 AM
I can only imagine what it was like! fpr me it was kinda of a low time for metal 'cause mid-90's the genre wasn't in such a great shape, my first concert ever was Maiden themselves in 1998, with Helloween as support band. Of course I loved it, but in retrospect, it was the "worst" concert of them I've seen. Still it was a good one, I didn't came away let down by Blaze, he did a decent job.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 11, 2017, 06:40:16 PM
Like many here on the DTF Iron Maiden and Dream Theater have been in my top 5 bands for a long time. Maiden was first and will always be held in highest esteem by me as one the best of the genre. I was introduced to Maiden right around the time the World Slavery Tour rolled through the Richfield Coliseum (now gone) January, 1985. I didn’t see the World Slavery Tour but I would see them the next time around.

I spent most of 1984 wearing out my tape of Shout at the Devil by Motley Crue. My neighbor was a huge Crue fan and exposed me to their music. My older brother had already gotten into AC/DC, Priest and Saxon and even though I liked a lot of what I heard I gravitated towards the Crue. Young and inexperienced was I.

We had a pretty active college radio scene growing up and my brother would regularly make tapes of songs he heard that he liked during one of the many metal shows that aired. Remember when you had to be ready to hit the play and record buttons at the same time to start the tape in time to catch the beginning of the song?

One day I picked one of his tapes up and hit play. A song started with what sounded like howling wind. Amidst a distinctly sounding middle eastern chord a heartbeat was heard in the background and then a painful cry started and stretched for a few seconds, shortly after drowned out by a drum intro, quickly followed by the crash of the symbols and a galloping guitar riff. I was hooked. After four minutes, two verses and choruses, the song wound down and hit a quieter section where the lead was playing a simple but catchy melody. I still hear it exactly the way it is played even today and can easily hum along to it. This section didn’t last too long as the tempo picked up and other lead guitar came in, this time with amps blazing and the two guitars chugged through alternating melody and harmony parts. The power of this stretch of music took me by surprise but it was neither sloppy nor noisy.  It was laced with some more catchy melodies before ending in time for the last verse and chorus.

My brother hit the stop button before the DJ could announce the artist!

To this young 14 year old, this was a life altering event. It ranked right alongside seeing Star Wars at the theater and discovering my Dad’s Penthouse magazine collection – it was THAT good!

Powerslave became my new favorite tape but thanks to Maiden's backlog I didn't get stuck on it like I did Shout at the Devil.








Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 11, 2017, 06:45:36 PM
Stargazer, great post. Brings back lots of memories. Welcome to DTF. Do not be a stranger. Sounds like you'd be a great contributor to the Classic Hard Rock thread. Expecting great posts, based on this one, from you!


DUDE!  My first (rock) concert ever was Maiden opening for Priest on the Number of the Beast tour.   
And we've talked about this before. I remember that tour coming through, but my folks wouldn't let me go. I wouldn't see my first show (Def Lep/Krokus/Gary Moore) until the following summer. My second show was Maiden World Piece tour in '83.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 11, 2017, 07:17:20 PM
Like many here on the DTF Iron Maiden and Dream Theater have been in my top 5 bands for a long time. Maiden was first and will always be held in highest esteem by me as one the best of the genre. I was introduced to Maiden right around the time the World Slavery Tour rolled through the Richfield Coliseum (now gone) January, 1985. I didn’t see the World Slavery Tour but I would see them the next time around.

I spent most of 1984 wearing out my tape of Shout at the Devil by Motley Crue. My neighbor was a huge Crue fan and exposed me to their music. My older brother had already gotten into AC/DC, Priest and Saxon and even though I liked a lot of what I heard I gravitated towards the Crue. Young and inexperienced was I.

We had a pretty active college radio scene growing up and my brother would regularly make tapes of songs he heard that he liked during one of the many metal shows that aired. Remember when you had to be ready to hit the play and record buttons at the same time to start the tape in time to catch the beginning of the song?

One day I picked one of his tapes up and hit play. A song started with what sounded like howling wind. Amidst a distinctly sounding middle eastern chord a heartbeat was heard in the background and then a painful cry started and stretched for a few seconds, shortly after drowned out by a drum intro, quickly followed by the crash of the symbols and a galloping guitar riff. I was hooked. After four minutes, two verses and choruses, the song wound down and hit a quieter section where the lead was playing a simple but catchy melody. I still hear it exactly the way it is played even today and can easily hum along to it. This section didn’t last too long as the tempo picked up and other lead guitar came in, this time with amps blazing and the two guitars chugged through alternating melody and harmony parts. The power of this stretch of music took me by surprise but it was neither sloppy nor noisy.  It was laced with some more catchy melodies before ending in time for the last verse and chorus.

My brother hit the stop button before the DJ could announce the artist!

To this young 14 year old, this was a life altering event. It ranked right alongside seeing Star Wars at the theater and discovering my Dad’s Penthouse magazine collection – it was THAT good!

Powerslave became my new favorite tape but thanks to Maiden's backlog I didn't get stuck on it like I did Shout at the Devil.

My exposure was much the same way. I had an older brother that exposed me to all of this great music that has stayed with me to this day. The song Powerslave still moves me to this day. The lead section of that song is enough to make me feel like I can walk through walls after hearing it.

You mention Richfield Coliseum, so I'm going to assume that you're a fellow Buckeye/Ohioan. It's good to see a "neighbor" with great tastes in music. Welcome to DTF!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 11, 2017, 07:28:06 PM
My first exposure to Iron Maiden was in my 8th Grade year (late '81) and seeing the video of Wrathchild from the Live At the Rainbow on MTV. Seeing Davey's blond hair and Steve was an iconic image. I was drawn to the band. Then Run To The Hills was released on MTV and that was very impressionable.

My grandfather passed away in August of 1982 (a few weeks before I started high school). My family basically moved into my grandmother's house for like two weeks. My father brought us to the mall so my brother and I could each buy something to help us pass the time. Me, I got The Number Of The Beast! :metal


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 11, 2017, 07:29:21 PM
Stargazer, great post. Brings back lots of memories. Welcome to DTF. Do not be a stranger. Sounds like you'd be a great contributor to the Classic Hard Rock thread. Expecting great posts, based on this one, from you!

TAC,

Thanks. I have fond memories of 80's metal but other than for the absolute biggest acts in my book: Maiden, Priest, Dio (solo & Black Sabbath), Saxon and early Metallica I don't really gravitate to this style that much anymore. Getting old...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 11, 2017, 07:31:24 PM
Like many here on the DTF Iron Maiden and Dream Theater have been in my top 5 bands for a long time. Maiden was first and will always be held in highest esteem by me as one the best of the genre. I was introduced to Maiden right around the time the World Slavery Tour rolled through the Richfield Coliseum (now gone) January, 1985. I didn’t see the World Slavery Tour but I would see them the next time around.

I spent most of 1984 wearing out my tape of Shout at the Devil by Motley Crue. My neighbor was a huge Crue fan and exposed me to their music. My older brother had already gotten into AC/DC, Priest and Saxon and even though I liked a lot of what I heard I gravitated towards the Crue. Young and inexperienced was I.

We had a pretty active college radio scene growing up and my brother would regularly make tapes of songs he heard that he liked during one of the many metal shows that aired. Remember when you had to be ready to hit the play and record buttons at the same time to start the tape in time to catch the beginning of the song?

One day I picked one of his tapes up and hit play. A song started with what sounded like howling wind. Amidst a distinctly sounding middle eastern chord a heartbeat was heard in the background and then a painful cry started and stretched for a few seconds, shortly after drowned out by a drum intro, quickly followed by the crash of the symbols and a galloping guitar riff. I was hooked. After four minutes, two verses and choruses, the song wound down and hit a quieter section where the lead was playing a simple but catchy melody. I still hear it exactly the way it is played even today and can easily hum along to it. This section didn’t last too long as the tempo picked up and other lead guitar came in, this time with amps blazing and the two guitars chugged through alternating melody and harmony parts. The power of this stretch of music took me by surprise but it was neither sloppy nor noisy.  It was laced with some more catchy melodies before ending in time for the last verse and chorus.

My brother hit the stop button before the DJ could announce the artist!

To this young 14 year old, this was a life altering event. It ranked right alongside seeing Star Wars at the theater and discovering my Dad’s Penthouse magazine collection – it was THAT good!

Powerslave became my new favorite tape but thanks to Maiden's backlog I didn't get stuck on it like I did Shout at the Devil.

My exposure was much the same way. I had an older brother that exposed me to all of this great music that has stayed with me to this day. The song Powerslave still moves me to this day. The lead section of that song is enough to make me feel like I can walk through walls after hearing it.

You mention Richfield Coliseum, so I'm going to assume that you're a fellow Buckeye/Ohioan. It's good to see a "neighbor" with great tastes in music. Welcome to DTF!!!

Powerslave - yeah I'm from the snow belt though lately it really hasn't lived up to its name.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: wolfking on May 12, 2017, 03:29:41 PM
Great OP.

That Ruskin Arms gig is great, such raw power and energy.  And the Early Days DVD is really worth it if you haven't seen it.

Dave was such an integral part of the band in the early days, a lot more than people would think.  Funny story how when Dave was in the first time he and Wilcock didn't get on and Wilcock fired him. Steve knew this wasn't what he wanted and got him back when Wilcock was gone.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Iron Maiden (1980)
Post by: Mosh on May 12, 2017, 10:17:47 PM
Iron Maiden (1980)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/covers/album01_iron-maiden_350.jpg)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Lead Guitar
Dennis Stratton - Lead Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

It is rare for a band to produce a classic with their very first album. Luckily for Maiden, Steve Harris had been working on this material for a really long time by the time they finally went into the studio. By this point the songs have been fine tuned and fully developed. It’s a stark contrast to Maiden’s usual process, which is to quickly write and record.

Of course the album is best known for its raw sound, which actually wasn’t intentional. Producer Will Malone (who is also known for the string arrangements on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and more recently Sorceress by Opeth) was supposedly uninterested in Maiden and was largely uninvolved in the process. While Steve Harris was clearly unhappy with the result, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The band ended up producing the album more or less by themselves, but the production ended up capturing their live sound in a way that a more polished production could not.

Iron Maiden’s debut is not only considered a classic by most fans, but for some it’s the best thing they’ve done. It certainly has a unique sound. Some of what would become typical “Maidenisms” are already present, such as the twin guitar leads and the gallop. However, this album also has many traits that would quickly be abandoned. Songs like Running Free and even Iron Maiden really show off their energetic punk side. The psychedelic Strange World is also unlike anything they’ve ever done since and shows Steve Harris’ love for progressive rock.

The production is rough and the music is aggressive. There are songs with extremely fast passages. But what made early Maiden stand out was their ability to mix that almost Punk-like style with an almost neoclassical sense of melody. The fast moments aren’t just power chords and harsh vocals. There is also melodic guitar playing and Paul Di’Anno was capable of really smooth singing.

Of course you can’t talk about Maiden without mentioning the album artwork. Eddie was created by sci-fi artist Derek Riggs, who was inspired by a propaganda photograph. The band got ahold of Riggs’ portfolio where they discovered an early version of what would become the first Maiden cover. Technically this wasn’t the debut of Eddie though. The first single, Running Free, featured a menacing figure silhouetted in the background. When the album hit stores, the figure was revealed in his full form. Even back then, Maiden’s marketing and art direction was very focused. Eddie was there from the beginning, as well as the band’s iconic logo.

(https://ironmaiden-bg.com/en/images/stories/eddie_inspiration.jpg)
Inspiration for Eddie

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/covers/single01_running-free_350.jpg)
Running Free

The album was a major success, charting at #4 in the UK charts. This was largely thanks to the band’s word of mouth and hardcore following they had already gained. Maiden’s first 4 years were a little slow, but things really picked up in late 79/80 and really went nonstop until 1988. This definitely qualifies as one of the most classic debut albums and remains a Metal landmark.

Live At the Rainbow (1981)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/videos/video01_rainbow.jpg)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

This is the definitive live recording of the Di’Anno era and is also available on The Early Days DVD. Definitely worth checking out and only a half hour long. It wasn’t yet common for band’s to release live videos, so Maiden was a bit ahead of the curve here. Live At the Rainbow documents the band’s last concert in 1980, recorded a few days before Christmas. The band had spent almost an entire year touring by this point, including a high profile guest spot on Kiss' European tour. The video is not the entire performance, but captures most of the highlights.

Besides being a great performance, this video has quite a bit of significance. The most notable thing is the debut of Adrian Smith. Dennis Stratton was asked to leave mid tour because of creative differences. Steve and their manager, Rod Smallwood, were concerned that Stratton’s style would collide with Maiden’s musical direction. Stratton was not really a Metal guitarist and didn’t seem very interested in the music they were playing. He also did the vocal harmonies on the first album (a good example can be heard on Phantom) which Rod thought sounded too much like Queen. Luckily for Maiden, Dave Murray was still in contact with his childhood friend, Adrian Smith, and the rest is history.

This video also has a version of Killers with different lyrics. Apparently Paul scribbled out the lyrics in the dressing room before going on stage. No matter what the story, it’s pretty cool hearing the song in an early form. You also get Wrathchild (which actually wasn't the opener). Everything else is from the debut, but it's a great selection. Love the versions of Remember Tomorrow and Phantom on this video.

It’s also interesting to note that the band had technical difficulties during this gig and had to redo a few of the songs during the encore. Obviously that’s not apparent on this DVD, but a bootleg exists of the entire show to document this (great bootleg btw).



Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mladen on May 13, 2017, 02:59:55 AM
Wait, was Live At the Rainbow released before Killers? I never figured that out.

Anyway, the first album is a classic. Maybe not as great as some people make it to be, there are certain issues with repetitiveness and maturity, but some of it really is impressive. How they came up with Phantom of the opera at such an early age is mindblowing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 13, 2017, 05:35:55 AM
My introduction to songs from Iron Maiden, the album, was through their inclusion on the Live After Death album released in 1985. I liked what I heard but could clearly hear a difference in style from the early tunes to what was on the then current studio album Powerslave. When I finally picked up the first album sometime in 1985 and gave it a listen I thought I was listening to a totally different band. The sound is raw and Dianno’s voice was definitely much less “refined” than Dickinson’s is.

All the songs are movers, with the exception of Strange World, fresh with a lot of energy that clearly would go over well in a live setting. I never got into Punk so can’t really argue how similar it is. To my young ears (I was 14 when I first heard it) I was intrigued by the sudden shifts in flow and tempo that occurred in songs like Remember Tomorrow. I was not familiar with Prog and most, if not all, of the AOR music I heard on the radio was not structured like this.

The title track, being the live show staple that it is, is one of the weaker songs on the album to me.  Of course, I'm making this statement 37 years after the song was released and having just about everything they have ever released. With a discography as large and as strong as Maiden's it's an easy statement to make. Charlotte and Sanctuary are just above it in my ranking. The rest of songs are all great when I’m in the mood for early Maiden. Prowler, Running Free, Remember Tomorrow, Phantom and Transylvania anchor this album. Within the album flow I like the slow down to Strange World – a very atypical song for Maiden.  It’s clear to see that in the early days of NWOBHM this album ranked high among everything else being released at the time.

There have been a number of reissues of these early albums. My original tape included Sanctuary at the track 8 or 9 position but the CD that I have that was issued with the Eddie Head box set has it as track 2.  Either way I’ve never owned a copy without it being a track on the first album.

I have two paperback biographies on Maiden: Running Free published in 1985 (Has Eddie from the SiT album cover on the front) and the newer, Run to the Hills book. They are both good reads for anyone who would like to know more about the band. I haven’t seen the new DVD’s so much of what is in the books is probably on them too.

From what I read Eddie evolved from a character that Rod Smallwood saw in a picture in Derek Rigg’s office while visiting one day. The figure was modified to fit more of what Maiden wanted in a mascot. Here in the Midwest US, at the height of their popularity in the mid 80’s you could walk into any record shop and see, or quickly find something with Eddie on it. T-shirts and patches were popular, as well as posters. I had a jean jacket with a big patch on the back though I can’t remember which Eddie it was.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mosh on May 13, 2017, 09:11:32 AM
Wait, was Live At the Rainbow released before Killers? I never figured that out.

Nah, Killers came in February and Live At the Rainbow was in May (probably to promote their first headline European tour). But since it was recorded before Killers, I wanted to talk about it first. I will be doing the live albums based on the time they were recorded, not the release.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 13, 2017, 09:39:09 AM
The debut is wonderful, and could be called a greatest hits of their formative years, the culmination of them learning to be songwriters, to have their own sound, their vision (Steve Harris' vision mostly), and their style.

All songs are great, even those that, with the weight of their entire discography behind, can be considered forgettable, such as Charlotte the Harlot and the title track... by now during live shows I don't consider it a song anymore, but more a short adrenaline rush and an excuse to show off Eddie and to shout "Iron Maiden" some times. Still, at the time it was quite a decent namesake song, and Running Free was the good balance between being commercial and still rooted to their sound.

(Completely side note and random moment: am I the only one who feels inclined every time that the song is playing to sing "Spend the night in a LA jail, listen to Nicko McBrain"?  :lol )

Remember Tomorrow also would have started the tradition of a slower track 2 on their albums, and Strange World is an absolute gem, perfect for foggy days to make you remember East End's atmospheres. And Transylvania is still, for me, their best instrumental song.

And about the song I left for last... well, I remember during the Early Days (can't find the video, I thought it was Ullevi on YouTube but it wasn't) Bruce Dickinson introducing the song, saying something along the lines of how the next 7 minutes something very strange would be going on, and that this song was so unique and special... concluding that "If you get this song, you get Iron Maiden. If you don't, you might as well piss off"  :lol

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!!  :metal To this day, still one of their best songs with a memorable instrumental break, and the proof that from the debut on they would churn out impressive epic songs that would enter the olympus of heavy metal.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Tomislav95 on May 13, 2017, 03:29:18 PM
Following this :tup
Just listening to the debut, I forgot how much I loved it :hefdaddy Every song is great.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 13, 2017, 04:49:36 PM
  How they came up with Phantom of the opera at such an early age is mindblowing.

And about the song I left for last... well, I remember during the Early Days (can't find the video, I thought it was Ullevi on YouTube but it wasn't) Bruce Dickinson introducing the song, saying something along the lines of how the next 7 minutes something very strange would be going on, and that this song was so unique and special... concluding that "If you get this song, you get Iron Maiden. If you don't, you might as well piss off"  :lol

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!!  :metal To this day, still one of their best songs with a memorable instrumental break, and the proof that from the debut on they would churn out impressive epic songs that would enter the olympus of heavy metal.

Phantom Of The Opera is amazing. Especially coming off a metal debut in 1980. Amazing writing on this.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: TAC on May 13, 2017, 06:14:49 PM
Watching Live At The Rainbow right now. It's amazing how much Steve reminds me of Pete Way. You can tell how much of an influence he was on Steve.

Edit: Just a few more thoughts on this. I haven't watched that in ages, so thank you, Mosh for inspiring me to do so.

First off...Clive Burr. He was fantastic. He really was. Being that Wrathchild from this video was my first and most impressionable experience with Iron Maiden, I distinctly remember thinking that the drummer is always smiling. How great is that? He really seemed like a great guy.

For such a young band, the musicianship is off the charts. Iron Maiden was just better than their peers. They just were. They sure as hell had the look, the image, the identity, but above it all, they had the chops.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Grappler on May 13, 2017, 10:04:44 PM
Every once in a while, I get an urge to hear Dianno-era Maiden.  I definitely prefer Bruce's versions of these songs, but a few years ago, I binged on the debut and Killers and came away with a new appreciation for them.  The debut has so many classic songs, it's just amazing. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: wolfking on May 14, 2017, 04:12:17 AM
I haven't listened to the debut in a long long time, but it's wonderful, raw, full of energy and just great songs all round.  Strange World is such an underrated forgotten Maiden tune, it's beautiful.  Charlotte the Harlot I thought was always undervalued also.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: wolfking on May 14, 2017, 04:53:39 AM
I'm listening to the debut right now, and it's one of the best sounding debuts from a band from that era.  Prowler has so much energy on here and gets things going.  Sanctuary is nicely placed even though it wasn't on the original.  I'm use to Remember Tomorrow being faster, but it has a brilliant atmosphere here.

Listening to Steve's bass on every second of this is an absolute pleasure to listen to.  Running Free I was never really a fan of, but it's fine here.  Phantom is brilliant of course and Transylvania has so much energy and power.  Davey really rips all over this album.

Strange World is a fucking classic, so underrated.  Dennis Strattons intro solo here is a Maiden highlight.  Don't know why the band never got this one out.  Would have been a brilliant addition to any set to change things up a little.  Charlotte is a great song, Dave did good here.  Love the moody middle section before it builds up to the solos.  The title track is hit or miss, but it is what it is.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: cramx3 on May 14, 2017, 09:48:00 AM
Agreed about Strange World, such an awesome and different sounding IM tune.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: JayOctavarium on May 14, 2017, 10:18:42 AM
This is a thing! YES!

Following.

I still kick myself. I saw maiden in 2010 when DT opened for them. At that time I knew the "hits"... and my buddies and I all left 3 songs into Maiden's set, due to the fact that the show was going to be 80% material we didn't know.

6 months later started really listening to  Maiden. Fell in love with the post reunion material. 




Also.. I agree with the comment about Phantom. How the hell did this get put together by a metal band in 1980? So great :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: cramx3 on May 14, 2017, 10:28:50 AM
Wow, you missed a great show and setlist that tour.  Glad you caught on though
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: JayOctavarium on May 14, 2017, 10:34:35 AM

The Wicker Man
Ghost of the Navigator
Wrathchild
El Dorado
Paschendale
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
These Colours Don't Run
Blood Brothers
Wildest Dreams
No More Lies
Brave New World
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore:
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Running Free

I was looking at this and going "WTF the only song i know here is Number Of The Beast!"

then a few months later I was all "FUCK ME! HALLOWED! PASCHENDALE? FEAR OF THE DARK!"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 14, 2017, 11:14:11 AM
That's only one of the two tours I missed since I started to go to Maiden concerts in 1998 (the other one was the summer 2003 tour, but I've seen an entire live broadcast from Rock Am Ring so that was better than nothing).

I know I'll probably be in the minority, if not on this forum surely among Maiden fans, but I would have LOVED to see a "Screw the oldies, here's the reunion era songs" kind of setlist.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: cramx3 on May 14, 2017, 11:39:59 AM
That's only one of the two tours I missed since I started to go to Maiden concerts in 1998 (the other one was the summer 2003 tour, but I've seen an entire live broadcast from Rock Am Ring so that was better than nothing).

I know I'll probably be in the minority, if not on this forum surely among Maiden fans, but I would have LOVED to see a "Screw the oldies, here's the reunion era songs" kind of setlist.

I agree, but that setlist was probably the closest we'll ever get to that....

The Wicker Man
Ghost of the Navigator
Wrathchild
El Dorado
Paschendale
The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
These Colours Don't Run
Blood Brothers
Wildest Dreams
No More Lies
Brave New World

Screw Wrathchild, but that's an epic run of reunion era songs.  That's why this tour and setlist may have been my favorite that I've seen in person.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: Mosh on May 15, 2017, 10:29:46 PM
Cool to see some love for the debut and Live at the Rainbow. It's really cool going from Ruskin Arms to Rainbow, seeing how much they grew in almost exactly a year. I only wish that The Early Days DVD included the entire concert. It's a great show and they must have the whole thing archived somewhere. I actually pay the most attention to Clive there, especially during Phantom. He's on fire during this show and it's cool to have his short time in the band documented this way.

You also see the band has already developed their stage presence. Dave and Steve interact with the audience quite a bit and Eddie is already a major part of the stage show. One thing that separates Maiden from a lot of other bands is that they nailed the image from the beginning. The art style, the stage designs, even the logo were all there from the beginning. It's like Steve had a master plan and stuck to it.

Phantom Of the Opera is definitely the highlight of this era. Again, it's awesome that they documented it in Live At the Rainbow. Honestly, I prefer Phantom to Hallowed and wouldn't mind if it took Hallowed's place as a staple in the set. It's a treat every time they play it. Amazing that this was one of the band's earliest songs.


Screw Wrathchild, but that's an epic run of reunion era songs.  That's why this tour and setlist may have been my favorite that I've seen in person.
Here's one for the unpopular opinions thread: putting Wrathchild there was a good choice. It sucks they had to drop BTATS (I would've gone with No More Lies or maybe BNW) but Wrathchild was a much needed energy boost after two songs that a majority of the audience were unfamiliar with. I loved that show though and I'm glad they went all out on the reunion era. Still, I prefer something like TBOS where they balance it out a bit, rather than going heavy on classics or heavy on new stuff.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: wolfking on May 16, 2017, 05:07:19 AM

Phantom Of the Opera is definitely the highlight of this era. Again, it's awesome that they documented it in Live At the Rainbow. Honestly, I prefer Phantom to Hallowed and wouldn't mind if it took Hallowed's place as a staple in the set. It's a treat every time they play it. Amazing that this was one of the band's earliest songs.

I don't mind this idea actually.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Introduction and early Releases (1975-1980)
Post by: cramx3 on May 16, 2017, 07:35:51 AM

Screw Wrathchild, but that's an epic run of reunion era songs.  That's why this tour and setlist may have been my favorite that I've seen in person.
Here's one for the unpopular opinions thread: putting Wrathchild there was a good choice. It sucks they had to drop BTATS (I would've gone with No More Lies or maybe BNW) but Wrathchild was a much needed energy boost after two songs that a majority of the audience were unfamiliar with. I loved that show though and I'm glad they went all out on the reunion era. Still, I prefer something like TBOS where they balance it out a bit, rather than going heavy on classics or heavy on new stuff.

I dont think that's an unpopular view and I actually agree about sneaking in an oldie for the crowd.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 19, 2017, 02:21:37 PM
Killers (1981)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures02_killers/album02_killers_a_small.jpg)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

As was common at the time, the band immediately went back into the studio after the end of their successful 1980 tour. There were two major changes that would shape the sound of Killers: The first was the previously discussed arrival of Adrian Smith on guitar, the second was the inclusion of legendary producer Martin Birch (of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath fame). With Birch at the helm, the band produced a much more polished effort in Killers.

Many of the songs on Killers predate the debut album. Wrathchild was already a live favorite and was recorded for Metal For Muthas in 1979. The Ides of March was established as a concert opener, although it often proceeded Sanctuary and was sometimes even played live instead of being played over the P.A. as an intro tape (fun fact: while the Live At the Rainbow video shows Ides of March as an intro to Wrathchild, the actual opener for that particular gig was Sanctuary).
Purgatory was actually a very old tune by Harris that was once called Floating (and was supposedly much slower). Drifter and Another Life were also songs that had already been established as live favorites. A performance of Another Life can be found on Live At the Ruskin Arms and you can see that the song hadn’t changed much by the time they recorded it. There has also been mention of a song called Innocent In Exile being performed by Steve’s old band, Smiler, but I have no idea what that old version was like.

However, the band did take time to come up with new material. Killers contains the band’s first “filler” track: Genghis Khan. The song was quickly put together in the studio. I use the term filler loosely because it certainly doesn’t come off that way. And of course the title track was a newer creation, as you can see on Live At the Rainbow with its unfinished lyrics.

The artwork for Killers features a much more recognizable version of Eddie. The backdrop is similar, another part of the London East End, but we now get a taste of Derek Riggs’ tendency to place hidden references in his artwork. If you look closely, you get a glimpse of Charlotte the Harlot undressing, as well as the outside view of the Twilight Zone single artwork close by.
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures02_killers/single04_twilightzone_a_small.jpg)
Despite in some ways being a compilation of material leftover from the debut, Killers is surprising unified and coherent sounding. The lyrical themes even seem in some ways connected. The production also shows an obvious step up with Martin Birch at the helm. It’s a transitional album. The energy is still there and the production isn’t anywhere near as polished as later Birch produced albums. While the debut album showed an immense level of raw energy and perfectly captured the band’s sound up to that point, with Killers Maiden showed that they could match and even surpass the old guard of Sabbath, Purple, and Priest.

Like the debut, there are multiple versions of this album. The original UK version contained 10 songs (no Twilight Zone, which was the album’s lead single), the US versions included Twilight Zone, and the 1998 CD remaster also includes it but in a different position in the tracklist. Luckily, this would be the last time the US and UK versions of the albums differentiated.


Maiden Japan (1981)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures02_killers/single06_maidenjapan_a_small.jpg)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures02_killers/maidjapvenz.jpg)
(Cover for 1987 Venezuelan pressing. Was actually meant to be the original cover but Rod Smallwood rejected it because the band were looking to replace Paul)
Paul Di’Anno - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums

The Killers tour saw Maiden expanding their audience by visiting many areas for the very first time, such as North America as an opener for Judas Priest. The band also toured Japan for the first time, a tour which was immortalized in this EP. Most people here will probably recognize the title as a pun on Deep Purple’s Made In Japan.

Maiden Japan is a solid recording, not as definitive as Live At the Rainbow but still a great piece of early Maiden. It also includes the only officially released live recording of Innocent Exile, so it is worth checking out for that alone.

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to come by an official copy of Maiden Japan. In fact it’s probably the least accessible Maiden release. It was only released on CD once, as part of the First Ten Years singles box set. Unfortunately, the original LP is probably easier to find than the CD. If it was up to me, Maiden would release the whole show in a fancy 2CD package with liner notes and memorabilia.



Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Stadler on May 19, 2017, 02:37:37 PM
I would LOVE a revamped "Maiden Japan" (a pun on the Deep Purple album "Made In Japan").

How about the full show?   Here's the setlist of the show that the EP came from:

The Ides of March (on tape)
Wrathchild
Purgatory
Sanctuary
Remember Tomorrow
Another Life  (including Clive Burr Drum Solo) 
Genghis Khan
Killers
Innocent Exile
Twilight Zone
Strange World
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Phantom of the Opera
Iron Maiden
Encore:
Running Free
Encore 2:
Transylvania
Drifter
Encore 3:
Prowler
Running Free

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Stadler on May 19, 2017, 02:38:31 PM
I'm getting ahead of myself (and perhaps Mosh will tell us this anyway) but if you believe the scuttlebutt, where else have we heard the Maiden Japan version of "Remember Tomorrow"?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: cramx3 on May 19, 2017, 02:57:43 PM
Maiden Japan is awesome.  I had for a long time thought it was a bootleg.

I'm getting ahead of myself (and perhaps Mosh will tell us this anyway) but if you believe the scuttlebutt, where else have we heard the Maiden Japan version of "Remember Tomorrow"?

Not sure, but also getting ahead of ourselves when I say that Remember Tomorrow was the song Bruce sang for his tryouts I believe.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 19, 2017, 03:26:40 PM
I'm getting ahead of myself (and perhaps Mosh will tell us this anyway) but if you believe the scuttlebutt, where else have we heard the Maiden Japan version of "Remember Tomorrow"?
Are you referring to the b-side where they overdubbed Bruce? Not sure if I ever compared the two but I think it would be fairly easy to figure out if that's true or not.

Edit: Yea pretty sure they're the same.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 19, 2017, 03:27:22 PM
I'm getting ahead of myself (and perhaps Mosh will tell us this anyway) but if you believe the scuttlebutt, where else have we heard the Maiden Japan version of "Remember Tomorrow"?

Not sure, but also getting ahead of ourselves when I say that Remember Tomorrow was the song Bruce sang for his tryouts I believe.

Indeed it was one of the songs he tried out. During the Early Days tour before announcing the songs he told more or less always the same story about the song being crucial in getting him the job.

However, the band did take time to come up with new material. Killers contains the band’s first “filler” track: Genghis Khan. The song was quickly put together in the studio. I use the term filler loosely because it certainly doesn’t come off that way.

Well, you use the term correctly. If it's made up on spot just to make an album longer, it's a filler. Paranoid and You've Got Another Thing Comin' (Massive worldwide hits for Sabbath and Priest) are filler, they were written to have one more song on the album. That's the correct term for the word, whereas today it has just become standard for "I don't like this song".

About the album... not the biggest fan. Which is kinda weird 'cause there's no really an ugly song here, it's just that all in all the album doesn't grab me like the debut.

Drifter is the biggest "letdown" for me, it starts with such a GREAT intro, and then turns into a generic party song. The intro was so menacing that I was expecting a heavy, serious song but that was not the case.

Title track is probably my favorite song here, I also like Innocent Exile which is quite overlooked in their discography. And of course Murders in the Rue Morgue is another gem, I know it's such a trivial thing to be "annoyed" about but I never really liked how Bruce always sang in every chorus "Never gonna find me"... I find it such a great line in the context of the song that to repeat it every time takes away from the power of when it's finally said at the end.

Oh, and Twilight Zone is a wonderful song. Pity it didn't make the album!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 19, 2017, 03:34:00 PM
My Killers CD has a spelling error.

Wratchild :metal

(https://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z246/TACPics/Killerscover.jpg) (https://s195.photobucket.com/user/TACPics/media/Killerscover.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 19, 2017, 04:06:01 PM
Nice one Tim.

I would love to get a copy of Maiden Japan.

Killers is an interesting album.  Very different to everything they have done IMO.  You can hear so much of that punk influence from Paul on this one.  With the direction this album was taking you can see that they never would have reached the hights that they did with Bruce.  Will have another listen to this one too, it's been a while.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mladen on May 20, 2017, 04:47:40 AM
I was never a big fan of Killers. The Ides of march and Murders in the rue morgue are fantastic. Wrathchild also kicks ass quite a bit, even though we've all got a bit sick and tired of it. And to be completely honest, my favorite track might actually be Genghis Khan - it's a brilliant energetic, complex and virtuostic instrumental, which features one of my favorite Maiden guitar harmonies at the end. Pure awesomeness.

The rest of the songs aren't bad. Luckily, I don't consider Twilight zone a part of the album, that song is awful.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 21, 2017, 06:10:21 AM
I'm gonna spin this album in the car tomorrow.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 21, 2017, 07:21:46 AM
Great job to the OP for including relative live albums and singles with the album discussion.

When I first started listening to Maiden in the mid-80’s I found it hard to get into this album. It’s positioned between their highly regarded debut album and, well, what many consider another highly regarded debut album! So, it didn’t get many listens. I also think the lack of appeal to me was because after getting into Maiden I found myself drawn more to the lengthy style of songs that became the norm starting with Number of the Beast. Times have changed and coming back to it I’ve found it has aged very well and find the whole disc really enjoyable. I think this album presents a different, more straightforward side to Maiden song writing that I don’t think is heard again in a complete album of songs until No Prayer for the Dying.

The Ides of March is an excellent intro to the album, presenting the listener with a well-structured instrumental built around a driving rhythm section overlaid with some tasty lead guitar riffing. You can tell right away the raw sound of the first album has been wiped away by a more polished “metal” sound.  The lead guitar charges through the middle of the song with a Steve Howe-ish “solo over everything” sound before joining up at the end with the other lead to finish the song with a double harmony and a flourish of symbols from Clive.

A driving, gritty bass signals the start of Wrathchild. This is one my favorites of the Di’Anno era and a great song to start the album with. I like the album version more than the live versions I’ve heard though Bruce covers the lyrics very well.  This was the only song I had heard off of this album so everything from here out was new to me.

The next song, Murders in the Rue Morgue, is Maiden’s homage to Poe’s classic murder mystery. The song starts slowly and quietly with the bass playing the melody for a short stretch before the rest of the band enters in. The guitars take over the lead from here and play a few more measures before whole song picks up again and Di’Anno enters in with the opening verse.  The chorus isn’t the most memorable but it fits with the song and like many of the songs on this album the lead guitar is playing something more interesting under the chorus.

Another Life to me is a straight ahead rocker with some interesting, though for Maiden, plain lead guitar action. It’s not a bad song and Di’Anno sounds pretty good on this track. Like a few other songs on this album though the lyrics are pretty weak and repetitive. At barely over 3 minutes it starts and ends before you know it.

Genghis Khan is another excellent instrumental and one that to me really rocks. This relatively short piece packs a lot of changes into its short length. Anchored by some excellent drumming by Clive and carried by some awesome lead work by Dave and Adrian. I especially like the last minute and half where the speed and frenzy of the middle section shifts to a slower, groovy beat with moaning lead guitars.

Innocent Exile is a song that sounds better than I remembered with its catchy bass and lead lines. The lyrics on this song though are also pretty weak and repetitive.  You have to let Steve, Dave, Clive and Adrian lead you though this one.

Maiden put it all together and delivered the title track fully loaded with another catchy bass / drum intro quickly filled in by some slinky, mysterious lead guitar riffing. Di’Anno enters in with some well-placed screaming to set the mood before the song takes off into the first verse. To me the beginning is the best part of this song but the lyrics are stronger than many of the other songs so help carry it. Di’Annos vocals are also pretty strong on this song.

There’s no real epic on this album and the longest song, Prodigal Son, has more of a power ballad feel than a heavy metal song.  No matter, this song rocks and has a very catchy guitar solo in the middle that can easily get stuck in your head after hearing it. Maiden could play this type of song when they wanted to.

Purgatory was the second single released and to me is a real screamer. Di’Annos vocals combined with crafty lead guitar work really carry this song.

The first single off of this album, Twilight Zone is a mid temp rock’n’roll song if Maiden ever made one. My remastered 1998 CD includes this as the second to last song though the original album did not include it. Di’Anno once again comes through with some excellent vocals and the short, barely over 2 minutes long song caters to the finicky listening habits of the radio listener – if it was ever played on the radio.

Drifter as the OP states predated this album and was a live show favorite. Knowing where Maiden would go with album closers starting with the next album, to me this song is a letdown. It’s not bad, it’s just not as strong as what was to come.

I can’t help but make the connection between Maiden and Yes in terms of album cover artwork. Like Roger Dean was to Yes, Derek Riggs was to Maiden. I know that every new Maiden album came with a discussion by those who were fans but had not seen the cover asking about the artwork. This album is definitely an eye catcher and I’m sure more than one young fan left the record store empty handed after showing his / her parent the cassette tape or album cover.

I do think it’s apparent that this album had to be the end of some sorts for the band in terms of their sound. Another album like this, filled with a bunch of short (for Maiden) songs would have only moved them into a category that was soon to be populated by whole bunch of other bands.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 21, 2017, 02:44:26 PM
Cool comments everyone!

My history with Di'Anno Maiden is fairly unique. As I've mentioned before, I got into Maiden through my dad in the early 00's, so my exposure to them was entirely from his CD collection. He was more into cassettes though and only upgraded a fairly small part of his collection to CDs. In the case of Maiden, he had all the Bruce albums (minus Powerslave, more on that later). Sometime after getting to know Maiden with Bruce, I came across the one Paul Di'Anno era CD he owned. Oddly enough, it was Purgatory/Maiden Japan. By this time I was obsessed with Maiden and knew most of the Bruce albums really well. Bruce's voice was what attracted me to Maiden early on. As far as I was concerned, he was the band. So the Paul Di'Anno version of Maiden might as well have been a completely different band. It was interesting, but I didn't listen to it often.

Fast forward to 2004 when The Early Days DVD was released. This DVD blew my mind. YouTube wasn't a thing yet and I had no idea what bootlegs were, so as far as I knew the only video of Maiden that existed was on the Rock In Rio DVD and the music videos that came with the enhanced versions of the 1998 remasters. I had seen pictures of the Dortmund show in the Piece of Mind booklet, but I had no idea video of that existed. So the DVD was really a revelation (no pun intended). Anyway, obviously that DVD was really heavy on Di'Anno stuff, so it was my true introduction to that era.

It wasn't until much later that I finally got the first two albums on CD. Probably around 2009 or so, it was definitely in that long stretch between AMOLAD and TFF. In the case of the debut, I was pretty much familiar with the entire album already. Whether it was through the DVD, seeing them live, or on Rock In Rio. So hearing the album for the first time wasn't that big of a deal to me. Killers, on the other hand, was a totally different story. While I was familiar with most of it, there were a ton of songs that I had never heard before. I had no idea songs like Twilight Zone and Prodigal Son even existed. Other songs like Innocent Exile and Another Life were tunes I had definitely heard before, but I didn't know them nearly as well as anything off the debut. Murders In the Rue Morgue with Paul on vocals was also interesting to hear.

Even with that personal connection aside, I genuinely prefer Killers to the debut. To me, it's closer to the classic Maiden sound. The raw punk thing has its own charm, but I like my Maiden more refined. Martin Birch was also a huge addition. Not only is the production obviously better, but Birch was able to get a better performance out of Di'Anno than what you hear on the debut. Also Adrian Smith fit into the group like a puzzle piece. I think the debut has also suffered a little from being overplayed. It's hard to get the same excitement out of Running Free after hearing it so many times. I also don't think the band does a very good job performing most of these songs live anymore, with the exception of Phantom, Remember Tomorrow, and maybe Sanctuary. Yes Killers has Wrathchild, but that is one of the few staples that I don't get tired of. It's still good live to this day and the studio version totally slays. I know most fans are tired of it constantly appearing in the setlist, but it's so short and always brings up the energy level that I don't have a problem with it. I doubt it's keeping any more obscure songs from being played at least.

None of this is to say the debut is bad. Both are classic albums and would score an 8 or 9 out of 10 in my book. But I have to give the slight nod to Killers.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 21, 2017, 03:48:17 PM
Excellent write ups for these albums!!

I really like the two Paul fronted albums even though I don't listen to them a ton. I'm not a fan of punk music at all but these two albums have enough of a metal edge to where I don't mind the punk aspect. Might be somewhat similar to Motörhead and how I feel for them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 21, 2017, 03:51:00 PM
What's cool about the DiAnno years is how accepted it is by Maiden fans as a whole, even the new fans. When bands have an original singer on a first album or two, it may get ignored because it's with "that other singer". But those albums, particularly Killers, are universally loved.

Wrathchild is amazing live. I'm not in love with the song per se, but live, it literally takes over.

And I love Drifter.

If I had to list my Top 5 tracks from the two albums I'd go:
1. Phantom Of The Opera
2. Drifter
3. Remember Tomorrow
4. Another Life
5. Transylvania
6. Murders In The Rue Morgue
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 21, 2017, 03:57:04 PM
What's cool about the DiAnno years is how accepted it is by Maiden fans as a whole, even the new fans. When bands have an original singer on a first album or two, it may get ignored because it's with "that other singer". But those albums, particularly Killers, are universally loved.

Wrathchild is amazing live. I'm not in love with the song per se, but live, it literally takes over.

And I love Drifter.

If I had to list my Top 5 tracks from the two albums I'd go:
1. Phantom Of The Opera
2. Drifter
3. Remember Tomorrow
4. Another Life
5. Transylvania
6. Murders In The Rue Morgue

For me, Remember Tomorrow is not only a top song from that era, it's one of the top IM songs of all time. It also works incredibly well in a live setting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 21, 2017, 04:00:44 PM
What's cool about the DiAnno years is how accepted it is by Maiden fans as a whole, even the new fans. When bands have an original singer on a first album or two, it may get ignored because it's with "that other singer". But those albums, particularly Killers, are universally loved.

Wrathchild is amazing live. I'm not in love with the song per se, but live, it literally takes over.

And I love Drifter.

If I had to list my Top 5 tracks from the two albums I'd go:
1. Phantom Of The Opera
2. Drifter
3. Remember Tomorrow
4. Another Life
5. Transylvania
6. Murders In The Rue Morgue

Let's go with top 6 instead!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 21, 2017, 04:04:16 PM
What's cool about the DiAnno years is how accepted it is by Maiden fans as a whole, even the new fans. When bands have an original singer on a first album or two, it may get ignored because it's with "that other singer". But those albums, particularly Killers, are universally loved.

Wrathchild is amazing live. I'm not in love with the song per se, but live, it literally takes over.

And I love Drifter.

If I had to list my Top 5 tracks from the two albums I'd go:
1. Phantom Of The Opera
2. Drifter
3. Remember Tomorrow
4. Another Life
5. Transylvania
6. Murders In The Rue Morgue

Let's go with top 6 instead!

It's that special new england math...  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 21, 2017, 04:06:55 PM
 :lol
Brady has the "deflator". DTF has the "inflator"!

Besides, every Iron Maiden list delivers a little extra!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 21, 2017, 04:10:46 PM
:lol
Brady has the "deflator". DTF has the "inflator"!

Besides, every Iron Maiden list delivers a little extra!

If you're the inflator then you must be the guy that my ex-wife was running around on me with.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 21, 2017, 04:14:21 PM
Oh, hell no.

Yikes!

I inflate lists, not women.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 21, 2017, 04:45:36 PM
I forgot that the TOS states specifically that here on DTF things are ranked, and then subsequently the rankings are ranked. Failure to properly rank means….well….you lose rank.

For the first two albums I’m breaking it up into two tiers to include all the tracks. It was more difficult than I thought and to me there isn’t an “unlistenable” track between both albums, there’s a just a handful of standout tracks that I like and so are listed as First. When we get a little further along and start to get into the early 90’s albums I’ll have to create a third, lower tier for those that I skip. Shows how strong, to me, these first two albums are.

First Tier

Prowler
Remember tomorrow
Running Free
Phantom of the Opera
Transylvania
The Ides of March / Wrathchild
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Genghis Khan
Killers
Prodigal Son
Purgatory
Twilight Zone

Second Tier
Strange World
Charlotte the Harlot
Sanctuary
Iron Maiden
Another Life
Innocent Exile
Drifter
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 21, 2017, 05:01:06 PM
Phantom
Remember Tomorrow
Killers
Murders
Purgatory
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 21, 2017, 05:05:52 PM
Wrathchild
Killers
Iron Maiden
Twilight
Phantom
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: ChuckSteak on May 21, 2017, 05:50:10 PM
Killer is the best Iron Maiden album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 21, 2017, 05:53:45 PM
Killer is the best Iron Maiden album.
Killer is the best Alice Cooper album.

Killers is a great Iron Maiden album.  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 21, 2017, 06:14:29 PM
Killer is the best Iron Maiden album.

Haven't heard that one.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 21, 2017, 06:22:52 PM
Wratchild! :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Stadler on May 21, 2017, 08:18:18 PM
I'm getting ahead of myself (and perhaps Mosh will tell us this anyway) but if you believe the scuttlebutt, where else have we heard the Maiden Japan version of "Remember Tomorrow"?
Are you referring to the b-side where they overdubbed Bruce? Not sure if I ever compared the two but I think it would be fairly easy to figure out if that's true or not.

Edit: Yea pretty sure they're the same.

BOOM, this is it.  Originally it was claimed that the b-side to Number of the Beast was recorded on a five-date mini tour of Italy (six if you count a one-off at the Rainbow in London as well) but if you A/B it, it's exactly the same, and you can even hear Di'Anno yell "Thank you!" at the end. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: ChuckSteak on May 21, 2017, 10:15:51 PM
Killer is the best Iron Maiden album.
Killer is the best Alice Cooper album.

Killers is a great Iron Maiden album.  ;D
Nah, I prefer School's Out.  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 21, 2017, 11:08:26 PM
Killer is the best Iron Maiden album.
Killer is the best Alice Cooper album.

Killers is a great Iron Maiden album.  ;D
Nah, I prefer School's Out.  ;D

Billion Dollar Babies is the ultimate AC album, in my opinion. TAC is just inflating something again...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 22, 2017, 05:39:56 AM
Pumped this album in the car like I said I would.  I remember why I never really rated it that highly either.  It could be my least fav Maiden album.  Saying that, it's was still a really great listen and takes me back to my early discovery days of Maiden.

Killers and Purgatory are still two of the coolest Maiden songs.  Purgatory especially is underrated, that's a stellar tune.  Prodigal Son is also something very different and the solo section is incredible, possibly my fav part of the whole album.  Khan is a fun somewhat complex instrumental number which is most welcome too. 

Drifter was one that I never got the love for, and still don't.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 22, 2017, 06:36:52 AM
Drifter was one that I never got the love for, and still don't.

I think it's just a high-energy fun song. Definitely not their best writing, but easy to get pumped up listening to it. Probably a good song in a live setting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 22, 2017, 04:11:53 PM
Drifter was one that I never got the love for, and still don't.

I think it's just a high-energy fun song. Definitely not their best writing, but easy to get pumped up listening to it. Probably a good song in a live setting.

That's what I always put it down to.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Stadler on May 22, 2017, 04:27:19 PM
Drifter was one that I never got the love for, and still don't.

I think it's just a high-energy fun song. Definitely not their best writing, but easy to get pumped up listening to it. Probably a good song in a live setting.

That's what I always put it down to.

That was the old set closer for a while, not Iron Maiden.  They would do a singalong of sorts (a version with Di'Anno is on... Live +One if memory serves).  When I saw them in '82 on the Beast On The Road tour, this was the setlist:
1. Murders in the Rue Morgue
2. Wrathchild
3. Run to the Hills
4. Children of the Damned
5. The Number of the Beast
6. 22 Acacia Avenue
7. Hallowed Be Thy Name
8. Iron Maiden
9. Drifter
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 22, 2017, 04:38:07 PM
That's a great set.  Love how Run to the Hills is third in too.  Obviously cause it was a new song, but I wish they did this sort of thing more.  Like how TNOB was the second song on the Fear of the Dark tour, great stuff.  I know Wrathchild is that song most of the time but other classics would be cool.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: TAC on May 22, 2017, 07:57:44 PM
To me Drifter is just easy on the ears. It has a certain "party style" feel that is unique in Maiden's catalog. I just think it totally jams. I have always loved it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mladen on May 23, 2017, 02:01:03 AM
I love the beginning of Drifter, the intro sounds quite dark and sinister, especially the very first couple of notes. But then, it turns into a rather ordinary boogie song. It's still good, though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 23, 2017, 10:03:59 AM
I think there was a thread about dark albums closing with a more uplifting track, Killers is a great example of that. I think it works really well because Drifter is still a heavy track and isn't too musically jarring compared to the rest of the album. Killers is one of the band's darkest and grittiest albums, so I like the contrast in Drifter. It punctuates the album quite nicely. It's also just a great track on its own, slightly goofy lyrics aside.

Also worth mentioning that it was one of the live highlights in the early 80s, before Running Free on LAD changed everything. Not sure how it was left off both Live At the Rainbow and Maiden Japan. Although a live recording was on the b-side to Sanctuary.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: bosk1 on May 23, 2017, 10:17:36 AM
This thread is responsible for me taking Killers off the shelf and giving it another chance.  I popped it into the car CD player the other day with a new appreciation after reading some of the commentary in this thread.  As the album started off, I began to feel differently about it than I had in the past.  As it picked up, I found myself saying, "Yeah, you know, this isn't half bad.  In fact, I'm kind of liking this.  Yeah, this is actually pretty good.  Yes, YES--this might just start to click.  In fact, I--eh, never mind.  I'm getting bored again.  <eject>"  :lol  Hey, at least I tried.  :dunno: 

*Waits for discussion on the Bruce albums*
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 23, 2017, 10:52:48 AM
I love the beginning of Drifter, the intro sounds quite dark and sinister, especially the very first couple of notes. But then, it turns into a rather ordinary boogie song. It's still good, though.

"Boogie" is the best word I've seen used to describe the Drifter style. Somewhat unique for Maiden for sure.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: sneakyblueberry on May 23, 2017, 04:47:39 PM
Prodigal Son would rank quite high on my Maiden 100.  That solo section is spectacular, some incredibly tasteful playing in there from H and Davey.

Will echo the disappreciation for Drifter.  I could never get into that.  Killers is a really good album all in all - Ides of March into Wrathchild is a classic 1-2 punch to the throat.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: El Barto on May 23, 2017, 06:40:46 PM
Prodigal Son would rank quite high on my Maiden 100.  That solo section is spectacular, some incredibly tasteful playing in there from H and Davey.

Will echo the disappreciation for Drifter.  I could never get into that.  Killers is a really good album all in all - Ides of March into Wrathchild is a classic 1-2 punch to the throat.
One of my favorite Maiden moments.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Cyclopssss on May 24, 2017, 12:58:50 AM
Count me in!  :metal

Killers was a soundtrack through my highschool years. The debut is classic. I also loved the 'softer' side of Maiden, Remember Tomorrow, New Strange World, Prodiag Sons.
But the energy this band put out was unmatched at the time. Can't believe it took me until last year to finally see them live!  :tup to the thread starter!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mladen on May 24, 2017, 01:32:29 AM
Speaking of Drifter, it actually might work as a concert closer. If Running free and Sanctuary had their run as last encore songs, Drifter could do it as well. It's not a great song by any means, but it might get the crowd moving with its beat and it is rather uplifting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Cyclopssss on May 24, 2017, 03:19:29 AM
'Wanna squeeze ya when you hold me tight,
I wanna cuddle up to you tonight'

Yeah, very Metal!  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 24, 2017, 05:28:03 AM
Prodigal Son would rank quite high on my Maiden 100.  That solo section is spectacular, some incredibly tasteful playing in there from H and Davey.

Will echo the disappreciation for Drifter.  I could never get into that.  Killers is a really good album all in all - Ides of March into Wrathchild is a classic 1-2 punch to the throat.
One of my favorite Maiden moments.

Agree.  They have never done anything that has had the sound or atmosphere quite like.  It's a very original section for Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: cramx3 on May 24, 2017, 07:08:09 AM
Speaking of Drifter, it actually might work as a concert closer. If Running free and Sanctuary had their run as last encore songs, Drifter could do it as well. It's not a great song by any means, but it might get the crowd moving with its beat and it is rather uplifting.

I think it works better than Wasted Years
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 24, 2017, 10:18:05 AM
Wasted Years was such a refreshing set closer. Really great choice. Sanctuary is a little anticlimactic IMO. Running Free works fine but I've gotten tired of it. Drifter would work just for being unexpected, but I wonder how much of the audience even remembers that tune.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: cramx3 on May 24, 2017, 10:23:38 AM
Drifter was played during the encore in 2005.  Wasted Years was a more of an unexpected closer than Drifter would be imo, but I do believe Wasted Years is probably more known than Drifter.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 24, 2017, 11:16:48 AM
I mean more that them even playing Drifter is unexpected. It made sense for The Early Days tour, but I wouldn't expect them to bring it back again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mladen on May 24, 2017, 11:20:38 AM
I think Wasted years is the best possible closer. Ever.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: cramx3 on May 24, 2017, 11:36:33 AM
I used to love Wasted Years (I still do like it) but feel its been over played in the reunion era so I personally would rather not see it at all, but I certainly didn't care for it as a closer last year.  Maybe this summer I'll find a renewed love for it.

I personally think HBTN is the best closer, but if thats not an option to play, I'm cool with Run to the Hills being the end.  At least here in the US where they go nuts for that song.  I'm cool with saving it for the end like most bands do with their big hit. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 24, 2017, 12:25:30 PM
'Wanna squeeze ya when you hold me tight,
I wanna cuddle up to you tonight'

Yeah, very Metal!  ;D

Hey, metalheads can be warm and fuzzy just like anyone else. They're just more prone to putting spiked wristbands on their teddy-bears than the average person.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: wolfking on May 24, 2017, 06:36:54 PM
I think Wasted years is the best possible closer. Ever.

Same, I thought it was fucking magic when I saw them last year.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: FOXAN03 on May 25, 2017, 03:11:11 AM
I really hope some day they could play Empire of the Clouds.... doubtful but can always hope
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 25, 2017, 09:16:53 AM
Getting a bit ahead of ourselves here but that's OK. I think Empire will be played at some point, whether it's by Maiden or Bruce solo. It'll be for a special even though, like a performance with an orchestra.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: bosk1 on May 25, 2017, 09:40:15 AM
So, um...not to rush anyone or anything...and not to sound like I don't appreciate the effort that goes into these posts, but...next album sometime soon?  :)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Nick on May 25, 2017, 12:42:09 PM
So, um...not to rush anyone or anything...and not to sound like I don't appreciate the effort that goes into these posts, but...next album sometime soon?  :)

No problem, it's The Number of the Beast.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 25, 2017, 01:36:02 PM
So, um...not to rush anyone or anything...and not to sound like I don't appreciate the effort that goes into these posts, but...next album sometime soon?  :)
Sent you a PM.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: Mosh on May 25, 2017, 01:50:54 PM
We'll be getting to NOTB soon, but some stuff to talk about before we move on:
Closing Thoughts On the Di’Anno Years

Maiden began experiencing problems with Paul Di’Anno during the Killers tour. He was unhappy with the long stretches of touring and began abusing drugs. His performances suffered and it became obvious that Maiden were in need of yet another change. Paul was dismissed from the band at the end of the band’s Autumn European tour. Maiden returned to the stage with a new singer just a month later. Bruce Dickinson (or Bruce Bruce, as he was known then) had already gained notoriety in another NWOBHM group, Samson, and Maiden knew immediately after Paul’s departure that he was the right man for the job.
 
Bruce Dickinson sang on two albums with Samson:
 
Head On (1980)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/36/Samson_head_on.jpg/220px-Samson_head_on.jpg)
For some reason my Head On review is giving me a 403 error. Not sure what to do about it, although it's accepting this part:

Overall, Head On is a decent album but it’s clear that this material is beneath Bruce’s abilities. There’s a lot of hard rock/blues influences and the music is fairly simple. Yet Bruce’s operatic and theatrical vocal style brings the otherwise generic music to a higher level. It’s not hard to see how Maiden knew right away that this was the man for the job. Also check out this album for Samson's version of Ides of March!
 
Shock Tactics (1981)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/61/Samson_shock_tactics.jpg/220px-Samson_shock_tactics.jpg)
The followup to Head On is a stronger effort, although still quite a few degrees lower than what Maiden were doing. Still, Bruce is able to flex his muscles more here and the music has some more variety. The clear highlight of the album is the Russ Ballard cover, Riding With the Angels. The Kiss fans here will know the significance of the original writer of Russ Ballard, because he also penned New York Groove and the original version of God Gave Rock and Roll To You. Samson nail this cover, mostly thanks to Bruce’s vocal performance. Easily the highlight of the band’s short career.
 
Some interesting trivia for this album: It was recorded in the same studio at the same time Maiden were recording Killers. According to Bruce, he sat in on some of Maiden’s sessions and witnessed the band having difficulties with Paul.
 
Bootlegs
There is a decent amount of officially released Di’Anno era live material. In addition to what we’ve already discussed, there’s some stuff on Eddie’s Archive (we’ll get to that later) and various b-sides from the period. However, there are no full shows officially available and I’m not sure if the spirit of that lineup has been truly captured on an official release. Fortunately, there are actually a few good bootlegs from this era, so I thought I’d share some before we move on to Number of the Beast.

https://tiny.cc/Tokyo1981
This is a recording from the band’s first Japanese tour. It’s not the same show that was released on Maiden Japan (pretty sure that would be against the rules) but it’s the same setlist. It’s a soundboard recording with a great setlist. Included are songs that were never played again after this tour such as Purgatory, Genghis Khan, and Twilight Zone. There’s also a guitar solo and a rare instance of Maiden playing a cover live: I’ve Got the Fire by Montrose. This bootleg is a soundboard recording and is very high quality, some even prefer it to the sound of Maiden Japan. Arguably the best Di’Anno era bootleg.
 
https://tiny.cc/Milan1981
This is a recording of the band’s first tour with Bruce in late 1981. It’s still part of the Killers tour so the setlist is very similar, so you get a few tracks that were only played with Bruce on this tour. The quality isn’t as good but it’s passable and the historical value makes it worth at least skimming through. Bruce sounds great on Purgatory, I’ll never understand why that song never got played again.
 
https://tiny.cc/RuskinArms1981
One more “Breaking In Bruce” recording. Again, the quality isn’t great on this but the historic content is incredible. This was the band’s final performance of 1981 before going into the studio to record Number of the Beast. The venue is of course the Ruskin Arms, so the performance acted as a sort of homecoming for the band after their first world tour. What makes this album especially special is the performance of some NOTB material. Run To the Hills in particular is a really fascinating listen because nobody in the audience recognizes it! Hearing it introduced as a new song is surreal. This bootleg also includes the soundcheck where they rehearsed Hallowed Be Thy Name.
 
And if you want more early Bruce performances, here’s video of his first show with Maiden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k5CF_6bIgA
 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: cramx3 on May 25, 2017, 01:57:35 PM
From wikipedia
Quote
While fronting the band, Dickinson also came across Iron Maiden for the first time, who were supporting Samson at the Music Machine in 1980.[30] As Dickinson recalls; "I was watching them, and they were good, really fucking good, and at that moment, I remember thinking, 'I wanna fucking sing for that band. In fact, I'm going to sing for that band! I know I'm going to sing for that band!' ... I just thought, 'This is really me. Not Samson.'"

Pretty amazing how that works out
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: jjrock88 on May 25, 2017, 05:36:36 PM
I enjoyed Bruce's Samson material and that's a cool story about what happened in the studio
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Killers (1981)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 25, 2017, 06:18:43 PM
What makes this album especially special is the performance of some NOTB material.

James, is that you?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 25, 2017, 07:38:15 PM
Mosh, great recap. And the bootleg links are a great touch. Nice.



When I was a kid, I had a cassette of Samson's Head Tactics, which was a mashup of the two albums.

Also, IIRC, Bruce played Riding With The Angels on his Tattooed Millionaire tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Phoenix87x on May 25, 2017, 07:55:24 PM
Like a fool, I neglected the Di'Anno era for so many years. I worship Bruce and just wrote off the first two album and just for the hell of it picked up Killers. Mother of god, what a great album and what a fool I was.

I now routinely listen to the debut and killers quite often. They are so rockin and badass. I love it  :metal

Also, strange world has been in my head for days. So damn good. In one week, I shall see them for the first time. I can not wait.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 25, 2017, 07:55:58 PM
Also, this is the point where I was about to become an Iron Maiden fan. As soon as Mosh unleashed TNOTB, my experience will be in real time.

Listening to Purgatory. The opening guitar sounds a lot like Ozzy's You Can't Kill Rock n Roll.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mister Gold on May 25, 2017, 08:20:58 PM
Haven't had much to say so far, since I'm not a huge fan of the Dianno era, but I will say that Phantom of the Opera is one of the band's best songs- although it really comes to life when Bruce sings it live- and that Paul's vocals on Killers is particularly great. In fact, I always felt like he sounded like a punk version of Halford on that song.

The Bruce audition recordings are pretty fun to listen to, if anyone else here has ever listened to 'em. He sounds particularly good on the rendition of Killers.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mosh on May 25, 2017, 09:35:51 PM
Mosh, great recap. And the bootleg links are a great touch. Nice.



When I was a kid, I had a cassette of Samson's Head Tactics, which was a mashup of the two albums.

Also, IIRC, Bruce played Riding With The Angels on his Tattooed Millionaire tour.
Yea, it was the opener. Great performance on the live DVD from that tour. We'll talk about Bruce's solo career for sure.

I think Paul sang most of his songs better than Bruce. There are some exceptions, but the material was better suited for his style especially on the first album. I listened to two bootlegs from the Killers tour back-to-back not too long ago, one with Paul on vocals and one with Bruce, and I have to say I think if I was around at the time I might not have accepted Bruce right away.  Of course hindsight is 20/20 and Bruce is my favorite singer of all time, but he was such a departure from Paul that I can imagine he still had to prove himself. There was no other choice than to bring it to the next level with NOTB.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mladen on May 26, 2017, 02:35:09 AM
I'm pleasantly surprised you decided to dig into the Samson albums before moving onto The Number of the beast. I was never into them, but it's interesting and fairly important to know where Bruce came from.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: wolfking on May 26, 2017, 06:38:20 AM
You know what, the massive Bruce and Maiden fan that I am, I've never checked out any Samson at all.  Really should fix that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: cramx3 on May 26, 2017, 06:49:19 AM
Also, IIRC, Bruce played Riding With The Angels on his Tattooed Millionaire tour.

Yup, I really enjoyed his performance of this song (a live recording is on the Tattooed Millionaire extended edition).  I listened to some Samson, but their cover of this song was the only thing that really interested me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 06:54:09 AM
Samson is not great, from what I remember. It's really interesting only because of Bruce.

Looks like there are some Reissues set for June 2nd, including Live At Reading '81. I may grab that, but likely not the studio stuff.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Stadler on May 26, 2017, 07:28:08 AM
Samson is not great, from what I remember. It's really interesting only because of Bruce.

Looks like there are some Reissues set for June 2nd, including Live At Reading '81. I may grab that, but likely not the studio stuff.

I'm with you on Samson.  There was some Samson material on the Bruce DVD that came out a couple years ago, and it was interesting, but I can't say I'm going out and buying the entire catalogue.   I've got enough classic Bruce (who I consider the the greatest metal frontman ever, yes, even above the legendary Ronald Padavona) with the Maiden material and his solo stuff. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 07:54:14 AM
I literally just ordered the Bruce Anthology DVD last night. In a freak of nature, I have never bothered to get it.

Padavona's issue is that the second half of his career was filled with crappy albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mister Gold on May 26, 2017, 09:09:44 AM
Yea, it was the opener. Great performance on the live DVD from that tour. We'll talk about Bruce's solo career for sure.

YESSSSSSSSS. :hefdaddy

Quote
I think Paul sang most of his songs better than Bruce. There are some exceptions, but the material was better suited for his style especially on the first album. I listened to two bootlegs from the Killers tour back-to-back not too long ago, one with Paul on vocals and one with Bruce, and I have to say I think if I was around at the time I might not have accepted Bruce right away.  Of course hindsight is 20/20 and Bruce is my favorite singer of all time, but he was such a departure from Paul that I can imagine he still had to prove himself. There was no other choice than to bring it to the next level with NOTB.

I agree that Paul sang most of his songs better than Bruce. However the biggest exception, imo at least, is also arguably the best song to come out of Paul's era of the band: Phantom of the Opera.

Paul does okay on the album version of that track, but I've always felt that song really came to life once Bruce started singing it live. It's an early example of Steve's penchant for writing more progressive and bombastic epics, especially in regards to the vocal melodies, which is something that is really suited more for Bruce's pipes than Paul's. Especially when it comes to those lengthier notes- Paul sounds rather off to my ear and a bit out of breath when he gets to those parts, probably because the bits right before are really fast.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: PowerSlave on May 26, 2017, 09:53:33 AM
Padavona's issue is that the second half of his career was filled with crappy albums.

To be fair, how does anyone live up to Rising, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Holy Diver and Last in Line? The quality has to go down from there at some point.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 10:12:01 AM
Well, how did Maiden live up to The Number Of the beast, Piece Of Mind, and Seventh Son? the released AMOLAD, Brave New World, etc...

Crappy albums are crappy albums.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mosh on May 26, 2017, 10:15:49 AM
Exactly. Even forgetting the classics, those later Dio albums are really not good.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mister Gold on May 26, 2017, 10:19:52 AM
I mean, if we're talking best frontman in metal, then yeah, obviously Bruce wins that category. At that point, we're talking about more than just their ability to sing, but also to command the stage and crowd. And that's where Bruce has always shined. He's more than an amazing singer, he's also a master at commanding the stage and audience.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 10:21:02 AM
When the time comes in this thread, I'll discuss my Bruce epiphany. It came much later than expected.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Tomislav95 on May 26, 2017, 10:33:10 AM
I never loved Killers as much as debut but still, Purgatory is one of my favorites on first two albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mosh on May 26, 2017, 10:40:47 AM
Bruce is my favorite singer and frontman. He's got the whole package. The amazing thing is that his peak as a vocalist didn't even come until the late 90s. I don't know what he did as far as vocal training goes, because he was extremely inconsistent in the 80s, but somehow his voice aged easily the best of the classic 80s Metal singers.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 10:42:32 AM
Yeah, I agree. We'll discuss in due time, but while I generally like Fear Of The Dark, it was clearly the low point vocally for Bruce.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: PowerSlave on May 26, 2017, 11:08:51 AM
Well, how did Maiden live up to The Number Of the beast, Piece Of Mind, and Seventh Son? the released AMOLAD, Brave New World, etc...

Crappy albums are crappy albums.

That's true, but there is some less than stellar material sandwiched in between that stuff. They needed the reunion to reboot themselves, and become great again.

As far as RJD goes, I've always considered his final reunion with H&H/Sabbath to be an excellent album. In fact, the first 3 tracks on The Devil You Know are as good as anything that they did with each other, in my opinion.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 11:14:50 AM

As far as RJD goes, I've always considered his final reunion with H&H/Sabbath to be an excellent album. In fact, the first 3 tracks on The Devil You Know are as good as anything that they did with each other, in my opinion.

I totally agree. Somehow he regained all of his power for that last album and tour. He struggled a bit on the previous H&H tour.

The live Neon Nights is an incredible live album. Great performance by the entire band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mosh on May 26, 2017, 11:20:35 AM
Going back to Samson: They shared quite a bit of history with Maiden, even before Bruce. Their drummer, Thunderstick, was actually in Maiden at one point. In fact, a lot of the bootlegs from prior to 1980 that have surfaced recently are supposedly from Thunderstick's personal collection. Samson and Maiden did have a bit of a rivalry going and that was probably at least partly because of Thunderstick's time in the band. If you watch the documentary on The Early Days, they don't really have anything nice to say about him. There's also this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjbej0B9KDY

Sound familiar? On the album, it's credited to Steve Harris and Thunderstick, while on Killers it was credited just to Steve Harris. Samson's version was released first, so there must've been bad blood over Steve not returning the favor. However, Steve has always had a strict "no outside writers" rule, including former members. The rule was broken once though, can anyone name the song?

(I discussed this in my original post on Samson but for some reason that paragraph was giving me errors)

Edit: Also, since the first Samson album credits all the members for every track, Thunderburst is technically the first time Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson shared writing credits.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 11:23:22 AM
Well, Adrian has a writing credit on Hooks In You. He was a former member at that point.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mosh on May 26, 2017, 11:30:30 AM
Yea, that's the one. They were also going to use another one of Bruce's songs for The Book of Souls, but chose not to because Steve didn't want to give Roy Z credit.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: El Barto on May 26, 2017, 11:42:39 AM
RJD's problem is that he was frequently lacking for song-writers. His albums were generally as good as the guitarist he was working with. Maiden has plenty of good songwriting talent. This shouldn't reflect on his front-man status, though. I've seen Dio tour shit albums playing for 500 people and he still put forth 110 percent, improvised vocals and made sure every single person there knew they were appreciated.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 26, 2017, 11:55:17 AM
I agree Bart and was trying to come up with the right wording for a post.
I like Dream Evil but Dio was cooked as soon as Vivian left, and even Sacred Heart is a bit iffy.

Too bad Rowan didn't stick around. I love Wolves.

And Dio was special, in a way that Bruce can't touch. I'll expound later when I'm not on my phone.

OK, I'm home..

  I've seen Dio tour shit albums playing for 500 people and he still put forth 110 percent, improvised vocals and made sure every single person there knew they were appreciated.
Yup, same here, and I totally agree. I also saw two of Bruce's solo tours, and as great as Bruce is, he's not Dio. Bruce doesn't have Dio's persona or humility.

But surely as large stage frontman, Bruce Dickinson could be one of the best ever.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Lowdz on May 27, 2017, 03:14:24 AM
I never loved Killers as much as debut but still, Purgatory is one of my favorites on first two albums.

Killers is my go to Maiden album. Never tire of it. Debut was pretty great but Killers was a step up.
After Powerslave my love for Maiden started to wane
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mladen on May 27, 2017, 05:09:08 AM
Bruce is my favorite singer and frontman. He's got the whole package. The amazing thing is that his peak as a vocalist didn't even come until the late 90s. I don't know what he did as far as vocal training goes, because he was extremely inconsistent in the 80s, but somehow his voice aged easily the best of the classic 80s Metal singers.
Well said.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: MirrorMask on May 27, 2017, 05:50:46 AM
He surely sang better Aces High in the reunion tour of 1999 than in the tour for Powerslave 15 years earlier. Amazing singer, his voice improves with age and gains warmth and depth.

It's a pity, really, that he didn't do any more solo albums or even some out of the field album, maybe of covers.

Check out how he fits well Behind Blue Eyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw5F4DeXRsU

Or this clip of rehearsals from the orchestral Deep Purple album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glhQfdnnoZ8
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Mosh on May 27, 2017, 09:20:26 PM
The Number of the Beast (1982)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures03_notb/album03_notb_a_small.jpg)
Bruce ‘Air Raid Siren’ Dickinson - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitars
Adrian Smith - Guitars
Steve Harris - Bass
Clive Burr - Drums
 
Maiden spared no time to get started on their next album after recruiting Bruce Dickinson. After a short European tour, the band entered the studio in early ‘82 and the album was released in March. That sort of turnaround time is unheard of now. What makes it even more impressive is that The Number of the Beast is the first Iron Maiden album to feature no previously written or performed material. Being forced to come up with all new material in a short amount of time combined with the new singer must have caused quite a bit of pressure, but it also allowed the band to build a new sound around Bruce.
 
The Number of the Beast indeed shows how much the singer can shape the band. The punk influence has been completely removed by this point. The music on Beast is polished, refined, and leagues above the first two albums. Even the more upbeat numbers, such as Invaders and The Prisoner, feature intricate playing and technically brilliant vocal performances from Bruce. The album showed the band taking new directions. Songs such as Children of the Damned heralded back to earlier Metal, specifically Black Sabbath, while progressing with a new sound. Of course there’s the album’s centerpiece: Hallowed Be Thy Name. While I prefer Phantom of the Opera, there’s no denying that Hallowed was unlike anything the band had done before and almost single handedly solidified their place as Metal legends. 
 
Even the artwork took a major step up with this album. We finally see Eddie leave the East End of London for a more apocalyptic setting. Some trivia about the cover: Derek Riggs actually submitted this piece to be used on the single artwork for Purgatory, but the band felt it was too good to be used as a single and decided to save it for the next album. This turned out to be a great choice because it fits the album perfectly.
 
This is also the last album to have versions with different tracklists. For the first (and only) time, Clive Burr contributed to the songwriting for Beast with two tracks: Gangland and Total Eclipse. The album only had room for one of these tracks and Gangland made the cut with Total Eclipse being included as the B side to Run To the Hills. When the band’s discography was remastered in 1998, Total Eclipse was finally included. Strangely, Total Eclipse was played on the tour instead of Gangland. Total Eclipse also fits the album musically and thematically much better than Gangland. My personal theory is that the band’s management had something to do with Gangland being included instead. The song is also unfinished. Pay extra attention to the solo section. One of the oddities of the band’s catalog. It does feature Bruce’s highest recorded note though.
 
Of course you can’t talk about Number of the Beast without mentioning the controversy. Because of the album’s cover and title, the band were labeled as devil worshippers and religious protesters attempted to have the album censored. Of course all this did was generate free publicity of the band. The Number of the Beast became an instant hit, thanks to the momentum created by the lead single Run To the Hills and partly the publicity from the aforementioned controversy. The album shot all the way up to #1 in the UK charts and was certified platinum in the US.
 
The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.
 
Finally, if you’re interested in learning more about the album, the VH1 “Classic Albums” series did an episode on Beast. It’s really interesting and featured some trivia that was even new to me when I saw it. I highly recommend it.
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures03_notb/single07_rtth_a_small.jpg)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures03_notb/single08_notb_a_small.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mister Gold on May 27, 2017, 09:30:40 PM
I have mixed feelings on this album. Obviously it's an iconic entry in the band's discography and in the history of metal, but I think it's got some filler here and there. That said, songs like Children of the Damned and Hallowed Be Thy Name are among some of the best songs ever from the band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 28, 2017, 12:16:33 AM
great write up!

Not overrated in my opinion, just classic song after classic song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 28, 2017, 02:56:47 AM
The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

I guess I agree with this. Personally it's not my favorite either, it has essentially 5 "happy" songs, and out of the remaining three, one leaves us all wondering why it's on the album instead of the b-side (talking about Gangland of course).

The two "serious" songs are obviously the very best of the album, and Hallowed is a gigantic mammoth track, everything Iron Maiden is about. The whole album is overplayed, and I was never a massive fan of the title track, but singing along to it and especially to Run to the Hills is always a nice experience at concerts.

Also, let's not forget the impact it had back in the day. It's easy for us today, after hearing better albums from the classic line-up and after hearing the same songs a gazillionth times at concerts, to be a bit "meh" about the album, but even if I was not there (I was too busy eating, crying and crapping myself, I was 3  :D) I recognize what a massive game changer was back in the day. And of course the very stupid "satanic" controversy, I could see people going nuts over the song Black Sabbath, but labeling Maiden satanists for a song that talks about someone being SCARED of a satanic ritual and a line that goes "this can't go on, I must inform the law"? typical extremists stupidity.

The album cover is fantastic, one of Maiden's very best. And a little trivia from when they went number #1 - I remember a story about their bus breaking down, and everyone having to go down to push it to help it restart, and that's when the news of the #1 album arrived. It was funny that they were aware of how the album became big right when they were literally trying to not remain stranded in the middle of the road, it was a reminder of how you still have to work hard even after such a big achievement.

So, to sum up, not my personally favorite Maiden album, but an undeniable classic filled with many great songs and a huge importance in the history of both the band and heavy metal!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on May 28, 2017, 04:55:03 AM
I had this in the car knowing it was coming up in the discussion.  Aces High was the first Maiden song I ever heard, but TNOTB was the first full album I got and got into.  It's a masterpiece IMO.  I don't think it's overrated at all, just for me, the title track and RTTH are overplayed, but I had no intentions of skipping them listening today and they were enjoyable as ever.

The production is amazing and the performances are perfect.  Perfect lineup this, Clive was on point here.  Total Eclipse is one of my favs, strange how it was never included, but Gangland is really IMO underrated.  Great groove and has that Powerslave album type of feel.  22 might be a top ten Maiden song for me.  Great songwriting and how the whole song builds up to the end is massive.

Of course, nothing can beat the closer, just a perfect song.  Amazing album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: wolfking on May 28, 2017, 04:57:47 AM
The song is also unfinished. Pay extra attention to the solo section. One of the oddities of the band’s catalog.

I never really paid attention to this before, but I'm guessing there's suppose to either be a Dave Murray solo in there, or Adrian just never finished it?  Wow.  After knowing an album for about 15 years, you can still hear something you've never really noticed before!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mladen on May 28, 2017, 05:33:38 AM
A classic.

Great album. It would only be my number 10 when ranking Maiden albums, but that just shows how remarkably consistent their discography is. I think it's the perfect Maiden album for anyone picking up the band.

Hallowed be thy name, The Number of the beast, The Prisoner and Run to the hills are fantastic songs. The other four are also all very good - even Gangland isn't a bad track, but I wish Total eclipse was included instead, it's a great song and fits the overall darkness of the record better. The thing about the missing solo in Gangland is also something I've wondered about as well.

All in all, a legendary album.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on May 28, 2017, 05:42:05 AM
The thing about the missing solo in Gangland is also something I've wondered about as well.

Just discovering this to me is remarkable.  Has their ever been any official word by the band in regards to this?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 28, 2017, 05:43:31 AM
The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on May 28, 2017, 05:46:14 AM
Just found this on maidenfans.

How did you feel about them adding “Total Eclipse to the running order of Number Of The Beast?

We all thought it should have been on the album. We were in such a hurry when we made that record. We recorded and mixed the record in five weeks. This was in the days before computer mixes so we had the break down the board after the first week. Without having recorded any songs we had to pick the single and the B-side and record them and mix them and break down the board and start all over to record the rest of the album. Originally we thought let’s do “Gangland” but it was the first song we recorded together and we thought it was just great. It couldn’t be a B-side because initially it was our idea to be but in all our enthusiasm we picked “Total Eclipse” instead as the B-side for “Run To Hills”. Actually there’s a guitar solo that is missing from “Gangland”. It was recorded but we were in such a hurry that it was never mixed and nobody noticed. There’s supposed to be two guitar solos, Dave’s which is on there and then I do this shriek and a big drum roll and there’s this backing track where Adrian’s guitar solo should be. We were all so out of it. There was a massive stack of beer cans in the studio, we actually built an entire wall of beer cans. We had a blast recording that album but there was odd moments of forgetfulness.

Bruce Dickinson

Brucey obviously a bit confused by the order and where his high note sits.  It's obviously Adrian once the solo rolls in.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: seasonsinthesky on May 28, 2017, 07:28:37 AM
Love Beast, of course, but my one caveat to that statement besides Gangland being there instead of TE is the tracklist. I think it's totally stupid that the title track – world's most obvious choice for album opener here – instead opens a heavily-stacked side B, which also contains the lead single and of course the legendary closer. Nothing wrong with most of side A, it's just very... sleepy? And Invaders is possibly one of the worst opener choices from this stack of songs.

For giggles, try:
Number
Run
Total Eclipse
22 Acacia
Invaders
Children
Prisoner
Hallowed
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 07:50:17 AM

The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

True..

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

...maybe. It's not so much of "you had to be there" but when you were "listening in real time" to this album, you would truly understand how amazing The Number Of The Beast really is.  I was 13 when this came out and bought it during the summer of '82, after seeing Run To The Hills constantly on MTV.
This album blew everything else that was going on at the time away. It really stretched the genre and made the other NWOBHM bands look like minor leaguers. The songwriting was incredible and the execution was almost as so.

They had some good fortune during this time. MTV really elevated their profile, and Judas Priest took them out in the US for a second tour in a row. I'm sure my good friend Stadler will discuss this point further.

But this album is so full of classics. It goes 6 songs deep, before you get to Invaders and Gangland. Both of these actually bridge the Killers era to the Bruce era, for me anyway. I personally love Gangland and have never heard anything about a missing solo until today. Now, I can't unhear it...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: ChuckSteak on May 28, 2017, 07:53:24 AM
From the classic era, I think The Number of the Beast is the weakest.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jammindude on May 28, 2017, 08:44:17 AM
I think I remember Steve going on record as saying that it was a coin toss to include either Gangland or Total Eclipse, and almost immediately after they picked Gangland (for the reasons Bruce mentioned above) he felt like they had made the wrong decision.   Because after it was too late, he strongly felt that TE was the better song. 

I think Invaders is the perfect album opener for this album, because *to my ears* it sounds the most like it could have been a Di'Anno song.  I can TOTALLY picture Paul singing that song, so in that way, it opens the album with a song that easily could have been on Killers....thus giving the fans something familiar before throwing them the more mature material that would be on the rest of the album. 

Invaders says, "We still have that punk side you're familiar with...we're still the Maiden you know."   But then the rest of the album takes it to the next level. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 08:57:22 AM
I think Invaders is the perfect album opener for this album, because *to my ears* it sounds the most like it could have been a Di'Anno song.  I can TOTALLY picture Paul singing that song, so in that way, it opens the album with a song that easily could have been on Killers....thus giving the fans something familiar before throwing them the more mature material that would be on the rest of the album. 

Invaders says, "We still have that punk side you're familiar with...we're still the Maiden you know."   But then the rest of the album takes it to the next level.

I totally agree and was trying to say the same thing in my post.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: JayOctavarium on May 28, 2017, 09:42:49 AM
Absolutely love this album.

It's probably a controversial opinion, but Prisoner is my favorite track besides Hallowed (not counting the overplayed singles). That drum intro pumps me up like nothing else.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 09:47:15 AM


It's probably a controversial opinion, but Prisoner is my favorite track besides Hallowed (not counting the overplayed singles). That drum intro pumps me up like nothing else.
:metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 28, 2017, 11:13:17 AM
My favorite track from this album is 22. And as has been mentioned, Invaders is a great bridge between the PD era and where the band was going from there. I've never been a big fan of the song, but that's the perfect way of looking at it, in my opinion.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Tomislav95 on May 28, 2017, 11:34:57 AM
I love The Prisoner, too :metal
TNOTB is nowhere near my favorite IM album but it is still pretty great with some iconic songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 11:51:18 AM
My favorite track from this album is 22. 

It's a great song and doesn't get nearly the accolades that it deserves.

I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong. Maybe not until you get to AMOLAD. Maybe.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 28, 2017, 12:00:05 PM
I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong.

Seventh Son with all the songs except the two not played live (which are better than Gangland and Invaders IMO) and Piece of Mind with its first six songs, and you can even afford to not count To Tame a Land. (or to place it instead of Die with Your Boots On).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 12:06:27 PM
I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong.

Seventh Son with all the songs except the two not played live (which are better than Gangland and Invaders IMO) and Piece of Mind with its first six songs, and you can even afford to not count To Tame a Land. (or to place it instead of Die with Your Boots On).

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 12:06:56 PM
Well that didn't take long! :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 28, 2017, 12:17:24 PM
My favorite track from this album is 22. 

It's a great song and doesn't get nearly the accolades that it deserves.

I mean, Hallowed, 22, COTD, RTTH, TNOTB and The Prisoner.
Not sure what other album of theirs boasts 6 songs that strong. Maybe not until you get to AMOLAD. Maybe.

I'm biased, but PowerSlave does that for me. And the lows on it are higher than the lows on NotB and PoM for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on May 28, 2017, 03:02:15 PM
I would take all the 80s albums over NOTB with the exception of the debut. Still, that speaks more to the high quality of all the 80s albums than anything else.

I totally agree with Invaders being a sendoff to the Di'Anno era, especially considering it likely evolved from Invasion. Still, I think the instrumental section and Bruce's vocals elevate it to make it album worthy. Still it's interesting that the band's most famous album contains what is possibly their most forgotten opening track.

I don't dislike Gangland, but when I heard Total Eclipse for the first time (I wasn't aware of the 1998 version until much later) it seemed baffling that it wasn't included on the album. Where Gangland is easily the weakest song, Total Eclipse fits the album better and I would say it's stronger than at least half of the other songs.

Prisoner and 22 are on a similar level for me. My preference changes periodically, although usually I go for 22. That song slays when the tempo change hits. The Prisoner is awesome too though. That was such a cool surprise in 2013, it was actually the surprise highlight for me. I went for the Seventh Son stuff, left being pumped up by The Prisoner. I believe Bruce actually came up with the drum intro for that one, but he wasn't able to receive writing credits on the album because he still had contractual obligations with Samson.

Number of the Beast and Run To The Hills are obviously the famous tracks from the album. Run To The Hills I'm totally sick of. It rarely sounds good live (even in the 80s) and parts of the song border annoying. But Number of the Beast is still awesome. That track never gets old and I think it's actually my favorite on the album. Also has an amazing solo section. Interesting idea to have it open the album. I'm not sure if it would be as effective as an opener. It does open side 2 of the album though and works fine that way. I agree side 2 is a bit loaded, having the singles on side 2 is especially odd. But on the other hand I like how the album builds up to those tracks. Side 1 is also a really nice sequence.

That leaves COTD and Hallowed which, more than any other song, really showed what this band was capable of. Not much to say about Hallowed at this point, although it's another classic that doesn't seem to have the same power live. I actually found it refreshing when it was left off of the setlist a few years ago. COTD is a tune I didn't think much of as a kid, but in recent years I've really grown fond of it. It's unlike anything else they've done and it slays when things get heavy. A major highlight on the 2016 tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jammindude on May 28, 2017, 03:12:44 PM
My favorite track from this album is 22. And as has been mentioned, Invaders is a great bridge between the PD era and where the band was going from there. I've never been a big fan of the song, but that's the perfect way of looking at it, in my opinion.

I think the break down riff that dominates the 2nd half of the song is amazing.   I remember first getting into Maiden, and when that riff first hits....that was one of those HUGE "goosebumps" moments that made me go straight for my tennis racket.

Children of the 80's know what I mean.   There was only *ONE USE* for a tennis racket if you were a metal head in the 80's.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 03:19:17 PM
I respect everyone's opinions on this, but I really wish I could properly convey how game changing this album was. If you think they built on it, then fine, I can accept that, but no album they did after TNOTB amazed me like this one did. Everything seemed so original and fresh, and suddenly had every other metal band looking up at them.

  Where Gangland is easily the weakest song, Total Eclipse fits the album better and I would say it's stronger than at least half of the other songs.
Total Eclipse will always be a b-side to me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Lowdz on May 28, 2017, 04:00:34 PM

The Number Of the Beast is a classic album. Like most classics, it’s easy for the more hardcore fans to write it off as overrated. It’s definitely not Maiden’s best, but more of a foundation for the great things to come. The album still has a unique charm to it and many of the songs still hold up, even if they’ve been overplayed. It’s easy to see why this album is their most critically acclaimed. It’s accessible, fresh, and shows the band firing on all cylinders. A classic for good reason.

True..

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

...maybe. It's not so much of "you had to be there" but when you were "listening in real time" to this album, you would truly understand how amazing The Number Of The Beast really is.  I was 13 when this came out and bought it during the summer of '82, after seeing Run To The Hills constantly on MTV.
This album blew everything else that was going on at the time away. It really stretched the genre and made the other NWOBHM bands look like minor leaguers. The songwriting was incredible and the execution was almost as so.

They had some good fortune during this time. MTV really elevated their profile, and Judas Priest took them out in the US for a second tour in a row. I'm sure my good friend Stadler will discuss this point further.

But this album is so full of classics. It goes 6 songs deep, before you get to Invaders and Gangland. Both of these actually bridge the Killers era to the Bruce era, for me anyway. I personally love Gangland and have never heard anything about a missing solo until today. Now, I can't unhear it...

Partially agree with TAC here. It was a huge thing at the time. Metal bands just did not have number ones in the UK. The other NWOBHMB bands were very ameteur by comparison. I was 14 at the time and was a huge fan of Killers. I can't say the loss of DiAnno was a big deal, at least not after hearing Bruce. That was one of the greatest trade ups ever.
Bruce was just awesome.
Gangland is pretty awful. I much prefer DT's jazz piano version.
The title track should have led the album and TE should have replaced Gangland

I passed an English exam basing a fiction essay on Invaders...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: TAC on May 28, 2017, 04:35:44 PM
I passed an English exam basing a fiction essay on Invaders...
:lol

I also did a college speech based on Iron Maiden. More on that when we get there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: devieira73 on May 28, 2017, 04:40:06 PM
Following this very interesting thread. I listen to this album from time to time since 89 and I NEVER noticed the lack of 2nd solo on Gangland! Wow, very cool!
And I always loved Invaders but never really liked Gangland that much.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: Tomislav95 on May 28, 2017, 05:08:43 PM
I passed an English exam basing a fiction essay on Invaders...
:lol

I also did a college speech based on Iron Maiden. More on that when we get there.
Off-topic but we had to do short public speech in high school, I picked metal music as my theme. 2 minute history of metal :P I believe I mentioned Iron Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on May 28, 2017, 05:13:22 PM
My favorite track from this album is 22. And as has been mentioned, Invaders is a great bridge between the PD era and where the band was going from there. I've never been a big fan of the song, but that's the perfect way of looking at it, in my opinion.

I think the break down riff that dominates the 2nd half of the song is amazing.   I remember first getting into Maiden, and when that riff first hits....that was one of those HUGE "goosebumps" moments that made me go straight for my tennis racket.

Children of the 80's know what I mean.   There was only *ONE USE* for a tennis racket if you were a metal head in the 80's.

As I mentioned, it's probably a top 10 Maiden song for me.  For the whole six minutes I feel it just builds and climaxes so nicely, brilliantly written song, and yeah taht riff is epic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Final Thoughts on Di'Anno Era, Samson, and Boots
Post by: stargazer18 on May 29, 2017, 06:17:25 AM

I agree with this but also feel that there is a bit of "had to be there at the time" when this came out. It seems that those who were fans of Maiden and metal music during that period elevate this album a bit more than someone like me who worked their way back through their discography having started with later albums. It was definitely the start of a very productive period for the band though.

Quote
...maybe. It's not so much of "you had to be there" but when you were "listening in real time" to this album, you would truly understand how amazing The Number Of The Beast really is.  I was 13 when this came out and bought it during the summer of '82, after seeing Run To The Hills constantly on MTV.
This album blew everything else that was going on at the time away. It really stretched the genre and made the other NWOBHM bands look like minor leaguers. The songwriting was incredible and the execution was almost as so.

TAC - Your statement is what I was referring to when I said you had to be there.  I was 10 years old when this album came and Iron Maiden was not on my radar yet.



Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Cyclopssss on May 29, 2017, 08:28:31 AM
There was no other album back in the day. Buying this the first day of release admiring the artwork all the way home. Then putting it on, being used to Paul's and being totally blown away by Bruce's. Holy Wow. They made much better albums since, but the impact at that time can't be overstated. Instant Classic.   :hefdaddy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on May 29, 2017, 08:35:41 AM
I respect everyone's opinions on this, but I really wish I could properly convey how game changing this album was. If you think they built on it, then fine, I can accept that, but no album they did after TNOTB amazed me like this one did. Everything seemed so original and fresh, and suddenly had every other metal band looking up at them.

No denying this. All you have to do is look at other albums released that year.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 29, 2017, 04:11:02 PM
So, I'm going to drop this right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86URGgqONvA

It's the official video to Run To The Hills. It's been ages since I watched it. Man what a great video, and it really appealed to this 13 y/o. This band looked cooler, played better, but never felt intimidating. Funny, but even then, Dave , Steve, Adrian, and especially Clive just looked like a decent bunch of kids. That really appealed to me. And Clive...so joyous. He owned this video.

This was played in heavy rotation in the spring of 1982 on MTV. I grew up in the boonies, lived on a dirt road, and could see the ocean from my house. We didn't get cable TV until late 1985. It may have even been early 1986. But my grandmother lived in the city, and I used to spend the weekends there to watch the MTV Saturday Night Concert. I lived for the once every other hour that Run To The Hills was played.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 29, 2017, 05:20:15 PM
Great write up by OP and great discussion. It’s been like a trip down memory lane listening to all of these albums after having been away from them for a long time. Iron Maiden was MY band for the second half of the 1980’s.

I first heard Run to the Hills on a compilation album of various artists released in 1984 called Masters of Metal. This compilation album was one of my favorite albums from this time period and introduced me to some really great music though, ironically, very little of it could be considered “Metal.” I Liked Run to the Hills though I did not Love it. Like TAC states, I think MTV played a large part in helping this song / video gain as much popularity as it did here in the US.

Not long after I got into the band Live After Death was released. Seeing 5 of the 8 songs on the track listing showed just how prominent this album was to the band and, in fact, there were more songs from Number than either Piece of Mind or Powerslave!

Invaders starts the album off in similar fashion as the previous album in that it’s a fast paced rocker with an interesting lead and rhythm guitar segue into the first verse.  The chorus isn’t my favorite but it’s just catchy enough to keep my interest.  What the vocal melodies lack, the guitars try to make up for and it sounds pretty cool.

I’ve always considered Children of the Damned one of my favorites from this album. Bruce’s vocals are fantastic and being the second song into the album really introduces fans to the difference between Di’Anno and him. This song to me really highlights the ability of Harris to mix and layer the heavy guitars over quieter portions of a song. It ends with an awesome guitar solo and some sing along vocals from Bruce.

The Prisoner was one of the three songs on this album that was NOT included on Live After Death and was a pleasant surprise to me when I first heard it. I was expecting a second tier song but instead its’s another classic. I find the chorus catchy and the guitar work fantastic but the intro was what got my attention. Before this track (and the title track) the only song I had heard with some kind of non-music introduction was Crusader by Saxon. (Crusader is an excellent song WITH an excellent introduction by the way) After an excerpt from a popular British television series Clive enters in with a simple though phenomenally large sounding drum beat. Once all three guitars enter Clive plays off their leads with some cool sounding fills for brief period before the song takes off. Awesome.

22 Acacia Avenue finishes side one of the album. This song needed to grow on me a bit but I really like it now.
 
By the end of side one you could clearly hear another step forward in the song writing complexity IMO.

Side two kicks off with the title track and what a smoking tune it is! I’ll admit that I was fooled into thinking the introduction was spoken by Vincent Price. If you still weren’t sure about Di’Anno’s replacement, Dickinson’s scream at the beginning this song will eliminate any doubts you have about his abilities.

As I state above, I Like Run to the Hills but I don’t Love it. It’s a song that I listen to in the context of the album and it flows very well but on its own I don’t really listen to it. There are better singles to follow on the next albums.

I lump Gangland into the second tier category on the album. It’s listenable but not very memorable. My favorite part of the song is the dual guitar melody / harmony section in the middle.

Total Eclipse is included on my 1998 reissue and I like this song a lot. It definitely would have made a better song than Gangland but, as they say, hind sight is 20/20.

It’s with this album that Maiden introduce the epic album closer. Hallowed Be Thy Name ends side two with one of the best song’s (some people say THE BEST) of their catalog. For me it’s in their top 10 for sure. For those listening in “Real Time” I can only imagine what it was like after hearing an album of some of their best material ever – ending with such an impressive track.

The album cover was certainly an eye opener and one of their best. I remember the Spencer Gifts store at the local mall had a black light poster of this cover that looked ominous to say the least. I wasn’t allowed to have it….

Ranking

Top Tier
Children of the Damned
The Prisoner
22 Acacia Avenue
The Number of the Beast
Total Eclipse
Hallowed Be Thy Name

Second Tier
Invaders
Run to the Hills
Gangland
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Dream Team on May 29, 2017, 07:55:12 PM
As a kid who grew up with parents who only listened to country and western, you can imagine the impact of this album. My first exposure to Maiden was this on a copied cassette with half of Piece of Mind also added, given to me by a high school friend. That's how we did it back then folks! I'd heard some hard rock previously, but this was next-level stuff. I didn't like PoM as much at first but it ended up surpassing TNoTB for me.

Hallowed
Prisoner
Acacia
Eclipse
Number
Invaders
Hills
Children

Gangland
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: El Barto on May 29, 2017, 10:12:41 PM
I first heard Run to the Hills on a compilation album of various artists released in 1984 called Masters of Metal. This compilation album was one of my favorite albums from this time period and introduced me to some really great music though, ironically, very little of it could be considered “Metal.”
I bet more than half the people in this thread had that tape. Braking the Chains, Rainbow in the Dark, Who's Behind the Door, maybe something from Vandenberg.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: stargazer18 on May 30, 2017, 03:55:51 AM
I first heard Run to the Hills on a compilation album of various artists released in 1984 called Masters of Metal. This compilation album was one of my favorite albums from this time period and introduced me to some really great music though, ironically, very little of it could be considered “Metal.”
I bet more than half the people in this thread had that tape. Braking the Chains, Rainbow in the Dark, Who's Behind the Door, maybe something from Vandenberg.

The actual track listing is:

Black Sabbath    Trashed    
Y & T       Mean Streak    
Dokken            Breaking The Chains    
Zebra        Who's Behind The Door?    
Dio                Rainbow In The Dark    
Krokus       Screaming In The Night    
Kiss               Lick It Up    
Rainbow            Street Of Dreams    
Iron Maiden    Run To The Hills    
Rush       Tom Sawyer    
Triumph             A World Of Fantasy    
Twisted Sister    You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll    
Van Halen    Dancing In The Street

I built my CD collection with CD’s from a number of artists above to include most of Sabbath from Born Again to the beginning, Some Rainbow including a greatest hits, Dokken’s  greatest hits, Dio from Dream Evil to Holy Diver, ALL of Iron Maiden, ALMOST all of RUSH,  Triumph’s greatest hits, Van Halen’s greatest hits and a few later CD’s.

There were a ton of these types of albums at the time but this was the one that I always came back to. Both the Y&T and Twisted Sister songs listed are pretty good too but I never ventured beyond what was included on this album from either of the two bands.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 30, 2017, 05:30:17 AM
I actually remember that album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Stadler on May 30, 2017, 07:28:26 AM
I don't dislike Gangland, but when I heard Total Eclipse for the first time (I wasn't aware of the 1998 version until much later) it seemed baffling that it wasn't included on the album. Where Gangland is easily the weakest song, Total Eclipse fits the album better and I would say it's stronger than at least half of the other songs.

Are you implying that the version put on the album in '98 is different in some way than the original b-side?  I didn't think they were (other than remastering).    I can check for myself, but I wanted to know what you meant.   "Total Eclipse" for me is a Top Ten Maiden song all time.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Stadler on May 30, 2017, 07:49:06 AM
I respect everyone's opinions on this, but I really wish I could properly convey how game changing this album was. If you think they built on it, then fine, I can accept that, but no album they did after TNOTB amazed me like this one did. Everything seemed so original and fresh, and suddenly had every other metal band looking up at them.
AND
It's the official video to Run To The Hills. It's been ages since I watched it. Man what a great video, and it really appealed to this 13 y/o. This band looked cooler, played better, but never felt intimidating. Funny, but even then, Dave , Steve, Adrian, and especially Clive just looked like a decent bunch of kids. That really appealed to me. And Clive...so joyous. He owned this video.

Other than his take on "Total Eclipse" (haha!) I think TAC has this spot on.   You have to remember, there was no internet then, and word of mouth traveled slowly.  There was MTV, but metal bands didn't get played on that much (and if they did, it was an afterthought, late at night).   Maiden at this point was an OPENING BAND, and with one other exception - Def Leppard - I can't remember a band in the typical "45 minute opening slot before an hour and 45 minute headliner" format that arguably had the same or greater buzz than the headliner.   There were easily as many Maiden shirts in the crowd as there were Priest, and that's no knock on Priest (they were riding their biggest album up to that point - and possibly since - with Screaming For Vengeance). 

For all the "satan" stuff - which was geographic - there was no "shtick" with Maiden when you saw them.  It was all iconography (the artwork), not them.    Yeah, they had some of the trappings of "metal" (Bruce's leather studded armbands for one) but they weren't that different from you and I, and if you look back, in metal only AC/DC had that sort of appeal.    DLR was a god.  Kiss looked like freaks.   Priest was all in black leather...  Maiden was meat and potatoes. 

And here's the other thing:  it doesn't surprise me at all that we're having this conversation; the jump from Killers to NOTB was massive, but the other bands that had "hit albums" at that point didn't make that jump.  Other than "singer", what was really that different between "Highway To Hell" and "Back In Black"?   What was the real difference between British Steel/Point of Entry/Screaming?  What was the real different between Difficult to Cure/Straight Between The Eyes?  Blizzard/Diary?   I think that was part of the charm and part of the intangible; you felt like this was "different".  You felt like this was "special". 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Grappler on May 30, 2017, 08:00:22 AM
If I have to pick a definitive Iron Maiden album, it's Number of the Beast.  So many of these songs have become hits or are classics.  I wish they'd break out 22 Acacia Avenue more often, but at least they've given Run to the Hills a rest every once in a while. 

Hallowed Be Thy Name is the ultimate Maiden song and should be in every set.  They've taken it out here and there and that drives me nuts.  I love when they end the night with it.  The album used to be my favorite/go-to record for a long time until I started getting older and enjoying one or two other classic albums more than NOTB. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: cramx3 on May 30, 2017, 08:06:37 AM
And here's the other thing:  it doesn't surprise me at all that we're having this conversation; the jump from Killers to NOTB was massive, but the other bands that had "hit albums" at that point didn't make that jump.  Other than "singer", what was really that different between "Highway To Hell" and "Back In Black"?   What was the real difference between British Steel/Point of Entry/Screaming?  What was the real different between Difficult to Cure/Straight Between The Eyes?  Blizzard/Diary?   I think that was part of the charm and part of the intangible; you felt like this was "different".  You felt like this was "special".

You could argue Def Leppard made this same leap at the same time as IM, with High'n'Dry to Pyromania. 

I can't really relate to the discussion of this time period though, still a sperm, but a first IM memory for me that relates to TNotB.... it was the first CD of theirs I purchased, but sort of by luck.  My college roommate and I were digging a greatest hits IM album so we said lets go out to Best Buy and buy an actual album.  They only had two, The Number of the Beast with it's iconic hit songs we knew and Fear of the Dark which the title track live from RiR was featured on the greatest hits album I had.  So we weren't sure which one to get (I had no idea FotD was otherwise a not so good album).  Well my friend put both albums behind his back and I picked a random arm and we left with The Number of the Beast.  We sometimes joke about what would have happened if we got Fear of the Dark instead. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 30, 2017, 08:24:32 AM
And here's the other thing:  it doesn't surprise me at all that we're having this conversation; the jump from Killers to NOTB was massive, but the other bands that had "hit albums" at that point didn't make that jump.  Other than "singer", what was really that different between "Highway To Hell" and "Back In Black"?   What was the real difference between British Steel/Point of Entry/Screaming?  What was the real different between Difficult to Cure/Straight Between The Eyes?  Blizzard/Diary?   I think that was part of the charm and part of the intangible; you felt like this was "different".  You felt like this was "special". 

I actually think there was a huge jump from Highway To hell to Back In Black. BiB had a huge production and the songwriting is probably their best ever. I think you can compare HTH to For Those About To Rock, or Flick Of The Switch, but Back In Black really stands on its own.

  There was MTV, but metal bands didn't get played on that much (and if they did, it was an afterthought, late at night).   

MTV did not play a lot of metal in 1982. The only videos I really remember were Maiden, Priest, and AC/DC. But those were played fairly regularly. Plus the High n Dry era Def Leppard "live" videos.
Back in those early days they also played a band called Vendetta that was also pretty cool.


You could argue Def Leppard made this same leap at the same time as IM, with High'n'Dry to Pyromania.   

A huge leap. Style, production... And then they blew up on MTV.

   Well my friend put both albums behind his back and I picked a random arm and we left with The Number of the Beast.  We sometimes joke about what would have happened if we got Fear of the Dark instead. 
:lol

That's funny. Always go for the early classic!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 30, 2017, 08:37:05 AM
Thanks Stadler for the additional perspective on that time!

Hallowed Be Thy Name is the ultimate Maiden song and should be in every set.  They've taken it out here and there and that drives me nuts.  I love when they end the night with it.

As far as I know, they never ever took it away from the set for 30 years, it was shelved only for the Maiden England tour(s). And for this current second leg of the Book of Souls tour and only because of a legal dispute.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: bosk1 on May 30, 2017, 08:57:22 AM
So, I'm going to drop this right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86URGgqONvA

It's the official video to Run To The Hills. It's been ages since I watched it. Man what a great video, and it really appealed to this 13 y/o. This band looked cooler, played better, but never felt intimidating. Funny, but even then, Dave , Steve, Adrian, and especially Clive just looked like a decent bunch of kids. That really appealed to me. And Clive...so joyous. He owned this video.

Really?  I'm actually kinda surprised to hear that the video had that kind of impact on you, since I was coming to the thread this morning specifically for the purpose of giving props to the album and planning on posting something along the lines of, "no thanks to that silly, atrocious video for Run To the Hills."  :lol  And kind of a shame too, because although it is a pretty good song, I have always had a difficult time enjoying it because I can't get the video out of my head every time I hear it.  One of my problems with Maiden was that I never knew whether or not I was supposed to be taking them seriously after a video like this.  But, hey, if it made you and others fans, who am I to argue?

The other point I wanted to address was the comment in the initial writeup about the punk influence disappearing on this album.  I guess this has probably been addressed adequately by others, but I just wanted to chime in to say that I disagree.  I mean, they definitely changed their sound, and the punk influence wasn't nearly as in your face as on prior albums.  But it is definitely still there and shows itself on a number of songs.  It did get somewhat "swallowed up" by a lot of other things they would have going on in their music that they chose to focus on more, but I don't think it's fair to say that the punk influence vanished.  To my ears, it just took a bit of a back seat.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on May 30, 2017, 09:06:58 AM

I don't dislike Gangland, but when I heard Total Eclipse for the first time (I wasn't aware of the 1998 version until much later) it seemed baffling that it wasn't included on the album. Where Gangland is easily the weakest song, Total Eclipse fits the album better and I would say it's stronger than at least half of the other songs.

Are you implying that the version put on the album in '98 is different in some way than the original b-side?  I didn't think they were (other than remastering).    I can check for myself, but I wanted to know what you meant.   "Total Eclipse" for me is a Top Ten Maiden song all time.
Nah, sorry that wasn't clear. Total Eclipse is the same on the b-side, but I was referring to the 98 version of the album that included Total Eclipse. My experience with the album was the original capitol CD (which is still the best sounding version of the album IMO).

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 30, 2017, 09:27:10 AM
Really?  I'm actually kinda surprised to hear that the video had that kind of impact on you, since I was coming to the thread this morning specifically for the purpose of giving props to the album and planning on posting something along the lines of, "no thanks to that silly, atrocious video for Run To the Hills."  :lol  And kind of a shame too, because although it is a pretty good song, I have always had a difficult time enjoying it because I can't get the video out of my head every time I hear it.  One of my problems with Maiden was that I never knew whether or not I was supposed to be taking them seriously after a video like this.  But, hey, if it made you and others fans, who am I to argue?

The other point I wanted to address was the comment in the initial writeup about the punk influence disappearing on this album.  I guess this has probably been addressed adequately by others, but I just wanted to chime in to say that I disagree.  I mean, they definitely changed their sound, and the punk influence wasn't nearly as in your face as on prior albums.  But it is definitely still there and shows itself on a number of songs.  It did get somewhat "swallowed up" by a lot of other things they would have going on in their music that they chose to focus on more, but I don't think it's fair to say that the punk influence vanished.  To my ears, it just took a bit of a back seat.

Well, I was 13 at the time. I knew right away that I preferred my music videos performance based, as in on a stage with their gear, rather than playing on a beach or something. So it had that. They looked cool. So it had that. And as far as the b&w silly footage, that never bothered me. It told me that there was also a fun-ness about the band. It didn't over arch the music or the band's image.


As far as the punk influence, it's there, but just a bit. It does jump in the back seat, and never really returns.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: bosk1 on May 30, 2017, 09:30:56 AM
Really?  I'm actually kinda surprised to hear that the video had that kind of impact on you, since I was coming to the thread this morning specifically for the purpose of giving props to the album and planning on posting something along the lines of, "no thanks to that silly, atrocious video for Run To the Hills."  :lol  And kind of a shame too, because although it is a pretty good song, I have always had a difficult time enjoying it because I can't get the video out of my head every time I hear it.  One of my problems with Maiden was that I never knew whether or not I was supposed to be taking them seriously after a video like this.  But, hey, if it made you and others fans, who am I to argue?

The other point I wanted to address was the comment in the initial writeup about the punk influence disappearing on this album.  I guess this has probably been addressed adequately by others, but I just wanted to chime in to say that I disagree.  I mean, they definitely changed their sound, and the punk influence wasn't nearly as in your face as on prior albums.  But it is definitely still there and shows itself on a number of songs.  It did get somewhat "swallowed up" by a lot of other things they would have going on in their music that they chose to focus on more, but I don't think it's fair to say that the punk influence vanished.  To my ears, it just took a bit of a back seat.

Well, I was 13 at the time. I knew right away that I preferred my music videos performance based, as in on a stage with their gear, rather than playing on a beach or something. So it had that. They looked cool. So it had that. And as far as the b&w silly footage, that never bothered me. It told me that there was also a fun-ness about the band. It didn't over arch the music or the band's image.

I get it.  As to the performance part of it, it is well done.  It's just that the other footage seems so very much off for me.  Hard to say why it gets in the way, since I am definitely not "above" bands doing that sort of thing.  Maybe it's just because (1) the song is about such a serious topic, and (2) the band itself portrayed an image that was so different than what that material would imply, that it just seems so very out of place and takes me out of the moment.  I can't really explain it any better than that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: cramx3 on May 30, 2017, 09:40:42 AM
I always thought IM's music videos were pretty crappy.  Granted, that's from watching most 20 years after the fact.  I don't think they made a music video I truly enjoyed until Speed of Light. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mladen on May 30, 2017, 10:16:24 AM
They don't have that many great videos. That's never been their forte, for some reason.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: kaos2900 on May 30, 2017, 10:50:46 AM
Just wanted to add that Dream Theater's cover of Gangland is one of my favorite covers of all time.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Stadler on May 30, 2017, 11:02:40 AM
I actually think there was a huge jump from Highway To hell to Back In Black. BiB had a huge production and the songwriting is probably their best ever. I think you can compare HTH to For Those About To Rock, or Flick Of The Switch, but Back In Black really stands on its own.

This is the only part I would quibble with, and not that strenuously, because how do you argue that an album that sold 30 million copies is "the same as what came before", right?   But I mean to say, it's not like HTH and BiB are like The Lamb and Trick of the Tail, or Love Gun and Dynasty.   I can ABSOLUTELY picture Brian singing the SHIT out of "Night Prowler" or "Shot Down In Flames".   

Quote
MTV did not play a lot of metal in 1982. The only videos I really remember were Maiden, Priest, and AC/DC. But those were played fairly regularly. Plus the High n Dry era Def Leppard "live" videos.
Back in those early days they also played a band called Vendetta that was also pretty cool.

And Vandenberg!   Don't forget Vandenberg!  (though they weren't really metal). 

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: bosk1 on May 30, 2017, 11:06:37 AM
And Vandenberg!   Don't forget Vandenberg! 

Can't we please?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: King Postwhore on May 30, 2017, 11:15:29 AM
I first heard Run to the Hills on a compilation album of various artists released in 1984 called Masters of Metal. This compilation album was one of my favorite albums from this time period and introduced me to some really great music though, ironically, very little of it could be considered “Metal.”
I bet more than half the people in this thread had that tape. Braking the Chains, Rainbow in the Dark, Who's Behind the Door, maybe something from Vandenberg.

I forgot about this album.  Oh the memories.

TNOTB was my gateway to IM.  A neighbor had the album and after listening to it a few times rushed out to buy it.  Then I went back into the first 2 albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: cramx3 on May 30, 2017, 11:19:44 AM
Just wanted to add that Dream Theater's cover of Gangland is one of my favorite covers of all time.

I wouldn't go that far, but I do think it's fantastic.  It's easily one of IM's worse songs to my ears, but DT made it good.  I actually enjoy listening to DT's version of it.  I remember before I listened, thinking to myself, "IM don't play this song, but DT is actually going to play it??" and well I was surprised to find out that they also probably didn't care for the original that much.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: PowerSlave on May 30, 2017, 11:28:23 AM
The other point I wanted to address was the comment in the initial writeup about the punk influence disappearing on this album.  I guess this has probably been addressed adequately by others, but I just wanted to chime in to say that I disagree.  I mean, they definitely changed their sound, and the punk influence wasn't nearly as in your face as on prior albums.  But it is definitely still there and shows itself on a number of songs.  It did get somewhat "swallowed up" by a lot of other things they would have going on in their music that they chose to focus on more, but I don't think it's fair to say that the punk influence vanished.  To my ears, it just took a bit of a back seat.

Other than Invaders, and maybe Gangland in a small way, I don't really hear it. However, my perspective on the album might be skewed because in my mind that album is a shift in what constituted metal, and when I hear it I just think METAL!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 30, 2017, 11:50:48 AM
... are like The Lamb and Trick of the Tail,

What and what??

 :corn






 ;D

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: bosk1 on May 30, 2017, 01:33:08 PM
And of course the very stupid "satanic" controversy, I could see people going nuts over the song Black Sabbath, but labeling Maiden satanists for a song that talks about someone being SCARED of a satanic ritual and a line that goes "this can't go on, I must inform the law"?

Okay, I agree with the general point that those who labeled Maiden as satanists back in the day were mistaken.  But that lyric doesn't prove anything.  The lyrics are the song are pretty ambiguous, and there are plenty of lines in it that could easily lead one who doesn't know the band's position on what is about to conclude that it is telling a story that attempts to glorify evil.  You have to remember that, when the album came out, the population as a whole didn't have access to tons of interviews by the band explaining the song, or the history of the band and what they have said about it, etc.  That wasn't the age of the Internet where we now have 30 years or so of history at our fingertips to access whenever we want.  And the band played up to the controversy and embraced the imagery that came with it.  You can't really look back and fairly call the reaction to that album unreasonable. 

But anyway, as far as the album itself, it is pretty strong and consistent.  There are definitely things I enjoy a lot on it and things I enjoy less.  But it is a solid effort all around.  The four-album run of Beast through Somewhere in Time is incredibly strong.  (And, yeah, I know many will want to include Seventh Son in that run as well.  But I don't like that album at all, so I'm not including it.  Too bad.)  Even though one could argue that the reunion era produced a run of albums that is just as strong, this run really set the standard.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: MirrorMask on May 30, 2017, 02:00:42 PM
Well, people have internet today with mankind's knowledge a click of a mouse away, and still they believe the dumbest stuff anyway  :lol and I don't think anyone who this day considers Maiden satanists (just for hearsay), will be convinced by the clip of the Early Days DVD interviews (I'm sure it's on YouTube) where Steve Harris flat out denies they are satanists when asked point blank. But yeah, I see you point about how back in the day it was way more difficult to spread the word around and get hold of the true position of the band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: El Barto on May 30, 2017, 02:04:46 PM
And of course the very stupid "satanic" controversy, I could see people going nuts over the song Black Sabbath, but labeling Maiden satanists for a song that talks about someone being SCARED of a satanic ritual and a line that goes "this can't go on, I must inform the law"?

Okay, I agree with the general point that those who labeled Maiden as satanists back in the day were mistaken.  But that lyric doesn't prove anything.  The lyrics are the song are pretty ambiguous, and there are plenty of lines in it that could easily lead one who doesn't know the band's position on what is about to conclude that it is telling a story that attempts to glorify evil.  You have to remember that, when the album came out, the population as a whole didn't have access to tons of interviews by the band explaining the song, or the history of the band and what they have said about it, etc.  That wasn't the age of the Internet where we now have 30 years or so of history at our fingertips to access whenever we want.  And the band played up to the controversy and embraced the imagery that came with it.  You can't really look back and fairly call the reaction to that album unreasonable. 
Just to throw out a different perspective, I was both a Maiden fan and an inmate at a non-denominational Christian school around that time. I can assure you that the lyrics didn't really factor into it in those cases. Certainly if you're talking about Venom, or WASP singing about God knows what, then they'd be cited as an example, but as a rule the problem was with rock music in general. The Bible thumpers would look for excuses after the fact, rarely venturing beyond assumptions based on song titles. If presented with a completely innocuous song they'll fall back upon the tired excuse that if it doesn't glorify God then it's evil. When presented with Christian rock music they go even further back and blame the rhythmic nature of rock music for making us want to *shudders* FORNICATE!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 30, 2017, 03:56:37 PM
Always loved the Nicko filled in for Clive for two weeks of the US tour story. It's Maiden's version of "Paul is dead."

Reading through the thread about it at Maidenfans, Nicko talks about being on retainer from Maiden for almost the entire US run. But apparently there has never been any proof of him actually playing a show.

“In the middle of 1982 I had just finished a tour of France with Trust, after which I was actually let go from that band. They didn’t pay me for the work that I finished. Nothing new there. I was sitting at home, and I got this phone call from [Maiden manager] Rod Smallwood. Clive wasn’t doing so well and they asked if I’d consider joining the band. I remember that I was on the phone with Rod for close to an hour, asking him what was going on with Clive. He was explaining things to me and I was defending Clive. Finally, Rod turned round and said, ‘Do you f**king want this gig or not?’ Of course I did, but I didn’t want it under shady conditions. I was then put on a retainer, because they were gonna have a word with Clive. Clive shaped up and got himself back into the band, so I was told that I wasn’t required, and they paid me a month’s severance. A couple of weeks later I got another call because Clive had taken a nosedive again, and I was put back on a retainer. This happened all the way until June of 1982, when they finished their Number Of The Beast tour. That same situation happened three times. It was the third time when things didn’t work out for Clive."
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: bosk1 on May 30, 2017, 04:46:48 PM
That's awesome.  I had no idea.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 30, 2017, 04:53:48 PM
interesting story
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on May 30, 2017, 05:55:07 PM
Yea, next installment will have a bit more on Clive, as it's the official story has changed over the years. Here's a video of Maiden doing a TV performance with Nicko on drums filling in for Clive (notice the Eddie mask): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThVmRzSAak

Re the music videos: I'm with Bosk on RTTH. One of my least favorite Maiden vids and it always irritated me that it was the only Maiden vid they ever played on the VH1 Metal program. Still, it must've made an impression in the US. I think Maiden have some good vids though. NOTB is a cool video, I like all the monster movie clips. I like the studio footage in Flight Of Icarus (you don't get that stuff often with Maiden), Can I Play With Madness is cool, Holy Smoke is fun, and the clips in Wasted Years are awesome. The videos were really bad during the reunion era IMO. Speed of Light is awesome and Ben Breeg is cool, but all the other videos are filled with cheap animation and seem like afterthoughts. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 30, 2017, 07:04:57 PM
I didn't realize I'd be in the minority on some of these things. Just wait till we get to Powerslave! ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on May 30, 2017, 07:54:29 PM
I didn't realize I'd be in the minority on some of these things. Just wait till we get to Powerslave! ;D

If we are talking video clips and Powerslave, that's where my story begins!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: El Barto on May 30, 2017, 10:20:49 PM
Yea, next installment will have a bit more on Clive, as it's the official story has changed over the years. Here's a video of Maiden doing a TV performance with Nicko on drums filling in for Clive (notice the Eddie mask): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThVmRzSAak

Re the music videos: I'm with Bosk on RTTH. One of my least favorite Maiden vids and it always irritated me that it was the only Maiden vid they ever played on the VH1 Metal program. Still, it must've made an impression in the US. I think Maiden have some good vids though. NOTB is a cool video, I like all the monster movie clips. I like the studio footage in Flight Of Icarus (you don't get that stuff often with Maiden), Can I Play With Madness is cool, Holy Smoke is fun, and the clips in Wasted Years are awesome. The videos were really bad during the reunion era IMO. Speed of Light is awesome and Ben Breeg is cool, but all the other videos are filled with cheap animation and seem like afterthoughts.
MTV certainly played the Aces High video. Actually the same thing as RttH only serious. Good video. Myself, it was the Icarus video that made an impression with me, and it actually got a fair amount of airplay.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jammindude on May 30, 2017, 11:17:05 PM
That brings back memories.  I remember when the premier of the very first video/single TMTM was promoted as a major event on MTV.   Commercials ALL WEEK saying that it premiering Friday night (or something....I dont actually remember what night it was).   But man, they promoted the heck outta that thing.

Those were the glory days to be a metal head.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Cyclopssss on May 31, 2017, 01:05:48 AM
I don't know if if has been brought up yet, but the whole story about how Bruce was asked to be in the band is pretty hilareous. It comes up in the brilliant dvd 'Early Years volume I, which I highly recommend as one of the best dvd's I ever purchased. Apparantly, Rod Smallwood, Maiden's manager pulled Bruce aside after a gig to talk to him about joining the band, only they were smack in the middle of this field or square under a high light mast where every one in attendence could clearly see them. 'Wonder what that's all about, eh?!'   :biggrin:

Also, while in Samson, Bruce wasn't really known for his 'Metal' dress sense. In fact he was known to perform, (long hair and all) wearing a long sleeved flowing 'hippy' shirt. One of the first things Rod did was to give him a hundred pounds to 'go buy yourself a leather jacket' to look the part.

I do think adding Bruce to the band upped them from a local known band to a world class act.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jjrock88 on May 31, 2017, 05:23:51 AM
I'm can only assume that Rod made sure he dropped the " Bruce Bruce" name. Not sure who thought that was a good idea in the first place lol.

I agree that Iron Maiden early days DVD is quite the interesting viewing and is definitely recommended if you're a fan.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Cyclopssss on May 31, 2017, 06:19:54 AM
I wonder why... 'Dick-in-son' nudge nudge, say no more, wink- wink know wot I mean?' 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on May 31, 2017, 06:45:39 AM
I agree that Iron Maiden early days DVD is quite the interesting viewing and is definitely recommended if you're a fan.

I love that DVD, it's bloody excellent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: cramx3 on May 31, 2017, 07:53:52 AM
I agree that Iron Maiden early days DVD is quite the interesting viewing and is definitely recommended if you're a fan.

I love that DVD, it's bloody excellent.

I haven't watched it since release, I should watch it again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: bosk1 on May 31, 2017, 08:06:44 AM
Here's a video of Maiden doing a TV performance with Nicko on drums filling in for Clive (notice the Eddie mask): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThVmRzSAak

Wow.  They really had a hard time in their younger days figuring out how to use all that space on such a huge stage.  Glad they eventually figured it out.  :lol

You know, I don't remember ever seeing any videos from POM or Powerslave.  I remember Run To the Hills being played relentlessly.  And then I remember Stranger in a Strange Land.  But beyond that, I don't really recall any.  Did MTV relegate them mostly to Headbanger's Ball, or was I just not paying attention?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: jammindude on May 31, 2017, 12:07:57 PM
As I stated...I remember them making a very big deal out of the Two Minutes to Midnight premier.

I love that video.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 31, 2017, 12:25:27 PM
Here's a video of Maiden doing a TV performance with Nicko on drums filling in for Clive (notice the Eddie mask): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThVmRzSAak

Wow.  They really had a hard time in their younger days figuring out how to use all that space on such a huge stage.  Glad they eventually figured it out.  :lol

You know, I don't remember ever seeing any videos from POM or Powerslave.  I remember Run To the Hills being played relentlessly.  And then I remember Stranger in a Strange Land.  But beyond that, I don't really recall any.  Did MTV relegate them mostly to Headbanger's Ball, or was I just not paying attention?

They had a video to Flight Of Icarus, which I liked, and then another one for The Trooper, which was basically them on stage IIRC. They released a 4 track VHS called Video Pieces (I suppose we're getting ahead of ourselves) containing the vids to RTTH, TNOTB, FOI, and The Trooper..

As J-Dude said, the video to 2MTM was a big deal. More on that when we get there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 31, 2017, 03:00:14 PM
So since he's about to fully come into the picture, here's some Pre Maiden Nicko:

With Pat Travers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvec0ZVGBnk

..and Trust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dUwkh961f4
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on May 31, 2017, 05:51:24 PM
Not really into Trust (I remember hearing them on a late 80s metal comp and I wasn't impressed) but the Pat Travers stuff is awesome. An under appreciated side of Nicko IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on May 31, 2017, 06:15:49 PM
One thing that's very similar to early Nicko and early Clive was how much fun they both had playing the drums. They are both really captivating.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Dream Team on May 31, 2017, 08:14:54 PM
Yea, next installment will have a bit more on Clive, as it's the official story has changed over the years. Here's a video of Maiden doing a TV performance with Nicko on drums filling in for Clive (notice the Eddie mask): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThVmRzSAak

Re the music videos: I'm with Bosk on RTTH. One of my least favorite Maiden vids and it always irritated me that it was the only Maiden vid they ever played on the VH1 Metal program. Still, it must've made an impression in the US. I think Maiden have some good vids though. NOTB is a cool video, I like all the monster movie clips. I like the studio footage in Flight Of Icarus (you don't get that stuff often with Maiden), Can I Play With Madness is cool, Holy Smoke is fun, and the clips in Wasted Years are awesome. The videos were really bad during the reunion era IMO. Speed of Light is awesome and Ben Breeg is cool, but all the other videos are filled with cheap animation and seem like afterthoughts.

Brighter Than a Thousand a Suns is a great video.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on May 31, 2017, 08:18:29 PM
Did that have a video? Only thing I can think of is that Live at Abbey Road thing, which wasn't really a "music video" in the traditional MTV sense.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: devieira73 on June 01, 2017, 06:53:58 AM
This is just out of curiosity, Dennis Stratton and Clive Burr in the same band, live in 1995:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUJ3ljWY8II
Aparently this was the last recording by Clive.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on June 01, 2017, 06:38:14 PM
I listened to Beast Over Hammersmith today. Damn, what an awesome live album. One that is far too underplayed and underappreciated.

I will say that Clive is on point. And the live version of Total Eclipse is excellent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Dream Team on June 01, 2017, 07:16:58 PM
I listened to Beast Over Hammersmith today. Damn, what an awesome live album. One that is far too underplayed and underappreciated.

I will say that Clive is on point. And the live version of Total Eclipse is excellent.

Yes, and a legendary live rendition of HBTN by Bruce.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on June 01, 2017, 07:18:22 PM
OK, lets move on to that. Post incoming!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: wolfking on June 01, 2017, 07:25:20 PM
Yea, next installment will have a bit more on Clive, as it's the official story has changed over the years. Here's a video of Maiden doing a TV performance with Nicko on drums filling in for Clive (notice the Eddie mask): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThVmRzSAak

Re the music videos: I'm with Bosk on RTTH. One of my least favorite Maiden vids and it always irritated me that it was the only Maiden vid they ever played on the VH1 Metal program. Still, it must've made an impression in the US. I think Maiden have some good vids though. NOTB is a cool video, I like all the monster movie clips. I like the studio footage in Flight Of Icarus (you don't get that stuff often with Maiden), Can I Play With Madness is cool, Holy Smoke is fun, and the clips in Wasted Years are awesome. The videos were really bad during the reunion era IMO. Speed of Light is awesome and Ben Breeg is cool, but all the other videos are filled with cheap animation and seem like afterthoughts.

Brighter Than a Thousand a Suns is a great video.

What video?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: Mosh on June 01, 2017, 08:52:32 PM
Beast Over Hammersmith (2002)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures12d_archive/album12d1_hammersmith_a_small.jpg)
Beast Over Hammersmith actually wasn’t released until 2002 as part of the Eddie’s Archive set (which we will discuss), but it makes more sense to discuss it after TNOTB.
 
The Beast On the Road tour started in the UK in February 1982 and and ran all the way to December of that year. The band made their usual stops as well as visiting new markets, such as Australia. They also performed their first headlining dates in the US on this tour, although they hadn’t completely moved to full headline status. They were attached to some pretty high profile tours with Rainbow, Scorpions, 38 Special, and, of course, Judas Priest.
 
Beast Over Hammersmith captures was one of the earliest dates on the tour. In fact, the album wasn’t even out yet by this point! It’s really surreal hearing the intro to TNOTB and nobody is chanting along. Anyway, it was filmed and meant to be released but there was a lighting mishap and the band decided it wasn’t up to their standard of quality. Some clips from the show were eventually released in the 12 Wasted Years video and another excerpt was eventually released on The Early Days DVD. It looks fine to me and I really think they should put the whole show out on video at some point. This performance is great. Everybody is on top form, Bruce sounds fantastic, and it’s a solid setlist. I actually prefer this to Live After Death.
 
The Beast On the Road setlist is pretty interesting. First of all, it’s one of the few tours where the opener wasn’t the album opener, and the only tour where the opener wasn’t a song from the latest album (Sanctuary was at least on the US version of the debut and was used to promote the debut). This was a good decision though. Bruce sounds great on Murders In the Rue Morgue, it fits his voice much better than it did Paul. It is also important to consider the timeline: Bruce was brand new, unless you caught one of his warmup shows the only idea you had of him in Maiden was the Run To the Hills single. Also the album wasn’t out yet when the tour started. So starting the album with two “safe” songs and fan favorites from the previous album followed by the single made a lot of sense. By then they had won over the crowd and could debut new material.

Another oddity with this setlist is that they played Total Eclipse, a b-side that was left off the album. Another good decision. Not only is it far superior to Gangland, but it comes off even better live. A true highlight of the tour. The rest of the set consists of highlights from the first two albums, making Beast Over Hammersmith a definitive collection of their early material. This is the best way to hear these songs IMO.
 
Of course the Beast On the Road tour marked another major change for the band. After three albums and three years of touring, it was time for Clive Burr to go. Clive Burr’s departure is eerily similar to Paul’s in that it isn’t totally clear if Clive quit or was fired because the story has changed over the years. Clive did have to leave the tour midway through because of a death in the family, which is when Nicko McBrain was hired to fill in. Clive returned, but was then dismissed from the band at the end. It is not clear whether Clive felt he needed to leave, if Maiden decided they were better with Nicko, or if Clive declined when he returned. Either way, Clive was out and the band’s classic 80s lineup was complete. More on that later.
 
As far as bootlegs go, there are some really good ones out there. Their performance in New York was recorded for an FM broadcast and it really sounds great. It’s a bit later in the tour after Hammersmith, so the band is more comfortable in the setlist. But Hammersmith is such a great and complete recording that the bootlegs aren’t all that necessary unless you’re a hardcore fan of the band or this tour in particular. So I thought I’d do something different. The Maiden/Priest tour has already been discussed by some members here and hopefully we’ll get some stories from those who attended, but I always thought that was one of those dream concerts. Judas Priest touring off of one of their greatest albums with Maiden as an opener is an insane combination. So instead of sharing New York, I thought I’d go with bootlegs of that tour, so people can get a glimpse at what it was like. I wanted to find recordings of the same date, but the only one I found was very low quality. So here’s Maiden in Philly and Priest in Chicago about a month earlier. Both shows featured both bands together, so it’s an accurate representation of the tour. Two legendary bands at the top of their game with two solid setlists.
 
Maiden: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1aj2j7aqkkk925d/AADJv5ddo0X1J6QjEVBsUlQIa?dl=0
Priest: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jdwfs6whd1zo8s5/AADx2MuseBhL0r5-Xj5dLQG5a?dl=0
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: jjrock88 on June 01, 2017, 09:04:14 PM
Maiden and Priest together on the same show would just be unreal!!  They real should do one more tour together.

I don't want to even say how much I paid for Eddies Archive a few years ago, but it was actually worth it for Beast Over Hammersmith.  Excellent live album and just showed the upgrades the band was making.  Also the b sides on EA was also very cool.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Mladen on June 01, 2017, 11:42:35 PM
This is a nice live album. Good performances, solid set list, and I enjoy Bruce's occasional banter.

I remember reading Clive was fired purely because of his performance. He used to speed songs up uncontrollably and some live versions can confirm this. Whether that was the reason or not, I'm not completely sure.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Grappler on June 02, 2017, 06:45:16 AM
Maiden and Priest together on the same show would just be unreal!!  They real should do one more tour together.

I don't want to even say how much I paid for Eddies Archive a few years ago, but it was actually worth it for Beast Over Hammersmith.  Excellent live album and just showed the upgrades the band was making.  Also the b sides on EA was also very cool.

I bought it when it originally came out and sold it a few years ago on ebay.  All of my box sets were just sitting around in a closet, so I unloaded them.  I had the original version with the purple (?) velvet interior.  I think I sold it for $80-100, which at the time, was a really nice price for a 3-double disc box set. 

I still listen to Beast Over Hammersmith quite often.  I love having a live album from that early in the Bruce period, though I prefer his live vocals in the later periods.  It's great to have recordings of him singing a lot of the Dianno songs. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: devieira73 on June 02, 2017, 07:06:56 AM
I didn't know that show was from the beginning of the tour. Another cool information!
Also, maybe at first Total Eclipse was chosen for the set because it was an already known song from the Run to the Hills EP. And they continued to played it because also it was so damn good that they regreted to not included it on the album  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Stadler on June 02, 2017, 07:49:12 AM
Maiden and Priest together on the same show would just be unreal!!  They real should do one more tour together.

I don't want to even say how much I paid for Eddies Archive a few years ago, but it was actually worth it for Beast Over Hammersmith.  Excellent live album and just showed the upgrades the band was making.  Also the b sides on EA was also very cool.

I'm repeating myself now, but this was my first concert EVER.   Maiden on the NOTB tour opening for Priest on the Screaming... tour.   Needless to say, standards were set very high.   I was blown away.  I didn't know humans could make that kind of sound, and Bruce was just a FORCE on stage.   He was a MANIAC, in a good way.  I really feel privileged to have seen that show, and it is indelible in my mind to this day (Priest were no slouches, either, but they couldn't compare - energy wise - to Maiden.   I think it took tremendous balls, class and confidence for them to "let" Maiden open for them night after night.   It could NOT have been easy to follow that tsunami every show.)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Podaar on June 02, 2017, 08:43:06 AM
I saw them on this tour but they were supporting Scorpions at the time. For various chemical reasons (mainly mushrooms), I don't remember this concert all that much and only really remember leaving half way through the Scorps...my ride didn't like them. My first clear memory of seeing IM live was a couple of tours later.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: kaos2900 on June 02, 2017, 09:39:06 AM
I just wanted to say thanks to the OP for this thread. As a huge Maiden fan I check this thread daily for updates. Much appreciated!  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 02, 2017, 12:04:56 PM
Beast over Hammersmith has the best version of Phantom of the Opera imo. Bruce goes for broke on that one. :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: TAC on June 02, 2017, 02:54:08 PM
  this was my first concert EVER.   

I saw them on this tour 





(https://tusb.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Statler-waldorf-portal-300x300.jpg)





 ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Podaar on June 02, 2017, 03:05:24 PM
Hey, TAC

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f8/2d/1d/f82d1d93dd9e146ec0db1ed37a480dd0.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: TAC on June 02, 2017, 04:01:33 PM
I know that's not you. That dude is too young! :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Number Of the Beast (1982)
Post by: TAC on June 02, 2017, 04:05:11 PM
  So here’s Maiden in Philly 

Thank you for the show, Mosh. I have the Baltimore boot from a week later and I love that.


I absolutely remember this tour. A kid on my hockey team went. They came in Oct of 82. It was my freshman year of high school, and my parents wouldn't let me go. I was  >:(. I would attend my first concert the following summer.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: wolfking on June 02, 2017, 04:12:45 PM
Amazing live album, everything about it is just magic.  I really love the videos that are on the 12 Wasted Years video, and I really wish they would just release the whole show.

I got this when I got the Eddie's Archive for XMas, great boxset.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 03, 2017, 02:33:05 PM
Maiden and Priest together on the same show would just be unreal!!  They real should do one more tour together.

I don't want to even say how much I paid for Eddies Archive a few years ago, but it was actually worth it for Beast Over Hammersmith.  Excellent live album and just showed the upgrades the band was making.  Also the b sides on EA was also very cool.

I'm repeating myself now, but this was my first concert EVER.   Maiden on the NOTB tour opening for Priest on the Screaming... tour.   Needless to say, standards were set very high.   I was blown away.  I didn't know humans could make that kind of sound, and Bruce was just a FORCE on stage.   He was a MANIAC, in a good way.  I really feel privileged to have seen that show, and it is indelible in my mind to this day (Priest were no slouches, either, but they couldn't compare - energy wise - to Maiden.   I think it took tremendous balls, class and confidence for them to "let" Maiden open for them night after night.   It could NOT have been easy to follow that tsunami every show.)

I can only vaguely imagine what it must have been like to start one's life of concerts THAT way!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Mosh on June 04, 2017, 09:55:22 PM
Going to post Piece of Mind tomorrow. One last note on the Beast era: I'm listening to that Priest bootleg right now and while Maiden killed that opening slot, Priest obviously weren't slouches either. There is one area where it's no contest though: even in 1982 Bruce was an infinitely better frontman IMO. Rob is probably more consistent live as far as pure vocal performance goes though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 05, 2017, 02:26:01 AM
Going to post Piece of Mind tomorrow.

Which I love so much that I have already prepared a long review / personal impressions about it. Beware the wall of text!  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 09:17:09 AM


Going to post Piece of Mind tomorrow.

Which I love so much that I have already prepared a long review / personal impressions about it. Beware the wall of text!  :metal

Ditto!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Mladen on June 05, 2017, 11:12:33 AM
Just a quick thing regarding The Number of the beast before we move onto another great album - whenever I hear "a reflections of my warped mind staring back at me," it sounds like "my woman staring back at me." A fun little misheard lyric for you there.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: bosk1 on June 05, 2017, 12:27:20 PM
I initially thought it was "[something, something] my WalkmanTM staring back at me."  I knew that couldn't be right, but that's what it sounded like, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out the right lyric without looking it up.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: cramx3 on June 05, 2017, 12:33:57 PM
Just a quick thing regarding The Number of the beast before we move onto another great album - whenever I hear "a reflections of my warped mind staring back at me," it sounds like "my woman staring back at me." A fun little misheard lyric for you there.  :lol

I always hear woman too
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: jjrock88 on June 05, 2017, 12:40:16 PM
Going to post Piece of Mind tomorrow. One last note on the Beast era: I'm listening to that Priest bootleg right now and while Maiden killed that opening slot, Priest obviously weren't slouches either. There is one area where it's no contest though: even in 1982 Bruce was an infinitely better frontman IMO. Rob is probably more consistent live as far as pure vocal performance goes though.

Bruce is no question one of the best frontmen I've ever seen.  His energy is outstanding.  Actually, the whole band is energy personified on stage.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 12:51:06 PM
Just a quick thing regarding The Number of the beast before we move onto another great album - whenever I hear "a reflections of my warped mind staring back at me," it sounds like "my woman staring back at me." A fun little misheard lyric for you there.  :lol

I always hear woman too

Huh... I thought the lyric was "woman". You mean it's not?? I've probably heard that song at least 500 times, and I never knew the lyric was not "woman".

M, you fuckin' wid us??
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: Mosh on June 05, 2017, 01:35:58 PM
Piece of Mind (1983)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures04_pom/album04_pom_a_small.jpg)
After taking a short break for Christmas, Maiden went back into the studio in January 1983 to record the next album with yet another new member: Nicko McBrain. With the addition of Nicko, the band’s “classic” lineup was complete. Nicko’s level of technicality and tendency to push the tempo made for a perfect fit in Maiden and allowed for more complex music. Nicko had previously worked as a session drummer and gained some notoriety for playing in Pat Travers band. He was discovered by Maiden when they performed with his French Metal band,Trust. Interestingly, when Nicko left Trust for Maiden, he was replaced with none other than Clive Burr!

To record Piece of Mind, the band entered Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. This would be the first of several Maiden albums recorded there. Compass Point had a very relaxed environment, being located on an island near a 24 hour bar. The atmosphere comes across on this album, which isn’t nearly as dark as the previous Maiden albums.
 
Piece of Mind is notable for being the first Maiden album to have a diverse set of writing credits, as opposed to being predominantly Steve’s songs. Number Of the Beast had one song that Steve did not contribute to, Piece of Mind has 3. No longer contractually obligated to Samson, Bruce Dickinson was able to contribute to the album and receive credit. The duo penned Flight Of Icarus and Sun and Steel together, as well as Die With Your Boots On with help from Steve. The Smith/Dickinson songs often featured huge catchy choruses that often made for great singles. Bruce also contributed his first solo song credit with Revelations, a song that took inspiration from Aleister Crowley and an English hymnal. There’s also the obligatory Murray contribution in Still Life.
 
While Steve Harris may have loosened his grip on the song credits for this album, he certainly didn’t contribute less. His contributions to the album are among Maiden’s best. Where Eagles Dare is the perfect opener which also cleverly showcases their new drummer. There’s also To Tame a Land, Steve’s 3rd epic. To Tame a Land didn’t seem to have the same impact as Phantom or Hallowed, but it’s still a great song that would help Steve prepare to write Rime. Then of course there’s The Trooper, easily the most well known song on the album and one of Maiden’s most popular songs.
 
This album also acts as a sort of “catch all” for Maiden’s typical lyrical topics. There are songs about war (The Trooper, Where Eagles Dare), literary inspired songs (To Tame a Land), songs dealing with inner turmoil (Still Life), and songs with occult themes (Revelations). In many ways, Piece of Mind is the Maiden album that best embodies their reputation. It heavily utilizes the gallop rhythm, the twin guitar attack, and showcases every member in top form.

The album was originally meant to be titled Food For Thought, but was changed to Piece of Mind when they came up with the idea of lobotomizing Eddie on the cover. The artwork is yet another Riggs masterpiece, but is a more minimalist design compared to Number of the Beast and the two albums that would follow. In addition to the album artwork, Riggs contributed some of his best work to the singles for this album. The Trooper is probably the most iconic Metal image, more recognizable than the album itself. Flight Of Icarus is also very cool. I always liked when the single artwork tied into the album art.

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures04_pom/single09_icarus_a_small.jpg)(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures04_pom/single10_trooper_a_small.jpg)



Piece of Mind proved to be yet another success for the band. While it didn’t chart as high as Beast in the UK, it did become the band’s highest charting album so far in the US. It received critical acclaim and won a Kerrang poll for greatest Metal album of all time. Maiden kept getting better and had delivered yet another classic album. The singles, The Trooper and Flight of Icarus, were also hits. Flight of Icarus was Maiden’s highest charting single in the US and The Trooper was another song that managed to get radio airplay for the band. Interestingly, the b-side, a cover of Jethro Tull’s Cross Eyed Mary, also got a lot of airplay.

Piece of Mind is my favorite Maiden album. Not only does it perfectly encapsulate the band, but it also has the best production, the best guitar sound, and of course some of their best songs. The one-two punch of Where Eagles Dare and Revelations is one of the band’s finest moments. It is the perfect blend of accessibility, complexity, and heaviness. Definitive Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 05, 2017, 01:43:25 PM
Nice recap! Piece of Mind is one of my favorite albums of all time, and my Maiden favorite alongside Seventh Son.

The production is stellar, the songs iconic and timeless, Bruce owns the album like a god and Nicko is a very welcome addiction. A perfect album, and yes, I know there's Quest for Fire on it, but it's so amazing that it manages to plently make up for dinosaurs and men walking around together.

I already mentioned the lesser song of the album, but the other one that is overlooked, Sun and Steel, is, well, overlooked for me. Sure, it pales in comparison to the other songs of the album and the other ones of  Maiden's discography, but the song itself is a nice rocker with a good chorus, and the ending ("Life is like a wheeeeeel.... and it's rolling stiiiiiiiillll") is badass.

And since I'm in the bottom half of the album (yeah I'm gonna praise all the songs here), let's remember To Tame a Land, the epic of the album that ends with a great instrumental section, which follows an insanely vocal progression by Bruce. To Tame a Land is also one of the four Maiden songs, in their history, that have claimed at a time the title of their longest song. Phantom of the Opera was the first longest song in Maiden's discography, for obvious reasons, Hallowed is seconds shorted, and To Tame a Land is longer than both. So when Piece of Mind was out, To Tame a Land was Maiden's longest song, a record it held for a year until Rime came along.

My personal opinion is also that if this song was never played live, fans to this day would still want to hear it. This happened with Alex the Great and so people want to hear that song, but if Alex was played and To Tame a Land wasn't, I'm sure we'd have petitions for that song.

Moving backwards from the bottom half, we have the brilliant and beautiful Still Life. I really love this song, pity it wasn't brought back for the Maiden England tours, it's just lovely and somehow unusual for Maiden, but it's damn great.

The first half of the album is filled of course with absolutely wonderful songs, all masterpieces. Maybe out of these songs, Die with your Boots on is the lesser one, but it's still a damn great rocker, and it was fun to hear it live. The two single are exagerately famous, Flight of Icarus whose video welcomed Nicko in the band and the immortal The Trooper.

I don't hear the studio version anymore, but when it's played live, The Trooper is an absolute rocker and a great injection of adrenaline. I will never, ever tire of hearing this song live. Put me in charge of Maiden's setlists, command me to drop all the overplayed classics but one, I will keep The Trooper in the set and I won't even have to think about it (Sorry Halloweed). It's just that great and iconic. Who ho ho ho ho ho who ho ho!

I'm left with the first two songs. Where Eagles Dare has one of the most awesome and memorable drum intros of all time, my favorite one along with, surprise surprise, Painkiller's. What a way to welcome Nicko into the band! also the song has a memorable riff and an insane performance from Bruce. I remember a story about the drum intro - how Nicko came up with a complicated intro that touched all the parts of his kit, Steve was impressed but didn't really like the intro, and asked "Hey, can you do something like this instead?", trying to play it on drums, and Nicko said "Ah, you mean this?", with "this" being the intro we all know and love.

So, 8 songs out of 9 mentioned, which song is left? Revelations. Long rant coming, beware!

I'm old enough to have lived in the cassette tapes era. Back in the mid '90s there was no widespread internet or YouTube or Spotify, so cassette tapes, sometimes copied second or third hand, were the way to discover music.

Back in 1995 I was the passionate experiment of a classmate that turned me first to foreign music and hard rock with Bon Jovi and Guns n' Roses, and then to metal music with Iron Maiden. He had an habit of making compilations, with the proper pacing and so with a good opener, the good balance etc, so the very first bands I discovered (Bon Jovi, Guns n' Roses, Maiden, Metallica), were all thanks to these compilations - it took me some years to finally listen to full albums from start to finish, it was all a "greatest hits" for me.

I still remember my classmate making eventually 4 mix tapes of Iron Maiden for me, and another one of his habits was to save the "best" song for last, he even marked it with a little star on the handwritten tracklist. On the first cassette tape, the "star" song was Revelations... and boy, he was right!

The song itself, the lyrics, Bruce's absolutely wonderful performance ("She came to me with a serpent's kiss, as the eyes of the sun rose on her lips, moonlight catches silver tears I cry")... that was it. That was when I fell in love with Bruce's voice, with Iron Maiden, and with heavy metal in general.

Bon Jovi's and Guns n' Roses' hard rock already paved the way for heavy music for me, and I'm sure I would have became a metalhead one way or the other, but that's the way it happened: falling in love with Revelations (not that I disliked the other songs of the compilation but that was my favorite) started the avalanche effect that made me a lifelong Iron Maiden and then heavy metal fan.

Revelations, while still being a very great song in itself, holds the record of being symbolically the most important song in my musical formation, and symbolically also my Maiden favorite song as well. And the album that has this song is wonderful and one of the best things ever happened to mankind! :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Dream Team on June 05, 2017, 01:57:03 PM
Somebody else who appreciates the greatness of WED!  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 02:07:31 PM
Great intro post, Mosh. And M-Mask, I enjoyed reading your post immensely.

I have so many great memories of Piece Of Mind. This was the first Maiden album that came out when I was already a fan. I remember the local radio station premiering Flight Of Icarus and calling my friend, ..."Did you hear that??". I thought it was a bit short, but cool nonetheless. I bought the tape the first weekend it was available (bought Riot's Narita at the same time.) Brought it back to my friends house and I recall being blown away by To Tame A Land, with all its weird lyrics. I must say that it's a great late night tune.

Nicko's intro to Where Eagles Dare is amazing and he really makes a grand entrance, not just the intro, but through the entire song. It's like one long drum solo. In fact, the beginning to Where Eagles Dare is my phone's ringtone.

Piece Of Mind became the soundtrack to the summer of '83. It was the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. The sound, which is amazing, never fails to reach my inner 14 y/o self.

My first concert was Def Leppard on June 25th, 1983, but on August 27th, 1983, I would see the mighty Iron Maiden for the first time. More on that later..
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Samsara on June 05, 2017, 02:28:22 PM
I got into Maiden late, but yeah, Piece of Mind is in my top-3 for sure. The production and songs are top notch. Killer original post.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Beast Over Hammersmith (1982/2002)
Post by: jammindude on June 05, 2017, 04:48:54 PM
Just a quick thing regarding The Number of the beast before we move onto another great album - whenever I hear "a reflections of my warped mind staring back at me," it sounds like "my woman staring back at me." A fun little misheard lyric for you there.  :lol

I always hear woman too

Huh... I thought the lyric was "woman". You mean it's not?? I've probably heard that song at least 500 times, and I never knew the lyric was not "woman".

M, you fuckin' wid us??

I think you guys are the ones messing with us.   There *was* a lyric sheet in the original release.......some of us read those things.   :angel:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 04:53:23 PM
I don't remember if my cassette had lyrics. I also know all of the songs on Live After Death had lyrics on that sleeve. Still, I know I've never bothered to read them. Not to TNOTB song, anyway. I've always thought it was "woman". Always.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: bosk1 on June 05, 2017, 04:56:39 PM
How does that lyric even make sense?  ???
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 05:15:44 PM
Not sure. I just went with it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 06:23:46 PM
A copy of my ticket stub:

(https://i.imgur.com/c17M25v.jpg)

$11.50!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Dream Team on June 05, 2017, 06:26:56 PM
Re: TAC's comments about Nicky's drumming on WED. I watched some YouTube covers of that song, seems as complicated as DT stuff. Crazy.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: stargazer18 on June 05, 2017, 06:28:19 PM
Great intro post, Mosh. And M-Mask, I enjoyed reading your post immensely.

Agree - nice write ups.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: stargazer18 on June 05, 2017, 06:34:48 PM
I haven’t listened to this album in years and only after one spin did I realize what an excellent album this is. In some ways I think it makes The Number of The Beast better if only because you realize that it wasn’t a one-off and the band could make a worthy follow up. My own opinion is that Piece is slightly better, collectively both singles are better and the longer songs continue to showcase the depth of songwriting in the band.

Where Eagles Dare starts the album off with a short burst of drums from Nikko before the rest of band enters in. I’ll admit that the song structure is somewhat repetitive but it never reaches a point where it drags on. The lyrics tell the story of a daring rescue of a captured US general, held captive in a castle high in the Bavarian Alps, late in the Second World War. Bruce’s vocals really carry this tune. This song was new to me when I first heard the album (I had already heard those that were included on LAD) and I was impressed with this opening track.

I knew Revelations from LAD and the live version matches the sound and feel of the studio version pretty well. Bruce’s vocals sound better but that is to be expected. Written by Dickinson, it was clear that he too could write some excellent music that was both powerful and diverse.

The first single off the album was The Flight of Icarus and I have to agree with Bruce that this song needs to be taken slow and steady. Local radio here in the Midwest played this song occasionally and it’s great to sing along to.

Die With Your Boots on finishes side one. I know it’s included on LAD but this song is just….okay. I’ve listened to album four times and I can honestly say this is the least interesting song on the album for me.

Side two opens up with The Trooper – a top 10 Maiden song for me. Everything from the blistering guitar intro that quickly transforms into the trade mark galloping Maiden sound to the crafty lyrics detailing the story of an unfortunate British Calvary soldier in the Battle of Balaclava. The actual event would only six weeks later be memorialized in the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade.” The lyrics themselves don’t hint to the correlation with the poem and here is where MTV steps in to clarify the situation. The video is standard issue Maiden for the time with video of the band performing interspersed with movie clips but it is book ended by excerpts from the famous poem at the beginning and end.

Still Life immediately follows the backwards message and is another favorite off this album. It begins with a simple bass line overlaid with a catchy guitar melody. Bruce enters in with some hushed vocals for a few lines before rest of the band joins in. The tune is a solid rocker and to me the rhythm behind verses power the song along.

I’ve always enjoyed Quest for Fire even though it really isn’t that memorable. It’s a straight ahead rocker for Maiden with a catchy though simple chorus. It’s pretty short and in the days of cassette tapes it was just easier to let it play and not skip ahead.

Sun and Steel is lumped into the same category as Quest for Fire. I always listened to it though my interest was really getting to the last track (think cassette tape). Like Gangland, my favorite part is the two guitar harmony in the middle of the song before the solo.

Like the previous album this one ends with an epic and what a glorious one it is. One of the most underrated songs in their discography. When I discovered Maiden and knew they typically placed a “long” song at the end of the album I was anxious to hear it and was blown away by this track. The quiet build up at the beginning with the “hum along to” lead guitar melody ends with a burst of gong while the rest of band joins in. Harris’ lead bass is prominent at this point and never relents the rest of the song. The guitar melodies really impress me in the song and they’re complimented nicely by the bass.

Top Tier
Where Eagles Dare
Revelations
The Flight of Icarus
The Trooper
Still Life
To Tame a Land

Second Tier
Die With Your Boots On
Quest for Fire
Sun and Steel
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 06:40:20 PM
Quest For Fire catches a lot of flack. I bet it could've made a decent instrumental on par with Losfer Words.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Stadler on June 05, 2017, 06:54:26 PM
I get all the love for Nicko in WED (and well deserved), but what about that solo??  With the sound effects?   KILLER!   The only song that doesn't really cut it for me here is... Quest For Fire.   Filler.

Cool "Where Eagles Dare" story:   I saw Maiden this tour as well - New  Haven Coliseum - with Coney Hatch (sucked) and Fastway (AMAZING!) opening.   So in between Fastway and Maiden, we were on the side looking down on the side- and backstage area, and in front of us was a small desk, almost like a small soundboard, and lo and behold, there was Bruce talking to one of the crew! In shorts and a leather jacket looking cool as crap.  So my friend John and I yelled down, and he looked up, nodded and waved! Yay.   So, the show starts, the opener is "Where Eagles Dare", and we see Bruce run out past the desk where he was before... and his mike doesn't work!  He starts singing anyway but looks PISSED, and makes his way back towards that desk, and I swear (and my friend confirms this) we could hear him singing ACOUSTIC over the band!   And at the end of the first verse, we could hear him yelling at the crew to fix the mic.  He goes back out and about halfway through the first line, it comes on (also confirming that he was singing live without the mic).  He played with a lot of aggression that night, at least early in the show, and it showed.  He's a beast. 

FYI, they played "To Tame A Land" and, in reference to our discussion before, the show ended with Drifter (Iron Maiden ended the main show).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 07:16:18 PM
The guys in the Classic Hard Rock Thread know that from time to time, I'll post pics of my old concert programs.

Here is the World Piece Tour concert program that I bought on August 27th, 1983, at the Cape Cod Coliseum.

(https://i.imgur.com/qmYY9ds.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Tiu6Ah4.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/L4ce9pu.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/lUGsENt.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/e9x8Lmq.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/oItKUsB.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/kDfzzsO.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/QHntxG7.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vcLABC4.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/VXInzQH.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/OTPSCR2.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/nWF7JfI.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/SSPCgoZ.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/VZ1ZXxn.jpg)


The picture of Steve with the blue lighting on page 8 is one of my all time favorite shots of him. Looks so young in that pic. And YES, there's a Pete Way sighting too!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 05, 2017, 07:24:29 PM
Yeah, I've really come to love Piece of Mind over the years. It's not quite a perfect album, as it does have one of the band's biggest stinkers ever in Quest for Fire and Sun & Steel is also kinda iffy, but practically everything else is outstanding. I even dig Die With Your Boots On a lot and its silly, infectious chorus. :lol

I think a special shout out should probably go to Still Life. That's always been one of my favorite songs from the band and I think it rarely gets any recognition from folks. I love how surreal and creepy that song is. Bruce especially turns in a great vocal performance, sounding quite unnerved and troubled.

In my book, PoM is probably tied with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as the classic era's best album. I tend to prefer the icy, mystical mood of Seventh Son and all of its prog-y synths on a personal level, but there's no arguing against the fact that this album is a masterpiece in the heavy metal genre and one of the greatest works to ever come from Iron Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 05, 2017, 07:57:35 PM
Been enjoying lurking and reading this thread - thought it was time to say something!   ;D

Definitely think that PoM is a great album, altho there are some spotty tracks on it too. Surprised that Mosh didn't mention that this was the first album of Maiden's to not have a title track!

But the big reason why I wanted to post was regarding Revelations. My introduction to Maiden was Live After Death (quickly followed by Somewhere in Time, their new album at the time), so those versions of those songs were all well imprinted in my brain long before I heard their studio counterparts. And I gotta say, listening to Revelations on PoM is a real downer for me, even to this day because. it. plods. along. so. slowly. I love the much more brisk pace they played the song on LAD. Am I the only one who thinks this?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 05, 2017, 08:17:48 PM
But the big reason why I wanted to post was regarding Revelations. My introduction to Maiden was Live After Death (quickly followed by Somewhere in Time, their new album at the time), so those versions of those songs were all well imprinted in my brain long before I heard their studio counterparts. And I gotta say, listening to Revelations on PoM is a real downer for me, even to this day because. it. plods. along. so. slowly. I love the much more brisk pace they played the song on LAD. Am I the only one who thinks this?

I think if all you know is the live version, I totally get that. I was very familiar with KISS Alive long before I heard The Originals.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: devieira73 on June 05, 2017, 08:34:38 PM
In other hand... the live version of Flight of Icarus IMO totally kills the great atmosphere of the studio version, which I think is far superior.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 06, 2017, 01:05:53 AM
In other hand... the live version of Flight of Icarus IMO totally kills the great atmosphere of the studio version, which I think is far superior.

But it has that immensely catchy "Let it go!!!" from Bruce in between the first verse!

About Revelations, as I explained in length above, the studio version for me is a masterpiece as it is. But I get that if you first hear it live, it can seem slower.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mladen on June 06, 2017, 02:31:51 AM
I'm so happy more people heard "woman" in The Number of the beast.  :lol

Piece of mind is a classic. Yeah, Die with your boots on and Quest for fire are a bit too silly for me, but regardless, the rest of the album is pretty fantastic. To tame a land is one of their underrated epics and one of their all time best songs. The Trooper, Still life, Revelations and Flight of Icarus are amazing as well. I also have a really soft spot for Sun and steel, a very catchy, quick tune.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: wolfking on June 06, 2017, 05:25:11 AM
Piece of Mind was always the more forgotten album of the Bruce Dickinson golden era IMO.  Solid all round and To Tame A Land is so diverse and underrated for Maiden and showed their slightly progressive side too.  Sun and Steel and Fire I don't skip, yeah, they don't stack up to the rest, but they are solid enough.  Where Eagles Dare is a monster.

In other hand... the live version of Flight of Icarus IMO totally kills the great atmosphere of the studio version, which I think is far superior.

I kind of like that live version.  Love H's backups.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: King Postwhore on June 06, 2017, 07:50:16 AM
My favorite Iron Maiden album. I first got this on cassette. I rode my bicycle everywhere with my earphones on playing this album over and over.

I was in the garage band with my buddies and of course we played Flight of Icarus.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 06, 2017, 07:51:18 AM
The production is so cool on it. Especially the vocals and the bass. You can really follow Steve through every song. The guy is a machine.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 06, 2017, 07:54:41 AM
Some of you probably know it already, but the entire album was covered by the "Hand of Doom orchestra":

https://play.spotify.com/album/070711TFefYDrolFSeTVcQ?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: bosk1 on June 06, 2017, 08:17:51 AM
I almost got into Maiden with this album.  Almost.  This was the time when I was just starting to get into rock/metal, and there was a kid I knew who hung out at the local arcade where I spent a lot of my time that talked up this album quite a bit and basically said it was the greatest thing ever.  I remember being in record stores a few times after that and almost buying it, even though I hadn't heard it.  Sadly, I didn't.  But since really discovering Maiden a few years back, it has become one of my favorites.  Really good album.  In some ways, I wish DT would have covered this one instead of Beast. 

Oh, and I like Quest for Fire just fine.  Come at me.  :bringiton:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 06, 2017, 08:26:16 AM
In some ways, I wish DT would have covered this one instead of Beast. 

Isn't Portnoy on record agreeing with you? he only picked Number of the Beast because it was more popular.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: bosk1 on June 06, 2017, 08:36:34 AM
In some ways, I wish DT would have covered this one instead of Beast. 

Isn't Portnoy on record agreeing with you? he only picked Number of the Beast because it was more popular.

I wouldn't say "more popular."  I don't remember his exact wording, but I think the reasoning was more along the lines of Beast being the more "definitive," classic Maiden album.  And I would agree with that.  I think it made more sense for them to do Beast.  But subjectively, in terms of which album I personally like more, I would have preferred POM.  I think that's basically where Portnoy was coming from as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: jjrock88 on June 06, 2017, 05:37:54 PM
Fantastic album and excellent write ups about it.  I find myself in the mood to listen to this album more than Number of the Beast.  It just seems that every time I listen to Piece of Mind, you find something new that you didn't hear or notice before.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 06, 2017, 07:57:54 PM
Cool stories everyone.

Stadler, nice to see some love for the WED solo section. It might be Dave Murray's finest moment for me. The atmosphere of the section is unlike anything Maiden had ever done or would do after. The whole song is extremely cinematic and arguably their greatest opener. I easily prefer it to Aces High.

Quest For Fire is a decent song. I agree that it would've been better received as an instrumental. The lyrics are a little goofy and the vocal melody doesn't do much, but musically the song is just as good as anything else on the album. Love the guitar harmonies and solos. Like I said, Piece of Mind is my favorite Maiden album. But if I was to pick one flaw, I would say that it doesn't end as strongly as it starts. Unlike Beast, which starts fairly lackluster and then builds up until the end with Hallowed, Piece of Mind starts off insanely strong and then kinda burns out by the end. When I was younger, I turned the album off after Still Life. I've come to appreciate the last three songs more since, but they are overshadowed by everything else. Even To Tame a Land, which is a great song, doesn't come close to WED, Revelations, Still Life, or The Trooper.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: cramx3 on June 06, 2017, 08:29:38 PM
Yea, great write ups.  Great album, Where Eagles Dare was certainly a song that really drew me into them.  I've always liked Sun and Steel, Quest For Fire however always felt like the bad song which I felt like appeared on almost every Iron Maiden album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: King Postwhore on June 06, 2017, 08:31:33 PM
I wonder if I can convert cassette to cd?  I would have a surprise for the next album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: wolfking on June 06, 2017, 09:54:16 PM
The only thing that always bugged me was during the slow verses on Revelations, there seemed to be a loud clicking and sort of a skipping sound that seemed out of time and out of place.  I think it was just fret and pick noise from the guitars though.  Anyone else know what I'm referring too?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 06, 2017, 11:16:46 PM
At the end of each stanza, one of the guitars hits a note on the offbeat, is that what you're referring to? I always liked that touch.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 07, 2017, 01:39:18 AM
Piece of Mind was as wonderous album for me. At the first tones out of the speakers it felt familiar but also very different. First things that I noticed was the inside coverphoto (taken after a night of heavy drinking? Everyone looks like they're about to be sick) plus, off course the new drummer who is very present right from the start.
The songs are great, the sound is fantastic, the artwork is very different, but great, and yet, like someone else has mentioned, POM is an album that is often 'forgotten' about when mentioning their best albums. Everyone mentions NOtB, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, but almost no-one ever mentions Piece of Mind. Which is a shame really, because there is a LOT to enjoy! This album cemented Maiden's name in the hardrock/heavy metal community. Their star was rising, ever upward. Who'ever, whatever, wherever you are...... Up the Irons!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Kwyjibo on June 07, 2017, 03:08:50 AM
Let me just chime that to say that Piece Of Mind might be my favorite Maiden record.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 07, 2017, 03:44:41 AM
I like to see such a universal praise of the album. Sure, maybe it's not everyone's very favorite, and some may not like all the songs completely, but I've yet to find one that actually dislikes Piece of Mind and doesn't care for it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on June 07, 2017, 04:09:49 AM
I love this album, one of my favourite Maiden albums. Nicko is on fire and I love his energy in WED.
As mentioned, I also prefer the slower studio version of Flight of Icarus compared to how they usually play it live.

As said many times before, why isn't To Tame a Land a regular on their setlist??
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 07, 2017, 04:31:06 AM
It was when the album was new, and then it disappeared, like many of the epics of the albums that get played only in the tour they belong to. Phantom and Halloweed were the only exceptions, and Rime of the Ancient Mariner survived into the Somewhere in Time tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: wolfking on June 07, 2017, 05:41:35 AM
At the end of each stanza, one of the guitars hits a note on the offbeat, is that what you're referring to? I always liked that touch.

Nah, I just had a close listen and it's nothing like I thought it was.  I think it's just reverb or something, nevermind.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: nobloodyname on June 07, 2017, 06:34:59 AM
Okay, I've been wondering this since I acquired Beast Over Hammersmith on its release: does anyone else notice Bruce's strange, slightly plummy, and almost mockney, accent when he speaks? It's always leapt out at me. Most curious!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: jingle.boy on June 07, 2017, 06:43:36 AM
Finally caught up.  Somehow I missed seeing the start of this thread in May, and then just needed to carve out a couple hours to read and catch up.  So, bit of a long post here...

The Di'Anno albums - I didn't get them until much later into my Maiden voyage.  They didn't start out too well for me, but have aged very nicely.  Some real gems in there.  Like JJ said, they are sufficiently metal enough to listen past the punk style.

NOTB
My favorite Maiden album - virtually flawless (especially when you swap Gangland with Total Eclipse).  Hallowed is my #1 Maiden song of all-time.  I don't have enough superlatives for this album.  Run To The Hills was the first Maiden song I ever heard - probably at 15 yrs old (and through the video - Tim... thanks for posting that.  It was still getting regular rotation up here on Much Music into the late 80s.  Gave me chills to watch it).  For me, it's one of those songs that invokes  the feelings that I had the very first time I heard it - like a shadow, that feeling is always with me when I hear it.  Jaw dropping.  Everything about it was like nothing I'd ever heard before - the vocals, the drum fills, the solo, the galloping bass.

Fun story... in the late 80s, for a few years in a row, me and a few buddies would make a weekend road-trip to Boston after exams in May.  We'd drive all night on a Friday, go to a bunch of CD shops and spend a shit-ton of money on CDs, get all lathered up at Faneuil Hall, more shopping on Sunday and drive home Sunday evening.  One time, around 5am Saturday morning, RTTH comes on, and our driver at the time is air-drumming his way through every fill - to the point that we're making a turn on a winding and hilly road, and he almost takes us over the edge - BECAUSE HE HAS TO FINISH THE DRUM FILL!!!  Buddy in the passenger seat was luckily not napping, and had to yank the wheel to get us back on the road.

This is definitely the flagship album in their discography.  No doubt about it.  Some may argue that it isn't their "best", but it is their flagship.

PoM
As has already been implied, Nicko made an impact in the first 15 seconds of the album.  His work on the Where Eagles Dare is unreal, and a noticeable step up from Clive.  This was actually my first Maiden album, and for me there isn't a weak track on the album.  I love them all.  Song-for-song, it's their most consistent album imo.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Grappler on June 07, 2017, 08:17:35 AM
Piece of Mind is definitely the forgotten Maiden album in my collection.  I always play the others, but due to this thread, I've been playing the crap out of it over the last week.  Right now, it's the only Maiden album I'm in the mood to listen to, which is nice for a change.  It's easy to forget how awesome the first 5 songs are, all in a row.  After Trooper, the album starts to drop off for me, which may be why I don't listen to it as often as I should.  Though with my recent binge, I'm starting to enjoy those later songs a bit more than usual.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: bosk1 on June 07, 2017, 08:41:04 AM
and yet, like someone else has mentioned, POM is an album that is often 'forgotten' about when mentioning their best albums. Everyone mentions NOtB, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, but almost no-one ever mentions Piece of Mind.

???  Really?  From my experience, it always seems to get a ton of love, and deservedly so.  I guess it just depends on who you talk to. 

One time, around 5am Saturday morning, RTTH comes on, and our driver at the time is air-drumming his way through every fill - to the point that we're making a turn on a winding and hilly road, and he almost takes us over the edge - BECAUSE HE HAS TO FINISH THE DRUM FILL!!!  Buddy in the passenger seat was luckily not napping, and had to yank the wheel to get us back on the road.

:lol  I can picture that type of scenario playing out with several different groups of friends from my younger days.
"What were you thinking?!  You need to keep your hands on the wheel!"
"But the fill wasn't done yet!"
It's a wonder boys survive past our early twenties.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 07, 2017, 10:51:56 AM
Well NOTB is their breakthrough album, Powerslave was attached to a massive tour and live album, and SIT has earned a cult status among hardcore fans. Piece Of Mind is "just" another classic album. I don't think it's forgotten as much as there isn't much to talk about with it compared to some of the other albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 07, 2017, 11:46:38 AM
Well NOTB is their breakthrough album, Powerslave was attached to a massive tour and live album, and SIT has earned a cult status among hardcore fans. Piece Of Mind is "just" another classic album. I don't think it's forgotten as much as there isn't much to talk about with it compared to some of the other albums.

Fascinatingly enough, Piece of Mind and Seventh Son both seem to be the two big favorites for the band as far as their classic era material goes, especially for Steve.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mladen on June 07, 2017, 11:54:38 AM
Well NOTB is their breakthrough album, Powerslave was attached to a massive tour and live album, and SIT has earned a cult status among hardcore fans. Piece Of Mind is "just" another classic album. I don't think it's forgotten as much as there isn't much to talk about with it compared to some of the other albums.
I find this to be very true.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Podaar on June 07, 2017, 02:14:54 PM
Piece of Mind is the album I go to when I want an entire album fix of Maiden. I don't know if I'd call it my favorite (I have difficulty picking favorites) but it's certainly had more spins than the rest. I love, love, love Still Life. I wish Murray penned more tunes.

As great as Maiden is, I still like this cover of The Trooper (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz9VyggeSbA) better.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 07, 2017, 02:23:44 PM
 :lol

That chick looks just like Dave Murray!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Podaar on June 07, 2017, 02:30:04 PM
:lol

That chick looks just like Dave Murray!

Now we know what the cut-out is for in the top of a strat.

Oh, and "that chick" is Nina Stauss of...













wait for it...























Alice Cooper's band!  :omg:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 07, 2017, 02:38:30 PM
:lol

That chick looks just like Dave Murray!

Now we know what the cut-out is for in the top of a strat.


Some great camera work by Cesar!
Is that her? Yes, I knew that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: jingle.boy on June 07, 2017, 02:55:13 PM
Knew exactly what that was gonna be before I clicked it. I was wondering how much longer it was going to take for someone to post that. Gregg doesn't disappoint. Iron Maidens is playing here locally later next week. Just about 20 mins from the house. Date night with mrs.jingle perhaps?

Good lord!  iOS auto-corrected mrs.jingle to "mets.jongler"  :lol :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Podaar on June 07, 2017, 02:56:20 PM
 :lol

Knew exactly what that was gonna be before I clicked it. I was wondering how much longer it was going to take for someone to post that. Gregg doesn't disappoint.

*bows*

BTW, as "titillating" as Nina and Courtney are... my favorite part of the clip is the vocalizations from the dork behind the camera.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Dream Team on June 07, 2017, 03:08:02 PM
Just adding that POM probably has at least 3 of Bruce's best vocal performances - actually the first 3 tracks come to think of it. IMO

The only major bummer for me on this album is inaudible bass drums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 07, 2017, 03:53:19 PM
In some ways, I wish DT would have covered this one instead of Beast. 

Isn't Portnoy on record agreeing with you? he only picked Number of the Beast because it was more popular.

I wouldn't say "more popular."  I don't remember his exact wording, but I think the reasoning was more along the lines of Beast being the more "definitive," classic Maiden album.  And I would agree with that.  I think it made more sense for them to do Beast.  But subjectively, in terms of which album I personally like more, I would have preferred POM.  I think that's basically where Portnoy was coming from as well.
Just to verify: PoM is his personal favorite album, so that's why he would've wanted to do that one. However, he knows it is more obscure and that NotB is the most well known of their albums (I guess you could say "most popular" but also "definitive") which is why it was ultimately chosen.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 07, 2017, 07:55:55 PM
I kinda have to disagree with Portnoy's reasoning. I really doubt that many people in a Dream Theater audience would've heard NOTB but not Piece of Mind. It's either both or neither IMO. Anyone familiar with Beast but not POM probably wasn't enough of a fan to particularly enjoy DT doing a cover of it anyway.  Sure NOTB might be a safe bet, but by even playing a whole album by another band they were already guaranteed to alienate some fans, so why not go all out? Piece of Mind is way closer to prog territory than Beast and as far as lineups go, I'd much rather hear Portnoy doing Nicko's drum parts than Clive's.

I also wouldn't call Piece of Mind obscure by any stretch. If that is a concern going into this thing, then you really have to consider your audience and ask why they're covering a whole Iron Maiden album in the first place.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 07, 2017, 08:00:43 PM
But the iconic album is TNOTB. I totally get what he is saying.


   I'd much rather hear Portnoy doing Nicko's drum parts than Clive's.

I agree with you there.







I also want to add that the last minute or two of To Tame A Land is.....exquisite. Amazing touch on the end of that track.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 07, 2017, 08:51:12 PM
The way that part builds up is incredible. A great example of Steve Harris taking a lead bass role, something he doesn't really do anymore.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: jammindude on June 07, 2017, 09:59:24 PM
The way that part builds up is incredible. A great example of Steve Harris taking a lead bass role, something he doesn't really do anymore.

I'm getting ahead of myself here, but this comment reminded me of Blood on the Worlds Hands from TXF.   Arry's intro just freakin rules.   Man that album kicks ass.   It almost aggravates me that some people wont even spin it because....no Bruce.   :\

PoM was my first "new album" as a IM fan and I wasn't disappointed.   What's weird is that I dont think it was released as a single....but my local rock station KISW played Still Life as "the first new track from the new Iron Maiden album".  I remember waiting by the radio because they had announced it was coming and I recorded it on cassette.   So ya, I was excited. 

Probably my favorite IM album.  And I love every track.   Yes....even QFF.   To me, the weakest track is Die With Your Boots On.  I still like it, but it was the ONLY track that I was disappointed that it got included on LAD.  I mean, I don't remember now what the full set list was...but I would have taken almost any other song from any of the other albums but that one.   Heck, I know they played Losfer Words, and I would have preferred that to DWYBO. 

That break down riff in Where Eagles Dare is one of the coolest riffs Ive ever heard in my entire life.  Ive heard some people say it's boring, and I couldn't disagree more.   They could have played that whole section over again and taken the song to 8 minutes and I wouldn't have complained.   That was my favorite thing on the entire album to air guitar too.    And Nicko's drumming behind it really adds emphasis.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 08, 2017, 05:39:39 AM
I was thinking more and more about the Where Eagles Dare solo section, I think it's great for "fake drumming" too... the whole section is addtictive and both complex but easy to remember. I agree with those that say it's pefect as it is and that the buildup to the final reprise of the verses is excellent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: soupytwist on June 08, 2017, 05:56:46 AM
I always got the feeling 'Somewhere in Time' was the most forgotten album of the classic run, even the band themselves don't tap into it much for live sets.

I like POM.  But I think i'm odd in that I personally think each of the albums from the classic run (NotB > SSoaSS) got slightly better.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Polarbear on June 08, 2017, 06:50:07 AM
I always got the feeling 'Somewhere in Time' was the most forgotten album of the classic run, even the band themselves don't tap into it much for live sets.

I like POM.  But I think i'm odd in that I personally think each of the albums from the classic run (NotB > SSoaSS) got slightly better.

Piece of Mind is my least favorite of the classic run, but otherwise i agree. The albums got better each time, with SSoaSS being the best Maiden album imo!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 09, 2017, 11:21:37 AM
World Piece Tour (1983)
(https://maidenrevelations.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/maiden-world-piece-tour.jpg)
In 1983, Maiden became a worldwide headline act. The World Piece Tour saw them headlining the US for the very first time in addition to other high profile gigs. It was a slightly shorter tour compared to Beast On the Road, as they only performed in Europe and the US. Still, it was a another step up for them featuring a brand new stage, a new Eddie, and a setlist that very heavily focused on the new album (7 songs!). Once again, the tour began shortly before the release of the album and Maiden showed confidence in their new material by performing 5 new songs right at the beginning, with only one brief break for Wrathchild. The setlist also included the usual suspects for early 80s Maiden, including Phantom Of the Opera, Sanctuary, and Hallowed Be Thy Name. A few staples would also be shelved for a pretty long time after this tour, namely Prowler and Drifter.

The tour was punctuated by their headline performance in Dortmund at the ZDF Rock/Pop Festival. The festival was a who’s who of Heavy Metal acts at the time, including Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest (now opening for Maiden, Maiden were opening for them just a year earlier), Quiet Riot, and Def Leppard, among others. The festival was broadcasted for German TV and Maiden officially released their performance on The Early Days DVD, making it the only relic of the tour officially available. It’s a great performance and you can tell that the band is having a good time celebrating the end of another successful tour. Unfortunately, it’s not the greatest representation of the tour in terms of the setlist.. Being that it was part of a festival, they only played for an hour so you get an abridged version of the set. No Where Eagles Dare as an opener, instead you get Sanctuary. Also no To Tame a Land, which was only played on this tour. The TV broadcast also omitted three songs, most notably Iron Maiden, where the band “murdered” Eddie on stage. The German censors found this to be too violent and it was cut from the original broadcast. Disappointingly, the three songs weren’t restored for The Early Days DVD. However, the performance of Iron Maiden was included on the 12 Wasted Years tape, but we’ll get to that later. The other officially released document of the tour is a short TV special called ‘Ello Texas, which shows some performance clips and interview footage.

Luckily, there are some amazing bootlegs for this tour. 1983 is when we start to see a lot more video bootlegs, the best one is Montreal, although it’s still not particularly high quality, but it’s decent. As far as audio goes, there are some really good ones. The best of which is without a doubt Ipswich, and that’s the one I’ll be sharing today. Similar to Beast Over Hammersmith, Ipswich was recorded before the album was released, so the audience is hearing the Piece of Mind songs for the very first time. Again, it’s so surreal hearing them play The Trooper and nobody is singing or clapping along. Other than that historical significance, the main reason to check this out is Where Eagles Dare and To Tame a Land. Eagles wasn’t performed often after this and the only official release (from 1993) isn’t nearly as good as on this tour. To Tame a Land was never performed again after this tour, even though it was really exciting live. The sound quality is also excellent. It could almost pass as a soundboard, despite being an audience recording.

Montreal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmfeANYec9M

Ipswich: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9tkgg1rxqrlurkt/1983-05-08%20Live%20in%20Ipswich%20.zip?dl=0

And that's the end of what Maiden considers their Early Days. While they had already dramatically advanced their music, it makes sense to lump the World Piece Tour with the early years because after this the band’s live show would more closely resemble what we expect from Maiden. The classic lineup was complete, the first headline tour was a success, and Maiden were on their way to even bigger things.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 09, 2017, 11:27:48 AM
I was busy being a little child when this tour happened. Lucky those who have seen it!  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mladen on June 09, 2017, 11:32:48 AM
Nice write up about the tour.

This is the first time I see that Montreal bootleg, it's very good. Such a shame To tame a land never returned to the set list after this tour, it's just as brilliant and exciting as their other 80s epics.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: cramx3 on June 09, 2017, 11:54:41 AM
Bruce said at the concert the other night, if you were born in 83 and are into IM, then you must be a children of the damned!  I was born in 84 so that's not me, but that Ipswich concert was one of my favorite boots.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 12:59:52 PM
The Ipswich boot is excellent. I also enjoy the Chicago one very much.

Mosh, I didn't know you were doing a tour writeup after each album, which I like. I'll hold off my Concert Programs for the next two albums until you do so.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 01:31:34 PM
Bruce said at the concert the other night, if you were born in 83 and are into IM, then you must be a children of the damned!  I was born in 84 so that's not me, 

That would make you a Revelation.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 09, 2017, 01:59:19 PM
The Ipswich boot is excellent. I also enjoy the Chicago one very much.

Mosh, I didn't know you were doing a tour writeup after each album, which I like. I'll hold off my Concert Programs for the next two albums until you do so.
Yea I'll do something for each tour as long as there's interest in that.

I agree that it's a shame that TTAL was retired early. I loved the early days tour but they should've included it as the centerpiece epic, like Rome and Seventh Son were for the subsequent history tours.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: bosk1 on June 09, 2017, 02:14:08 PM
Yea I'll do something for each tour as long as there's interest in that.

Count me as interested.  For most bands, I probably wouldn't be.  But given how much of an "event" Maiden tours are, how unique they are, and the fact that I missed them all, I am interested in reading your write-ups on them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 02:19:10 PM
Definitely.

I agree that it's a shame that TTAL was retired early. I loved the early days tour but they should've included it as the centerpiece epic, like Rome and Seventh Son were for the subsequent history tours.

Maiden setlists are usually headscratchers. I mean, they are likely in a position where they can't please everyone, but some things they do don't make sense.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Stadler on June 09, 2017, 03:13:37 PM
I saw that tour in '83, and honestly?  TTAL is not what I remember.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 03:36:12 PM
I saw that tour in '83, and honestly?  TTAL is not what I remember.

Funny, I came in to post some of my recollections of the show, and I actually felt the same way.

What I remember:

* The intro music was Ride Of The Valkyries. EVERY time I hear it, it takes me back to this Maiden show.
* Sanctuary was perfect in the second slot
* Loved the drum solo/guitar solo section.
* This was my 2nd concert after seeing Def Leppard two months earlier. Iron Maiden was SO MUCH better.
* They were so energetic, I remember thinking that they'd even be great on a small stage, in a club. Not sure why this 14 y/o was thinking about a club show.
* Drifter was a great closer
* I bought a shirt and a program (which I've posted)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 06:46:52 PM
And that's the end of what Maiden considers their Early Days. While they had already dramatically advanced their music, it makes sense to lump the World Piece Tour with the early years because after this the band’s live show would more closely resemble what we expect from Maiden. The classic lineup was complete, the first headline tour was a success, and Maiden were on their way to even bigger things.

I have some thoughts about this, but I'll hold off as it'll be more relevant when discussing Powerslave.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 07:20:32 PM
This is the first time I see that Montreal bootleg, it's very good. 

That guy in Montreal filmed a lot of great shows in the early/mid 80's. They are all basically the same view. I wish he filmed the Powerslave tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: cramx3 on June 09, 2017, 08:19:38 PM
I saw that tour in '83, and honestly?  TTAL is not what I remember.

Funny, I came in to post some of my recollections of the show, and I actually felt the same way.

That's amazing, but speaks to how strong their catalogue was already so early in their career.  I do think it's a shame they've never come back to it, but at least it was played unlike so many other songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 09, 2017, 08:28:26 PM
I saw that tour in '83, and honestly?  TTAL is not what I remember.

Funny, I came in to post some of my recollections of the show, and I actually felt the same way.

That's amazing, but speaks to how strong their catalogue was already so early in their career.  I do think it's a shame they've never come back to it, but at least it was played unlike so many other songs.

Actually if I may add, I remember being fairly surprised that they were playing it in the first place.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: JayOctavarium on June 09, 2017, 09:13:07 PM
So relistening to PoM, which I really don't listen to much (usually Beast, and then reunion albums), I was reminded of what really introduced me to IM, even if I didn't get super hard turned on till years later.

In high school, my best friend was a member of the Paul Green's School of Rock.  Basically kids enrolled in the school learned guitar/bass/drums/keys/vox and then they put on cover shows at local venues.

Well, in 2007 they put on a Thin Lizzy / Iron Maiden show. My buddy played bass, and sang lead or backing vox on several songs including Flight of Icarus and Boots.  (And Phantom of the Opera.. but thats not what we are talking about right now).

I was blown away by this band, as it was really my first time listening to Maiden songs. But at the time, I was more into the whole Bluesy Thin Lizzy shit, so  I never explored IM deeper till after 2010.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 09, 2017, 09:47:53 PM
Yea I'll do something for each tour as long as there's interest in that.

Count me as interested.  For most bands, I probably wouldn't be.  But given how much of an "event" Maiden tours are, how unique they are, and the fact that I missed them all, I am interested in reading your write-ups on them.
Glad to hear it, that's pretty much how I feel. Maiden are one of the few bands where the live history is almost, if not equally, as important and interesting as their recorded history. Every album tour has songs that were never played again, they all have different stages and Eddies, and it's fascinating seeing the live show being tweaked year after year to this day. I don't know if I can think of any other bands who had a basic live show concept early on and stuck with that for the rest of their career.

Definitely.

I agree that it's a shame that TTAL was retired early. I loved the early days tour but they should've included it as the centerpiece epic, like Rome and Seventh Son were for the subsequent history tours.

Maiden setlists are usually headscratchers. I mean, they are likely in a position where they can't please everyone, but some things they do don't make sense.
The problem IMO is that most of their supposed setlist limitations are self imposed. The current setlist is a good example. Now I was extremely happy with Children Of the Damned. I had never seen it played live before and it was a highlight at both TBOS shows I attended. So don't take this as a complaint about its inclusion. But prior to the tour they hyped it up as a song they hardly ever play live. COTD isn't that common but I still think it would've been cool if they used that opportunity to throw in a song that hasn't been played since the 80s. The unspoken "never play a song if it wasn't played on the album tour" rule is also kinda goofy. A song like Flash Of the Blade probably wasn't played in the 80s because it would've been impossible to do it justice with only two guitarists. Well now they have 3 guitarists, so how was that not on the setlist for the very first tour with three guitarists? I get there's a concern with going too obscure and alienating fans, but if they can do a tour of nothing but reunion era material certainly they can afford to do an unplayed 80s song that a large part of the audience would probably recognize.

That being said, they do continue to have a couple surprises every tour. Afraid To Shoot Strangers on the Maiden England tour was totally out of left field and a great choice. Early Days didn't get To Tame a Land but Where Eagles Dare? Who expected that?

I saw that tour in '83, and honestly?  TTAL is not what I remember.
Funny, I came in to post some of my recollections of the show, and I actually felt the same way.

I believe it, although you probably didn't think it would be the last time they'd play it live? It's a good song but definitely weaker than Hallowed and Phantom, which the band themselves were comparing it to at the time. My guess is that the band came to their senses after playing it for a year. Still, the mystique around it (and other songs like it) is more that they only played it on the one tour. If TTAL somehow did become the next Hallowed and was played on every subsequent tour, we'd be talking about Hallowed instead.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 10, 2017, 01:02:03 AM
The only downside of getting Afraid to Shoot Strangers on the Maiden England tour is that it was a blatant stand-in for Infinite Dreams... it didn't work for whatever reason and that's another kinda-somehow-slowish song that took its place.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Phoenix87x on June 10, 2017, 05:31:20 AM
For a while, PoM was my favorite. As I started listening to more of their albums, the task of picking favorite became impossible.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 10, 2017, 09:12:09 AM
The only downside of getting Afraid to Shoot Strangers on the Maiden England tour is that it was a blatant stand-in for Infinite Dreams... it didn't work for whatever reason and that's another kinda-somehow-slowish song that took its place.
Yea, it was also a pretty clear signal that there will be no 90s history tour either (which was a stretch to begin with). Infinite Dreams being left off Maiden England was a big disappointment, that was probably the song I was most looking forward to. Glad I looked at the setlist when the tour started so I was over it by the time the tour started.

BTW worth mentioning that Ipswich and Montreal have two slightly different setlists. It seems in the 80s they often played shorter sets in North America. No Still Life, no Prowler, and Sanctuary was bumped up to the second slot.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 10, 2017, 10:06:38 AM
Yes, all of their English shows had an extra track or two on each tour. Continued right up through No Prayer.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 10, 2017, 10:18:53 AM
From my european point of view, it looks like a general thing. I check setlists of american shows of bands I follow and they're always shorter, I don't know if maybe it has to do with more support bands, more rigid rules about curfew and opening times etc... but I get the feeling that it happens quite a lot.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 10, 2017, 11:30:08 AM
A lot of amphitheaters have strict curfews (the first time I saw Maiden they dropped three songs and in 2010 they skipped their P.A. intro and went straight into Wicker Man) but in the 80s they were playing arenas so I dunno.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 10, 2017, 08:11:33 PM
The greatest thing I've probably ever heard in all of my music years was Mission From 'Arry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C90AURC1SGg

I always thought, what band releases something like that? The answer. The coolest band in the world, that's who.

From The Early Days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzN9JvDT0Oc



He's Nicko talking about it in 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmOeEj47qrc
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 10, 2017, 08:40:32 PM
Mission From 'Arry is awesome.

I just spent my day watching the entire Dortmund Festival broadcast. I have no idea why this festival isn't discussed the way US festival is, which took place earlier that year. As far as the Metal portion of US goes, most of the best bands from that show were also at Dortmund. No Van Halen or Motley Crue, but the presence of Maiden more than makes up for it. Every band on the bill is at top form and many are arguably at their peak (Def Leppard, Ozzy, Priest, Scorpions). Awesome performances all around. Only lame group on there is Krokus, who always seemed like a joke to me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 10, 2017, 08:42:28 PM
Krokus circa 1983 was awesome. Headhunter is a great album. They opened Def Lep's headlining tour over here.

I wish the full sets from Dortmund were available. All you have are 20-30 minute broadcasts.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mladen on June 11, 2017, 04:08:28 AM
Mission from 'Arry is absolutely brillant and hilarious, Nicko is truly insane. He's as funny on it as he is in docummentaries talking about it.

"I'm not concerned with- with- with- with- with- with the people..."  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 11, 2017, 04:29:24 AM
The funniest thing is that the argument had already died down, but Bruce managed to spark it up again just to record it  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: wolfking on June 11, 2017, 05:17:04 AM
The greatest thing I've probably ever heard in all of my music years was Mission From 'Arry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C90AURC1SGg

When I first got into Maiden, I stated with a few of their cd's from this second hand cd store around the corner from the music shop I was working at.  I remember TNOTB, No Prayer and TXF were 3 of the first I got.  They also had the Aces High/Two Minutes to Midnight single double thingy on one cd with the b-sides and of course Mission From 'Arry is on it and it was one of the greatest things I'd ever heard, especially coupling with the Listen with Nicko segment.  Made me love the band even more.  It has the greatest ending ever!!  Bruce sounds so sincere and love what he does here.

Bruce: "There's a difference between making a mistake and making a human error."  hahaha

Nicko: "The fact is, he was a dumbcock cause he don't know how to fucking communicate.
Bruce: "No he's not a dumbcock" 

 :rollin

Nicko: "Fuck my old boots!!"

Nicko: "Then that's fine, if I didn't fuck up........but he made me fuck."
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 11, 2017, 05:38:48 AM
I think he uses the German term 'Dummkopf', meaning stupid.


Otherwise, yeah hilareous piece of sonic history.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: wolfking on June 11, 2017, 05:43:25 AM
I think he uses the German term 'Dummkopf', meaning stupid.


Otherwise, yeah hilareous piece of sonic history.

Really, I didn't know that, I'll have to listen again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 11, 2017, 07:06:46 AM
I love how they list it like a regular track, with writing credits (Harris, McBrain).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: Lowdz on June 11, 2017, 08:52:35 AM
Quest For Fire catches a lot of flack. I bet it could've made a decent instrumental on par with Losfer Words.

Not a fan of Quest For Fire (in the context of a great album) but I love Sun and steel.

I was disappointed with Clive Burr being replaced. He was one of very few drummers I really noticed and air drummed to. Although Nicko is a nutter and a real character I was never in love with his drumming the same way.

This album is top 3 for me I think. Better than NotB, just, behind Killers.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Phoenix87x on June 11, 2017, 10:37:34 AM
The greatest thing I've probably ever heard in all of my music years was Mission From 'Arry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C90AURC1SGg

I always thought, what band releases something like that? The answer. The coolest band in the world, that's who.

From The Early Days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzN9JvDT0Oc



He's Nicko talking about it in 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmOeEj47qrc

Oh my god, that is hilarious. I never knew about that. Just another reason why they are one of my favorite bands in the world.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 11, 2017, 01:43:39 PM
The story of what happened after the tape stops is equally hillareous in my book. First time I've heard that. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Piece of Mind (1983)
Post by: TAC on June 11, 2017, 07:43:54 PM
Quest For Fire catches a lot of flack. I bet it could've made a decent instrumental on par with Losfer Words.

Not a fan of Quest For Fire (in the context of a great album) but I love Sun and steel.
 

So do I!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 11, 2017, 08:32:39 PM
Powerslave (1984)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures05_powerslave/album05_powerslave_a_small.jpg)
For their fifth album, Maiden returned to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. Powerslave was the first Maiden album to not feature a lineup change. As a result, the leap from Piece of Mind to Powerslave wasn’t as great as the albums before. The band were now comfortable in their sound and it shows. This is no longer a group of amateurs. Powerslave showcases a band that has matured and refined their sound to the point of near perfection.

Like Piece of Mind, the band had a lot of fun in the studio for Powerslave. There was still a 24 hour bar and the band often spent more time partying than actually working. Once again, this comes through in the music. The album is full of energy and the playing, while often technically impressive, is loose. Maiden never had Dream Theater level precision, but this characterized their music and helped them maintain their punkish roots.
 
As usual, Martin Birch held down the production side of things. Despite using the same producer, Powerslave still has its own unique sound. Unlike the reunion albums, which are all pretty similar production-wise, every 80s Maiden album featured its own sonic world. Powerslave is a great example. While musically not that far off from Piece of Mind, the sound is completely different.
 
There’s a significant amount of experimentation on this album. While every Maiden album progressed their sound in one way or the other, Powerslave shows some of their most ambitious work so far. Of course this is most evident in the closing behemoth, Rime Of the Ancient Mariner. This monster song held the title for longest Maiden song until 2015. In many ways, Rime is the song that Steve Harris had spent the last 4 years trying to write. However, Rime is not the only example of the band expanding their horizons. The album’s other most ambitious moments come from Bruce Dickinson, who delivered two songs for this album (another occurrence that wouldn’t repeat itself until 2015): Flash Of the Blade and the title track. Flash Of the Blade is most notable for its almost neoclassical instrumental section. The many guitar overdubs and intricate arrangement resulted in the first Maiden song that could be considered a “studio only” track. The title track is another epic tune that showcases Bruce’s skill at both lyrical and musical storytelling.
 
That aside, the band still hadn’t forgotten their Metal roots. The Smith/Dickinson partnership continues with Back In the Village and 2 Minutes to Midnight. The former is a sequel of sorts to The Prisoner, although perhaps not as memorable. The latter could be the greatest thing the duo ever produced. There’s also no shortage of Steve Harris songs. In addition to Rime, Steve contributed another high energy war themed opener with Aces High, a nice mid tempo romp with The Duelists, and the band’s last instrumental with Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra). As usual, Harris delivers top quality material reminding listeners of who’s the boss.
 
Of course Powerslave also boasts what is arguably the greatest Maiden album cover. The artwork is Riggs’ most complex, depicting a huge scene and a larger than life Eddie. The artwork is notable for all the hidden messages it contains.
 
Just like Piece of Mind, the first single released for Powerslave was a Smith/Dickinson offering: 2 Minutes To Midnight. It’s catchy riffs and chorus definitely made for a great lead single, but its 6 minute length and extended instrumental section was also a bold move. Still, the single was a success and reached #12 on the UK charts. The album was released a month later and shot up to #2. Powerslave was yet another hit for the band and features some of the band’s most beloved and iconic songs. Although it also seems to be the first album that divided the fanbase. Some consider it the weakest entry from Maiden in the 80s, even going as far as to call it “Fillerslave”. While the album is bookended by 4 iconic Maiden songs, the rest of the album has been forgotten over the years. However, that is more due to the band never playing these songs live. They’re still great songs that would fit in any live set. While Powerslave isn’t my favorite Maiden album, it’s another that doesn’t contain any weak songs. Lately I’ve found myself going to this album most when I’m in the mood for 80s Maiden.
 
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures05_powerslave/single11_2minutes_a_small.jpg)(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures05_powerslave/single12_aceshigh_a_small.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 11, 2017, 08:37:46 PM
I cannot make a proper response until I get home from work tomorrow, but suffice to say, I did NOT care for Powerslave....

Reasons tomorrow.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 11, 2017, 08:53:29 PM
Not my favorite IM album, but it's impossible to deny the impact of it and its central tracks. Personally, my favorite cut off the album is probably the title track. Rime is a masterpiece, but Bruce wrote a monster of a song with Powerslave. Plus I think its solo section is probably the band's greatest ever.

Speaking of which, here's a funny story, I got to see the title track performed live last Friday. I lost my shit when that intro track of groaning started and it took an extra five-to-ten seconds for all the middle aged guys around me to realize what song was about to hit the stage. :lol

Needless to say, it was a highlight of the night with Bruce wearing a luchador mask the whole time he was singing it!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 11, 2017, 09:34:17 PM
I cannot make a proper response until I get home from work tomorrow, but suffice to say, I did NOT care for Powerslave....

Reasons tomorrow.
OK I'm glad to hear we have someone who was there and didn't enjoy it at the time. I think the "Fillerslave" thing has died down a lot recently and I'd be curious to read more about the reception at the time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 11, 2017, 10:10:55 PM
To me, this album was the pinnacle of their classic sound. It took everything that the previous two albums did well and then perfected it. I also see it as an end to that particular sound. The band's approach would change significantly after this album. Obviously, this is one of my favorite albums of all time. The title track features the best lead/instrumental section that the band would ever create, and the songs that many fans consider to be "filler" would be stand-outs on just about any other album from any era. They suffer in this instance simply because they are surrounded by brilliance.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: jammindude on June 11, 2017, 10:37:44 PM
I completely disagree that this was the first album to split the fan base.   I think that came with the introduction of synths on the next album.

Most of you here were too young to remember....but synthesizers was an extremely dirty word in the heavy metal fan base for most of the 80s.   It seems silly now, but it was very deeply rooted in history, culture, and rise of disco and new wave being seen as a threat to the more organic approach.  And yes....many people flocked to metal BECAUSE they felt that organic material was going to be killed off by synthesizers.   You laugh, but this was a real thing. 

Judas Priest and IM introducing synths on Turbo and SiT respectively was a contributing factor in the boom of the thrash metal movement that was happening at the same time period.

But thats for the next album.

I too, believe that this is the peak of the classic era.   I still have a personal preference for PoM, but I think PS truly has the band firing on all cylinders.    There are no QFF's to be found.   There are a couple "also rans", but they only seem that way because of how jaw dropping the front and back are.   On any other Maiden album, Back in the Villiage would be a knockout punch.   Here, its just overshadowed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: NoseofNicko on June 11, 2017, 11:21:12 PM
Their third best album. Awesome album. A lot of people think it has fillers, but I disagree, all of the songs are excellent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mladen on June 12, 2017, 12:00:48 AM
A fantastic album and one of my favorites. It was the first Maiden record I've ever heard and it made a serious impact on me almost immediately.

The hits and epics are remarkable, but the hidden gem is Back in the village. One of their all time best songs, people actually forget this song was chosen to open the side two, and it's well known side two openers need to be something the band is confident of. Once CDs came along, it was just one of those middle four, which is a shame. It kicks ass and could have worked well live, but unfortunately that never happened.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 12, 2017, 12:38:47 AM
Definitely a great album, IMO. I would probably say that PS and PoM are tie in my book ratings-wise, and I'd probably take them both over TNotB, but really hard to say. Obviously, this album lead to what I think is THE greatest live album ever, and served as my introduction to Maiden, as I previously stated. Funny thing I remember when hearing PS was my surprise at the "ahhhs" that accompanied the chorus to the title track, which were missing from the live version, as well as how much more I preferred Bruce's way of singing "Running, scrambling, flying...." etc. in Aces High live than the studio version. I guess the live versions here are superior to the album versions again, IMO. But I still love PS lots! The only track I really don't like is Back in the Village - totally dig The Duellists and Flash of the Blade.

Anyway, there's one thing I take issue with in Mosh's review:

Of course Powerslave also boasts what is arguably the greatest Maiden album cover. The artwork is Riggs’ most complex, depicting a huge scene and a larger than life Eddie. The artwork is notable for all the hidden messages it contains.
While the cover art for PS is killer and one of their best (not to mention their most hilarious, IMO, considering where people entered into the temple/pyramid!), most of Mosh's description is much more apt for SiT. That to me is the greatest Maiden album cover of all time, certainly the most complex, depicting a huge scene and has numerous hidden messages throughout.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 12, 2017, 01:38:05 AM
Not my favorite IM album, but it's impossible to deny the impact of it and its central tracks. Personally, my favorite cut off the album is probably the title track. Rime is a masterpiece, but Bruce wrote a monster of a song with Powerslave. Plus I think its solo section is probably the band's greatest ever.

I mostly agree with this, except for the last part: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son has Maiden's best solo section ever.

Powerslave's however would come in a close second, fantastic song and my favorite on the album.

I don't like it as much as Piece of Mind or Seventh Son, but it's still fantastic and yes, the cover is glorious. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is another masterpiece, worthy of being Maiden's longest song for three decades. Aces High is a wonderful opener and there are few things in life more electifying than hearing it as opener of a Maiden concert, and being bombarded by a wall of sound of fellow Maiden fans screaming to the top of their lungs the chorus. Absolutely amazing.

I must confess that by now I'm fed up with 23:58, but still it is a great track, I always enjoyed it more when hearing it live at concerts rather than the studio version, it has a lot of added energy.

Out of the "other four songs", my favorite is Flash of the Blade, and least favorite is the instrumental. The remaining two songs are okayish, they're not bad by any means, but they're shadowed by the rest of the album.

I'll echo the sentiments of Mister Gold in going insane over hearing Powerslave starting  live - I avoid setlist spoilers like the plague, and I couldn't even believe that they would actually play it given one of the many unwritten rules of their setlists, which is basically "Play alyways 23:58 off the album and screw the rest" (and also, more generally, centerpieces of an album / stage set do not survive the tour they build around the song).

So, to sum up, not up there with my favorite Maiden albums, but still a great record, completely deserving the fame it gets, and opened and closed by four of the best songs Maiden ever recorded, with personal preference going to Powerslave which is amazing from start to finish.

Slave to the power of death
Slave to the power of death
Slave... to the power of... deeeeeeaaaaath!!!!!  :metal

(Come to think of it, even the ending is one of Maiden's best ever)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: jjrock88 on June 12, 2017, 06:25:13 AM
Aces High is one of the greatest opening tracks on a heavy metal album. It just starts off the album perfectly. I definitely don't see this album as having any filler; to me it's just one of the classic 80's Iron Maiden albums. And I will also vote Somewhere in Time as the best album cover but Powerslave is right behind it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Art on June 12, 2017, 07:19:25 AM
Powerslave is just fucking epic. The title song is one of my favourites, and 2 Minutes is the one i enjoy the most watching live.

It's hard for me to rank the classic era albums, but Powerslave is surely on their top 5 ever, IMHO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Stadler on June 12, 2017, 07:54:39 AM
Maybe it was where I lived, or the time (my senior year of high school) but Powerslave was epic right from the get-go.  There was no talk of "Fillerslave" where I was (and of course, it reverberated into the next official release... I guess more on that soon enough).

It's in my Top Ten records of all time (though I sometimes argue with myself as to whether Killers is my favorite Maiden album).

"Back In The Village" is one of my top ten favorite Maiden songs, and frankly, that is one of my favorite album sides ever (this was the last Maiden studio album I bought on vinyl).

The b-sides were AWESOME - my introduction to Nektar.   For those old farts like me, we had to dub vinyl onto cassette if you wanted to hear your music in the car, and I would put "some cunt's recording this..." at the start of my Maiden tapes for years.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Podaar on June 12, 2017, 08:05:13 AM
... I did NOT care for Powerslave....

Reasons tomorrow.

I can't wait.


Most of you here were too young to remember....but synthesizers was an extremely dirty word in the heavy metal fan base for most of the 80s.   It seems silly now, but it was very deeply rooted in history, culture, and rise of disco and new wave being seen as a threat to the more organic approach.  And yes....many people flocked to metal BECAUSE they felt that organic material was going to be killed off by synthesizers.   You laugh, but this was a real thing. 

So true.

I've always loved Powerslave, especially for the two openers and the two closers. The main riff on the song Powerslave is simply brilliant. I have to agree with the folks who say the rest of the album is great too but compared to the godlike bookends it feels like a bit of a let down. And I'll never understand the dislike for Back in the Village. If it was on any other album it would be a highlight, IMO.

Only Iron Maiden could get away with having a single in the 80's that included the lyrics: "The body bags/and little rags/of children torn in two."  Respect! :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Stadler on June 12, 2017, 08:13:49 AM
... I did NOT care for Powerslave....

Reasons tomorrow.

I can't wait.


Most of you here were too young to remember....but synthesizers was an extremely dirty word in the heavy metal fan base for most of the 80s.   It seems silly now, but it was very deeply rooted in history, culture, and rise of disco and new wave being seen as a threat to the more organic approach.  And yes....many people flocked to metal BECAUSE they felt that organic material was going to be killed off by synthesizers.   You laugh, but this was a real thing. 

So true.

I've always loved Powerslave, especially for the two openers and the two closers. The main riff on the song Powerslave is simply brilliant. I have to agree with the folks who say the rest of the album is great too but compared to the godlike bookends it feels like a bit of a let down. And I'll never understand the dislike for Back in the Village. If it was on any other album it would be a highlight, IMO.

Only Iron Maiden could get away with having a single in the 80's that included the lyrics: "The body bags/and little rags/of children torn in two."  Respect! :lol

And an oblique concentration camp mention (Bergen Belsen)!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: bosk1 on June 12, 2017, 08:27:58 AM
While the album is bookended by 4 iconic Maiden songs, the rest of the album has been forgotten over the years. However, that is more due to the band never playing these songs live. They’re still great songs that would fit in any live set. While Powerslave isn’t my favorite Maiden album, it’s another that doesn’t contain any weak songs. Lately I’ve found myself going to this album most when I’m in the mood for 80s Maiden.

This pretty much sums up EXACTLY how I felt about this album from the time I got it.  I love those four tracks.  The others are some of the most unmemorable of the entire IM discography to me, and I never listen to them unless playing the entire album as background music while I'm doing something else and can't be bothered to hit the "skip" button.  For this reason, despite the strength of those four tracks, other than Seventh Son, I consider this to be the weakest of the classic era albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: Mosh on June 12, 2017, 08:49:32 AM
Anyway, there's one thing I take issue with in Mosh's review:

Of course Powerslave also boasts what is arguably the greatest Maiden album cover. The artwork is Riggs’ most complex, depicting a huge scene and a larger than life Eddie. The artwork is notable for all the hidden messages it contains.
While the cover art for PS is killer and one of their best (not to mention their most hilarious, IMO, considering where people entered into the temple/pyramid!), most of Mosh's description is much more apt for SiT. That to me is the greatest Maiden album cover of all time, certainly the most complex, depicting a huge scene and has numerous hidden messages throughout.
Meant to say most complex so far. They outdid themselves again with SIT, although it's still up for debate which of the two is better.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: ori.elias5 on June 12, 2017, 12:17:41 PM
Ohh Powerslave. an all time favorite.

This album is full of energy. whenever I'm down I listen to it on full volume and just get so adrenalized after.

To me, powerslave is up there with piece of mind and 7th son and defines the classic maiden.

The guitar solo in the title track is probably one of the best ever  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: romdrums on June 12, 2017, 01:27:19 PM
Listening to Powerslave right now.  I took the Maiden plunge a few years ago when Book of Souls came out.  I had always been aware of their existence, but had never really listened to their records in depth.  The bass player of a band I was in in the late 90's/early 2000's was huge into Maiden, and I remember watching Live After Death with him a few times.  I also remember, back in my junior year of high school, while studying English Lit in Honors English, my teacher played us "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in its entirety, and I remember thinking it sounded an awful lot like Arch-era Fates Warning (!!).  Anyway, last year, I went out and purchased NOTB through Seventh Son and then all of the reunion era albums.  I'm glad I did.  I discovered a lot of really cool music.  It's fun reading the posts from those of you who were there from the beginning.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 12, 2017, 02:58:22 PM
I wasn't there from the beginning (Even though I could say I was just literally - I was born late November 1979 and Iron Maiden's debut came out April 1980 so my life is as long as their recording carrer, give ot take... even though if I want to be more precise I guess I have to look towards Pink Floyd, I'm one day older than The Wall), but I feel like a was. 22 years since I'm a Maiden fan and I guess by now I could teach stuff about them, I surely don't have first hand memories of those who lived the '80s seeing their concerts, but it feels like I've known them since forever. It's so great to realize that once I was a new fan, and there were older fans than me, and now that I'm an "old" fan as well there's people discovering them just now. Generation after generation people still are drawn to this band and they're active and popular as ever!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 03:03:39 PM
I will follow up this post later with a "...This is now." rebuttal, but well, some of you might not want to read this. ;D


That was then......

So Powerslave came out shortly after I turned 16. I thought myself, even at that age, a Heavy Metal expert! :lol  I was already into new bands like Metallica and Queensryche, with music so fresh and exciting.
I was also already a huge Iron Maiden fan, who were my favorite band along with UFO.

Anyway, when Powerslave came out, obviously the first thing I noticed was the Epygtian theme. Like when I think a screenwriter has run out of ideas, the old fall back is to have one of the characters turn unfaithful.  When a Metal band is out of ideas, they go Egyptian.
Ok, but it's Maiden, this is going to be great innit?

First track was a standard fast paced track. I guess it was cool and all, but it felt clichéd and formulaic. Yawn.

OK, the next track is the new single. Oh, and in 1984, what was all the rage? War and the nuclear bomb. Maiden singing about war was nothing new, but again, it felt clichéd again. Plus in 1984, this is what, now the 5th song that starts out with the same used up riff. So now Iron Maiden is now ripping off Riot, Accept, Saxon, and Dio? Really? The musical break was decent, but it felt very predictable.

I felt they should've renamed Losfer Words as Losfer Ideas. How can a band release such a monster like Transylvannia, and then follow it up with this piece of crap?

Next is Flash and The Duallist. Yes, it's already well documented that Bruce likes fencing. But these tracks are just not strong enough. Not even close.

Oddly, the only song I really liked right away was Back In The Village.

The title track, I originally felt was contrived and forced. I thought it was ok but I still felt like I knew every twist and turn before they took it.

And then Rime. I cannot tell you about the endless interviews I saw and read about how they did this super long song, and no metal would ever have the balls to do such a thing. Puleeze. And it doesn't really go anywhere. A very predictable mellow part 2/3rds of the way through. The song really has one pace and that's all it has.

I was very let down by Powerslave and the only thing that made it worthwhile was the Rainbow's Gold B-Side, which was better than anything else on the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: stargazer18 on June 12, 2017, 03:08:26 PM
This was Maiden’s current album when I discovered them. Not long after hearing the title track on a tape my bother made of a local college radio show, I worked quickly to pick up the rest of their discography. At the time I felt that this album was the best of what they had done up to that point. I still feel this way and think it’s just a tad bit ahead of both Piece of Mind and The Number of the Beast.

IMO, The classic Maiden song types that appeared in the previous albums are refined and taken to the next level on this album.

Lead Single: 2 Minutes to Midnight – Clearly a step ahead of both Run to the Hills and Flight of Icarus in terms of complexity and arrangement. I know it’s overplayed but it’s a great song to sing along to. It also features some of Maiden’s most graphic lyrics.
 
Second Single: Aces High – following in the footsteps of its predecessor, The Trooper, this song is a worthy successor. I love this song from start to end agree that it’s one of their best album openers. I wish they had used the Churchill intro on the album but at least it’s in the video and opened up the concerts.

Title Track: Powerslave is an awesome song given it’s both powerful and dynamic and showed that Bruce could compose as well as Steve if not in term of quantity, of quality. My 1998 copy sadly places the intro onto the end of Back in the Village instead of at the beginning of Powerslave. Duh!

Album Ending Epic: Rime of the Ancient Mariner rotates along with a few others as my favorite Maiden song.  It features a “slow gallop” beat interlaced with the story of the Albatross and the Mariner.  This song always seems shorter than it is and the mood changes work perfectly with the lyrics. The quiet middle section with the spoken word passage that segues neatly into the guitar solo is phenomenal. Granted, I think you have to be drawn to the story to make this song work.

There’s no doubt the stand out tracks listed above over shadow the remaining four but, with the exception of Back in the Village, the three remaining tracks work well within the context of the album for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: stargazer18 on June 12, 2017, 03:12:44 PM
I will follow up this post later with a "...This is now." rebuttal, but well, some of you might not want to read this. ;D


That was then......

So Powerslave came out shortly after I turned 16. I thought myself, even at that age, a Heavy Metal expert! :lol  I was already into new bands like Metallica and Queensryche, with music so fresh and exciting.
I was also already a huge Iron Maiden fan, who were my favorite band along with UFO.

Anyway, when Powerslave came out, obviously the first thing I noticed was the Epygtian theme. Like when I think a screenwriter has run out of ideas, the old fall back is to have one of the characters turn unfaithful.  When a Metal band is out of ideas, they go Egyptian.
Ok, but it's Maiden, this is going to be great innit?

First track was a standard fast paced track. I guess it was cool and all, but it felt clichéd and formulaic. Yawn.

OK, the next track is the new single. Oh, and in 1984, what was all the rage? War and the nuclear bomb. Maiden singing about war was nothing new, but again, it felt clichéd again. Plus in 1984, this is what, now the 5th song that starts out with the same used up riff. So now Iron Maiden is now ripping off Riot, Accept, Saxon, and Dio? Really? The musical break was decent, but it felt very predictable.

I felt they should've renamed Losfer Words as Losfer Ideas. How can a band release such a monster like Transylvannia, and then follow it up with this piece of crap?

Next is Flash and The Duallist. Yes, it's already well documented that Bruce likes fencing. But these tracks are just not strong enough. Not even close.

Oddly, the only song I really liked right away was Back In The Village.

The title track, I originally felt was contrived and forced. I thought it was ok but I still felt like I knew every twist and turn before they took it.

And then Rime. I cannot tell you about the endless interviews I saw and read about how they did this super long song, and no metal would ever have the balls to do such a thing. Puleeze. And it doesn't really go anywhere. A very predictable mellow part 2/3rds of the way through. The song really has one pace and that's all it has.

I was very let down by Powerslave and the only thing that made it worthwhile was the Rainbow's Gold B-Side, which was better than anything else on the album.

I came to Powerslave after a year long love affair with Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil - This album was a game changer for me. Really opened my eyes (and ears) to what a different brand of music sounded like.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 03:22:35 PM
I came to Powerslave after a year long love affair with Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil - This album was a game changer for me. Really opened my eyes (and ears) to what a different brand of music sounded like.

Awesome, man. Definitely a step up from Motley Crue! (I also loved their first two albums)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Samsara on June 12, 2017, 03:33:39 PM
I got heavily into Maiden when Dance of Death came out. I always knew Maiden, but just never took the plunge, as someone said above. The song that has always resonated with me from Maiden, even before I became a huge fan, was "Aces High." Still does...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: wolfking on June 12, 2017, 04:09:47 PM
Love this album so much.  It was number 4 in my top 50!

I remember discovering Iron Maiden through Aces High.  I was I think 12 and one of the best sources of music back then was a late night music video program called Rage.  Every Saturday night from about 11pm through to 5am they use to have guest artists playing their fav tunes.  I use to record it and use Sunday watching and trying to discover some new stuff.  Marylin Manson was on there once and was playing some cool stuff, but one video started and it was Aces High.  It fucking changed my life, it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen.  From there my brother had a vinyl copy of TNOTB as he collected vinyl and it went from there.

As I started saving pocket money and started working early, I'd save up and buy a new Maiden album as soon as I could.  I went to the store and picked up Powerslave and saw Aces High was on it.  So happy, got the album home and the rest is history.

Such brilliant production, performances, songwriting, and the intricate and detailed solo and instrumental sections are just unreal.  Everyone is on top of their game here and I love everything about this album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Grappler on June 12, 2017, 04:15:28 PM
I discovered Maiden in the mid 90's via Fear of the Dark - I can explain that once this thread reaches that album, however, the first album I actually owned was Best of the Beast.  I figured I should start with a compilation/greatest hits.  Aces High was the first song that I really became attached to.  The speed, the guitar riifs, the vocals - it all fits together perfectly. 

The title track and Rime are awesome, and such a great way to close out the album.   I've just gotten back into Back in the Village and Flash of the Blade in the last few weeks.  Otherwise, for a long time, I just listened to the bookend tracks - 1, 2, 7 and 8. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 04:38:49 PM
    I've just gotten back into Back in the Village 

So you're...back in the village?





:neverusethis:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: wolfking on June 12, 2017, 05:12:54 PM
    I've just gotten back into Back in the Village 

So you're...back in the village?





:neverusethis:

Again?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Phoenix87x on June 12, 2017, 05:14:47 PM
Of all the classic IM albums, powerslave took the longest for me to get in to.

It also has the incredible 2 minutes to midnight, which is the very first IM song I ever heard and the song that got me in to Maiden. Big props to Vice city for that. Besides that I really love the title track and Rime of the ancient mariner
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 05:31:31 PM
    I've just gotten back into Back in the Village 

So you're...back in the village?





:neverusethis:

Again?

o/
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 12, 2017, 05:59:28 PM
I will follow up this post later with a "...This is now." rebuttal, but well, some of you might not want to read this. ;D


That was then......

So Powerslave came out shortly after I turned 16. I thought myself, even at that age, a Heavy Metal expert! :lol  I was already into new bands like Metallica and Queensryche, with music so fresh and exciting.
I was also already a huge Iron Maiden fan, who were my favorite band along with UFO.

Anyway, when Powerslave came out, obviously the first thing I noticed was the Epygtian theme. Like when I think a screenwriter has run out of ideas, the old fall back is to have one of the characters turn unfaithful.  When a Metal band is out of ideas, they go Egyptian.
Ok, but it's Maiden, this is going to be great innit?

First track was a standard fast paced track. I guess it was cool and all, but it felt clichéd and formulaic. Yawn.

OK, the next track is the new single. Oh, and in 1984, what was all the rage? War and the nuclear bomb. Maiden singing about war was nothing new, but again, it felt clichéd again. Plus in 1984, this is what, now the 5th song that starts out with the same used up riff. So now Iron Maiden is now ripping off Riot, Accept, Saxon, and Dio? Really? The musical break was decent, but it felt very predictable.

I felt they should've renamed Losfer Words as Losfer Ideas. How can a band release such a monster like Transylvannia, and then follow it up with this piece of crap?

Next is Flash and The Duallist. Yes, it's already well documented that Bruce likes fencing. But these tracks are just not strong enough. Not even close.

Oddly, the only song I really liked right away was Back In The Village.

The title track, I originally felt was contrived and forced. I thought it was ok but I still felt like I knew every twist and turn before they took it.

And then Rime. I cannot tell you about the endless interviews I saw and read about how they did this super long song, and no metal would ever have the balls to do such a thing. Puleeze. And it doesn't really go anywhere. A very predictable mellow part 2/3rds of the way through. The song really has one pace and that's all it has.

I was very let down by Powerslave and the only thing that made it worthwhile was the Rainbow's Gold B-Side, which was better than anything else on the album.

I feel like I don't know you anymore. I want a divorce...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: JayOctavarium on June 12, 2017, 06:01:09 PM
TAC  DOESNT LIKE POWERSLAVE

I feel like I don't know you anymore. I want a divorce...

:lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 06:50:47 PM
 :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 12, 2017, 07:04:54 PM
TAC, I've heard the Metal goes Egyptian thing described as a trope before but I can't really think of any other bands going with that theme at the time, at least not to the extent Maiden did. Metallica did Creeping Death, but that was just the one song. Kiss had the Vinnie Vincent makeup, but that's as far as it went. Can you give some examples?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Grappler on June 12, 2017, 07:24:32 PM
    I've just gotten back into Back in the Village 

So you're...back in the village?
:neverusethis:

Marty, you're back!   Yes, I'm Back!   BACK FROM THE FUTURE.   :facepalm:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 07:30:01 PM
TAC, I've heard the Metal goes Egyptian thing described as a trope before but I can't really think of any other bands going with that theme at the time, at least not to the extent Maiden did. Metallica did Creeping Death, but that was just the one song. Kiss had the Vinnie Vincent makeup, but that's as far as it went. Can you give some examples?

Well, Dio's Last In Line tour earlier that summer had a Pyramid styled stage. Probably based on the Egypt track. In fairness, Iron Maiden probably had their plans laid out before that.

All I can say is that those were my feelings "at the time". It just felt very unoriginal. It felt clichéd. It felt like an easy way out. I just remember getting Powerslave and thinking, really?

Plus, after they "killed" Eddie off, the fact that he came back as a mummy was ...predictable.

Mosh, you are familiar with the 2MtM riff used by those other bands, right?

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 12, 2017, 07:59:59 PM
A minor riffs with a flat5/blue-note have been a staple in rock music since the 1950's, and possibly even before that. It's something that most guitarists learn within their first year of playing the instrument. If Adrian Smith is guilty of stealing that, then you need to cite just about every other guitarist in the genre' as being a thief as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 08:05:13 PM
A minor riffs with a flat5/blue-note 

Wut? :lol


Ok, but think of what I said. I've just turned 16 and this is now the 6th song in my collection that starts out the exact same way. My collection at that point was only so big. I already had Maiden on a pedestal. I felt let down.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 08:18:50 PM
A minor riffs with a flat5/blue-note have been a staple in rock music since the 1950's, 

I would love, LOVE to hear a 50's version of that riff.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 12, 2017, 08:31:49 PM
A minor riffs with a flat5/blue-note 

Wut? :lol


Ok, but think of what I said. I've just turned 16 and this is now the 6th song in my collection that starts out the exact same way. My collection at that point was only so big. I already had Maiden on a pedestal. I felt let down.

Sorry. A little bit of music/scale theory.

I understand your point, but I can guarantee you that almost every band in your record collection has a sample of that exact same thing somewhere in their song writing. Every guitarist with a blues influence in their playing has used that in one form or another since the invention of rock music. Individual approaches may vary, but there are only 12 notes in western music to choose from. People are going to trample all over each other a lot of the time. It's unavoidable after a certain point, and the year 1984 was well beyond that point.

A few other examples of the same thing are:

Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple (G minor key)
Cat Scratch Fever - Ted Nugent (A minor key, same as 2 mins.)
Ghost of a Chance - Rush (F# minor if memory serves me right)

There are countless other songs, but those are just a few examples that came to mind. I haven't picked up a guitar in a couple of years, but I know that there were several other songs that I could play at one point or another that shared that.

However, it wouldn't be the only time that AS would lift a riff off of one of his peers. Wicker Man riff is lifted off of Judas Priest's Running Wild.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 12, 2017, 08:34:54 PM
Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple (G minor key)
Cat Scratch Fever - Ted Nugent (A minor key, same as 2 mins.)

Hey, now that you mention it... Hmmm..


However, it wouldn't be the only time that AS would lift a riff off of one of his peers. Wicker Man riff is lifted off of Judas Priest's Running Wild.

*grabs iPod*

Edit:  :omg:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 12, 2017, 09:20:14 PM
TAC, I've heard the Metal goes Egyptian thing described as a trope before but I can't really think of any other bands going with that theme at the time, at least not to the extent Maiden did. Metallica did Creeping Death, but that was just the one song. Kiss had the Vinnie Vincent makeup, but that's as far as it went. Can you give some examples?

Well, Dio's Last In Line tour earlier that summer had a Pyramid styled stage. Probably based on the Egypt track. In fairness, Iron Maiden probably had their plans laid out before that.

All I can say is that those were my feelings "at the time". It just felt very unoriginal. It felt clichéd. It felt like an easy way out. I just remember getting Powerslave and thinking, really?

Plus, after they "killed" Eddie off, the fact that he came back as a mummy was ...predictable.

Mosh, you are familiar with the 2MtM riff used by those other bands, right?
Gotcha. I just ask because you're not the first to bring it up. Didn't know about the Dio tour, it's a cool stage but it's no Powerslave.

I am aware of the 2MtM riff, it's definitely one of Maiden's less creative riff. However, despite the riff, the rest of the song is very original. One of their best tracks. Love that instrumental section.

PowerSlave: It's less to do with the notes used and more the rhythmic pattern. I wouldn't use the examples you mentioned. Try these instead, all before 2 Minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pESK87BCn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUbLtdqdg9E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JruuMkV0gM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzC0bGCdxis

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, or that Maiden were aware of all these songs (although they had to have been aware of Rory Gallagher and Saxon at least), but it was definitely a Metal cliche by the time they used it.

Going off that, I would also argue that Adrian Smith was not the master riff writer of the band. He's a great songwriter, but he excels more at lead melodies and hooks. Most of his riffs are fairly simple.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: JayOctavarium on June 12, 2017, 09:30:11 PM
I love how there are comments on each one of those videos talking about 2 Minutes ...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 12, 2017, 09:31:40 PM
TAC, I've heard the Metal goes Egyptian thing described as a trope before but I can't really think of any other bands going with that theme at the time, at least not to the extent Maiden did. Metallica did Creeping Death, but that was just the one song. Kiss had the Vinnie Vincent makeup, but that's as far as it went. Can you give some examples?

Well, Dio's Last In Line tour earlier that summer had a Pyramid styled stage. Probably based on the Egypt track. In fairness, Iron Maiden probably had their plans laid out before that.

All I can say is that those were my feelings "at the time". It just felt very unoriginal. It felt clichéd. It felt like an easy way out. I just remember getting Powerslave and thinking, really?

Plus, after they "killed" Eddie off, the fact that he came back as a mummy was ...predictable.

Mosh, you are familiar with the 2MtM riff used by those other bands, right?
Gotcha. I just ask because you're not the first to bring it up. Didn't know about the Dio tour, it's a cool stage but it's no Powerslave.

I am aware of the 2MtM riff, it's definitely one of Maiden's less creative riff. However, despite the riff, the rest of the song is very original. One of their best tracks. Love that instrumental section.

PowerSlave: It's less to do with the notes used and more the rhythmic pattern. I wouldn't use the examples you mentioned. Try these instead, all before 2 Minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pESK87BCn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUbLtdqdg9E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JruuMkV0gM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzC0bGCdxis

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, or that Maiden were aware of all these songs (although they had to have been aware of Rory Gallagher and Saxon at least), but it was definitely a Metal cliche by the time they used it.

Going off that, I would also argue that Adrian Smith was not the master riff writer of the band. He's a great songwriter, but he excels more at lead melodies and hooks. Most of his riffs are fairly simple.

Yeah, those are all better examples of the pattern. I thought that he was more focused on the flat5 than the pattern until I listened to those riffs. I've always been aware of those bands, but I never really listened to them. You guys definitely have a broader perspective of the early 80's metal movement than I do. I kind of stuck to a few bands at that time, and let a lot of other stuff pass me by.

One of you guys should start a thread for that era of metal bands. I, for one, would be very interested in learning more about a lot of those bands.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 12, 2017, 09:44:11 PM
Always up for more Metal discussions!

Good call on Wicker Man and Running Wild btw. The first time I heard Running Wild I couldn't believe it. Even the guitar tone is spot on. Also another Adrian Smith riff.

Maiden recycling other bands' ideas was fairly rare, although whenever it happened it was extremely blatant. Whenever they did copy something else, it was always something fairly obscure. That was more common later on though and I've got some great examples. If anything, Maiden copied themselves more often than not.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Tomislav95 on June 13, 2017, 04:25:38 AM
Big four of this album are part of the reason why I'm IM and metal fan. When I used to listen to songs more than albums, Aces High, 2 Minutes and Powerslave were some of my favorites. Too bad I didn't check the whole album until few years ago because there are no bad songs. It's hard to choose but I think this one is my favorite out of first 5 albums.
Also, doesn't matter how much I like Powerslave or albums before, two albums to come are peak of their discography IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 13, 2017, 02:37:56 PM
...this is now!

Let me say first that Powerslave has really aged great for me. I still think it's miles behind TNOTB and POM, but I have a true appreciation for it now. This was the last album before they introduced synthesizers. So this really closes out an era in my eyes. Those are days of my youth that I can never have back, so instead of looking at it with expectations, I just accept it as "bonus music" from my favorite band's pre synth era.
I find if I just relax and let it wash over me, I enjoy it so much more. While I still know how I felt originally about the songs, and I understand why I felt that way, I feel that many of these songs have outgrown my youthful critiques.

Aces High and 2MtM back to back are amazing. Crank it up!!! I'll also go on to say that Aces High is the standout track from this album.

Losfer Words still blows, but it's Maiden so I have an appreciation for it. I was listening to QFF last week, and I felt like if they removed the vocals, and put in a little leads, it'd be a better instrumental than Losfer Words. I still think Flash is pretty weak.
But now I love The Dualist. That extended instrumental part is awesome. Similar to The Red And The Black, it's a relatively weak track that delivers you into a great instrumental section. The Duallist is one of my favorite "second tier" tracks because of that section.

Back In The Village, which happened to strike me right off, is now simply an OK track.

The title track, OK, it's awesome!!! Awesome. Not sure when I had my epiphany on it, but I'm glad I did.

And Rime. To me, I feel like I'll always be a bit conflicted. I still find it a tad monotonous. But while it can sometimes be a bit of a chore to get through, there are other times where I'm totally into it. I love the solo section after the mellow section with the harmonized guitars. That part is brilliant. But I still don't like the way the song ends.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 13, 2017, 05:22:17 PM
...this is now!

Let me say first that Powerslave has really aged great for me. I still think it's miles behind TNOTB and POM, but I have a true appreciation for it now. This was the last album before they introduced synthesizers. So this really closes out an era in my eyes. Those are days of my youth that I can never have back, so instead of looking at it with expectations, I just accept it as "bonus music" from my favorite band's pre synth era.
I find if I just relax and let it wash over me, I enjoy it so much more. While I still know how I felt originally about the songs, and I understand why I felt that way, I feel that many of these songs have outgrown my youthful critiques.

Aces High and 2MtM back to back are amazing. Crank it up!!! I'll also go on to say that Aces High is the standout track from this album.

Losfer Words still blows, but it's Maiden so I have an appreciation for it. I was listening to QFF last week, and I felt like if they removed the vocals, and put in a little leads, it'd be a better instrumental than Losfer Words. I still think Flash is pretty weak.
But now I love The Dualist. That extended instrumental part is awesome. Similar to The Red And The Black, it's a relatively weak track that delivers you into a great instrumental section. The Duallist is one of my favorite "second tier" tracks because of that section.

Back In The Village, which happened to strike me right off, is now simply an OK track.

The title track, OK, it's awesome!!! Awesome. Not sure when I had my epiphany on it, but I'm glad I did.

And Rime. To me, I feel like I'll always be a bit conflicted. I still find it a tad monotonous. But while it can sometimes be a bit of a chore to get through, there are other times where I'm totally into it. I love the solo section after the mellow section with the harmonized guitars. That part is brilliant. But I still don't like the way the song ends.

You're trying to win me back, aren't you?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 13, 2017, 05:24:42 PM
 :natalieportman:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 13, 2017, 05:28:27 PM
Yeah, I just enjoy it a lot more than I did when I was a kid. To me, by trying to hard to stand out, it kind of didn't. I don't know. It's hard to explain. I love that pre synth era on Maiden. That's what I fell in love with, even if Powerslave didn't hit me right off. But I've totally come to terms with it, and now for the most part, I love it. I think if I did a total ranking of all of their albums, it'd probably fall right in the middle.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 13, 2017, 05:50:49 PM
Yeah, I just enjoy it a lot more than I did when I was a kid. To me, by trying to hard to stand out, it kind of didn't. I don't know. It's hard to explain. I love that pre synth era on Maiden. That's what I fell in love with, even if Powerslave didn't hit me right off. But I've totally come to terms with it, and now for the most part, I love it. I think if I did a total ranking of all of their albums, it'd probably fall right in the middle.

I know how you feel. Some of the albums that are coming up were not very favorable for me in the past, but I've grown to have more of an appreciation for them in recent years. I've only given up on a few of their albums for good. The others that I didn't like as well still have a separate place in my heart where they could eventually become closer to being a favorite.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Piece Tour (1983)
Post by: El Barto on June 13, 2017, 06:33:29 PM
The greatest thing I've probably ever heard in all of my music years was Mission From 'Arry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C90AURC1SGg

I always thought, what band releases something like that? The answer. The coolest band in the world, that's who.

From The Early Days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzN9JvDT0Oc



He's Nicko talking about it in 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmOeEj47qrc
Man, I'd pay good money to see Nicko just sit and tell stories. Great find.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 13, 2017, 06:37:34 PM
Bart, you have to sit through the Eddie Trunk link I posted in the other thread. F'n hilarious.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 14, 2017, 02:16:19 AM
Powerslave was a huge album for me. I remember buying it and sitting at home studying the artwork for more than a half hour. It's insanely good. And that's just the artwork.
Musically, it is another huge step forward in sound for the band. Aces high/2 minutes.. is a fantastic one-two punch, and the rest of the album only gets better. I loved Back in the village, the Duellists and Flash of the blade. Beyond me why they haven't played that song live (or have they?). Los ' fer words is a pretty much standard Maiden instrumental. That leaves the two 'Big Songs'  of the album: Powerslave and Rime. Powerslave is a fantastic classic Maiden track, but Rime of the Ancient Mariner is where it was for me. A ten plus minute Maiden song?! Wow. The whole song is so fantastically well executed and the atmosphere was so thick you can cut it with a knife. The whole 'middle ' break'  part' of the song just left me spellbound listening to it. The creaks of the wood, the ropes, Steve's fantastic bassline, everyting was just beyond belief for me and the pinnacle of what they had done up until then. Then the whole ' Finale'  with Bruce screaming ' Then down in falls comes THE RAAAAIIIIIIINNNN!!!'  And BOOM! that lightnigh crash and the tension building even further. Could metal get any better? Not in my book. And then Live after Death comes out and it turns out the live version even tops it!  :eek
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 14, 2017, 02:20:59 AM
You brilliantly described Rime!

I remember discovering the song and being spellbound by it, at the time I wasn't fully formed in my musical tastes and knowledge so I probably thought it was the creepiest and spookiest thing ever recorded  :lol I remember sending my cousins in the dark greenhouse of our grandparents to listen to it for maximum effect.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: TAC on June 14, 2017, 08:55:22 AM
  The creaks of the wood, the ropes, Steve's fantastic bassline, everyting was just beyond belief for me and the pinnacle of what they had done up until then. Then the whole ' Finale'  with Bruce screaming ' Then down in falls comes THE RAAAAIIIIIIINNNN!!!'  And BOOM! that lightnigh crash and the tension building even further. Could metal get any better? Not in my book. And then Live after Death comes out and it turns out the live version even tops it!  :eek

 :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Zydar on June 14, 2017, 10:40:31 AM
Listening to it now :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 14, 2017, 08:43:12 PM
I had trouble getting into Rime. It was the second longest song I knew (the first was 2112) and it seemed to really drag, especially once that middle section hit. Once that part clicked for me, the rest seemed to come together. There are so many classic Maiden riffs in that song. It's a little different from a Dream Theater epic. There's no huge ending, it's just a repeat of the first verse. The instrumental section is fairly simple, but oozes in melody. Getting ahead of myself here, but I thought it was really interesting that they managed to surpass Rime twice on the last album in terms of length, yet neither TRATB or Empire really matched Rime. TRATB isn't really telling a story the way Rime does, and it's really more of a long jam than anything else. Empire has the storytelling down, but nothing nearly as musically exciting, the music is in pure service to the story. Rime somehow captures the best of both worlds and then some. As far as Metal epics go, I don't think it has ever been quite matched. Truly a special moment and a definite influence on progressive Metal.

I think Losfer Words is a highly underrated track. I will concede that it feels more like a studio outtake or a b-side, which makes its placement on the album a bit odd, but it's still a ripping track. I seem to have odd opinions on Maiden's instrumentals overall. Transylvania is easily my least favorite and my favorites are Losfer Words and Genghis Khan. That said, instrumentals were never Maiden's strong point and I don't miss them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 14, 2017, 10:01:12 PM
Empire has the storytelling down, but nothing nearly as musically exciting

The riff in Empire that starts right around the 10:30 mark puts my ass in motion every time I hear it. True that the music is more in service to the story in that song, but THAT RIFF!!!  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 14, 2017, 10:11:23 PM
Oh yea, that's my favorite part of the song and one of the best Maiden riffs. And the singer came up with it!

Don't get me wrong, Empire is awesome. But more on that later.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 14, 2017, 10:46:25 PM
I think they came pretty damn close with Empire.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Powerslave (1984)
Post by: Mosh on June 16, 2017, 05:56:24 PM
I would argue that WTWWB actually came pretty close.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 16, 2017, 05:59:03 PM
World Slavery Tour (1984 - 1985)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures05_powerslave/tourbook05_powerslave.jpg)

In August 1984, two months after recording Powerslave and one month before release, the band embarked on their largest tour ever. The itinerary would’ve made today’s bands recoil in horror. They only paused for a two week break in Christmas ‘84 and ran until July 1985. It included a full UK tour, a European run that took them to the Eastern Bloc, two massive North American legs, a Japanese tour, an Australian tour, and their first South American gig. There were long stretches in gigs, from 3 night runs to 4 night runs to even 7 night runs (Radio City, but the last two gigs were cancelled when Bruce got sick). To accompany this tour, the band brought their largest and most bombastic stage show ever. It featured, for the first time, two Eddies instead of one. The regular walk on Eddie during Powerslave and a massive Eddie that was revealed during Iron Maiden. There was pyro, elaborate lighting, and backdrops to punctuate the Ancient Egypt theme. Maiden were truly on top of the world and this tour marks their peak as a touring band.
 
The World Slavery Tour was really the beginning of the Maiden live show as we know it now. The stage set up became the standard for every tour since, with the platforms and the drapes in the background. The previous tours were similar in design but slightly different. The tour also began the tradition of two Eddies: one that walks on stage and a big Eddie that appears during Iron Maiden. The setlist for this tour also established many of the traditions that continue today. Hallowed won the competition with Phantom over which would become the staple epic, as this tour became the first not to feature Phantom in the regular setlist (it was played occasionally). Running Free replaced Drifter as the fun audience participation closer. This was also the beginning of the band cutting back on the number of new songs played live, with only 5 out of 8 songs played from Powerslave as opposed to 7 out of 9 from Piece of Mind and 6 out of 8 from NOTB (plus one of the b-sides). Losfer Words was also dropped midway through the tour, cutting the number down to 4. 5 or 6 new songs would become the standard going forward.
 
The World Slavery Tour was massive, and as a result there is a lot to talk about here. While Live After Death is the main event, I’d like to go in order so we can see how the tour developed.
 
Behind The Iron Curtain (August, 1984)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/videos/video03_ironcurtain.jpg)

The band were already making history at the very start of this tour when they decided to begin the tour in the Soviet controlled Eastern Bloc, also known as the “Iron Curtain”. Not many bands toured there and nobody brought a full production there. Maiden became the first to bring their full production to the region, and it was for Powerslave of all tours. Behind The Iron Curtain is a documentary that originally aired on MTV, was subsequently released on VHS, and again on DVD as a bonus feature on Live After Death. The Live After Death version is definitive, as it’s an extended cut. It follows the band’s tour both on and off stage. The live clips are fairly low quality but it’s pretty incredible seeing how they crammed the whole stage show into the tiny auditoriums. Compare the footage on this video to Live After Death and it’s hard to believe that it’s the same stage. As far as I know they didn’t take any shortcuts either.
 
The documentary footage is also pretty fun. There are some behind the scenes clips here and there from before 1984 but this was the first look at what Maiden were like offstage. You get to see them play football/soccer, hang out on their bus, and go sight seeing. One of the most memorable moments is when they were invited to a Polish wedding. They showed up and played Smoke On the Water on a tiny stage and mingled with the attendees. This was also the scene of what is probably the most infamous moment on the documentary: Bruce Dickinson declaring that “you can’t play Heavy Metal with synthesizers”.
 
Four Nights At Hammersmith (October 1984)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures05b_lad/single14_rtthlive_a_small.jpg)
(Single artwork for the Live After Death recording of Run To The Hills, which included two songs on the b-side recorded at Hammersmith)

With all the officially released material from this tour, bootlegs hardly seem necessary. But, as discussed earlier, in the 80’s the USA got a shorter setlist than Europe. So what you get on Live After Death is the abridged setlist. In addition to the four night run in Long Beach, Maiden recorded an earlier four night run in Hammersmith. By recording two different stops, they were given a lot of material to work with. Ultimately they went with Long Beach, but they did include some recordings from the first night at Hammersmith on side 4 of Live After Death and as b-sides to the two singles that were released for the album. So all the songs that were played on the tour were released officially, just never a full length concert recording.
 
With all that in mind, here’s the third night at Hammersmith. It’s fun to hear how the show evolved, from the setlist to Bruce’s banter to the tightness of the band. They’re a little more loose here and there’s always an energy level when Maiden are playing their home turf that’s unlike any other location in the world. It feels less “rehearsed” than Long Beach. It’s also one of the rare instances of Murders In the Rue Morgue and Phantom Of the Opera being performed on this tour. You also get Losfer Words, which was still a regular at this point.
 
Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/o9bzw5yxogezqlr/1984-10-12%20-%20London%2C%20England%20-%20V2%20%28Taped%20by%20Gig%20Addiction%29%20%28Balls%20Up%20in%20the%20Balcony%29%20%28DMM%20024%29%20%2868.48%2C%2047.09%29%20copy.zip?dl=0

Rock In Rio (January 1985)

(https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.rockinrio.com.br/uploads/news_images/18926/POSTER-1985-3-RIR.jpg)

The band took a detour in their North American tour to fly down to South America and perform at the very first Rock In Rio. They were on directly before Queen (can you imagine following the Powerslave show? Even Queen would struggle) and performed a complete set. An excerpt of the show is also included on the Live After Death DVD, but bootlegs exist of the full performance (it was broadcasted live on TV and radio). The concert was massive and probably the largest audience Maiden ever played to. Capacity rules were less rigid in 1985 than in 2001 so there was less of a limit on how many people were allowed into the venue. Exact figures are unknown, but attendance is said to be around 30,000.
 
There are a few moments of note in the officially released video of Rock In Rio. You can hear Bruce yelling at someone to turn up his monitors, a rare video recording of Dave Murray’s guitar solo, and Bruce splitting his head open on one of the guitars during Revelations and continuing to perform. It’s a solid performance and another legendary moment in the band’s career.
 
Live After Death (March, 1985)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures05b_lad/album05b_lad_a_small.jpg)

Of course the crown jewel of the Powerslave tour is the live album. Released two months after the tour ended, Live After Death was the band’s first full length live album. It’s their Alive!/At Budokan/Made In Japan. A classic live album that helped cement Maiden as one of the premier live bands.

The album and video were recorded over a 4 night stretch at Long Beach Arena in Los Angeles (in addition to being their first live album, it’s the only complete performance they recorded in America). Both cull from different nights, so when you watch the video you get a different performance than when you listen to the album. Side 4 of LAD was taken from the first night of their previously mentioned Hammersmith run. The b-sides from the Live After Death single contained more songs from the Hammersmith show, so you get a nice selection of songs that weren’t performed at Long Beach.
 
Live After Death, especially the video, really captures the spectacle of live Maiden. It depicts the band and their stage as larger than life and features an onslaught of future classics. It could be argued that many of the songs that are live staples today became that way because of their presence on this album. At this point the band had been on tour for 8 months and the show was refined and rehearsed to the point where the everything ran extremely smoothly. The band is tight and the cues all occur without errors. Bruce’s voice has started to wear by this point (he was generally pretty inconsistent live in the 80s), but he doesn’t compromise as a performer.
 
While it’s unfortunate that only four songs from Powerslave were being played at this point, it actually works in the album’s favor. Live After Death serves as a “Greatest Hits” package for the band’s early days with each album getting time in the spotlight (only Killers is underrepresented with just one song).
 
Live After Death was a huge success for the band and is up there with Number Of the Beast as a landmark album. Many consider it their greatest album and one of the great live albums of any genre. It’s a great way to commemorate such a legendary tour.
 
Live After Death was finally released on DVD in 2008. The DVD features pretty much everything I’ve discussed in this post and more. There are pictures, music videos, and an in depth documentary chronicling the making of Powerslave and the tour. Lots of cool stories that I haven’t even mentioned. Definitely another essential release.
 
The Entire Population of Hackney (December 1985)

(https://img.cdandlp.com/2014/09/imgL/117135144.jpg)

When the World Slavery Tour concluded in California in July, the band took their first extended break since being signed to EMI. The usual protocol was to tour into December, take a two week break for Christmas, and then reconvene in the new year to write the next album and repeat the process. With Powerslave, the tour extended beyond December and into 1985, so the band took the rest of the year off.
 
Despite touring almost nonstop for an entire year, not everybody wanted the extended break. Nicko quickly grew frustrated and, along with Adrian Smith, rented a rehearsal studio for jamming. They invited some other musicians, including some from Adrian’s old band, Urchin, and The Entire Population of Hackney was born.
 
While this project was short lived, it is relevant to discuss briefly because it partially shaped the direction of the next album and serves as a nice bridge between the Powerslave era and the band’s experimental era. Several of the songs performed by this group were later recorded as b-sides for SIT singles. The project also allowed Adrian Smith to get in touch with his pre-Maiden roots, which was a more melodic almost AOR style. This style in turn influenced Smith’s writing style for the next album, but more on that later.
 
The band performed two gigs at the London Marquee (an old Maiden haunt) and luckily one was recorded and circulated as a bootleg. There are some Urchin songs, some FM songs, covers, and some songs that would be used in later Adrian Smith solo projects. It becomes an Iron Maiden gig by the end when Steve, Dave, and Bruce join in for Losfer Words, 2 Minutes to Midnight, and covers of Tush and Rosalie. It also features future Maiden b-sides Juanita, That Girl, and Reach Out.

Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jxwagmkd2jzip58/The%20Entire%20Population%20of%20Hackney%20-%201985-12-19%20-%20Marquee%20Club%2C%20London%2C%20England%20-%20V4%20%28Different%20duration%29%20%2844.21%2C%2043.37%29%20copy.zip?dl=0

------------------------------------------------------

I'm probably not going to be able to update this on Sunday, so it'll be another week or so before we move on to Somewhere In Time, but hopefully there's a lot to digest and discuss here.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 16, 2017, 07:15:14 PM
Saw this tour on June 2, 1985 at the Providence Civic Center. Here is a scan of my ticket:

(https://i.imgur.com/oWcv38x.jpg)


For some reason, I remember that Madonna was playing at Foxboro Stadium the same night.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 16, 2017, 07:17:48 PM
Here is a scan of the Tour Program I bought at the concert:

(https://i.imgur.com/6axhtRC.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/y8Rqo40.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/GSXSCJd.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Mohq1SW.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/DEevEAe.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/iWlh9ij.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/qIhbWbj.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/TrJnivt.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/1cgDujj.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/a9wW36e.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/KuKzlO9.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/pTKYpJY.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 16, 2017, 07:49:05 PM
What I remember about the tour.

I remember they played in Worcester (with Twisted Sister) in January. My parents wouldn't let me go to Worcester yet. Providence was only 45 minutes away, while Worcester was an hour and 45.

But they can to Providence in the summer. This was at the very end of my junior year of high school. I had my license but I'm pretty sure my father drove us.

The show..some thoughts
* The stage was incredible. It was also very bright.
* I remember Bruce singing "All of yooooouuuuuu" at the end of Revelations. I remember thinking he must think he was Dio or something.
* I vividly remember Rime, with the trusses being lowered for the slow part, and ultimately the stage exploding when the song kicked back in.
* I remember Dave and Adrian going up on the back risers during Hallowed, like they do On Live After Death. I remember that visual.

* Accept, touring Metal Heart opened and they were incredible. The best opening set I've ever seen. That is until I saw Dream Theater open for Maiden in '92.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Grappler on June 16, 2017, 08:14:31 PM
I was too young to attend the World Slavery tour, and too young to be into Maiden in general (I was 4 years old at the time), but Live After Death was one of the first albums that I picked up in the late 90's when I started getting into them and acquiring the discography.  I remember listening to the album over and over again, reading the liner notes and just daydreaming about seeing the tour when I'd get to the center of the booklet and see the full stage light up with the giant Eddie. 

My dream would be fulfilled a decade later in 2008.   :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 16, 2017, 08:21:43 PM
Awesome!!


You reminded me. In the liner notes, there was a timeline of an average day for the road crew. When I was in college, I took Public Speaking, and one of my class "speeches" was setting up a stage for a rock concert, and I used Live After Death as my source.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: sneakyblueberry on June 17, 2017, 01:27:28 AM
* I remember Dave and Adrian going up on the back risers during Hallowed, like they do On Live After Death. I remember that visual.

It's so simple, but it's such a striking visual, especially with that harmony happening - one of my favourite moments from LAD. I can only imagine what it was like to see that live!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 17, 2017, 07:29:12 PM
I remember seeing this picture in a magazine a few months before I saw the show. I could not believe how awesome the stage looked and I remember getting goosebumps right in the magazine store looking at it. It's so awesome, it ended up making the album sleeve.


(https://fearoftheweb.ironmaiden.es/tours/conciertos/powerslave2.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 17, 2017, 07:29:21 PM
*double post*
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: El Barto on June 17, 2017, 11:08:02 PM
The World Slavery tour is one of the few from that era that I remember very well. I think it was the 4th or 5th show I'd seen and was certainly the biggest spectacle, and would be for many years. The golden sarcophagus splitting open to reveal Eddie was just stunning. I had pretty good connections back then so we had great seats and the whole thing really seemed larger than life. Along with with the great seats we got passes to go back after the show. Wandering around the back of the arena we got to stand next to Eddie's head. The big mummified one in the pictures TAC is posting. Not quite as tall as me at 14, but still pretty damn big. That we didn't take pictures of us with it is one of the things that still haunts me after 30 years.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 18, 2017, 08:43:53 AM
I saw this tour!

Nah, kiddin', I just saw its "rerun" in 2008  ;D I was just a little kid back then, but this is the tour that made history for sure. A landmark tour and live album, the template for an heavy metal show and a live album, really.

I remember watching the VHS that the same schoolmate that introduced me to Maiden lent me, and it was simply amazing to see such a show. I wonder what must have been to see it live back in the day! And I also agree about the insanely hectic tour schedule, it burned out everyone and especially Bruce, but they earned their rightful place in history with this tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 18, 2017, 08:54:47 AM
  I had pretty good connections back then so we had great seats and the whole thing really seemed larger than life. Along with with the great seats we got passes to go back after the show. Wandering around the back of the arena we got to stand next to Eddie's head. The big mummified one in the pictures TAC is posting. Not quite as tall as me at 14, but still pretty damn big. That we didn't take pictures of us with it is one of the things that still haunts me after 30 years.

Wow, that's awesome!!

Bart, who opened? WASP?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Samsara on June 19, 2017, 10:41:51 AM
Mosh, Tim,

Thanks for all the info and imagery. I didn't even know about Iron Maiden yet. In 1985, I had yet to really discover a lot of music. It wouldn't be until 1988 or 1989 that I heard of Maiden, and then it was 2000 before I saw them live. But having become a huge fan, I love seeing all of this.

Trying to add a little to things, Queensryche was the opener for those Radio City Music Hall shows.

January 17, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall - https://anybodylistening.net/1-17-85.html
January 18, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall - https://anybodylistening.net/1-18-85.html
January 19, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall - https://anybodylistening.net/1-19-85.html
January 20, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall - https://anybodylistening.net/1-20-85.html
January 21, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall (cancelled)
January 23, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall (cancelled)
January 24, 1985    NYC, NY    Radio City Music Hall (cancelled)

(links showcase four stubs - one from each show - for Maiden)

>>>I have listed here a seven-show run with the last three canceled. Mosh, are those dates and cancellations correct? Obviously, the first four are good, as I have ticket stubs for them and info. But did Jan. 21 happen?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 19, 2017, 11:00:21 AM
Right the last three dates were cancelled.

There's a picture of Steve in a QR shirt that's probably from early 84 so I'm assuming he was aware and a fan of them very early on.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Podaar on June 19, 2017, 11:30:43 AM
I saw this show in the winter of 1984. I remember it being a work night, general admission, and the stupid Salt Palace had booked them into one of the smaller theaters so the show had sold out almost immediately. Why they didn't put them in the arena and sell more tickets is a mystery never solved. I wasn't expecting too much but it was amazing how they made that tiny stage feel like a huge production. Most of the classic elements were there but not the risers. I was never able to force my way to the front but I clearly recall having a great view for Rime of the Ancient Mariner and just being spell bound by it.

I'm pretty sure this was the last time I saw them live, too. Shame.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Art on June 19, 2017, 02:51:21 PM
Live After Death is the best metal live album of all time to me.

Unfortunetly i was too young to see this legendary tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 19, 2017, 02:53:20 PM
Right the last three dates were cancelled.

There's a picture of Steve in a QR shirt that's probably from early 84 so I'm assuming he was aware and a fan of them very early on.

They were on the same label. It could've been a label pairing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: wolfking on June 19, 2017, 07:54:55 PM
I love this live album and the whole sound of it is brilliant.  Love how perfectly seperate Davey and H's guitars are.  As a young teenager learning the guitar, I would spend my hours day after day after school playing through the songs pretending to either be Dave or Adrian by panning the speakers and just playing others parts.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 19, 2017, 08:05:48 PM
I literally came in to post how awesome the mix is with Dave in the right channel and Adrian in the left.

   As a young teenager learning the guitar, I would spend my hours day after day after school playing through the songs pretending to either be Dave or Adrian by panning the speakers and just playing others parts.

That's awesome!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: wolfking on June 19, 2017, 08:18:17 PM
I literally came in to post how awesome the mix is with Dave in the right channel and Adrian in the left.

   As a young teenager learning the guitar, I would spend my hours day after day after school playing through the songs pretending to either be Dave or Adrian by panning the speakers and just playing others parts.

That's awesome!

It's so cool playing the other harmony parts on songs like Trooper and Hallowed.  And playing say Adrian's solo for the trooper than just the rhythm when Dave kicks in, good stuff.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 20, 2017, 06:23:18 AM
Only going to react to Live after Death, because that's all I own, except for the 12" inches that were pulled off the album.
I eagerly awaited this album and it's safe to say, it didn't disapoint. The thing with live albums is, that the really good or great ones are a combination of great performances and great audience atmosphere/reaction. I never new Martin Birch was the producer that also did Deep Purple's Made in Japan, but that being one of the very first live albums I ever owned and heard, it made total sense. Having been a performer in bands for over thirty years I know of the perils of recording live. Either the equipment sucks or bums out, or the performance is flawed or lackluster (perfect sound and a shitty performance or a 'dead' audience, yeah, been there, but also: great performances captured by glorious 'mono' handheld walkmans...yeah been there as well!). Plus imagine my huge disapointed when I found at KiSS's Alive was studio-doctored. With Maiden off course, you know the show will be great, it's just a matter of the singer being at the top of his game and the audience being 'getting into it'. With this one, everything fell into place.

Once Churchill's voice starts up with the airplanes in the background, you know its on. Then the quickfire one-two punch of Aces High/2 minutes to Midnight and you're right in the thick of it. Then the first stellar song: Revelations oh, the atmosphere! Then Flight of Icarus and this is probably the definetive version of the song they recorded. Strangely Number of the beast isn't all that special on this recording, but Powerslave, Hallowed be thy name and Rhime of the Ancient Mariner all made up for that. When the closer 'Running Free' (of the Long Beach concert, that is) hits, I'm already exhausted of rocking out. Bruce is at his best here. 'But thusday  didn't do it, Friday didn't do it, Saturday didn't do it, Long Beach! This is your chance to fuck up my hearing for good!" Dam near fucked up mine in the process, I'll tell ya that!

The Hammesmith portion is a nice bonus, but Long Beach is where its at.
Live after Death is a classic live album and Always will be. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 20, 2017, 07:06:33 AM
I forgot this before; Live After Death to me is the perfect example of when and how to do a live album. Sure, nowadays you find entire concerts on YouTube and many bands release live albums on a whim, Maiden included, but LAD was coming at the right moment, documenting a massive world tour, and as it has been said it serves as a live greatest hits of that time. A defining moment in history cemented for all the world to see!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: stargazer18 on June 20, 2017, 10:25:53 AM
This was the current album when I became a fan and I knew enough listening to it that I needed to "quickly" get their entire discography! I will say that when I  listen to the studio version of Revelations I'm always disappointed in not hearing the Mother Fu@#$er at the end!

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 20, 2017, 11:49:59 AM
This was the current album when I became a fan and I knew enough listening to it that I needed to "quickly" get their entire discography! I will say that when I  listen to the studio version of Revelations I'm always disappointed in not hearing the Mother Fu@#$er at the end!

Or the "Let it go!" in Flight of Icarus  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 20, 2017, 08:14:55 PM
I have mixed opinions on LAD. I get its historic importance and it's a great live album with an awesome setlist, but 30 years later there are a lot more live albums to choose from, including two (IMO superior) live albums from the 80s. So it's far from the album I reach for when I want live Maiden.

I would love an official release of the Hammersmith gig. They released the important parts of it, but I'd still like to hear the show in its entirety. Bruce sounded better on the Hammersmith tracks and the setlist is far superior.



Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: El Barto on June 20, 2017, 10:10:13 PM
  I had pretty good connections back then so we had great seats and the whole thing really seemed larger than life. Along with with the great seats we got passes to go back after the show. Wandering around the back of the arena we got to stand next to Eddie's head. The big mummified one in the pictures TAC is posting. Not quite as tall as me at 14, but still pretty damn big. That we didn't take pictures of us with it is one of the things that still haunts me after 30 years.

Wow, that's awesome!!

Bart, who opened? WASP?
WASP opened. After the show, when we're waiting for the band to come out, we grab a couple of beers and sit next to two groupie chicks who were so far out of our league we must have seemed like ants to them. While we're foolishly trying to hit them up Chris Holmes came in and took them away. In the process of rescuing them he greets us, "Hey boys. Hows it goin tonight?" which was more than either Bruce or Nicko had to say to us.

In retrospect we would have much rather been at WASP's backstage meet and greet. Only Bruce and Nicko came out and didn't really have much to say or do. Signed some autographs and that was about it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: El Barto on June 20, 2017, 10:12:22 PM
I have mixed opinions on LAD. I get its historic importance and it's a great live album with an awesome setlist, but 30 years later there are a lot more live albums to choose from, including two (IMO superior) live albums from the 80s. So it's far from the album I reach for when I want live Maiden.

I would love an official release of the Hammersmith gig. They released the important parts of it, but I'd still like to hear the show in its entirety. Bruce sounded better on the Hammersmith tracks and the setlist is far superior.
LAD suffered for Bruce being overworked. It was great to hear for those of us that saw it, and it's a fine live album, but overall I agree with you. Don't know if you're going to mention it, though as thorough as you're being I reckon so, but Behind The Iron Curtain was a much better representation. The band is the band, but Bruce sounded much fresher.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 20, 2017, 10:32:44 PM
I have mixed opinions on LAD. I get its historic importance and it's a great live album with an awesome setlist, but 30 years later there are a lot more live albums to choose from, including two (IMO superior) live albums from the 80s. So it's far from the album I reach for when I want live Maiden.

I would love an official release of the Hammersmith gig. They released the important parts of it, but I'd still like to hear the show in its entirety. Bruce sounded better on the Hammersmith tracks and the setlist is far superior.
LAD suffered for Bruce being overworked. It was great to hear for those of us that saw it, and it's a fine live album, but overall I agree with you. Don't know if you're going to mention it, though as thorough as you're being I reckon so, but Behind The Iron Curtain was a much better representation. The band is the band, but Bruce sounded much fresher.

I did mention it, but it might've gotten buried being at the end of the page (some cool pics from TAC too): https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=50220.msg2328236#msg2328236

Behind the Iron Curtain is a better performance from Bruce, I would love to hear a full show from that tour released some day (also because there's a rumor that Back In the Village was played at some of these shows).

I also love the performance on Rock In Rio. Everyone sounds great and you can tell the band is feeding off the crowd's energy. One of their most energetic performances.

Also, I'm going to watch the DVD tomorrow but, if my memory is right, Bruce sounds better on the album compared to the video.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 06:10:15 AM
I have mixed opinions on LAD. I get its historic importance and it's a great live album with an awesome setlist, but 30 years later there are a lot more live albums to choose from, including two (IMO superior) live albums from the 80s. So it's far from the album I reach for when I want live Maiden.

I totally understand and don't really disagree. It is not my favorite live Maiden album. But they have so many live albums to choose from, and they're all excellent.

LAD suffered for Bruce being overworked. It was great to hear for those of us that saw it, and it's a fine live album, but overall I agree with you. 

Honestly, I've never listened to Live After Death, and ever had a critical thought towards the vocals. It's a live album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 06:13:35 AM
Mosh, speaking of Bruce, will you be listing his solo albums as part of this too?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Stadler on June 21, 2017, 06:47:55 AM
  I had pretty good connections back then so we had great seats and the whole thing really seemed larger than life. Along with with the great seats we got passes to go back after the show. Wandering around the back of the arena we got to stand next to Eddie's head. The big mummified one in the pictures TAC is posting. Not quite as tall as me at 14, but still pretty damn big. That we didn't take pictures of us with it is one of the things that still haunts me after 30 years.

Wow, that's awesome!!

Bart, who opened? WASP?
WASP opened. After the show, when we're waiting for the band to come out, we grab a couple of beers and sit next to two groupie chicks who were so far out of our league we must have seemed like ants to them. While we're foolishly trying to hit them up Chris Holmes came in and took them away. In the process of rescuing them he greets us, "Hey boys. Hows it goin tonight?" which was more than either Bruce or Nicko had to say to us.

In retrospect we would have much rather been at WASP's backstage meet and greet. Only Bruce and Nicko came out and didn't really have much to say or do. Signed some autographs and that was about it.

"Hey boys, how's it going" is rock star for "Hey boys, this is how a man does it.   I'm going to have more sex in the next 26 minutes - with both of these women - than you will have until you are AGE 26.  Maybe longer.   Ladies, I'm here now.   Come with me."

Haha.   (I'm just kidding with you, of course.  I have a vaguely similar story about Kiss as well.)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 06:53:48 AM
"Hey boys, how's it going" is rock star for "Hey boys, this is how a man does it.   I'm going to have more sex in the next 26 minutes - with both of these women - than you will have until you are AGE 26.  Maybe longer.   Ladies, I'm here now.   Come with me."

 :rollin

Totally!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2017, 08:03:29 AM
Mosh, speaking of Bruce, will you be listing his solo albums as part of this too?
absolutely
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 08:15:16 AM
Great. I find what he did outside of Maiden was very interesting. I mean, that's stating the obvious right, but to this Maiden fan, his solo stuff really helped shape how I truly felt about him. More on that later..
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 21, 2017, 08:19:33 AM
Mosh, speaking of Bruce, will you be listing his solo albums as part of this too?
absolutely

 :metal :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2017, 12:05:39 PM
Yea I'll do Bruce's albums for sure, probably also the first two Blaze albums, some Adrian Smith stuff, and of course Steve Harris' album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 12:13:15 PM
I asked about the Bruce albums because my opinion on Bruce changed over time. And it was one of his solo albums that convinced me of his true value to the band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 21, 2017, 06:56:07 PM
I asked about the Bruce albums because my opinion on Bruce changed over time. And it was one of his solo albums that convinced me of his true value to the band.

If we're of the same mind-set, Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding are two of the greatest metal albums ever recorded.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 07:18:41 PM
My Bruce epiphany did not happen with either of those.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: wolfking on June 21, 2017, 07:54:11 PM
I asked about the Bruce albums because my opinion on Bruce changed over time. And it was one of his solo albums that convinced me of his true value to the band.

You're not going to tell are you?

CW my number 1 album of all time, just came along at the right time and still knocks my socks off.  Skunkworks I rate really highly too, amazing album that one.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 08:22:10 PM
I asked about the Bruce albums because my opinion on Bruce changed over time. And it was one of his solo albums that convinced me of his true value to the band.

You're not going to tell are you?

I will when Mosh gets to it.

Hint: "Seaman Stains".....nah just kidding. ;D


CW my number 1 album of all time, just came along at the right time and still knocks my socks off.  Skunkworks I rate really highly too, amazing album that one.

Have you done a Top 50 Thread? That'd be a Must Follow!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2017, 08:27:08 PM
I had Chemical Wedding as my favorite Metal album of all time for awhile, over all the Maiden albums. It definitely gives the best of Maiden some tough competition. Still somewhere in the top three, with Piece of Mind and Painkiller.

Bruce's solo albums give you an interesting look at the man as an artist, after only getting short glimpses of it with Maiden. He also returned to Maiden as a better singer and songwriter thanks to his solo work.

More on topic: I watched the LAD DVD today. Probably the most fun Maiden video. They're really portrayed as a larger than life act. We'll get to this more later, but it's really fascinating comparing LAD to Maiden England, which gives a completely different perspective on the band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 08:32:53 PM
I had Chemical Wedding as my favorite Metal album of all time for awhile, over all the Maiden albums. It definitely gives the best of Maiden some tough competition. Still somewhere in the top three, with Piece of Mind and Painkiller.

Painkiller is so good. Saw that tour a couple of times. First was in Dec of 1990. They had Megadeth (Rust In Peace) and Testament (Souls Of Black) opening. Amazing show all the way around.
Then the following summer, they headlined the Operation Rock n Roll tour with Alice Cooper, Motorhead, Metal Church, and Dangerous Toys. Alice Cooper f'n blew them off the stage. Alice's band on that tour was Vinnie Moore, Stef Burns, Greg Smith, Eric Singer, and Derek Sherinian.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 08:37:57 PM
More on topic: I watched the LAD DVD today. Probably the most fun Maiden video. They're really portrayed as a larger than life act. We'll get to this more later, but it's really fascinating comparing LAD to Maiden England, which gives a completely different perspective on the band.

Hmm...that's interesting. Would love to hear you expound on those thoughts. LAD was a band, killing it on the way up whereas on Maiden England, they were kings of the heap. They were tired. Points only proven by Adrian leaving, Bruce practically leaving, and the band not getting back together for almost 2 years.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2017, 08:55:46 PM
More on topic: I watched the LAD DVD today. Probably the most fun Maiden video. They're really portrayed as a larger than life act. We'll get to this more later, but it's really fascinating comparing LAD to Maiden England, which gives a completely different perspective on the band.

Hmm...that's interesting. Would love to hear you expound on those thoughts. LAD was a band, killing it on the way up whereas on Maiden England, they were kings of the heap. They were tired. Points only proven by Adrian leaving, Bruce practically leaving, and the band not getting back together for almost 2 years.
I'm thinking less the performance itself and more the way it was filmed, as well as the setlist. There are a lot more close shots between the band and the crowd. The stage doesn't look enormous the way it does in LA. Plus it was filmed on their home turf. It seems like a more intimate performance meant to show how Maiden has stayed in touch with their fans.

The setlist wasn't the greatest hits package that LAD was. A lot more deep cuts and the newest album gets more attention. The original version didn't contain the encore, so no Run To the Hills, Sanctuary, or Running Free. Still Life instead of The Trooper, Killers instead of Flight Of Icarus, The Clairvoyant instead of Two Minutes To Midnight, etc.

I had Chemical Wedding as my favorite Metal album of all time for awhile, over all the Maiden albums. It definitely gives the best of Maiden some tough competition. Still somewhere in the top three, with Piece of Mind and Painkiller.

Painkiller is so good. Saw that tour a couple of times. First was in Dec of 1990. They had Megadeth (Rust In Peace) and Testament (Souls Of Black) opening. Amazing show all the way around.
That's an incredible lineup. Obviously with Painkiller Priest were trying to keep up with the new blood like Megadeth and Testament. How did they compare to these groups then?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 09:03:40 PM
  I'm thinking less the performance itself and more the way it was filmed, as well as the setlist. There are a lot more close shots between the band and the crowd. The stage doesn't look enormous the way it does in LA. Plus it was filmed on their home turf. It seems like a more intimate performance meant to show how Maiden has stayed in touch with their fans.

The setlist wasn't the greatest hits package that LAD was. A lot more deep cuts and the newest album gets more attention. The original version didn't contain the encore, so no Run To the Hills, Sanctuary, or Running Free. Still Life instead of The Trooper, Killers instead of Flight Of Icarus, The Clairvoyant instead of Two Minutes To Midnight, etc.
 
I bought the VHS of Maiden England, and it was obviously not the full show.
Personally, I was never a fan of how LAD was filmed. There's a couple great angles but that's about it.

To me, the best "filmed" live show was Death On The Road. It's the most glorious footage I've ever seen of the band. Too bad the editing renders it almost unwatchable.

Painkiller is so good. Saw that tour a couple of times. First was in Dec of 1990. They had Megadeth (Rust In Peace) and Testament (Souls Of Black) opening. Amazing show all the way around.
That's an incredible lineup. Obviously with Painkiller Priest were trying to keep up with the new blood like Megadeth and Testament. How did they compare to these groups then?
Getting Scott Travis made all of the difference in the world. It allowed them to really keep pace with the younger bands. Too bad Halford would leave in the mid 90's.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2017, 09:04:52 PM
  I'm thinking less the performance itself and more the way it was filmed, as well as the setlist. There are a lot more close shots between the band and the crowd. The stage doesn't look enormous the way it does in LA. Plus it was filmed on their home turf. It seems like a more intimate performance meant to show how Maiden has stayed in touch with their fans.

The setlist wasn't the greatest hits package that LAD was. A lot more deep cuts and the newest album gets more attention. The original version didn't contain the encore, so no Run To the Hills, Sanctuary, or Running Free. Still Life instead of The Trooper, Killers instead of Flight Of Icarus, The Clairvoyant instead of Two Minutes To Midnight, etc.
 
I bought the VHS of Maiden England, and it was obviously not the full show.
Personally, I was never a fan of how LAD was filmed. There's a couple great angles but that's about it.

To me, the best "filmed" live show was Death On The Road. It's the most glorious footage I've ever seen of the band. Too bad the editing renders it almost unwatchable.
That's an interesting choice. Never really noticed the way the footage was shot because yea the editing is terrible. It is by far their most theatrical live show so it makes sense that they put more effort into filming it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2017, 09:07:27 PM
I just feel like the angles, the film lighting, the performance, it all gells. When you get to it ITT, hopefully you'll see what I'm talking about.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2017, 09:12:35 PM
Yea, I'll pay attention to it. I've only watched the video maybe once or twice, probably my least watched Maiden vid (it's either that or Raising Hell).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 22, 2017, 05:45:42 AM
Hah, I don't even count Raising Hell. :lol


So when I watch DOTR, I really can only take a couple songs at a time. Either that or I'll put it on as background on my day off as I do stuff around the house.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: wolfking on June 22, 2017, 05:47:14 AM
I think Raising Hell is awesome.  Such a raw, energetic performance.  It's one of my fav performances from Dave.  It's Bruce's last show with the band, but he plays like it's the last time Maiden will ever play live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 22, 2017, 05:58:02 AM
It's been 20+ years since I've watched it. I'll have to get it out for that part of this thread.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Stadler on June 22, 2017, 08:32:40 AM
Painkiller is so good. Saw that tour a couple of times. First was in Dec of 1990. They had Megadeth (Rust In Peace) and Testament (Souls Of Black) opening. Amazing show all the way around.
That's an incredible lineup. Obviously with Painkiller Priest were trying to keep up with the new blood like Megadeth and Testament. How did they compare to these groups then?
Getting Scott Travis made all of the difference in the world. It allowed them to really keep pace with the younger bands. Too bad Halford would leave in the mid 90's.

Yeah, that's when they lost me.    I actually really liked Dave Holland's drumming (he kind of always played that same fill, but it worked), though Les Binks was no slouch either.   "Trying to keep up with the younger guys" was not why I listened to Priest.   It's kind of why I love Maiden so much.  They never bothered to try to keep up with the younger guys.  If anything the younger guys are still trying to catch Maiden!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 22, 2017, 08:35:21 AM
Also Maiden managed to be more their own thing and isolated from the scene of the time than Priest. For me it's so blatantly easier to realize that the Priest albums of the '80s were made, well, in the '80s, than the ones Maiden did.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 22, 2017, 08:45:22 PM
Painkiller is so good. Saw that tour a couple of times. First was in Dec of 1990. They had Megadeth (Rust In Peace) and Testament (Souls Of Black) opening. Amazing show all the way around.
That's an incredible lineup. Obviously with Painkiller Priest were trying to keep up with the new blood like Megadeth and Testament. How did they compare to these groups then?
Getting Scott Travis made all of the difference in the world. It allowed them to really keep pace with the younger bands. Too bad Halford would leave in the mid 90's.

Yeah, that's when they lost me.    I actually really liked Dave Holland's drumming (he kind of always played that same fill, but it worked), though Les Binks was no slouch either.   "Trying to keep up with the younger guys" was not why I listened to Priest.   It's kind of why I love Maiden so much.  They never bothered to try to keep up with the younger guys.  If anything the younger guys are still trying to catch Maiden!
Maiden definitely have that on Priest, though Priest had several moments where "modernizing" their sound worked in their favor. SFV and Painkiller are both great records that were totally reactionary to what was going on around them. Turbo and Point of Entry, not as successful.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Stadler on June 23, 2017, 08:12:16 AM
Friggin' LOVE Point of Entry.  I'm not arguing it's a great PRIEST record or anything - it's clearly an odd step between British Steel and SFV (which is the superior record) but for wathever reason, other than "Hot Rockin'" (which is just dumb) I love that record. 

"Turning Circles", "Desert Plains", "Solar Angels", "Headin'..." (except let's not talk about that video).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Art on June 23, 2017, 08:17:19 AM
I agree about PoE. Not a bad record, just not as good as the one that came before and the one that followed it.

Desert Plains is awesome.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Podaar on June 23, 2017, 08:59:40 AM
Maybe someone should start a Judas Priest discography so we can have a bit of a chat about Iron Maiden. Stadler?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 23, 2017, 09:05:45 AM
Busy week at work this week so I haven't had time to work on the next entry, expect it today or tomorrow.

And a Priest discog would be awesome!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 23, 2017, 09:27:20 AM
No problem, we'll consider this as celebration of the six months break the band had before coming back together to work on Somewhere in Time  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Stadler on June 23, 2017, 11:57:08 AM
Maybe someone should start a Judas Priest discography so we can have a bit of a chat about Iron Maiden. Stadler?

I actually talked with el Barto about that a couple months ago.  I'll do it; I'm not as up on the boots and stuff as here, but well-versed in the albums and tours.   I'm on vaca next week, but I can start it when I get back.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 23, 2017, 12:08:52 PM
Awesome. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Podaar on June 23, 2017, 12:11:22 PM
That would be awesome, Stadler!

I'm listening to Sad Wings right now. Love me some old, classic JP
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: jjrock88 on June 23, 2017, 12:19:23 PM
Maybe someone should start a Judas Priest discography so we can have a bit of a chat about Iron Maiden. Stadler?

I actually talked with el Barto about that a couple months ago.  I'll do it; I'm not as up on the boots and stuff as here, but well-versed in the albums and tours.   I'm on vaca next week, but I can start it when I get back.
:metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 23, 2017, 12:56:58 PM
Since it doesn't belong strictly to any album, throwing the idea around here... anyone else in my same situation, of having Iron Maiden as the favorite band or one of the favorites anyway, but not listening to them anymore?

I'll explain better - Iron Maiden were one of the first bands I discovered, and the first metal band at all for me - after starting, as a young teen, to dig into heavy and foreign music with Bon Jovi and Guns n' Roses, Maiden were the jump from rock to metal in 1995, and I've always hailed them as my favorite band ever since.

At the time without a widespread internet, all I had were the cassette tapes a schoolmate was making for me - there must have been a time where the ONLY cassettes I had were 2 compilations of Bon Jovi, one of Guns n' Roses, two of Iron Maiden (and Metallica came shortly after) and literally nothing else. So I listened to those songs over and over and over, in repeat, all the time, and they were carved in my mind and my soul, I know them inside out, in my sleep, and I'll probably know them after I'm dead and I'm summoned through an oujia board.

So, 22 years later, with my musical taste greatly developed, and so many bands to listen and so many new albums from the band I still follow coming out, and with work and other time consuming hobbies such as travelling and watching TV series, and with generally being an adult taking up time, when do I listen still, after all this time, to songs I heard a gazillion times? well, simply, I don't.

All those bands I discovered more than 20 years ago, I simply don't listen to them anymore, I will always call Iron Maiden my favorite band, but if you want to know how many times I've heard in the last years The Number of the Beast or The Trooper, just ask me how many times I've seen them live recently, the answer will basically be the same.

And I don't say this on a dismissive way, "I'm bored of those songs" - on the contrary. Sure, I don't feel the need to listen to Run to the Hills for the gazillionth time, nor today nor any other day, but when I go to a Maiden concert, even the history tours with so much old stuff, I don't need to rehearse. For example, in 2013, for the Maiden England tour, at the festival Megadeth was on the bill, and since I know the band but I'm not a regular listener, I was hearing some songs on the days before the festival just to remind myself better.

With Iron Maiden, I didn't need to do it. I went there, literal years after I've heard their classic albums for the last time, and whatever was in the set, I sang them all by heart from start to finish  :metal

These songs are so deep inside me that I don't need to "do my homework" with them... whenever they will come up, I will always remember them instantly. So that's my wonderful paradox: I don't listen anymore to my favorite band (well, of course I listen to the new albums until they eventually fall out of my daily, then weekly, then regular rotation, just like anything else), but no one else will be able to dethrone them as my favorite band  :coolio
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 23, 2017, 12:57:47 PM
That would be awesome, Stadler!

I'm listening to Sad Wings right now. Love me some old, classic JP

Nice! I'm actually listening to Unleashed in the East myself! :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 23, 2017, 01:33:16 PM
I didn't listen to as much Maiden after TFF came out because I started discovering other bands like Dream Theater, Opeth, etc. Also since the wait for the next album was so long and they spent a lot of time on that Maiden England tour, it didn't feel like there was much going on in Maiden world to get excited about. In the time it took between TFF and TBOS, I started and graduated from high school. I had a lot of other music to discover and listen to in that time. TBOS has definitely resparked my interest and I'm as into them now as I was when they were new to me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: cramx3 on June 23, 2017, 01:43:45 PM
IM are my favorite band but I hardly listen to them on any sort of regular basis.  There's just too much other music to continueally listen to just one band that I've listened to so many times already.  They've also been my favorite band for longer than any other band (growing up I would love a band and then discover another band I liked more and so on.... until Maiden).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 23, 2017, 01:52:38 PM
I basically have three favorite bands. They are somewhat interchangeable, but they are Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, and UFO.
I've been a fan of Iron Maiden the longest, since I was 14. Actually became a UFO fan about a year later.

I'm not one of those guys that can play 4 or 5 random albums in a day. I generally go through phases. I'm good for about two to three Maiden phases per year that basically last about 3 weeks.

This thread has put me square in the middle of one. That and seeing them again next month.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: jammindude on June 23, 2017, 05:36:51 PM
This is where I find my recent iPod acquirement has been the MOST beneficial. 

If I do ever "burn out" on a band, or not listen to them any more just because I've moved on, it's usually more because I'm burned out on the sound more than the actual songs.   I think that's why we have a tendency to romanticize about older albums, and not think newer material is as good.   The "glory days" of any band are usually about our personal experience of the discovery of a new sound.   When that sound is no longer new, it doesn't quite have the same impact....even when we hear new product. 

I find that with my iPod on shuffle at work, I don't suffer the same fatigue of a single bands "sound" as if I were to try to sit through an entire new album in one sitting.   Because I'm so used to Maiden's trademark gallop, I'm not sure if I could sit through the entirety of The Final Frontier in a single sitting without eventually thinking, "I've heard this...."   But when I'm shuffling through Bjork, Parliament, Mudhoney, Between the Buried and Me, Jane's Addiction, Jamie Cullum, Devo, Michael Jackson, System of a Down, Barenaked Ladies, Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, and Primus.....and then The Alchemist comes on?   It seems much fresher in that context. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: NoseofNicko on June 23, 2017, 05:44:39 PM
Maybe someone should start a Judas Priest discography so we can have a bit of a chat about Iron Maiden.

 :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: TAC on June 23, 2017, 06:03:47 PM
But when I'm shuffling through Bjork, Parliament, Mudhoney, Between the Buried and Me, Jane's Addiction, Jamie Cullum, Devo, Michael Jackson, System of a Down, Barenaked Ladies, Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, and Primus.....

Umm, yeah, I'll just stick with Iron Maiden thankyouverymuch. ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: World Slavery Tour (1984 - 85)
Post by: Mosh on June 24, 2017, 08:45:01 PM
Somewhere In Time (1986)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9b/Iron_Maiden_-_Somewhere_in_Time.jpg/220px-Iron_Maiden_-_Somewhere_in_Time.jpg)
After taking the rest of 1985 off following the grueling World Slavery Tour, Maiden reconvened in early ‘86 for their next album. They returned once again to Compass Point Studios, but this time the process would be significantly different. The band were no longer on a tight recording deadline, so the album didn’t need to be rushed the way the previous albums were. They were able to take their time and experiment. As a result, Somewhere In Time became the band’s most experimental album to date. They experimented with new styles of songwriting, new production techniques, and, of course, synthesizers.
 
Up until this point, the band were very anti-synth. There was a clip of Bruce proclaiming that “you can’t play Metal with synthesizers” and the band often printed in the liner notes that they don’t use synthesizers (I believe Queen also did this). This was a common attitude in Metal at the time but by the mid 80s many groups were giving in to the new technology. Adrian Smith was experimenting with the new guitar synthesizers and introduced them to the rest of the band. They seemed right for the material and everyone warmed up to the idea. Somewhere In Time ended up being drenched in guitar synths, with every song except Wasted Years containing the synths. They were all guitar synths, the band had not yet started using keyboards. In addition to the synthesizers, they experimented with reverbs and chorus effects to give the album a lush spacey sound.
 
Thanks to the break, there was more material to choose from. Everybody brought in completed songs and, for the first time since the debut, Maiden had a surplus of material. This was both a positive and negative. The positive is that Somewhere In Time doesn’t contain any filler tracks. The negative is that a lot of songs had to be cut, mostly from Bruce. Bruce supposedly came in with 9 completed songs, but they were mostly acoustic and influenced heavily by Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. Exhausted and burnt out from the previous tour, he wanted to make a more stripped down album; however, everyone else favored a different direction and Steve preferred what Adrian was bringing in. So, for the first time since Number Of the Beast, and the last time in the band’s history (minus the two albums Bruce doesn’t appear on), Bruce has no writing credits on the album. This sort of thing often leads to bands splitting over “creative differences”, but Bruce being a professional was able to put his ego aside and allow more room for other ideas.
 
Adrian Smith was having a surge of creativity during this time with the Entire Population Of Hackney project. On Somewhere In Time, he submitted his only three solo contributions in the band’s history: Wasted Years, Stranger In a Strange Land, and Sea Of Madness. Wasted Years and Stranger were also the two singles from the album. Wasted Years in particular showed Adrian’s more commercial side and was a departure for the band. It was very melodic and contained an anthemic chorus. Stranger In a Strange Land was inspired by a story Adrian read about an explorer who was frozen in ice. This song is more mid tempo and features one of Adrian’s most popular guitar solos. Strangely, the most typically Maiden sounding track wasn’t a single and is among the forgotten SIT songs. Sea of Madness is an uptempo rocker with a crushing riff that wouldn’t be out of place on Powerslave. These songs combined with the guitar synths gave Adrian and increased presence on the album.
 
The album also contains a Dave Murray contribution, something that wasn’t present on the previous album. Deja Vu is your typical Murray tune with a bluesy opening and lots of melodic leads in between the heavy vocal parts. It was one of two songs from the album that was never played live and seems to be forgotten even among fans of the album.
 
The rest of the songs are Harris contributions. Steve also had a ton of material to submit to the album that didn’t make the cut. The four songs that did make it on the album show a much more progressive side of Steve than what we’ve heard before. The opener Caught Somewhere In Time is an epic and the total opposite of Aces High. It contains an extended instrumental section and an unpredictable structure. The Loneliness Of the Long Distance Runner is another tune that showcases Steve’s prog tendencies with some amazing guitar harmonies. In my opinion, Heaven Can Wait is an indication of what Steve’s songwriting style would be like in the 90s. Similar riffing style and repeated choruses.
 
Finally, there’s Alexander the Great. Probably the most enigmatic and divisive Harris epic. Following Rime was a tall order, Steve approached the challenge by dialing back the length and vocal parts and increasing the complexity in the instrumental. I see Alexander as an instrumental that was bookended with vocal parts to make it more accessible. The instrumental part is Maiden at maximum prog. There are time signature changes, sharp tempo shifts, dynamic buildups, and majestic solos. It’s the most complex piece of music the band has composed. The vocal parts, by comparison, seem less creative. The lyrics are rushed and frankly kind of goofy. Still, the instrumental makes the song worth hearing and the fact that it has never been played live has given it a cult status. Steve didn’t quite surpass Rime, but he turned in a solid effort.
 
The band also jumped around several different locations to make the album. The bass and drums were recorded at Compass Point, but Adrian Smith insisted on recording the rest of the album elsewhere. The band relocated to Holland and recorded the guitar and vocals there. Afterwards, Steve, Adrian, and Martin Birch went to Electric Lady Studios in New York to mix. Because of his increased role in the creative process, Adrian Smith also took a more active role in the post production.
 
There’s a Bruce Dickinson interview for a French fan club magazine that was conducted sometime before the band left the Bahamas. It’s interesting because it paints a very different picture of what the album would be. Bruce mentions that there are 9 songs instead of 8, including one of his songs. He says that there’s no “epic” tracks and all the songs are in the 3-4 minute range. He also says that Steve Harris brought in an instrumental track. Interestingly, he also says that there are no synths. There isn’t a lot out from the band regarding the making of this album and they’ve never been the type to release rejected songs. They also usually only write enough material to fill an album, so SIT is an oddity. I would love to hear some of the rejected songs or an alternate version of the album. We do know that Run Silent Run Deep was one of Bruce’s proposed songs (obviously was in a different form when he presented it) and Tears Of the Dragon was also supposedly in the mix. As far as the instrumental goes, my personal theory is that it was Alexander the Great and the vocal parts were a last minute addition. That still doesn’t explain when/how other songs were extended or changed.

The album was finally released in September of 1986. Powerslave was actually also released in September. So despite the studio hopping and the band taking their time, they ended up being on schedule anyway. However, unlike Powerslave, the band took their time to release the first single. Wasted Years was released just a few weeks before the album. It hinted at a departure for Maiden and helped warn the fans that they were in for something different with the next album. It was a success charting at #22 in the UK charts and is by far the most popular and well known song from the album. We will talk b-sides later, but I will mention that the b-side to Wasted Years is notable for featuring Adrian Smith on vocals. It’s a tune from The Entire Population of Hackney called Reach Out. Very poppy and commercial sounding tune.
 
The album was yet another commercial success for the band, charting at #3 in the UK and #11 in the US. The US position was their highest ever and a major improvement from Powerslave, which peaked at #22.
 
Of course the album can’t be discussed without mentioning Riggs’ incredible painting. This is his most extravagant and complex album cover. Appropriate for the music contained inside. There are tons of references to the band’s past and hidden messages. So many that describing them all would be an entry of its own. Eddie is depicted in a futuristic world as a cyborg. Despite evolving so much since the debut, it’s still the same iconic character. The artwork is also heavily influenced by the film Blade Runner.
 
Somewhere in Time shows Maiden at their proggiest. While their current music is frequently described as prog, it has yet to reach the level of complexity or experimentation found on Somewhere in Time. The album has achieved a cult status among hardcore fans. Partly for its uniqueness and partly because it is practically ignored in the live sets. Since 1988, only 3 songs from the album have been played live. Yet to some it is Maiden’s best album. For others, Maiden’s golden age ends with Powerslave and Somewhere in Time is the beginning of Maiden’s “non-essential” period. Either way, it was a watershed moment in the band’s career and once again showed they were capable of more than your average Metal band.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/26/Wastedyears.jpg/220px-Wastedyears.jpg) (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bf/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land_%28Iron_Maiden_single_-_cover_art%29.jpg/220px-Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land_%28Iron_Maiden_single_-_cover_art%29.jpg)

(https://maidenrevelations.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/somewhere-in-time-cover-art.jpg)



12 Wasted Years (1987)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/videos/video05_12wastedyears2.jpg)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/videos/video05_12wastedyears.jpg)
Instead of putting out a live album or video in 1987, Maiden released a long form video that combined interviews and archival footage. The title refers to the band’s formation in 1975, rather than their first single or album.
 
Much of the archival footage was released on The Early Days, which makes parts of this video obsolete, but there are a lot of clips that are still exclusive to this video. There are songs from Beast Over Hammersmith that weren’t included on The Early Days, several TV appearances including a really funny  performance of Wasted Years (I won’t spoil it), and the unaired rendition of Iron Maiden from Dortmund ‘83 featuring Eddie’s murder. This video also contains the only officially released live footage of their Somewhere on Time tour, albeit only short clips.
 
The clips are showcased alongside interview footage with the band members and various people involved including Rod Smallwood (their manager), Doug Hall (live sound man), Dave Lights (stage designer), and Derek Riggs (the artist of all their covers until 1992). The only former member interviewed is Paul Di’anno, who had just recently recorded the debut album with his new band Battlezone. No other former members are included, and few are even mentioned (including Clive Burr, which seemed strange).
 
For those who haven’t checked out The Early Days: First of all, you’re missing out. But check out 12 Wasted Years because it serves as a nice highlight reel of the band’s first 12 years (although the archival footage doesn’t go any further back than 1980). For those who have seen The Early Days and Live After Death but not this, I still highly recommend it. The interview portions are also great. It tells a very different story of the band looking back on their career in 1986 as opposed to The Early Days which shows the band 25 years into their career.
 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: jjrock88 on June 24, 2017, 09:05:52 PM
Mosh, these write-ups are excellent.

It's a toss up between this album and Seventh Son as my favorite Iron Maiden album.  I think Stranger in a Strange Land is one of the bands most underrated tunes; its one of my personal favorites.

And the album cover is spectacular and would make the top of my list.  But then again, Blade Runner is my top movie as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: jammindude on June 24, 2017, 09:25:54 PM
This album for me marks the beginning of the "lazy chorus"...   Repeat the title of the song over and over, and BOOM...instant chorus.   This was not unknown, but pretty rare on the first 5 albums.   

Plus, it's the first IM album with "skip tracks".   

Personally, I love Sea of Madness, and I consider that to be my favorite song from the entire album.   Wasted Years, and Stranger are also easy to like.  I like the title track, but not the chorus.   Heaven Can Wait grew on me after I heard it live...but still think the chorus is lazy.   Loneliness doesn't grab me at all.  Deja Vu is OK, but the lyrics seem more silly than usual for a Maiden track, so to me it is this albums "Quest For Fire".     And Alexander the Great, while great instrumentally, feels "phoned in" by Bruce.    I love about half of this album, and I'm pretty luke warm on the rest of it.   The synths were a big disappointment when I first heard it, but I eventually got used to them. 

I will repeat what I said earlier.   This album along with Judas Priest's Turbo were the albums that sent many metal fans over the fence to "the big 4", and were partially responsible for the explosion of thrash between 86-89.    Metal fans *wanted* heavier, and were very proud of the organic approach that metal bands had always had.   You had to be there, but trust me....IM and JP both going synth heavy at the same time really made it feel like our heroes had abandoned us in favor of trying to gain more popularity. 

In retrospect, it's a pretty good album.   But Seventh Son is an improvement on the same style. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 24, 2017, 09:45:13 PM
While I do think that Powerslave was the end of their "golden age", I wouldn't call SiT non-essential. There's some really solid material on this record, and two of the b-sides are some of my favorite songs from this era. Reach Out and That Girl are excellent songs, and show that the band had the ability to record songs that are very different from what most people would expect from them.

However, I've always felt that the over production of the guitars on this and the next album were more harmful than helpful. At the time of this record's release, those guitar-synths and heavy use of chorus did aid in the feeling of it being futuristic, but in hindsight it makes it sound dated. I can still go back and enjoy listening to this record, but my visits to it are less frequent than other albums because of the production. I know that there is a feeling by some that the preference by the listener for this album vs. their previous output can be attributed to Metal vs. Prog, but I don't think that's true in my case. I really love a lot of Prog in many cases ect. ect...

On a side note, I'd like to echo what's been said before me. These write-ups are simply fantastic!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 25, 2017, 03:18:57 AM
Ah, here it comes. The album only two people in the world seem to not like: Bruce Dickinson, and me.

And by "not liking it" I don't mean that I think it sucks, or that it's a bad album, or anything like that. It's just that... you know with all the beautiful models and actresses there are in the world, all of them being pretty beyond belief, and maybe there's someone everyone drools over but you can't figure out why? you'd never say she's ugly, 'cause she obviously isn't, but you'd never pick her out of other equally beautiful women and everyone else instead insist that she's so hot? well, same with me with Somewhere in Time, it's still a classic Maiden album but I never warmed up to it.

Sometimes with music it's all about feel, the spark, the elusive magic that happens... well, I don't feel it with SIT. With Bruce MIA, I'd say Adrian Smith saved the album for me, his three songs are excellent. Wasted Years is a memorable classic, Stranger is so unique and groovy (pity by the time I saw them in the reunion 1999 tour, it had already been dropped) and Sea of Madness is quite memorable.

Steve Harris' songs are great, sure, but he seemed to have fun to strain Bruce having him spitting out a hundred words per second, see Heaven Can Wait and Loneliness' verses, and I agree that the repetiveness is starting to appear here. For the record I'm not particularly crazy over Heaven Can Wait, but I like a lot the "Take my hand" part that precedes the stage invasion.

Caught Somewhere in Time is quite good - as glorious as it was to hear Moonchild live with the acoustic intro in the Somewhere Back in Time tour, this song would have been a more fitting encore opener. And Alex the Great is nice, sure, but many fans today are still stuck on this song because it was never played live - I'm sure if it got played in the tour, people wouldn't insist to this day that they have to perform it.

Ironically, while Somewhere in Time fails to conquer me wholly and out of the classic Bruce albums is very easily my least favorites, it wins me on two other things: the cover art, righteously praised for its complexity and cleverness, and the B-Sides.
Somewhere in Time has the best collection of b-sides of the '80s. Reach Out is golden with Bruce coming in during the chorus, That Girl and Juanita are both good cover songs -  the first serious, the second more fun, and The Sheriff of Huddersfield is absolutely hilarious, it's a song mocking Rod Smallwood's moving to the USA and the band managed to get help from the record company to keep it hidden from him until it was released  :lol A "listen with Nicko" session revealed that Rod was pissed at it in the beginning but eventually came to accept the joke.

I'll join in the congratulations for these write ups. I consider myself a quite knowledgeable Maiden fan so it's not that I read many stuff I don't know, but to read it presented in such a clear and nice way it's a great trip down the memory lane  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Podaar on June 25, 2017, 05:27:52 AM

I will repeat what I said earlier.   This album along with Judas Priest's Turbo were the albums that sent many metal fans over the fence to "the big 4", and were partially responsible for the explosion of thrash between 86-89.    Metal fans *wanted* heavier, and were very proud of the organic approach that metal bands had always had.   You had to be there, but trust me....IM and JP both going synth heavy at the same time really made it feel like our heroes had abandoned us in favor of trying to gain more popularity. 


Yeah, I was there at the time and was a little surprised by the synth sound but for some reason this album didn't bother me like Turbo did. It wasn't really a commercial sellout but the experimentation appealed to me. It still rocked, and Derek's album cover helped sell the sound of the record, I think.

But yes, thrash and it's aggression was a welcome change from where our metal heroes were going.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Phoenix87x on June 25, 2017, 07:05:52 AM
My favorite Iron Maiden album. Combining many of my favorite things, cyber punk, time travel and prog elements. It all comes together into something that just called to me and drew me in.

That album artwork is just spectacular and had my mind just imagining a bunch of cyberpunk scenarios as I was listening to the songs. This was also one of my first IM albums and I still love it to this day.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 25, 2017, 07:40:12 AM
Oh man, where to begin.....

First off Mosh, another stellar writeup. Your enthusiasm and research has made this a great "meat and potatoes" discog thread, even for this life long Maiden fan. Very well done.

This album came out the same month I started my freshman year of college. So while even my life was starting a new era, it seemed my favorite band was starting one as well.

Like Powerslave, how I felt about it then, and how I feel about it today are quite different. At the time, I wasn't in love with Powerslave. When I first heard SiT, I was blown away. I felt it sounded so fresh, compared to the staleness and predictability of Powerslave. The synths did not bother me. I felt they were incorporated tastefully and helped expand Maiden's sound. I see the comparisons to Turbo, but SiT was so much stronger than the wimpy Turbo. I thought Turbo was lame, because the songs were lame. SiT seemed pretty strong all the way around.

I'll say this..that Caught Somewhere In Time remains my #3 Maiden tune of all time. I love the whole intro, the harmonized guitars, and the extended solo section. A great opening track.

The Lonliness Of The Long Distance Runner is probably my least favorite track from the Classic Bruce era (TNOTB-SSOASS). The live version is much better.

As far as Alexander, I have always liked it.

It was also becoming increasing clear that my favorite member of Iron Maiden was Adrian Smith. He was a great songwriter, and I liked his influence in Maiden.

The B sides.. well I was never in love with That Girl or Jaunita, but Reach Out was/is amazing. Love Adrian's vocals, and love how they used Bruce in the chorus. Really cool. But the grand poobah was The Sheriff Of Huddersfield. This is right up there with Mission From 'Arry, in the "cool things that Maiden has done" book. These types of things are true extras for the fans. You can see how MP, as a young Maiden fan, was influenced on giving the fans more.

You guys have all made some great points:

  I think Stranger in a Strange Land is one of the bands most underrated tunes; 

I agree. Does not get the love it deserves.

    But Seventh Son is an improvement on the same style. 

A huge improvement. I've been thinking the same thing. Seems Birch may have become for more comfortable with the technology. Today, SiT sounds a bit dated to my ears. Somehow, productionwise, Deja Vu stands the closest to Seventh Son.

For the record I'm not particularly crazy over Heaven Can Wait, but I like a lot the "Take my hand" part that precedes the stage invasion.

I agree. I could never understand why they insisted on keeping HCW in the setlist for the so many tours. But, this song, above all others, has really aged well for me.




Can't wait to discuss the tour. Have many pics to post from the show!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Polarbear on June 25, 2017, 11:11:39 AM
My favorite Iron Maiden album. Combining many of my favorite things, cyber punk, time travel and prog elements. It all comes together into something that just called to me and drew me in.

That album artwork is just spectacular and had my mind just imagining a bunch of cyberpunk scenarios as I was listening to the songs. This was also one of my first IM albums and I still love it to this day.

My second favorite Maiden Album! Agree with the other points you brought up as well. Also that album art is one of the best album arts ever created, it's just SO beautiful!

This album was my introduction to Maiden along with Brave New World, and thus holds a special place in my heart.

Seventh Son is even better than this though!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mosh on June 25, 2017, 07:06:00 PM
Mosh, these write-ups are excellent.

On a side note, I'd like to echo what's been said before me. These write-ups are simply fantastic!

I'll join in the congratulations for these write ups. I consider myself a quite knowledgeable Maiden fan so it's not that I read many stuff I don't know, but to read it presented in such a clear and nice way it's a great trip down the memory lane  :tup

First off Mosh, another stellar writeup. Your enthusiasm and research has made this a great "meat and potatoes" discog thread, even for this life long Maiden fan. Very well done.

Thanks all! Glad to see people are enjoying the write-ups. This has been a blast to do so far and I enjoy reading everybody's comments. Already a great discussion going on SIT. This is where Maiden's history gets really interesting.


I will repeat what I said earlier.   This album along with Judas Priest's Turbo were the albums that sent many metal fans over the fence to "the big 4", and were partially responsible for the explosion of thrash between 86-89.    Metal fans *wanted* heavier, and were very proud of the organic approach that metal bands had always had.   You had to be there, but trust me....IM and JP both going synth heavy at the same time really made it feel like our heroes had abandoned us in favor of trying to gain more popularity. 


Yeah, I was there at the time and was a little surprised by the synth sound but for some reason this album didn't bother me like Turbo did. It wasn't really a commercial sellout but the experimentation appealed to me. It still rocked, and Derek's album cover helped sell the sound of the record, I think.

But yes, thrash and it's aggression was a welcome change from where our metal heroes were going.

IMO the only thing Turbo and SIT have in common (other than being released the same year) is the presence of synths. Not only did JP include synths, but they went full commercial with that album. They were being influenced by glam metal and there were a few blatant attempts at catching that wave. Somewhere In Time went in the opposite direction. Yea there were synths, but the music is still aggressive and it's more prog than pop. Wasted Years crosses into commercial territory but then there's stuff like the opening title track and Alexander the Great balancing it out. There are also moments that make me think Maiden weren't completely neglecting what was going on with speed/thrash Metal. They really turned up the guitar harmonies on this. There are so many on this album, Long Distance Runner is a great example of them just being crammed in. It's like they noticed the younger bands doing the twin leads (obviously inspired by Maiden) and decided to remind everyone who the masters of it were.

I have mixed feelings on Somewhere In Time. I love how ambitious it is and how they gave it its own sonic identity. Some of the sounds are dated but sometimes that's not a bad thing. I like most of the songs, but some of Maiden's weaker songwriting quirks start to show up on this album, most notably the repetitive choruses. Bruce sounds tired. This is definitely an example of studio effects masking a less than ideal performance IMO. I don't have a problem with the processed vocal sound itself, it fits the material, but when you actually listen to the quality of Bruce's voice in addition to bootlegs from the tour you can tell he never fully recovered from the previous tour. He also just wasn't taking care of his voice the way he does now. So a lot of stuff in the vocal department, from many lyrics to Bruce's actual performance, brings the album down a notch.

That being said, it's really hard to fault the album because musically it's really incredible. So many great melodies, solos, and some of Maiden's most complex musical moments. The instrumental section to Alexander the Great might be my favorite instrumental moment in Maiden's history. Unfortunately it's sandwiched between some of their weakest vocal passages. Same with Loneliness. Adrian's songs help this album a ton. Steve's songs are good but not a single one is without some sort of hurdle, but every Adrian song is perfectly crafted. Maybe it's my imagination, but I also feel like Bruce puts more effort into these songs. Sea Of Madness would be in my picks for songs from the 80s to bring back some day. I think 2017 Bruce would turn in a much stronger performance than he did in the 80s.

Overall, it's a complicated album. I hate to call it the weakest of the 80s because it is so daring and progressive, but there are too many weak spots for me to place it above something like Powerslave. I think I'd take it over the two Di'anno albums at least.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 25, 2017, 07:25:06 PM
When SiT came out, I flat out called it my favorite Maiden album to date.

I ate it up. It showed the band was not standing still. It expanded their sound and range. As discussed, the artwork was fantastic, and the theme was greatly incorporated into the live show. More on that later I guess when the tour is discussed.


Bruce sounds tired. This is definitely an example of studio effects masking a less than ideal performance IMO. I don't have a problem with the processed vocal sound itself, it fits the material, but when you actually listen to the quality of Bruce's voice in addition to bootlegs from the tour you can tell he never fully recovered from the previous tour. He also just wasn't taking care of his voice the way he does now. So a lot of stuff in the vocal department, from many lyrics to Bruce's actual performance, brings the album down a notch.

I don't recall having an issue with the vocals. I still don't. Didn't really get that feeling on 7th Son either. Certainly by the time we get to No Prayer and Fear, the vocals are almost unlistenable. So if one can start to pick a decline, sure.

When you look at their release and tour schedules for the 80's that is one hell of a pace. I guess we'll also cross this bridge when we get there, but after 7th Son, Bruce should've just shut it down for the next two years. What did he do instead? Toured a solo album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 25, 2017, 08:01:26 PM
Just grabbed my Run To The Hills book. Mick Wall gives Somewhere In Time 5 pages. 5 F'n pages!! WTF??

He talks about Bruce and how he took the news of not getting his songs in. I'm sorry, but that needs to be enhanced. It also talks about Bruce not trying on tour.
That also needs to be explained.
Obviously the problem with "authiorized" biographies.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: stargazer18 on June 25, 2017, 08:23:09 PM
This was the band’s first new studio album released after I became a fan and I was really looking forward to it. I had already read enough about the introduction of guitar synths to their sound and really wasn’t bothered by it after I heard it. It was being hyped pretty good in the magazines at the time.
 
I had the distinction within my group of friends of being the first to get my hands on it the day it came out. My friend was in a vocational program at another school in the morning and on that day he stopped by the local record store and picked up the cassette for me while on his way back to our high school. I remember passing the tape around in study hall in the afternoon to a few Maiden fans – everyone read the lyrics and, of course, checked out the cover!

I listened to it twice that night and loved every song on it. The album has really aged well for me though I do agree that the choruses on both the title track and Heaven Can Wait are a bit too repetitive. Not enough to ruin the songs but enough to be noticeable.

Adrian Smith really shines on this album bringing two top-notch singles AND a closet classic in Sea of Madness. The sing along chorus and feel good message of Wasted Years is classic. The groovy beat and dynamic sound of Stranger in a Strange Land is a change of pace from Aces High or The Trooper but I think it’s great.
 
The rest of the songs have varying degrees of support from fans but I really enjoy both The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Déjà vu. Both have some very catchy melodies that can easily get caught in my head. Alexander the Great, the album ending epic has the music backtrack of another Harris classic but the lyrics seem thin. Here’s a story that probably could be as long as Rime but I’m sure Harris didn’t want the appearance of copying himself with another long epic. I knew after listening to it that it wasn’t going to replace Rime but it was an excellent album closer for sure.

Also during the time when this album was released there was a 24 hour, hard rock / metal station in Cleveland called Z-Rock. It was only here for about a year or so but exposed me to a whole bunch of new bands that I had never heard of. Like all radio stations, they had particular favorites and they picked up on Juanita, the b-side of Stranger in a Strange Land and overplayed it to death. I think it was the most played Maiden song on the station. Sad. It’s a catchy rock tune but not worthy of the attention it got, IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Grappler on June 25, 2017, 08:30:00 PM
Somewhere in Time has become my go-to Maiden album, over NOTB and Powerslave (though Powerslave recently crept back into my listening habits due to this thread).  Aside from Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner and a little of Heaven Can Wait, the rest of the disc is pure awesome.  Stranger in a Strange Land is killer, and hello?  :metal DEJA FUCKING VU.  :metal Those harmonies are incredible and so addictive.  Also, the lead guitar lines in the intro to Alexander the Great.  Yeah, the song just plows through once it kicks in, but the intro is so cool!

The band may not play these songs anymore, but at least some tribute bands do. 

The Iron Maidens - Deja Vu:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHrh0VkKirc
The Iron Maidens - Alexander the Great:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_J4nYacqM
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 25, 2017, 08:33:35 PM
Listening to Somewhere in Time right now for the first time in probably a year or so. It still holds up amazingly well imo and is one of the band's best efforts. Very proggy.

Its musical complexity and rich production quality really shine through and show Adrian Smith at his absolute best. Steve Harris gets in some great contributions too with the title track, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Alexander the Great, but those three Smith tracks really stand out for me. Especially Sea of Madness.

However I think Heaven Can Wait is a bit of a mess. Its over-repetitiveness aside, the chorus is just too damn happy sounding for me. It's tonally at odds with the rest of the song. I also think the bridge (which is by far the best part of the song) goes on a bit too long. That song really needed more work imo.

As a bit of a nitpick though, Bruce is probably my favorite songwriter in the band. So while the album is still fantastic without his musical contribution, a part of me would have rather preferred to see one of his songs make the album. Ah well!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 25, 2017, 08:39:58 PM
The Iron Maidens - Deja Vu:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHrh0VkKirc
The Iron Maidens - Alexander the Great:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ_J4nYacqM

They are so great!


As a bit of a nitpick though, Bruce is probably my favorite songwriter in the band.

At the time, his contributions were a bit guarded. At least for me. When I saw Smith/Dickinson, I had always assumed Bruce was the lyricist.

That would change for me in time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: jammindude on June 25, 2017, 09:44:28 PM
I want to expand on the idea of the synths for those that weren't there.

There is no doubt that SiT was not near as commercial as Turbo.   But in the context of the time, many metal heads were becoming VERY irate.   It wasn't JUST Maiden and Priest.   Believe it or not, there was a time when Motley Crue was just riding the wave of "Shout at the Devil" (which is actually a fairly brutal album) and opening up on Ozzy's Bark at the Moon tour.   But then they suddenly took a left turn into pastel spandex and piano driven ballads.   Ozzy teased up his hair, wore eye liner, and incorporated more synths for The Ultimate Sin.  Def Leppard had given us a very NWOBHM start to their career, and still managed to give us a really cool balance of heavy and radio friendly with Pyromania....but then practically turned into Journey with 1987's Hysteria...   Heck, even SAXON got in on the act. 

ALL of the most high profile *heavy* bands of the early 80's were chasing hit singles when the mid-80's hit, and the common denominator in this shift was synthesizers.   

It's easy to look back and be kinder to it now, because we eventually had bands like Ministry and some experimental death metal bands who showed us that you could incorporate keyboards and still be br00tal.   But we didn't have the benefit of that context in 1986.   That REALLY HEAVY DARK synth sound didn't exist yet to show us that synths could still be cool.    We only had our heroes developing tans, putting on eyeliner, wearing spandex.    And then.....OH LOOK!!!  Here's this new wave of ultra heavy bands playing at breakneck speeds and they just get up on stage in their T-shirts and jeans and shred and sweat and KILL IT for the whole show.   It was like a breath of fresh air.  And they don't need synths to do it. 

Short version...  time has been kinder to SiT than its contemporaries. But the synths were a much bigger deal back then than they seem like now. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: NoseofNicko on June 25, 2017, 09:53:49 PM
Maiden's best album. Metal's best album. Music's best album. Oh yeah.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: efx on June 26, 2017, 02:22:31 AM
Now we're talking. I was 9 when this album came out but I didn't get into them at all until 1989 but ever since I came across this album it has alternated between SSoaSS as the best thing they've ever done. As someone who never minded the synth aspect but actually welcomed it (Power Windows is my favorite Rush album go figure) I think the adventurous streak that had only been hinted at on Powerslave comes to the fore here in a glorious way.

I think a large part of why I love this album (and the next one) is the way Adrian Smith has his stamp all over the proceedings. On this album his solos are really a stand out and a great model for how to think melodically.

The sad thing about this album is how undocumented the tour was. I get that back then you simply didn't put out live releases, much less on video for every tour you did but the little visuals we have from it makes it seem really cool and the setlists were interesting as well.

So yeah, thirty plus years on I still love this album more than most music out there. The production, while aesthetically set in that mid 80's period in regards to the usage of synths is still really modern sounding, the drums sound great and almost timeless and everyone is firing on all cylinders.

And of course, it still has the best record cover of all time :)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: wolfking on June 26, 2017, 05:35:32 AM
This is such a special, majestic, brilliant album.  Everything here is perfect and the sounds, atmospheres, and overall feel of the whole thing is just incredible.  This album is perfect.  Maiden doing something a little different and it paid off big time. 

Sea of Madness and Long Distance Runner are two of my fav Maiden tracks, so underrated.  The title track seems a bit forgotten too.  7 and a half minutes of beautiful metal.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Art on June 26, 2017, 07:39:57 AM
SiT is one of my favorites IM records. Love it from start to finish.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Zydar on June 26, 2017, 07:53:40 AM
I usually have this tied with Seventh Son as my favourite Maiden album. The only weak spot for me is Long Distance Runner.

Sea Of Madness is among my favourite Maiden tracks ever :metal

1. Sea Of Madness
2. Wasted Years
3. Caught Somewhere In Time
4. Heaven Can Wait
5. Stranger In A Strange Land
6. Alexander The Great
7. Deja-Vu
8. The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner

I'm not as crazy over Alexander The Great as many seem to be.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 26, 2017, 09:21:43 AM
As I think I mentioned before, SiT is my favorite Maiden album. I love the guitar synths and wish they would've stuck with them instead of resorting to having 'Arry's tech play keyboards on subsequent albums and tours (I don't like "touring members" of bands - make them official or not). The only song that I'm not big on is Heaven Can Wait, and I think someone nailed the reason why: the chorus. Not only because of the repetitive lyrics, but just because of the happy nature of them.

Add me to the list of those who *love* all 3 of Adrian's contributions to this album - definitely my favorite songwriter in Maiden, and he was sorely missed in the 90s.

It's funny reading all your comments on how SiT is their most prog album - I never noticed that until your comments. I guess that subliminally is one of the reasons why I favor this album over all their others, altho it being the "new" album at the time I got into the band and the killer cover art probably had a little to do with it too. And I'm sorry, but this album (aside from lacking Bruce's input) is waaaayyyy better than SSoaSS - when that album came out, I enjoyed it, but nowhere near to the level of SiT.

The one thing that's just been briefly commented on is the instrumental/solo section of the title track. That to me is just mindblowing and my favorite part of the whole album. In particular, I love how they go from that section back into the main song without any hesitation or stopping (from 4:40 to 4:52). One song I would've *loved* to have seen DT cover at a certain point (but I know will never happen).

While I was aware that Bruce's song submissions were not in line with the rest of the band and therefore rejected, I wasn't aware of the fact that the other guys had other songs written that also didn't make the cut. I'd love to have heard what those songs sounded like.

I also echo the comments about the B-sides from this album - probably the best batch they ever did, although That Girl rises above all the others for me by far. Some time ago, I looked up the original version out of curiosity, and I was surprised how different it was from Maiden's version - they really put their stamp on it when they covered it, and definitely improved on the original, IMO. The biggest thing I didn't like about the B-sides was Adrian taking the lead vocal on Reach Out - he has a fine voice, but leave the lead vocals to Bruce please!

One final thing: I still remember seeing other kids in my highschool walking around wearing these cool tie-dye Maiden shirts with cyborg Eddie on them - how I wished I could've gotten one too (or seen that tour). Anybody manage to pick up one of those shirts and post pix for everyone to see?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 09:47:01 AM
Absolutely love SiT.  It was my favorite IM album until AMoLaD.  The title track is fantastic and one of IM's best IMO.  It's a shame it never made a return to the live set list during the reunion era.  I think it would rock so hard live. 

While most aren't crazy about it, I'd rate Deja Vu as my second favorite from the album.  Such a fun song.  SImilar to Rainmaker, short and lots of soloing, but it's fast paced, energetic, and fun. 

And to continue being contrary to most, Sea Of Madness is probably my least favorite on the album and the b-sides that have been referred are some of the worst things (to my ears) I have heard come from IM. 

I didn't get into the music at the time, so I didn't understand the dislike many of the old fans and the band themselves had for the album.  Knowing that backstory, I understand why some would feel that way, but to my fresh ears in 2004 this album was pure awesomeness. 

I still have some small hope that there is some good footage IM have of this tour in their basement or something that will someday see the light.  The Paris bootleg seems to be the best out there, but that doesn't give this album and tour what it deserved IMO. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on June 26, 2017, 09:52:22 AM
I actually listened to this for the first time (don't ask me why it took so long). It's a fantastic album I must say. Really progressive, yet I'm loving the production, atmosphere and energy in the songs.

Now I understand the shame of only Wasted Years being played. CSiT and SoM would've been well received maybe even more than Wasted Years.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Samsara on June 26, 2017, 10:30:53 AM
Mosh -- another stellar write-up. It's actually really hard to follow you doing the QR one. Yours are extremely well written and detailed. Inspiring!

I am a bit fan of SiT. I only really got into Maiden in the early 00s, so I knew none of the history until I bought The Early Years DVD, which is awesome, but this record is one of my favorites. I love the title track (one of my personal Maiden favs), and while the chorus is repetitive, it works because of how Bruce sings it. Heaven Can Wait is cringe worthy. But such a great record overall.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mister Gold on June 26, 2017, 10:42:20 AM
I will say, Somewhere in Time probably has the best studio production of any of the Maiden albums. It's gotta either be that one or Brave New World, imo. While I absolutely get Steve's desire to highlight that Maiden is very much a "live" band, I feel that the production of a lot of their albums- especially from the 90's onward- buries the quality of the musicianship just a bit. Hearing the band's whole work sounding so full and lush on SiT and BNW, regardless of what you might think of the actual songwriting on those albums, really shows just how incredible the band is.

But yeah, revisiting SiT is always a treat imo. The songwriting is, by and large, some of the best work the band ever did. Caught Somewhere in Time, for example, is one of the best openers the band ever did. It really hits the ground running and offers some of the most proggy work the band ever did. Hell, there's an amazing cover of the song that transcribed the whole song to piano (granted it was part of a whole album's worth of Piano-fied Iron Maiden songs) and the effect is gorgeous. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Ipz6-AuL4)

The only real flaws I can think of for the whole album are the mess that is Heaven Can Wait and the lyrics to Alexander the Great. The latter actually reminds me a great deal of the vocal melodies for To Tame A Land. Neither vocal melody are quite on par with some of Steve's other classic epics from the 80's (i.e. Phantom, Hallowed or Seventh Son), but there is a certain energy there. It's just that the lyrics for Alexander largely come off as a hastily written checklist Steve wrote down in the final days of recording the album while reading a biography book on Alexander.

Mosh -- another stellar write-up. It's actually really hard to follow you doing the QR one. Yours are extremely well written and detailed. Inspiring!

I am a bit fan of SiT. I only really got into Maiden in the early 00s, so I knew none of the history until I bought The Early Years DVD, which is awesome, but this record is one of my favorites. I love the title track (one of my personal Maiden favs), and while the chorus is repetitive, it works because of how Bruce sings it. Heaven Can Wait is cringe worthy. But such a great record overall.

I was just thinking about this. I absolutely think that the repetitive choruses that Steve likes to write only ever work when its matched with a strong vocal melody. Caught Somewhere In Time's chorus is every bit as repetitive as Heaven Can Wait's, but it's far more in line with the rest of the song that it's a part of and just sounds so damn epic and catchy. The title track of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son elicits the same reaction from me. I know in my head that Steve could have been more creative with the lyrics of that chorus, but goddamn its just too good for me to really give a damn there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Podaar on June 26, 2017, 12:11:11 PM
Heaven Can Wait is a strange animal, isn't it? So much energy and a complete rocking tune that gets buried in the pedestrian chorus and the "woooah, woooah," in the center section. When I listen to it, I just love the underlying music but when it's over all I can remember is the sixteen times I had to hear the chorus.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: devieira73 on June 26, 2017, 12:45:46 PM
The one thing that's just been briefly commented on is the instrumental/solo section of the title track. That to me is just mindblowing and my favorite part of the whole album. In particular, I love how they go from that section back into the main song without any hesitation or stopping (from 4:40 to 4:52).

That solo is indeed incredible (one of all time faves), but its finale is really PHENOMENALl!  :eek :eek :eek:  :metal :metal :metal
And I hear that solo from time to time since 89...
Wonderful album, but Seventh Son is THE album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 12:52:45 PM
The one thing that's just been briefly commented on is the instrumental/solo section of the title track. That to me is just mindblowing and my favorite part of the whole album. In particular, I love how they go from that section back into the main song without any hesitation or stopping (from 4:40 to 4:52).

That solo is indeed incredible (one of all time faves), but its finale is really PHENOMENALl!  :eek :eek :eek:  :metal :metal :metal
And I hear that solo from time to time since 89...
Wonderful album, but Seventh Son is THE album.

Yea, that instrumental section really gets me worked up.  So much energy and just to go right back into it is so awesome and powerful.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 01:52:58 PM
Glad to see the love for the title track. Like I said, it's my #3 Maiden track.


Kind of surprised to see HCW catching flak. I guess I assumed most people liked it. Steve sure did. I find that song has really aged well. I think Bruce is awesome on it.

The problem that Alexander has is that there is never a climax like the "comes the rain" part in Rime. It just kind of awkwardly goes back into the song. I love The Nomad, but that also had the same issue.


I didn't get into the music at the time, so I didn't understand the dislike many of the old fans and the band themselves had for the album.     

This old fan LOVED it when it came out!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 01:56:41 PM
I really enjoy HCW.  I understand the flak for the repetitive chorus, but honestly, if the song is good, the repetition never bothers me and I feel that way for most of their repetitive songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 01:58:24 PM
I actually never really cared for it, and couldn't understand why they kept it in the setlist for so long. But I really like it now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 02:05:03 PM
As much as I like it, I always felt I'd rather them play something else from SiT.  It really sucks that the only tracks that get continued play are HCW and WY.  And WY to the point that I've lost some interest in it over the years.  Still great song, but just overplayed from my own listening and from the live show IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 02:05:44 PM
I totally agree on Wasted Years.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 26, 2017, 02:59:23 PM
Bruce doesn't care for the album. With so many albums out and songs to chose from, Somewhere in Time from the get go has always been the expandable one. And anyway many of the songs have difficult intricate passages that the band wouldn't want to spend a lot of time to relearn.

Wasted Years is the most memorable song off the record, for better or worse.
Heaven Can Wait was a must for the history tour, and they wanted to bring it back this tour around, but they switched to Wasted Years when the crew complained about having to watch out for all the extras while they were supposed to already start to pack things up.
Stranger in a Strange Land was considered not good enough to remain in the set when they tried it in 1999.
Deja Vu and Alex the Great were never played and Maiden have the unwritten rule (so enforced that it's probably actually written) to never play a song unless it's played in the tour for the album it comes from.
Sea of Madness and Loneliness are by now forgotten so half of the audience wouldn't even know which song they're playing.

Only Caught Somewhere in Time had a chance, as I said earlier it was a great choice to open the encore of the Somewhere Back in Time tour, but they didn't realize yet the massive success it would have become, ensuring therefore a high demand for Maiden England, and they chose to pack the set with Seventh Son songs instead.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 26, 2017, 03:12:07 PM
Only Caught Somewhere in Time had a chance, as I said earlier it was a great choice to open the encore of the Somewhere Back in Time tour, but they didn't realize yet the massive success it would have become, ensuring therefore a high demand for Maiden England, and they chose to pack the set with Seventh Son songs instead.
AND Fear of the Dark, which had NO reason whatsoever to be in that setlist. They should've had another SiT song in there, but noooooo, put in FotD for the umpteenth time.   :censored
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 03:17:25 PM
Only Caught Somewhere in Time had a chance, as I said earlier it was a great choice to open the encore of the Somewhere Back in Time tour, but they didn't realize yet the massive success it would have become, ensuring therefore a high demand for Maiden England, and they chose to pack the set with Seventh Son songs instead.

Is that right? They didn't plan the Maiden England at that point? That's surprising.

But yes, CSiT would've been a much better choice than Moonchild.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 03:18:42 PM
Only Caught Somewhere in Time had a chance, as I said earlier it was a great choice to open the encore of the Somewhere Back in Time tour, but they didn't realize yet the massive success it would have become, ensuring therefore a high demand for Maiden England, and they chose to pack the set with Seventh Son songs instead.
AND Fear of the Dark, which had NO reason whatsoever to be in that setlist. They should've had another SiT song in there, but noooooo, put in FotD for the umpteenth time.   :censored

I'd add that Afraid to Shoot Strangers had no reason to be in that setlist either, but it was a pleasant surprise so I'm not complaining.

Also, is that true about HCW?  I think I'd rather that than Wasted Years for this tour only to switch things back up., but that does make sense from a crew perspective.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 26, 2017, 03:20:27 PM
Only Caught Somewhere in Time had a chance, as I said earlier it was a great choice to open the encore of the Somewhere Back in Time tour, but they didn't realize yet the massive success it would have become, ensuring therefore a high demand for Maiden England, and they chose to pack the set with Seventh Son songs instead.
AND Fear of the Dark, which had NO reason whatsoever to be in that setlist. They should've had another SiT song in there, but noooooo, put in FotD for the umpteenth time.   :censored

I'll always remember when they played it at my show. From the slow counting in I was dead sure it was Hallowed, mentally starting the song in my head, and when I realized it was Fear of the Dark I spent the entire intro, I kid you not, complaining to my buddy who was there with me "No!!! No!! why??? what does it has to do with the '80s?? why", all the time, really. I just accepted and went along with it only when Bruce started singing.

They should have had more courage in dropping that song. With such a stellar show and stage set, nobody would have walked away saying "Meh, they could have kept Fear of the Dark instead". And it would have been a welcomed returned in the "normal" tours.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 26, 2017, 03:22:23 PM
Also, is that true about HCW?  I think I'd rather that than Wasted Years for this tour only to switch things back up., but that does make sense from a crew perspective.

Yes, can't remember the interview or forum I've read it, but I clearly remember stumbling upon this passage, of the band choosing to end with Heaven Can Wait to homage Bruce's battle with cancer, but the crew pointing out that during the last song they're already starting to tear down the set, and having to care for all the backstage passes and extras on the stage was too much work.

Then probably since they were already on a SIT mode anyway, they'd figured Wasted Years was a good as a closer as any, probably they had already the mindset "this time around we don't close with the usual Run to the Hills or Running Free".
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 26, 2017, 03:28:03 PM
I'd add that Afraid to Shoot Strangers had no reason to be in that setlist either, but it was a pleasant surprise so I'm not complaining.
Ha! I was referring to the Somewhere Back in Time tour, not the Maiden England tour, but good point! I'll say this, the inclusion of FotD and the lack of more SiT material in the Somewhere Back in Time tour are the only reasons I did not go see them on that tour. When I saw the setlist, I was so pissed that I vowed not to give them my hard-earned cash, and I didn't. A little of me regrets it now since I was unable to see the original Somewhere on Tour show, but not too much. They should've just done exactly as they did for the 2005 early days tour (where FotD *was* dropped from the set, and you can be sure, it wasn't missed!)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 03:34:59 PM
I'd add that Afraid to Shoot Strangers had no reason to be in that setlist either, but it was a pleasant surprise so I'm not complaining.
Ha! I was referring to the Somewhere Back in Time tour, not the Maiden England tour, but good point! I'll say this, the inclusion of FotD and the lack of more SiT material in the Somewhere Back in Time tour are the only reasons I did not go see them on that tour. When I saw the setlist, I was so pissed that I vowed not to give them my hard-earned cash, and I didn't. A little of me regrets it now since I was unable to see the original Somewhere on Tour show, but not too much. They should've just done exactly as they did for the 2005 early days tour (where FotD *was* dropped from the set, and you can be sure, it wasn't missed!)

Wow, too bad you skipped it for that one song. I do agree that it would've been fine to drop it for that tour at least.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on June 26, 2017, 03:58:25 PM
I'd add that Afraid to Shoot Strangers had no reason to be in that setlist either, but it was a pleasant surprise so I'm not complaining.
Ha! I was referring to the Somewhere Back in Time tour, not the Maiden England tour, but good point! I'll say this, the inclusion of FotD and the lack of more SiT material in the Somewhere Back in Time tour are the only reasons I did not go see them on that tour. When I saw the setlist, I was so pissed that I vowed not to give them my hard-earned cash, and I didn't. A little of me regrets it now since I was unable to see the original Somewhere on Tour show, but not too much. They should've just done exactly as they did for the 2005 early days tour (where FotD *was* dropped from the set, and you can be sure, it wasn't missed!)

Wow, too bad you skipped it for that one song. I do agree that it would've been fine to drop it for that tour at least.
It was definitely a primary reason, but also because of them only having 2 songs from SiT in the setlist! I mean, c'mon. The tour is more or less named after SiT, dontcha think they could've included 2 more songs, dropping FotD and maybe one or two of the other extremely overplayed "perennial favorites" that are played at every single show (looking at you, NotB, IM, RttH, 2MtM)?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 04:04:29 PM
I think that tour they could not drop the big hits because of the large amount of complaints about the lack of hits from the previous tour for AMoLaD.  Not saying FotD is one of those though.  That definitely could and should have been dropped for that tour. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mosh on June 26, 2017, 04:49:16 PM
Pretty sure Maiden England was planned already by the time they did SBIT. Rod Smallwood plans things way in advance. The presence of post-Powerslave songs was more that they already did a tour focusing on the first four albums and just adding 4 songs from Powerslave probably didn't seem like enough. I always saw Moonchild as being a preview for the next tour. Like the post-credits scenes in movies that hint at what's next. That being said, I wish they would've pulled more from SIT than Seventh Son. We all assumed a Seventh Son themed tour was coming and the presence of so many songs from that album kinda lessened the excitement of Maiden England IMO. Instead of Moonchild and The Clairvoyant, I would've preferred Caught Somewhere In Time and Sea of Madness. Or even something from the first four albums that was missed on the previous tour.

Heaven Can Wait is probably my least favorite on the album, but there's so much good instrumental stuff on there. So many great harmonies and solos. Speaking of which, the unsung hero of SIT is really Dave. He plays some of his greatest solos on this album. I would say this and SSOASS were his peak as a player.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 05:00:46 PM
Pretty sure Maiden England was planned already by the time they did SBIT. Rod Smallwood plans things way in advance. 
Yes, I agree, which makes Moonchild for CSiT all the more perplexing.
I know you'll get to the tour Mosh, but I've been listening to boots from the Somewhere On Tour since the late 80's and CSiT just never sounded right. The harmonized guitars before the verses just sound weird. I've been listening to Loneliness, and they pulled that harmony off just fine. Maybe they were worried about being able to pull it off. If anything, the addition of Janick should've been able to help that.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 26, 2017, 05:12:31 PM
Instead of Moonchild and The Clairvoyant, I would've preferred Caught Somewhere In Time and Sea of Madness. Or even something from the first four albums that was missed on the previous tour.

Defiintely, Flight of Icarus should have been played, but if not that, even some repeats from the previous tour would have fit better like Where Eagles Dare. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 26, 2017, 05:20:08 PM
Instead of Moonchild and The Clairvoyant, I would've preferred Caught Somewhere In Time and Sea of Madness. Or even something from the first four albums that was missed on the previous tour.

Defiintely, Flight of Icarus should have been played, but if not that, even some repeats from the previous tour would have fit better like Where Eagles Dare.

Or Stranger In A Strange Land. How that one was missed, I have no idea.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 27, 2017, 01:19:22 AM
Well, they played that song in the 1999 reunion tour, dropped it because Adrian Smith had to miss some dates for the death of his father, and felt the set flow better without it and didn't bring it back when Adrian returned.

So they probably thought "It didn't work back then, it surely won't work now".
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: NoseofNicko on June 27, 2017, 01:55:22 AM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 27, 2017, 02:26:02 AM
The funny thing is, in my (fogged, granted) memory SSOASS came BEFORE Somewhere in Time. I bought it after reading another review in the magazine I mentioned before (OOR, the same one that was really responsible for even getting me into Maiden, after reading their revier for Killers). In the review they mentioned the rhythm section 'being all over the place' which somehow I took for being a bad thing. So somehow, when I bought it, I expected an album that would turn out to be terribly rhythmically unstable or something. I remember hearing the first track and humming along, going 'this isn't so bad, is it?' and then the next track and the next, feeling the excitement grow with every track. I think the first 'wow' moment came pretty quick with 'wasted years' and 'Stranger in a strange land' thinking of the firs 'wow, these guitars sound pretty damned good! and about the latter: 'This sounds EPIC!'  :biggrin: In fact the whole album sounds terrific, its probably one of the best sounding metal albums out there. Off course the cover already was fantastic to behold, with al its hidden messages. I didn't think the guitar synts were  a bad thing at all. The only two tracks that didn't do much for me were Alexander the Great (althoug I appreciate it a little more nowadays) and The Lonelyness Of The Long Distance Runner' which I still don't like to this day.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: MirrorMask on June 27, 2017, 03:12:12 AM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.

Not crazy over the song, but I love the "I've got to keep running the course" section. Just like Heaven Can Wait, there's a single section of the song that stands out above the rest for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: wolfking on June 27, 2017, 05:26:02 AM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.

It could be my favourite song on the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 27, 2017, 06:23:31 AM
Loneliness just doesn't breathe. It has lots of cool parts, but they all just seemed pushed together. And lyrically, it sticks out like a sore thumb on the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: cramx3 on June 27, 2017, 08:36:25 AM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.

I really like this song.  It's a bit cheesy on the lyrics, but still a fantastic song.  It just happens to be kind of in the middle of the pack on a strong album though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Podaar on June 27, 2017, 09:09:18 AM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.

I really like this song.  It's a bit cheesy on the lyrics, but still a fantastic song.  It just happens to be kind of in the middle of the pack on a strong album though.

When I was listening to the album yesterday, I was thinking about this too. Great music and great performance but the subject just isn't metal, is it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Dream Team on June 27, 2017, 01:57:53 PM
Still my favorite, and still the best set of solos recorded by them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: PowerSlave on June 27, 2017, 05:37:59 PM
Loneliness just doesn't breathe.

To be fair, sometimes it's hard to catch your breathe when you're running long distances...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 27, 2017, 05:54:51 PM
Haha. I thought of that, like maybe it was written that way. I've been listening to the live version this week, and I can't help but feel how gassed Nicko must be at the end of the song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Phoenix87x on June 27, 2017, 06:57:28 PM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.

I love that song. Really solid and really memorable, for me at least.

And stupid ass me thought for years that a "long distance runner" was like a time traveling cop or agent going through time on assignment or something, and the loneliness he felt while pursuing this wild life. I don't know what crack I was smoking, but you should have seen my face when I finally found out that it was literally about a guy who runs long distance  :lol   I guess I had blade runner on the mind or something  :P
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: TAC on June 27, 2017, 07:01:09 PM
Your version is so much more interesting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Zydar on June 28, 2017, 12:31:37 AM
I returned to Somewhere In Time last night, and especially Long Distance Runner. It's not as bad as I've always considered it, there are some cool parts in it, but I'd still rank it last on the album. Simply because the other tracks are even better (the old case of 'the ugliest of the supermodels').
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Lowdz on June 28, 2017, 03:58:46 AM
The strat of me falling out of love with Maiden. Up to this point they had done no wrong. It isn't even the use of guitar synths, I was quite looking forward to it as a new texture, and really I wouldn't have noticed they were there if I hadn't read about it.
The songs, on the whole, just didn't do it.
I like the title track, Wasted Years, Deja Vu and Alexander. The rest I couldn't care whether I heard them again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: wolfking on June 28, 2017, 05:32:21 AM
Loneliness just doesn't breathe.

Therefore, they nailed it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Cyclopssss on June 28, 2017, 05:54:19 AM
A runner that doesn't breathe? He's a gonner, dude.  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: devieira73 on June 28, 2017, 07:12:41 AM
Disappointed by the lack of appreciation for The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this thread. It's one of my favorite Maiden songs. Great melodies, great harmonies and great solos. I don't care for the subject matter/lyrics, but the music is awesome.

I love that song. Really solid and really memorable, for me at least.

And stupid ass me thought for years that a "long distance runner" was like a time traveling cop or agent going through time on assignment or something, and the loneliness he felt while pursuing this wild life. I don't know what crack I was smoking, but you should have seen my face when I finally found out that it was literally about a guy who runs long distance  :lol   I guess I had blade runner on the mind or something  :P

Until today I've always understood this song as a big metaphor for the loneliness of the "blade runner" from the movie. Really, this thread is amazing (and that song still is very good)! :heart :heart :heart ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mosh on June 28, 2017, 07:49:03 AM
Long Distance Runner is in the same category as Alex and Heaven Can Wait for me. Most of the vocal parts seem rushed and bring the song down but some of Maiden's best musical moments are here. So many great harmonies and solos. Somewhere In Time is seriously one of Maiden's best guitar albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mladen on June 28, 2017, 10:19:08 AM
Loneliness is fantastic. It contains some of their best guitar harmonies ever, and melodically it's very over the top, which I enjoy a lot. There's so much melody crammed into it. The beat itself is very furious, Bruce's vocals are manic as well, there's plenty of stuff that gets me going in this song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: devieira73 on June 28, 2017, 10:57:01 AM
About the lyrics being only about some long distance runner, I think there's a deeper meaning behind it. It seems the lyrics were inspired by this short story:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Loneliness_of_the_Long-Distance_Runner

Source (in portuguese):
 https://beasttrooper.blogspot.com/2009/10/analise-loneliness-of-long-distance.html.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on June 30, 2017, 09:34:47 PM
Loneliness is fantastic. It contains some of their best guitar harmonies ever, and melodically it's very over the top, which I enjoy a lot. There's so much melody crammed into it. The beat itself is very furious, Bruce's vocals are manic as well, there's plenty of stuff that gets me going in this song.

I'm a runner, and what I choose Somewhere in Time as my soundtrack for a race, this bit always hits the right spot: "must be so determined and push myself on" (and Adrian's solo comes in)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mosh on June 30, 2017, 09:59:48 PM
Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 1987)

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/81/f9/4d/81f94d759b8314ba1ec750a034532b20.jpg)
Weeks after finishing the new album and just a little over a year since the end of the World Slavery Tour, Maiden were on the road again. This time they insisted on an 8 month tour, as opposed to the 11 and a half months. The tour started again in Eastern Europe, starting with Yugoslavia and working its way through Poland for a return behind the Iron Curtain. They then went on their usual route of a full blown UK tour followed by the rest of Europe and then the USA. Unlike the World Slavery Tour, there were no stops in Australia or South America and the US only got one leg (although it lasted 4 months and they went pretty much everywhere). The tour finished in Japan, including an appearance at the legendary Budokan.
 
While Maiden cut back on the tour dates, they did not scale back on their stage show. Topping the last tour was going to be a challenge, but Maiden delivered once again. They adapted the album artwork into a futuristic/space themed stage with light-up backdrops and a drum riser that looked like a spaceship. The centerpiece of the show was the inflatable Eddie, whose head emerged below the drum kit, causing it to elevate toward the top of the stage. His arms rested at the front of the stage, serving as platforms for Bruce and Steve. Of course there was also a smaller walk-on cyborg Eddie. This was probably the best walk-on Eddie yet and very closely resembled the one on the artwork.
 
As usual, the setlist was heavy on the latest album. Five out of eight songs were performed from the new album for most of the tour. A sixth, The Loneliness Of the Long Distance Runner, was performed at the first date but was immediately dropped. This was also the first tour in which the Harris epic from the latest album was not played. Alexander The Great was surprisingly left off the setlist. Instead, they performed Rime again. The other highlight of the show was a guitar duet performed by Dave and Adrian. The Dave Murray guitar solo was a staple for Maiden’s concerts in the 80s, but this was the first time Adrian Smith joined him in the solo spot and the last time any sort of guitar solo was included in the set. The atmospheric duet culminated with a rendition of Walking On the Air from the animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman. Trivia question: Maiden would take influence from the work of Briggs again in their history. Name that song.
 
Other highlights included the return of Phantom Of the Opera as a mainstay in the set, the return of Where Eagles Dare, and Children Of the Damned. By this point in the band’s history the setlist staples have mostly been established and the structure of the set has been solidified.
 
Unfortunately, Somewhere On Tour is infamously undocumented. Since Maiden had just invested in a high budget live album/video, Rod Smallwood found it unnecessary to record the next tour. The result is the first Maiden tour with absolutely no officially released material. No live album, no live video, no live b-sides. The only official footage can be found on 12 Wasted Years in short clips, including the Stranger In a Strange Land video which was recorded in Sheffield. This is especially unfortunate because, in addition to not having a document of the stage show, much of the Somewhere In Time album was forgotten after this tour, so there are no officially released recordings of those songs.
 
Thankfully there are bootlegs, including some professionally shot footage. The bootlegs with the best sound quality were actually filmed, which is nice considering there are no officially released SIT shows. Since they are all on youtube, I’m not going to upload any audio bootlegs this time around as there’s really no need. Here are the three essential videos from the tour:
 
Sheffield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd0ElWAZY2A
 
This is actually the show where the Stranger In a Strange Land video was shot. You can see the cameras during that song and during Iron Maiden. Sadly it looks like the film crew didn’t capture the rest of the set. Anyway, this bootleg was filmed by an audience member but the sound actually comes from a soundboard recording, so it’s actually probably the best sounding boot from this tour.
 
Paris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrciOJY4CM8&t=3476s
 
Philly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1EE-YR4fi4 (incomplete)
 
These two shows are both pro-shot. I really don’t understand why they didn’t officially release one of these for the Maiden England DVD. They show a clip of Paris in the documentary on that DVD so they definitely have it in their possession. It’s not the highest of quality but it’s better than nothing. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 01, 2017, 01:14:17 AM
Indeed it was weird that Alex wasn't played and that they kept a mammoth song like Rime. Otherwise I agree that, all things considered, this is the "lost tour" and that it would have been nice to have clearer video memories of the giant Eddie head and it's hands.

I said I was a quite knowledgeable Maiden fan but I have to admit I don't know the other Briggs inspiration. What I remember from this tour is a comment from Bruce about how he wanted his stage clothes to look like he was a space hunter, got on Mars, killed some alien lizards and made pants out of it  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 01, 2017, 03:50:00 AM
Raymond Briggs did a graphic novel called When the Wild Wind Blows, which is also the name of a track on The Final Frontier, right?

I remember that for some reason the tourbook for the Somewhere on Tour was translated and released in Brazil, and was sold at newstands. It showed statements from all band members about what they did after the World Slavery Tour, which left everyone absolutely drained. Bruce said he had gone through a divorce, and the only album he'd hear in that period was Marillion's Misplaced Childhood.

 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere In Time (1986)
Post by: Mladen on July 01, 2017, 04:33:42 AM
I'm a runner, and what I choose Somewhere in Time as my soundtrack for a race, this bit always hits the right spot: "must be so determined and push myself on" (and Adrian's solo comes in)
Beautiful moment.

Whenever I see footage from this tour, I think it looks fantastic even though it's hilariously over the top. Too bad there isn't official footage, Steve mentioned the band really regrets not having released anything from it. Luckily, it was great seeing this Eddie back in 2009.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 01, 2017, 05:22:36 AM
I think there's footage of the guitar solos on YouTube as well. In terms of setlist, that tour was quite bizarre... Phantom, Where Eagles Dare, Mariner, Children of the Damned...and of course the tracks from the new album.

I have a question - did they play Caught Somewhere in Time during the whole tour? I think I read somewhere that Steve thought it didn't translate well on a live setting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 01, 2017, 06:09:32 AM
This concert was my very first concert and was a great, though loud show! I think at the time it was billed as the loudest show on the road that year.  My ears rang for a day or two afterwards!

The set list was:
Blade Runner Intro
Caught Somewhere in Time
2 Minutes to Midnight
Children of the Damned
Stranger in a Strange Land
Wasted Years
Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Guitar Solo
Heaven Can Wait
Phantom of the Opera
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden

Encore:
The Number of the Beast
Run to the Hills
Running Free

Yes, they didn’t play Alexander but they did play Rime so I was satisfied. I loved the rest of the set list, especially Children and Phantom. It would have been awesome to see Where Eagles Dare but even at this point still somewhat early in their careers they had to make concessions.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mladen on July 01, 2017, 07:21:12 AM
Wait, they didn't play anything from Piece of mind? Not even The Trooper?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: cramx3 on July 01, 2017, 09:14:47 AM
Such a shame this ended up becoming the forgotten tour. Besides the sick setlist heavy on Sit material, they had a cool stage show to go along with it. I feel like I am always going to relate this tour to DTs TA tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mosh on July 01, 2017, 10:29:28 AM
Wait, they didn't play anything from Piece of mind? Not even The Trooper?
Outside of the US they played Where Eagles Dare and some of the early dates included Flight of Icarus.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 01, 2017, 11:20:38 AM
Wait, they didn't play anything from Piece of mind? Not even The Trooper?

I had to rely on set list .com for this info. I do remember some die hard fans leaving the show disapointed with the song selection but this being my first concert ever, and my favorite band playing, I didn't care.

Besides, I got to see Rime.... live, my favorite song from them up to this time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 01, 2017, 01:54:58 PM
Awesome tour. At work now so I'll post more later including pictures!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mosh on July 01, 2017, 02:43:14 PM
BTW, in addition to all the SIT songs that were never played again after this, Somewhere On Tour also featured the last performances of Flight of Icarus.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 01, 2017, 03:11:13 PM
BTW, in addition to all the SIT songs that were never played again after this, Somewhere On Tour also featured the last performances of Flight of Icarus.

I was under the impression that they brought it back on certain dates of the Ed Hunter Tour, but I could be wrong.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mosh on July 01, 2017, 03:20:51 PM
BTW, in addition to all the SIT songs that were never played again after this, Somewhere On Tour also featured the last performances of Flight of Icarus.

I was under the impression that they brought it back on certain dates of the Ed Hunter Tour, but I could be wrong.
Not that I know of.
Bruce did perform Icarus with Adrian on some of his solo shows before they returned to Maiden though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 01, 2017, 03:33:03 PM
Mosh is right, Flight of Icarus was played by Bruce solo but never by the reunited Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 01, 2017, 06:51:44 PM
My Maiden fandom was at a fever pitch when I saw this tour. Likewise, this might be my all time favorite Maiden show.

My memories of the show start with the opening band, Waysted. I've been a UFO fan almost as long as I had been a Maiden fan., so seeing Pete Way and Paul Chapman live was awesome. We were right down front in front of Tonka. He was totally cool.

Anyway for Maiden..

1. The intro felt excruciatingly long. But when Maiden hit the stage I thought I was going to stroke.
2. Love Caught Somewhere In Time. A great opener, and Bruce's electric jacket.
3. This was before setlist spoilers. I thought it quite odd that they would play Rime again. I really didn't consider it in lieu of Alexander, but I wasn't really in love with it, and having already seen it live, I thought they wasted a huge part of the show on it.
4. Hearing the beginning notes of Phantom Of the Opera might be the most stunning moment of my concert life. I was so not expecting it.
5. We were right down in front of Adrian, but seeing Steve up so close was amazing. He is THE MAN!
6. Managed to get some good pics. I remember just staring at them for hours on end.
7. Thought the Eddie coming up from underneath the stage was really cool.



Also, the very first bootleg video I ever got was from this tour. It is the Troy NY show. It is still my all time favorite bootleg. It is a really great representation of what it was like. Plus, it has a great view of Nicko, which is actually quite rare it seems.
Here is the youtube link of the Troy show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu64ESskzR4


Also, my ticket stub:

(https://i.imgur.com/dY28aPH.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 01, 2017, 06:53:48 PM
March 30, 1987
Providence Civic Center
 

(https://i.imgur.com/mhuczmu.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/r1oAkI3.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/LThSQYx.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/AfJQqDD.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/B7wOVWq.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/rzUzzAv.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/MgIMcdC.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/zHU0q6B.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/84i8eFB.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/KcjGIQc.jpg)

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 01, 2017, 06:55:35 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/mJxlMpU.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Svk4YvY.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/E6zfDCl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/YZAdU5i.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/rIJPu6K.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/DU5bT8M.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/x1Jdu0L.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Ondad39.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/hXkqAw9.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/6750otD.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/nsRUE1T.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/aDAvAOO.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/MOnRBS4.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Phoenix87x on July 01, 2017, 07:19:52 PM
My Maiden fandom was at a fever pitch when I saw this tour. Likewise, this might be my all time favorite Maiden show.

My memories of the show start with the opening band, Waysted. I've been a UFO fan almost as long as I had been a Maiden fan., so seeing Pete Way and Paul Chapman live was awesome. We were right down front in front of Tonka. He was totally cool.

Anyway for Maiden..

1. The intro felt excruciatingly long. But when Maiden hit the stage I thought I was going to stroke.
2. Love Caught Somewhere In Time. A great opener, and Bruce's electric jacket.
3. This was before setlist spoilers. I thought it quite odd that they would play Rime again. I really didn't consider it in lieu of Alexander, but I wasn't really in love with it, and having already seen it live, I thought they wasted a huge part of the show on it.
4. Hearing the beginning notes of Phantom Of the Opera might be the most stunning moment of my concert life. I was so not expecting it.
5. We were right down in front of Adrian, but seeing Steve up so close was amazing. He is THE MAN!
6. Managed to get some good pics. I remember just staring at them for hours on end.
7. Thought the Eddie coming up from underneath the stage was really cool.



Also, the very first bootleg video I ever got was from this tour. It is the Troy NY show. It is still my all time favorite bootleg. It is a really great representation of what it was like. Plus, it has a great view of Nicko, which is actually quite rare it seems.
Here is the youtube link of the Troy show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu64ESskzR4


Also, my ticket stub:

(https://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z246/TACPics/IMG_3492_zpswubpahdx.jpg) (https://s195.photobucket.com/user/TACPics/media/IMG_3492_zpswubpahdx.jpg.html)

$14 fucking bucks. God damn, I was born in the wrong decade

Multiply that by 10 and that's what I paid for my IM show. Totally worth it though  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 01, 2017, 08:12:26 PM
Awesome pics, man!!! Thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 01, 2017, 08:49:58 PM
Awesome pics, man!!! Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome. I have shots from the next few tours. The Seventh Son shots are basically from the same spot, albeit a different arena.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 01, 2017, 09:28:31 PM
Keep them coming!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 02, 2017, 02:54:57 AM
Great pics!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mladen on July 02, 2017, 03:18:47 AM
That's fantastic, TAC!  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: cramx3 on July 02, 2017, 02:35:08 PM
Love that you still have the ticket stub and awesome pictures and experience.   :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 02, 2017, 07:43:25 PM
So I wanted to squeeze this in before Mosh moved onto 7th Son.


Ross Halfin released a book of his photography of Iron Maiden called What Are We Doing This For? about the same time as 7th Son was released. It is a photographic journal of the band up to and including the Somewhere In Time tour. It is filled with amazing shots of the band throughout the years. It includes, backstage pics, family and wives/children pics, as well as on stage and at various scenic shots around the world. Love the 80's fashion they were wearing at the time too!

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51cOGBnC%2BML._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(https://bp3.blogger.com/_5toLmODoA4U/SH8zneJBibI/AAAAAAAAEZY/x_r4lv1VHag/s400/df+123.jpg)
(Bruce with his half shaved face!)

(https://bp2.blogger.com/_5toLmODoA4U/SH8zgSq4cZI/AAAAAAAAEZQ/QDZxamKNSAE/s400/df+124.jpg)

(https://bp3.blogger.com/_5toLmODoA4U/SH9_kcRxPkI/AAAAAAAAEd4/D7oGuHeY_UQ/s400/df+127.jpg)

The above are not my scans, rather from Google Images.
Here is the Amazon Link:
https://www.amazon.com/What-are-We-Doing-This/dp/0946391653/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498519549&sr=1-1&keywords=What+are+we+doing+this+for

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: wolfking on July 02, 2017, 09:11:48 PM
The guitar solo/Walking on Air is one of the coolest things Maiden did live IMO.  Just wonderful.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mosh on July 02, 2017, 10:12:47 PM
The lack of an official recording of that guitar solo is the worst part about them not filming this tour. That was such a cool duet. The only time a Maiden solo spot was worthwhile IMO.

Cool pics TAC! Was the stage lighting for this tour particularly dark? Every photo and video I see from this tour looks a lot darker than the Powerslave tour, so I've always wondered if that was actually the case. The stage also looks smaller than the previous tour. All the props and Eddies make up for that though.

Rime being played on this tour was strange and probably not a good move in retrospect. I find it kills the momentum of the setlist. Where it works perfectly as the centerpiece on World Slavery, it just seems kinda shoehorned in there. I'm also surprised the band weren't sick of it by then. Also, people complain about how similar the setlists are today, but in the 80s they essentially played the same exact encore 3 tours in a row.

Other than that, they did a pretty good job at making the setlist unique compared to World Slavery. 5 songs from the new album and they're spread out nicely. I actually think dropping Where Eagles Dare worked out. Bruce struggles with it, especially that late in the set, and everything flows better with Heaven Can Wait directly following the guitar dual. Phantom and Children were played on the previous tour but only at select gigs, so they were probably new to most audiences, especially in the US.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: TAC on July 03, 2017, 02:43:40 PM
The guitar solo/Walking on Air is one of the coolest things Maiden did live IMO.  Just wonderful.

Very cool. And awesome.

Was the stage lighting for this tour particularly dark? Every photo and video I see from this tour looks a lot darker than the Powerslave tour, so I've always wondered if that was actually the case. The stage also looks smaller than the previous tour. All the props and Eddies make up for that though.

I think you're right about the lighting. The Powerslave show was definitely brighter. I think the gold color scheme helped. Plus, I think the stage felt more massive as they made great use of the backdrops. The stage itself was darker for SiT. I honestly don't recall thinking it was dark during the show. I was 1-3 people deep for the entire show. Video bootlegs really started to become a thing on this tour, so it's also possible the equipment just wasn't capable of capturing the light.

I saw both tours in the same arena and the width of the stage was the same.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere On Tour (1986 - 87)
Post by: Mosh on July 05, 2017, 09:46:52 PM
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c0/Iron_Maiden_-_Seventh_Son_Of_A_Seventh_Son.jpg/220px-Iron_Maiden_-_Seventh_Son_Of_A_Seventh_Son.jpg)
“Seven deadly sins
Seven ways to win
Seven holy paths to hell
And your trip begins...”


The final Iron Maiden album of the 80’s and the last of their “Golden Age” opens in an unorthodox fashion with Bruce Dickinson and an acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar had been used sparingly up until this point and never as a lead instrument. This is followed by a lead played on guitar synthesizer, something that was prevalent on the previous album but again never as a lead instrument. Right off the bat it’s clear to the listener that we’re in for something special. It’s an appropriate start, because Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a concept album. The previous album, Somewhere In Time, wasn’t a concept album but many of the songs dealt with similar lyrical themes to give it a unified feel. So a full on concept album was a natural progression.

The story was initially inspired by the death of supposed psychic Doris Stokes, which prompted Steve Harris to wonder if she could foresee her own death. Later on he read Orson Scott Card’s Seventh Son. Given that the next album would be their seventh, Steve felt it would make a good title and theme. This all influenced the first song written for the album: The Clairvoyant. Steve then called Bruce to tell him about the concept and he was on board immediately. Bruce’s fascination with the occult helped bring a new dimension to the album. This can especially be seen in Moonchild, where Bruce takes inspiration once again from Aleister Crowley.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a story based on the myth that the seventh son of a seventh son would possess clairvoyant powers. The album follows a loose storyline related to such a character, but in typical Maiden fashion there isn’t really any adherence to the general “rules” of a concept album. Several of the songs seem to deviate from the story, although they could at least be loosely linked. In the end, the story boils down to themes that are already typical to Maiden such as the afterlife, good and evil, the occult. The story also jumps around without any linear narrative. The second side of the album is the most dedicated to the story, with all four songs being obviously linked. The first side is a little more loose with story elements, although Moonchild and Infinite Dreams in particular definitely fit in.

Oddly enough, it is also one of their shortest albums. Again bucking what you would typically expect from an album that is meant to tell a story. Where the previous two albums really pushed the limits of vinyl by pushing close to an hour in length, Seventh Son is a more standard 45 minutes. This is very unorthodox considering that it’s a concept album. I’ve heard rumours that there was an intention to make a double album and Rod Smallwood urged them not to, but I’ve never seen confirmation of that. It would explain why the story seems somewhat half baked though.


Musically the album is a definite progression from Somewhere In Time. The synthesizer use continues, however this time there was less trepidation with the synth use and the band moved on to using keyboard synths in addition to guitar synths. They also use different types of synths, such as choir pads. The production is a similar reverb laden affair, but not quite as overproduced. There’s a lot more space in the music and it has more of an “airy” sound than SIT. The prog leanings go even further with Seventh Son, particularly in the Harris tunes. But it does feature a continuation of Adrian’s more commercial side, especially in Can I Play With Madness.


Seventh Son Of a Seventh Son is notable for being a much more collaborative effort than Somewhere In Time, and one of their more collaborative albums overall. Where Bruce didn’t contribute anything to the previous album, on Seventh Son he receives writing credits on four of the eight tracks. No solo compositions, but a lot of collaborations with Adrian Smith and Steve Harris. All of Adrian Smith’s contributions are also in collaboration, unlike Somewhere In Time. The classic Smith/Dickinson combo returns on the album opener: Moonchild. This is also the first time the opening track isn’t a Harris composition. Moonchild is one of Maiden’s greatest openers and features one of their most exciting introductions. Impossible to listen to this song without getting pumped.

With Can I Play With Madness and The Evil That Men Do, the two collaborated with Steve Harris. Maiden are generally somewhat secretive about who comes up with what, but there is an informative interview where Bruce Dickinson explains the process of writing Can I Play With Madness. Bruce wrote the opening riff, Adrian brought in a ballad he wrote called On the Wings of Eagles to fill out the rest of the song, and Steve Harris and Bruce worked on the instrumental section together. Of course Bruce wrote the lyrics. This gives an interesting insight into how the three collaborate. Can I Play With Madness represented one of the band’s more commercial sounding songs, but it still has plenty of merit as a Maiden track. The Evil That Men Do is more on the traditional side of things and is an equally (if not better) entry.

The final Bruce contribution, Only the Good Die Young, is unusual because it is a collaboration with Steve Harris. Prior to this album, the two had never collaborated without Adrian Smith. Given their friendly rivalry, it is a surprise to see them working together. Previously, Adrian and Bruce generally had the bulk of the song finished before Steve came in and added additional touches. Bruce and Steve would actually write more songs together on the next album. But more on that later.

This album also features the elusive Murray composition: The Prophecy. As usual, he is helped by Steve Harris. The acoustic guitars make a return for the renaissance inspired outro. I like to imagine that a young Mikael Akerfeldt was listening to this album in 1988 and took extra note of that particular section. Another typical Murray tune that has been overshadowed by the rest of the songs, but is a good song nonetheless.

The remaining three songs are monster Harris compositions. Infinite Dreams begins innocently enough as a ballad before picking up steam and exploding into heaviness with proggy time changes. The album’s epic title track, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, became the band’s second longest song at the time. It follows a similar structure to To Tame a Land, but with longer sections. It features a very extended instrumental section with an intense guitar duel. Finally, we end where we began with the first song written for the album: The Clairvoyant. This is a fairly upbeat track with a very catchy chorus. After two proggy songs, this shows Steve Harris’ more direct roots.

Now is a good time to talk about the influence of Progressive Rock on the Maiden guys. Maiden are such an odd band because they have more prog tendencies than most “traditional” Metal bands, but it’s really hard to classify them as progressive metal, especially when you compare them to Queensryche or Dream Theater. They are somewhere in between. But the fact is that prog had an immense influence on both Steve and Bruce. Steve was particularly into Genesis and Jethro Tull, bands that told stories with their music. The storytelling aspect definitely shows in many Harris compositions and is on full display with this album. Bruce was interested in theatrics with artists such as Arthur Brown and Peter Hammill of Van Der Graaf Generator. Bruce was also a fan of Peter Gabriel, but interestingly preferred his work away from Genesis. That influence doesn’t really show up in Maiden, but it will in his solo work so stay tuned for that. The prog influence is at its peak on Seventh Son with the different time changes, the atmosphere, and the story. It has a fairy tale feel to it that isn’t unlike a lot of early Genesis. It’s dark, but also very whimsical and English. Maiden also take a page from Pink Floyd by giving homage to Animals, Steve’s favorite Floyd album, by bookending the album with the same acoustic passage. The Pink Floyd concept of ending at the beginning would go on to influence another favorite band of ours.

After two of the most extravagant album covers in Metal history, Seventh Son Of a Seventh Son sports a more basic design, closer to Piece of Mind and Number Of the Beast. The fact is that Derek Riggs was starting to get burnt out with Maiden covers. He had been working with Maiden for 8 years straight and was beginning to have difficulties with their management. He also wasn’t getting much work outside of Maiden. I’m not sure who originally came up with the idea of having a half destructed Eddie, whether it was Riggs or the band, but Riggs was delighted with it because it meant less work for him. The background was also more minimal, showing a desolate icy exterior. The back of the sleeve also made reference to past Eddies. It wasn’t as complex as Somewhere In Time, but it was still another excellent cover. Riggs’ decline in enthusiasm for painting Eddie is much more apparent in the artwork for the singles. Can I Play With Madness, The Evil That Men Do, and The Clairvoyant all feature some of the most simplistic Riggs designs in years. There are no scenes or elaborate backgrounds, just sketches of Eddie’s heads. They are also unfinished. Riggs has expressed distaste toward these pieces and points to them as examples of his own laziness with painting Eddie.

Surprisingly, given the more experimental nature of the album, Seventh Son was a point of big commercial success for the band. It became the band’s second #1 album in the UK charts, and spawned some hit singles. Usually there were only two singles from an album, but with Seventh Son half of the songs were made into singles. The first, Can I Play With Madness, was the band’s highest charting single ever peaking at #3. The next single, The Evil That Men Do, was another impressive effort at #5. Likely because of the success, they went ahead with a third single. This time, it was a live version of The Clairvoyant recorded at Monsters of Rock 1988 (we will discuss the tour more next week). It was yet another top ten entry at #6. The fourth single, released in 1989, was technically more to promote the Maiden England video, as it was taken from the video. Infinite Dreams peaked again at #6.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son represents the end of an era for Maiden. It would be the last album with Adrian Smith (until his return in 1999) and the last of the 80s. It shows the band taking their 80s sound as far as it can go. After 8 years of evolving, the band had reached what seemed to be a creative peak. To this day it remains one of their best and most ambitious albums. It was a triumphant end of the decade for the band, both commercially and artistically. Where other Metal bands ended the 80s in more uncertain terms, Maiden ended on an absolute high note. One that would continue into the tour, which we will cover in the next entry.

“Seven downward slopes
Seven bloodied hopes
Seven are your burning fires
Seven your desires”

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/dc/Caniplaywithmadness.jpg/220px-Caniplaywithmadness.jpg)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/88/Theevilthatmendo-ironmaiden.jpg/220px-Theevilthatmendo-ironmaiden.jpg)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/cb/Single19_theclairvoyant_a_small.jpg/220px-Single19_theclairvoyant_a_small.jpg)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/Single20_infinitedreams_a_small.jpg/220px-Single20_infinitedreams_a_small.jpg)




Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mister Gold on July 05, 2017, 09:52:14 PM
Almost definitely my favorite Iron Maiden album. Such an amazing work from the band from start-to-finish, imo. I'll need to write up more on it tomorrow, but there's so much I love about this album. :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 06, 2017, 02:30:33 AM
Once again congratulations to Mosh for such an excellent recap! As I said I'm quite deep into Maiden lore so there's nothing really new for me, but to have it presented in such a way it's a great stroll down the memory lane.

The immense love I have for Maiden makes it hard for me to pick a favorite album. I always say that my favorite ones are Piece of Mind and Seventh Son, and I'd find difficult to pick just one. Maybe the heart would chose Piece of Mind, since it has Revelations which is the song that made me a Bruce Dickinson, Iron Maiden and heavy metal fan, but the mind would chose Seventh Son... because this album is damn bloody fantastic.

I love everything about it: the theme, the cover (yeah, SIT is better but I find this one awesome as well), every single song and every single minute on it. Everyone is on top of their form, Bruce has a wonderful performance, and the band is tight as ever and as Mosh pointed out, they ended the '80 at the very top of their carreer.

Moonchild's intro and build up is their best ever. It all starts so nicely, acoustic guitars and a gentle melody... then the guitars come in, of course you'd expect them, and the melody is kinda upbeat, positive... then it all becomes more menacing, Steve Harris' bass comes "clanking" in and BOOOM, you're into fire and brimbstone as Maiden leave no prisoners with one of their heaviest, wickedest and "satanic" songs, with a killer Bruce in full evil mystical mode  :metal

Infinite Dreams is one of their best melodic pieces ever, both the slow and faster sections are equally great. Bruce's evil scream when the  fast part kicks in is irresistible! and I particularly love the musical passage that leads into the final part, the one that comes right before "There's got to be just more to it than this".

Can I Play with Madness all things considered isn't that awesome, yes, but it's still a good "easy" Maiden track and I always enjoyed the hell out of it during concerts.

The Evil that Men Do is even better, it's a somehow "commercial" trck, in the sense that you could have it digested by non Maiden fans, but it's 100% in their style, a total riot live, and graced with a memorable chorus. Personal geeky note, whenever I was hearing the song live, at the "I will call her name out loud" passage I had an habit of actually screaming the name of whoever girl I was into at the time.

The title track is the mammoth of the title tracks! Iron Maiden set this standard for me, when it comes to title track, I expect them to be the majestic centerpiece of the album, the geekiest part of me is to this day annoyed when a title track is just a random average song. This is how you do title tracks, bitches!

The predominant keys, the ohohohohoho's, the plodding verses and the chorus... everything screams royalty about this song! and then, of course, it's capped by their best instrumental passage EVER. Yeah, I know, it's a tight race - Phantom, Halloweed... my preference goes to this. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son's instrumental solo section is my favorite *EVER* by *ANY* band. Hearing it live was such an eargasm, only Octavarium's ending is even more overwhelming live.

The Prophecy, one of the two unplayed songs of the record, it's such a nice and unusual song for them. Love it and I don't consider it inferior at all to the others.

The Clairvoyant is another stellar track of course, it's impossible not to jump during the chorus when played live. Another song like The Evil that Men Do - "easy" enough to be used as a single, and yet 100% uncompromising Maiden.

And Only the Good Die Young is a worthy album closer, wicked and fast and once again with a memorable chorus. Rounding the album out the same way it started was such a great choice.

Really, I can't find anything wrong with this album even if I went looking for it. A total masterpiece of the entire history of heavy metal, and one of Maiden's very, very best.

A note on the B-Sides: Black Bart Blues is quite absurdingly funny, and the cover of Massacre is absolutely beautiful. Prowler and Charlotte's remakes are good but nothing earth shattering - ironically it could have been seen as a preview of what was to come, a return to an "early" and "raw" sound for the next album, but let's wait for that and now let's bask in the icy glory of Maiden's monumental send-off to the '80s.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Polarbear on July 06, 2017, 05:02:14 AM
Favorite Maiden album by far! Also easily the best of the classic era imo.

One of my most listened album during by teenage years. :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: wolfking on July 06, 2017, 05:13:44 AM
Just a perfect, slick and majestic album.  Perfect from start to finish.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Zydar on July 06, 2017, 05:21:06 AM
Probably my favourite Maiden album ever. There's just something magical about it, can't really describe it. As usual there's one track from every album from this era that I am not that particularly crazy over (Die With Your Boots On, Losfer Words, Long Distance Runner). This time it's The Prophecy. It's a fine track, but I'd rank it last - the others are just too damn good. Favourite track? Too many to mention.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 06, 2017, 05:29:52 AM
While I'd rank The Prophecy last too only because the other songs are just too damn good, I consider Seventh Son an album without absolutely any lesser tracks AT ALL. I said earlier I call also Piece of Mind my favorite album, but putting my love for Maiden aside, I recognize Quest for Fire isn't absolutely on standard with the rest of the album. The Prophecy for me is, even though with such a tough competition, it's inevitabile that a song has to "lose" and it was correct to not play it live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: wolfking on July 06, 2017, 05:30:04 AM
I'd take The Prophecy over CIPWM, perhaps even TC.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mladen on July 06, 2017, 06:23:06 AM
My second favorite right behind Somewhere in time.

Can I play with madness and The Prophecy are extremely underrated.

Nothing much to say. Mosh nailed it.  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: devieira73 on July 06, 2017, 07:09:19 AM
It seems that already it was said it all, but I will just say that to me the album has a fantastic sound production wise and 7th Son and Infinite Dreams are my 2 favorites Maiden songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: kaos2900 on July 06, 2017, 07:16:37 AM
This may just be my favorite Maiden album. The Evil That Men Do is my favorite song of theirs and the whole album has such a perfect flow.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Lowdz on July 06, 2017, 07:48:50 AM
So I'd been a Maiden fan since the first album, and things were going very well. Then SiT came along and whilst it was ok, it was only ok. Then I heard that they were doing a concept album and I thought this would be cool. I wasn't a prog fan at the time (other than Rush) but as a fan of books, films etc I was excited to see what Maiden would do with it. Let's face it, they could do an epic so a concept album should be cool.

And in the end, not much was the answer. I wouldn't have known it was a concept album if I hadn't been told. I couldn't follow a story, other than the basic theme. If it was meant to be a double album, where's the rest of it? They couldn't put a story together to fill 45 minutes.

And the songs were generally ok again, certainly better than SiT, but not much that leapt out and screamed 'hey... hey... listen to me'....  :omg:

But the real killer of this album was that it came out at the same time as Operation:Mindcrime. An album I was worshipping - still do.

I remember the Kerrang review of SSoaSS. They were gushing about it and how it was more cohesive and a better story than Mindcrime but I couldn't see it. Was there a story?

So yes, it's an ok album, but there was a new kid in town, who's albums were getting better and better, and Maidens were slipping. They were still a great band but Queensryche were the new king.

Now, it's still not an album I go to often, but it's a very good album, probably comes in at 5 in my ranking, and it's better than anything since from Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: bosk1 on July 06, 2017, 08:07:15 AM
This is the only Bruce era album I have that I don't like (FYI, I don't have FOTD or No Prayer).   I listened to it a couple of times, and nothing clicked.  And I've heard quite a few of the tracks live and didn't care for them either, other than The Evil That Men Do.  I don't recall hearing much of this album back when it first came out either. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: jjrock88 on July 06, 2017, 08:08:08 AM
As good as a metal album gets.  Head to head with Somewhere in Time as my favorite from Iron Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 06, 2017, 08:33:34 AM
I remember the Kerrang review of SSoaSS. They were gushing about it and how it was more cohesive and a better story than Mindcrime but I couldn't see it. Was there a story?

I will always love Seventh Son and defend it to death, but I just can't agree with this. Storyline wise, Mindcrime overshadows Seventh Son.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Stadler on July 06, 2017, 09:14:50 AM
For the record, I LOVE Seventh Son.  Loved it then, and love it now.   (SiT as well, I might add). 

As for covers (I smell LIST!), of the albums talked about to date (no singles):

1. Powerslave
2. Seventh Son
3. Killers
4. Piece of Mind
5. Number of the Beast
6. Somewhere In Time (I LOVE the references, but it's unsatisfying).
7. Iron Maiden


(And FYI, nothing that would come after would unseat the top two, though Brave New World might break the Top Three).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 06, 2017, 09:29:23 AM
Amazing album.  The concept always seemed a bit too loose to really compared it to other concept albums so I never really dug into the whole storyline besides a light understanding.  It didn't really matter, the music was just so good that I can't say I care about a cohesive storyline.  The songs just rock.  Infinite Dreams is such a fantastic song.  Moonchild is one of IM's best openers and the ending to SSoaSS is some amazing music that can bring a tear to my eye.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 06, 2017, 09:32:52 AM
Moonchild is one of IM's best openers and the ending to SSoaSS is some amazing music that can bring a tear to my eye.

Any musician who is guitars wise knows why, with three guitars, they still couldn't play the very ending the way it is on the album? with the "high" notes, live they played it, both in 1988 and 2013, with "low" notes.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 06, 2017, 10:00:57 AM
Another great write-up, Mosh. Iron Maiden are completely progressive. They've gotten more progressive since reuniting in 1999, at least to my ears. So many people define "progressive metal" differently. To me, if a band changes moods, tempo, and gives you something to think about, the band is progressive. Maiden totally fits that bill.

I was very late into Maiden, and 7th Son in particular. I'm still not as versed with it as I should be. I picked up that bit on the storyline -- it seemed odd to me that it was a concept, when it followed no particular storyline. I usually refer to 7th Son as a themeatic album based on a concept. Sorta like Queensryche's Promised Land.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: bosk1 on July 06, 2017, 10:04:21 AM
Moonchild is one of IM's best openers and the ending to SSoaSS is some amazing music that can bring a tear to my eye.

Any musician who is guitars wise knows why, with three guitars, they still couldn't play the very ending the way it is on the album? with the "high" notes, live they played it, both in 1988 and 2013, with "low" notes.

I don't know that it is an issue of "can't" as opposed to them simply wanting to play it the way they do, and that could be for a variety of reasons. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Grappler on July 06, 2017, 10:22:59 AM
Seventh Son never clicked with me for a long time.  I loved the singles and classic sounding songs right away - Evil that Men Do, Moonchild and The Clairvoyant, specifically.  The rest of the album finally fell into place over the years, though it tends to be a forgotten album.  I have my go-to Maiden albums, and then when I get sick of them, I always think "Oh yeah, I can listen to Seventh Son and still hear classic Maiden." 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 06, 2017, 11:23:21 AM
Moonchild is one of IM's best openers and the ending to SSoaSS is some amazing music that can bring a tear to my eye.

Any musician who is guitars wise knows why, with three guitars, they still couldn't play the very ending the way it is on the album? with the "high" notes, live they played it, both in 1988 and 2013, with "low" notes.

I don't know that it is an issue of "can't" as opposed to them simply wanting to play it the way they do, and that could be for a variety of reasons.

Well, with 22 years of being a Maiden fan it's impossible for me to remember the details, but I swear I must have read somewhere and somehow how they couldn't duplicate all the harmonies live and so the ending of the song had to be played that way.

That made me think it was a necessity, because if it was a choice, I find a very weird choice to "tune down" the very climax of such a long and wonderful solo section.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 06, 2017, 01:13:09 PM
I don't think there was anything preventing them from playing that particular part, they just chose not to. There are three part harmonies earlier in the song that they couldn't recreate in the 80s but did in 2012.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 06, 2017, 02:36:53 PM
Phenomenal album, and one third of the TAC Iron Maiden Holy Grail.

I said it previously, but I was never more of a Maiden fan than I was when this album came out. I ate, slept, and drank Iron Maiden. This was the spring of my college sophomore year, and the only thing that mattered was the album you were listening to.

Moonchild was such a beast of an opener. Not sure what the timing of it is, but I have NEVER been able to hold the beat on that. For such a stinger, it just feels so loose. The studio version has such a live feel on it.

Infinite Dreams has always been a favorite. From Day 1. Scratches the progressive itch like crazy.

Amazing to witness it live.

The title track is incredible. Pulling up any live version on youtube, it is really breathtaking. I just remember getting so lost in it. Iron Maiden, AGAIN, raised the bar.


If I have a bitch or two, here they are. And I had them back then, even though I consider this a top album.

CIPWM is just weak. It is. It just is.

The only other thing I think is that I expected an epic to close this album. Even om my first listen, I was like..what? it's over?? That's it??
I like the verse, I like the chorus, but they just don't go together. This track needed a pre chorus to bridge the two and avoiding the awkward transition. That said, This track has really grown on me. That verse is amazing.






But the real killer of this album was that it came out at the same time as Operation:Mindcrime. An album I was worshipping - still do.

I remember the Kerrang review of SSoaSS. They were gushing about it and how it was more cohesive and a better story than Mindcrime but I couldn't see it. Was there a story?

I never was stuck comparing the two albums. I loved them both. O:M relegitimized Queensryhe in my eyes after RFO. 7th Son took my favorite band and improved on what they do.

And I know you'll appreciate this Paul, but in 1988, Kerrang was basically an Iron Maiden fanzine at that point.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 06, 2017, 03:01:32 PM
CIPWM is just weak. It is. It just is.

Yea, I really liked this song when I first got into IM.  It was included on Edward the Great (the first IM CD I owned).  But over time, I really turned to disliking it.  It's not terrible, but besides being a somewhat catchy chorus, there really is little to come back to on this track and I think that's what kind of happened after hearing it and seeing it live so often.  I'm glad it's been shelved in the live show.

Also, Only The Good Die Young, I love this song.  I don't see it as very popular, but I've always enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on July 06, 2017, 04:36:55 PM
SSoaSS is a good album, but couldn't hold up against SiT for me personally. Overall, I like the album, altho for me, the worst song of the bunch happens to be the 4th track again, and this is where I started to notice the lame/lazy lyric writing for the choruses. Terrible, IMO. Only thing worse was the chorus for the title track, which brings down an otherwise stellar track.

Funny side note - I was really hoping that MP would include an excerpt from the instrumental section of the title track when DT was touring with Maiden in 2010. I figured it would make sense since they did the same for their tour with Yes (covering a part of Machine Messiah), but it wasn't meant to be.  :-[


A note on the B-Sides: Black Bart Blues is quite absurdingly funny, and the cover of Massacre is absolutely beautiful. Prowler and Charlotte's remakes are good but nothing earth shattering
Agree on the B-sides overall. BBB is a fun track, altho I hate all the dialogue that was in the track; a long time ago I edited all of it out and made the song (for me) much more enjoyable. Absolutely LOVE their version of Massacre. And the remakes are OK, but frankly, I wish they would've chosen some other (better) songs to redo.
 
 
For the record, I LOVE Seventh Son.  Loved it then, and love it now.   (SiT as well, I might add). 

As for covers (I smell LIST!), of the albums talked about to date (no singles):

1. Powerslave
2. Seventh Son
3. Killers
4. Piece of Mind
5. Number of the Beast
6. Somewhere In Time (I LOVE the references, but it's unsatisfying).
7. Iron Maiden
Love ya Stads, but you completely lost me with ranking SiT so low and SS so high. Move SiT to the #1 slot and put SS before NotB and you'd have my ranking.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 06, 2017, 04:43:38 PM

Agree on the B-sides overall. BBB is a fun track, altho I hate all the dialogue that was in the track; a long time ago I edited all of it out and made the song (for me) much more enjoyable. Absolutely LOVE their version of Massacre. And the remakes are OK, but frankly, I wish they would've chosen some other (better) songs to redo.
 

Massacre is awesome. But I hate when bands redo one of their older songs.

Scott, would love to hear your edited version of BBB. I agree with you. The dialog is distracting. That said, musically, a track like BBB is great. It's looseness shows a band simply flexing its muscles.

Oddlly, a similar song, a total B side, Holy Smoke, would somehow find its way on an album proper.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Phoenix87x on July 06, 2017, 04:44:21 PM
Ah yes, the legendary Seventh son. God damn, do I love this album. It is SOO damn close to being my favorite IM album, but its predessessor just barely beats it out. But whatever, back to seventh son.

The stuff they are doing on this thing is fantastic. Moonchild is a solid opener. I absolutely love infinite dreams, the intro part is so cool. Can I play with madness is lame, and WAY too commercial sounding, but oh well. 

Next is The evil that men do which fully redeems the song that proceeds it. Then there is the breathtaking title track, hot damn.

Next is my favorite track on the album, the Prophecy mainly because of that chilling and hauntingly beautiful acoustic outro. That outro is one of my favorite moments of IM's entire career.

The claivoyant is sweet and the last song is sweet too.

Overall, just and amazing and stunning album which I love beyond words  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 06, 2017, 04:46:36 PM
I firmly believe that bands shouldn't remain stagnant. More often than not I'm usually elated when they attempt to broaden their horizons. In this instance there were some fairly good results, but there's some things that I don't like, either.

First for the negatives:

The guitars are way over-processed on this record. There's so much crap layered on them that they lose their bite. I'm not opposed to the use of effects when it's called for. However, this is metal, and metal is always going to be guitar driven. By castrating the guitar tone they limit their ability to achieve dynamics. In other words, if the guitars were on a heart monitor they would have flat-lined and been pronounced dead on arrival.

The acoustic section on The Prophecy is easily the best part of the song, and if it had been developed separately sounds like it could have turned into a helluva lot better song than what it was attached to. Can I Play With Matches is one of the worst songs from their 80's output, and the title track is the weakest epic in that era as well.

The band should have never told anyone that this was supposed to be a concept album. If they would have said that it was thematic, then it would have come off looking much better in the long run.

Now for the positives:

Moonchild is a great opener with a lot of energy. The synths actually work very well on this song.

Infinite Dreams is probably their best attempt at a more "mellow" feel in their entire catalog. There's a lot to sink your teeth into with this song.

TETMD kicks ass, and is a classic IM song for any era.

OTGDY is my favorite song on the album, and has the best lyrics/vocal delivery of any song on the record.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 06, 2017, 04:50:37 PM
  Next is my favorite track on the album, the Prophecy mainly because of that chilling and hauntingly beautiful acoustic outro. That outro is one of my favorite moments of IM's entire career.


Yeah, love the outro to The Prochecy. A little too close to the Heaven And Hell outro, but awesome nonetheless. A great additional piece to a Maiden album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 06, 2017, 04:56:58 PM
  Next is my favorite track on the album, the Prophecy mainly because of that chilling and hauntingly beautiful acoustic outro. That outro is one of my favorite moments of IM's entire career.


Yeah, love the outro to The Prochecy. A little too close to the Heaven And Hell outro, but awesome nonetheless. A great additional piece to a Maiden album.

Speaking of that, there's a definite Sabbath nod in the middle of the title track. I'm wondering if anyone else has ever picked up on it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 06, 2017, 05:12:03 PM
Listening now, but I'm not sure I've ever picked up a connection.
Let me guess the passage you're talking about. 7:48-7:58? 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 06, 2017, 05:26:37 PM
Listening now, but I'm not sure I've ever picked up a connection.
Let me guess the passage you're talking about. 7:48-7:58?

Oops. I checked it, and I'm fulla shit. Disregard.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 06, 2017, 05:28:37 PM
Listening now, but I'm not sure I've ever picked up a connection.
Let me guess the passage you're talking about. 7:48-7:58?

Oops. I checked it, and I'm fulla shit. Disregard.

 :rollin

Thanks for playing!




For years, I've been trying to convince people that Rush's The Main Monkey Business' main riff was a rip on Sabbath's A National Acrobat.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 06, 2017, 06:18:02 PM
Listening now, but I'm not sure I've ever picked up a connection.
Let me guess the passage you're talking about. 7:48-7:58?

Oops. I checked it, and I'm fulla shit. Disregard.

 :rollin

Thanks for playing!




For years, I've been trying to convince people that Rush's The Main Monkey Business' main riff was a rip on Sabbath's A National Acrobat.

There's a part in the song 7th son that reminds me of a section of War Pigs, but after checking them out next to each other I realized that I'm sort of exagerating the similarities. There are similarities, though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: NoseofNicko on July 06, 2017, 07:59:34 PM
Everyone is talking about the outro of The Prophecy, but what about the intro? Such a beautiful melody/harmony. The entire song is great though. Every song on SSOASS is great. Maiden's second best after SIT.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 06, 2017, 08:01:25 PM
Everyone is talking about the outro of The Prophecy, but what about the intro? Such a beautiful melody/harmony.
Great point. Very true.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: DoctorAction on July 07, 2017, 12:12:36 PM
Wonderful record. This was the first IM album that came out in my fandom. I was 14, Maiden was (and still is) the central art form in my being and i had rabidly consumed the existing back catalogue over the previous year or so.

I too think that CIPWM is weak but the riff is fantastic and the pre-solo Zeppeliny thing is cool. Apart from that, it's a perfect album for me.

MC, ID, TETMD, TP and OTGDY are my favourites but TC and SSOASS are ace too.

Things I notice:

The guitar sound is different from any other record. I think they were using Gallien Kruger amps or something? Quite like it though.
Bruce sounded at his absolute god-like best on this record. His phrasing is incredible. Seriously love listening to him on this.
The title track has a few features that I have become vexed by on Maiden records - the repeated phrase chorus; whoa-ohs (Heaven Can Wait was clearly THE watershed moment for Steve for this but I'll save my rant for TRATB off BoS); the mirroring of melodies too tightly across instruments (like WTWB on Final Frontier).

But yes, incredible album. Following this thread I pumped it up in the car on the way to work and screamed my lungs out.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 07, 2017, 02:07:27 PM
Mosh's thread forced me to do a couple of things..
One was to go through my old concert pics and sort out, and two, was to scan them all in. Then assbucket fucks with me. Anyway, all of my Maiden pics have been moved to imgur and I reposted the pics I've posted so far in this thread. And I'm ready to go with the 7th Son pics and tour program, and my Bruce solo pics.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 07, 2017, 02:55:13 PM
Mosh's thread forced me to do a couple of things..
One was to go through my old concert pics and sort out, and two, was to scan them all in. Then assbucket fucks with me. Anyway, all of my Maiden pics have been moved to imgur and I reposted the pics I've posted so far in this thread. And I'm ready to go with the 7th Son pics and tour program, and my Bruce solo pics.

UP THE IRONS!

(and you're supposed to be chillin')
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Lowdz on July 07, 2017, 03:01:56 PM

But the real killer of this album was that it came out at the same time as Operation:Mindcrime. An album I was worshipping - still do.

I remember the Kerrang review of SSoaSS. They were gushing about it and how it was more cohesive and a better story than Mindcrime but I couldn't see it. Was there a story?

I never was stuck comparing the two albums. I loved them both. O:M relegitimized Queensryhe in my eyes after RFO. 7th Son took my favorite band and improved on what they do.

And I know you'll appreciate this Paul, but in 1988, Kerrang was basically an Iron Maiden fanzine at that point.
[/quote]

I don't think it was really a case of comparing them - SSoaSS just didn't get a look in as I played the hell out of O:M. It didn't get the chance to become loved in the same way.

Thinking about it, I was also listening to all the Shrapnel label shredders and Maiden's guitarists didn't compare.so I think this didn't help the album at the time.

I certainly don't dislike it - far from it - but it suffered because of those other factors.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 07, 2017, 03:08:36 PM

(and you're supposed to be chillin')

Oh, I'm chillin'. The down time was the perfect opportunity to do the assbucket to imgur thing.

Over the next few days, I'm going to start writing my discussion points for the next few albums. There is so much to chew on, I want to make sure I get it all down, while I'm laid up.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 07, 2017, 03:28:25 PM
The down time was the perfect opportunity to do the assbucket to imgur thing.

You have to quit calling it that. I keep getting a mental image of some strange fetish site every time I read that.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 07, 2017, 04:09:41 PM
What's so bad about calling it imgur? ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 07, 2017, 07:29:20 PM
I should add that Only the Good Die Young has a VERY rare thing on a Maiden song: a Steve Harris solo!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 07, 2017, 07:40:23 PM
That is such a cool moment. All around an overrated track. I definitely get what TAC is saying that it seems like an anticlimactic ending, another epic afterwards would've been cool, but as a song itself it's awesome. Also one of Bruce's strongest lyrics.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 07, 2017, 07:44:12 PM
It's a great song. No doubt. Needs a prechorus though. Yes that bass solo is awesome!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: wolfking on July 08, 2017, 12:29:05 AM
It's a great song. No doubt. Needs a prechorus though. Yes that bass solo is awesome!

Never thought about that, but great call.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 08, 2017, 08:43:24 AM
In 1988 I remember the talk at the time was how bands like Iron Maiden were softening up. Up and comers like Metallica, who gained a huge cult following with the release of Master of Puppets in 1986, were said to be the new force of metal and were continuing down the path of harder music in a similar vein as bands like Maiden had done just a few years earlier. Most of this newer metal didn’t appeal to me though Master of Puppets is an outstanding album. By this time I had already begun to explore other bands such as Rush, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin so I had diversified my tastes a bit. I wasn’t so committed to Maiden keeping the same sound that many others at the time wanted them to do.

My friend who went to the SIT concert with me was a huge Motley Crue fan and had already seen his favorite band soften their hard edge a bit while they went down the path of glam by the time Girls, Girls, Girls was released in 1987. He also had MTV (I didn’t) so after seeing the debut of Can I Play With Madness he told me the inevitable had occurred: Maiden have gone commercial. I liked the song a lot and still do even though it does (for Maiden) have that catchy chorus that really screams for radio play.

Like SIT I listened to this cassette twice the night I got it. From the first listen I liked most of the songs. It took me a while to get into Infinite Dreams and The Prophecy but in time I will say they are both enjoyable. And that acoustic guitar into – that was something different for Maiden! I too found the chorus on the Title Track somewhat disappointing but there’s enough going on to make up for this shortcoming.

I listened to this disc twice before posting and I think it is an excellent end to the 80’s for this band. The fact that the concept is somewhat weak doesn’t bother me a bit.

I don’t think there’s any filler on the album and rate all songs as top tier! I attribute at least some of this to the diversity of writing credits on the songs. Everyone but Nicko contributed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: wolfking on July 09, 2017, 04:54:07 AM
I don’t think there’s any filler on the album and rate all songs as top tier! I attribute at least some of this to the diversity of writing credits on the songs. Everyone but Nicko contributed.

You say this like it's a rare thing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 09, 2017, 05:12:53 AM
I don’t think there’s any filler on the album and rate all songs as top tier! I attribute at least some of this to the diversity of writing credits on the songs. Everyone but Nicko contributed.

You say this like it's a rare thing.

I'll clarify "At the time, this album featured a larger diversity in writing credits than previous albums." This is more commonplace in the reunion era.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: wolfking on July 09, 2017, 05:16:44 AM
I don’t think there’s any filler on the album and rate all songs as top tier! I attribute at least some of this to the diversity of writing credits on the songs. Everyone but Nicko contributed.

You say this like it's a rare thing.

I'll clarify "At the time, this album featured a larger diversity in writing credits than previous albums." This is more commonplace in the reunion era.

Fair enough, but really POM had all four contribute, Powerslave had only no Dave and SIT had no Bruce, and that was only because Bruce had gone troppo from touring and his song ideas were shot down.  But I see what you're saying.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 09, 2017, 06:53:01 AM
I don’t think there’s any filler on the album and rate all songs as top tier! I attribute at least some of this to the diversity of writing credits on the songs. Everyone but Nicko contributed.

You say this like it's a rare thing.

I'll clarify "At the time, this album featured a larger diversity in writing credits than previous albums." This is more commonplace in the reunion era.

Fair enough, but really POM had all four contribute, Powerslave had only no Dave and SIT had no Bruce, and that was only because Bruce had gone troppo from touring and his song ideas were shot down.  But I see what you're saying.

Next time I post I'll finish my coffee first AND reply on my PC instead of my tablet! In the process of responding to your statement about the diversity being a rare thing I somehow erased most of my response. To save time when I retyped my response I shortened my original thought and left out some pertinent info.

Moving on.

This album was the first to see the Smith/Harris/Dickinson combo show up as well as the Harris/Dickinson combo. Mosh notes these in his write up but I wanted to say that for a fan of the band at this time it didn't go unnoticed. The diversity here is at the song level, not the album level as a whole.

This album definitely has a different feel than any of the others before or after it. As a side note, In the Run to the Hills biography Harris states that this album and Piece of Mind were his two favorites of the 80's and that he was disappointed that it didn't do better here in the US than SIT.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: jingle.boy on July 10, 2017, 05:41:25 AM
Man... why do I let myself get behind in these threads - a month!  9 pages!  That was a lot of reading.

Powerslave ... Rime is #2 song in Maiden discog for me.  Flawless.  Given how I started my Maiden listening journey (more later), PS falls to the bottom of the 80s pile.  Like had been repeatedly mentioned, the bookends are all brilliant, the middle is mostly forgettable - probably because I spent so much time with the 'big 4'.

Somewhere in Time ... So clean, so polished.  I always felt the production was a gargantuan leap forward.  Don't know why, just how I felt.  So many fantabulous solos!  Without a doubt my favorite album cover, and the only album I have on vinyl.  It was my second album buy from IM (first was 7th Son on CD), and since CD's were hella expensive in 1988, I opted for the vinyl for SiT.

Seventh Son... This was my first Maiden album, purchased shortly after it's release, followed by me getting the entire Bruce-era back catalog - to those that remember Columbia House Record Club, I can thank them for this (I believe it was part of my first 6-pack order).  To call it a "full concept album" is a stretch - for all the reasons listed already.  And I'm not sure I'd call the opening of Moonchild an indication that "we're in for something special"... something "different", certainly.  I guess I'm kinda weird in that I don't like the 2nd part of Moonchild's opening.  Love the acoustic/spoken intro, but those synths.... So un-Maiden like. 

I thought I was weird in that I really like Can I Play With Madness - at the time, I was very much a glam/classic rock guy, so this song was kinda like a bridge for me to get more into some of the the harder/metal bands like Sabbath, Ozzy, Metallica, and some others.  30 years ago, there was a near revolt against that song for being "too" commercial.  Seems it's aged well for many - unsurprisingly, not for Tim.

Title track contains my favorite instrumental section of Maiden.  The choirs give me goosebumps every-damn-time.  Gotta say, I was :omg: at Powerslave's mention of it being the weakest epic of the 80s. I just really wish Maiden could write a non-repetitive chorus. 


Digression... Tim, you referenced (and we all know) your love for UFO.  I'd love for you to do a discussion thread on them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 05:51:20 AM
   Digression... Tim, you referenced (and we all know) your love for UFO.  I'd love for you to do a discussion thread on them.

Thank you. I've been put up to do an Alice Cooper and UFO one before.  I may at some point. Problem is, I would have to do it right, which would require some major time investment, and the threads might be read by only a handful of guys. Still, both bands' stories need to be told...

I'm laid up on the couch for another week, maybe I'll think about starting to get some text stored. Over the weekend, I have already saved my discussion points for the next 3 Maiden albums and the first two Bruce albums for this thread, plus I have gobs of pics ready to go. So as soon as Mosh opens the 7th Tour, I'll post those.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 10, 2017, 09:21:02 AM
Loving every post in this thread. Excellent curator-like write-ups by Mosh.

Getting ahead of myself but I am dreading the Blaze era being discussed since I am about 99.2% certain that 98.3% of posters are going to absolutely destroy it. I'll be in the 1.7% that either doesn't mind the albums or - gasp! - loves them. But oh boy, the criticism is going to be tough to read :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: jingle.boy on July 10, 2017, 09:23:08 AM
Loving every post in this thread. Excellent curator-like write-ups by Mosh.

Getting ahead of myself but I am dreading the Blaze era being discussed since I am about 99.2% certain that 98.3% of posters are going to absolutely destroy it. I'll be in the 1.7% that either doesn't mind the albums or - gasp! - loves them. But oh boy, the criticism is going to be tough to read :biggrin:

There is actually a fair amount of love around here for the Blaze era.  Certainly, enough coming from Australia.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 10, 2017, 09:33:02 AM
Loving every post in this thread. Excellent curator-like write-ups by Mosh.

Getting ahead of myself but I am dreading the Blaze era being discussed since I am about 99.2% certain that 98.3% of posters are going to absolutely destroy it. I'll be in the 1.7% that either doesn't mind the albums or - gasp! - loves them. But oh boy, the criticism is going to be tough to read :biggrin:

There is actually a fair amount of love around here for the Blaze era.  Certainly, enough coming from Australia.

Yea, that album is not hated so badly here including myself.  But looking forward to it, especially from the POV of the fans at the time.  I feel like those people may dislike it the most since they lived through that experience.  Whereas myself listened way later and had a different perspective.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 10, 2017, 09:35:19 AM
Loving every post in this thread. Excellent curator-like write-ups by Mosh.

Getting ahead of myself but I am dreading the Blaze era being discussed since I am about 99.2% certain that 98.3% of posters are going to absolutely destroy it. I'll be in the 1.7% that either doesn't mind the albums or - gasp! - loves them. But oh boy, the criticism is going to be tough to read :biggrin:

I am planning on listening thoroughly to the era before and during the discussion on those record. I've listened a bunch and own them, but will admit that Blaze's voice just lacks the character and power of Bruce, which hurt Maiden. There are some killer songs on those records that Bruce would have turned into something really special.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 10, 2017, 09:46:50 AM
I kinda lived through the Blaze era... the moment X Factor came out I was barely starting to listen to Maiden so I consider Virtual XI my first "new album as a fan", and I was young and naive and all the reunions haven't happened yet so it was easier to just accept that Bruce was gone, compared to today when you realize that every reunion is a matter of time, and just one year after Virtual XI Bruce was back so it wasn't that much of a trauma for me.

I didn't live through the upcoming disc, No Prayer, but let's hold our breath for that...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 10, 2017, 09:50:45 AM
Last thought on Seventh Son: This used to be my favorite Maiden album and revisiting it for this thread reminded me why. It's still probably in my top 3, making it my second favorite 80s album after Piece of Mind. The synths and the overall more produced style comes off better than on SIT and the more collaborative songwriting approach benefits the music in a big way.

Bruce also brings it on this album. Easily among his greatest performances. You listen to songs such as Moonchild, The title track, and the Prophecy and you can tell he's having a great time with the material. It's the peak of his theatricality. His voice has also developed and sounds fuller and all around more powerful. Where he was the weak link (imo) on Somewhere In Time, he's easily the MVP of Seventh Son.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 10, 2017, 09:53:41 AM
Well, on SIT he was surely burned out, but the vocal lines didn't help him either.

RUUUUUUUUUUUUN ON AND OOOOOOOOOOON
RUUUUUUUUUUUUN ON AND OOOOOOOOOOON

CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIIIIIMEEEEEEEEEEEE
CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIIIIIMEEEEEEEEEEEE

That after a gazillion of words spit out in the verses like with Heaven can Wait and Loneliness.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mister Gold on July 10, 2017, 10:07:14 AM
Last thought on Seventh Son: This used to be my favorite Maiden album and revisiting it for this thread reminded me why. It's still probably in my top 3, making it my second favorite 80s album after Piece of Mind. The synths and the overall more produced style comes off better than on SIT and the more collaborative songwriting approach benefits the music in a big way.

Bruce also brings it on this album. Easily among his greatest performances. You listen to songs such as Moonchild, The title track, and the Prophecy and you can tell he's having a great time with the material. It's the peak of his theatricality. His voice has also developed and sounds fuller and all around more powerful. Where he was the weak link (imo) on Somewhere In Time, he's easily the MVP of Seventh Son.

Yup, I love this album. Seventh Son continues a lot of what I like about Somewhere in Time, but generally improves upon it by and large and Bruce's input injects a stronger vocal and lyrical work here.

I adore the title track off this album. Probably my favorite prog epic of the 80s era. When I first got into the band, I never thought I'd ever get the chance to see them play this song live. So imagine my excitement when they announced the Maiden England tour a few years ago and when I heard those opening chords live for myself.

Just an amazing song and album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Cyclopssss on July 10, 2017, 10:26:27 AM
This Maiden album took met the longest time to get into. I loved Somewhere in Time and again went tot my local record store to buy it when it was released. The guy behind the teller took the cover from me (to get the inside cover and record to put it into the sleeve, that's how they sold records back then....never mind) and said: "you're one of the few that is actually buying it". What he meant was: you're one of the few to actually buy it aftre listening to the first track or two (which is also what you did back then, you listened for a bit, said: 'I'll have this, thank you!' or 'Nah thanks, it's not for me' and then proceed to either pay for it or not. I got what he meant though, because after listening to the first track and a half or so, I was in a state of doubt, which was a first for a Maiden record. That whole acoustic intro, I couldn't make heads nor tails of it.

Anyway I'm glad I did decide to buy it, but I wasn't convinced for about after the fourth time of playing it all the way through. It took a bit longer to land, this one. I mean, the sound was there, the superb playing was there, Bruce's fantastic vocals were there, but it was like they said: 'Hold on, we got something a little different for you this time, take some time to really listen to this.'

I got the fact that it was somewhat of a concept-album (but what the flippin' heck is it about?) but it wasn't as readily Obvious as say, Mindcrime, what the concept was. They actually made you work for it to figure it out.

It actually took me probably some years to really fully appreciate this album, but I'm glad I decided to stick with it. I mean, I immediately liked Moonchild, The Clairvoyant, can I play with madness and Heaven can wait. But the rest took a bit longer.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 10, 2017, 10:48:07 AM
I'm a newer (didn't really invest in the Maiden catalog until the mid-2000s) Maiden fan, and 7th Son took a while for sure. I like it better now than I first did. It's still not in my top-5 for Maiden, but it's just outside (maybe 7th). It's not as immediate, but there is some really good stuff there. I could absolutely see where being a Maiden fan back then, how 7th Son might throw people off.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 11:04:52 AM
I'm a newer (didn't really invest in the Maiden catalog until the mid-2000s) Maiden fan, and 7th Son took a while for sure. I like it better now than I first did. It's still not in my top-5 for Maiden, but it's just outside (maybe 7th).


I see what you did there.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 10, 2017, 11:29:24 AM
I'm a newer (didn't really invest in the Maiden catalog until the mid-2000s) Maiden fan, and 7th Son took a while for sure. I like it better now than I first did. It's still not in my top-5 for Maiden, but it's just outside (maybe 7th).


I see what you did there.  :lol

 :rollin
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Grappler on July 10, 2017, 11:36:48 AM
I'm a newer (didn't really invest in the Maiden catalog until the mid-2000s) Maiden fan, and 7th Son took a while for sure. I like it better now than I first did. It's still not in my top-5 for Maiden, but it's just outside (maybe 7th).


I see what you did there.  :lol

 :rollin

The Seventh Ranking of the Seventh Album.   :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 10, 2017, 01:08:21 PM
The title track took me time to get into. The instrumental ending always through me off, like where's the rest of the song? Now i appreciate it a lot more and prefer it that way. Especially when you compare it to ATG which has such a lazy ending. I actually didn't realize SSOASS had a very similar structure to TTAL until recently. It seems to take all the great parts of the previous epics the same way Rime did a few years earlier.

Update coming tonight
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 01:17:32 PM
Especially when you compare it to ATG which has such a lazy ending.

Thank you. I agree. Rime has a lazy ending too.


The title track took me time to get into. The instrumental ending always through me off,   I actually didn't realize SSOASS had a very similar structure to TTAL until recently. 

I like that arrangement. They resurrected it for The Book Of Souls (the song). I wish they would've used it on parts of The X Factor, especially on a track like The Edge Of Darkness, which could've ended perfectly with "...the genius must die."
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 10, 2017, 05:52:46 PM
Especially when you compare it to ATG which has such a lazy ending.

Thank you. I agree. Rime has a lazy ending.


Rime has the epic tale, that's all it needs. ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 05:57:59 PM
An epic tale, but not an epic tail.  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 10, 2017, 06:05:25 PM
An epic tale, but not an epic tail.  :D

 :rollin

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 10, 2017, 06:41:49 PM
I actually like the way Rime ends. The instrumental after the quiet middle section is intense and I find it impressive how they managed to bring it back to the beginning. It makes sense from a storytelling perspective too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 06:48:55 PM
The transition out of the instrumental section is good. It's actually something they struggle with, ie..Alexander, The Nomad, The Red And The Black.

But besides that, I find that Rime ends on such a whimper.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 10, 2017, 07:04:42 PM
I will say it's kinda strange how it doesn't have any sort of outro. It just ends on the final verse. I see what they were going for but a cool final riff at the end would've been welcome.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 10, 2017, 07:45:03 PM
An epic tale, but not an epic tail.  :D

What is it with you and the ass topic lately?  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 08:28:45 PM
An epic tale, but not an epic tail.  :D

What is it with you and the ass topic lately?  :biggrin:

I'm an ass, maybe?



:neverusethis:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 10, 2017, 08:33:09 PM
Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1987 - 88)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures07_ssoass/tourbook07_ssoass.jpg)
The Seventh Son tour marks a change of pace for Maiden’s touring habits. For the first time, the band began the tour after the release of the album. By the time they hit the road, the album was out and had a month to marinate. Additionally, this marked the first time the tour didn’t start in Europe/The UK. In 1988, the band were invited to headline the prestigious Monsters of Rock festival at Donington. As a result, their schedule was created around the event and the tour essentially happened in reverse, starting in the USA. The itinerary continued to shrink compared to the World Slavery Tour and Somewhere On Tour. The former was a 13 month tour and the latter was an 8 month tour. Seventh Tour lasted 7 months and only saw Europe and North America. No Japanese dates, no South American dates. The European tour was also significantly scaled back. They stayed away from most of Eastern Europe and only did a handful of dates outside of the Monsters of Rock festivals. They did perform in Greece for the first time though. The North American tour was as extensive as ever and continued the tradition of attempting to hit every nook and cranny in the USA, even though the album wasn’t as much of a success there as the previous albums.

The Monsters of Rock was a major event for Maiden. The festival occurred on an annual basis since 1980 and Maiden were invited to play every year since its inception. The band (i.e. management) turned down the offers because they wanted to wait for the time to be right so they could put on a special show. With their second #1 album under their belts and what was likely going to be the final tour of the decade, the time was right to finally headline the festival. Maiden were the first band to headline without playing the festival before in a lower slot (other than Rainbow of course). The entire lineup was one of the best Donington had ever seen. Maiden were joined by Kiss (the last time Kiss and Maiden shared the stage, Maiden were the opening band in 1980), an emerging Guns n Roses, David Lee Roth, Megadeth, and Helloween. Outside of Donington, bands such as Anthrax and Metallica were included on the bill.

By this time, Monsters of Rock had expanded to a mini-European festival tour, but the main event was still Donington, which was the first stop in Europe. It was one of the biggest Monsters of Rock events ever and was one of the biggest audiences the band played to. It was partly broadcast on MTV and the audio was broadcast on the BBC. An excerpt of the performance was released as part of Eddie’s Archive, which we will get to later. Unfortunately, the show was marred by tragedy when two audience members were crushed to death during Guns n’ Roses’ performance. The event was packed and people were aggressively pushing toward the barrier during the concert. Maiden were unaware of the incident until after the gig. What was briefly one of the band’s most triumphant moments quickly turned to one of their most tragic. The afterparty was cancelled and the event created a cloud over the rest of the tour.

That’s not to say the tour wasn’t without great moments after. The rest of the Monsters Of Rock tour was a big success. The Germany Monsters of Rock was partially broadcast, there’s no video of Maiden out there but you can find Anthrax, Great White, and Kiss on youtube (the Kiss performance was also officially released). I wasn’t around in 1988, but my dad was an he attended the German Monsters of Rock, so that gig has some significance for me.

The tour ended appropriately with an extensive UK run that acted as a homecoming for the band. After spending the better part of a decade conquering the world as one of the biggest touring acts, they returned home for a storybook ending to the band’s golden age (even if they didn’t realize it at the time). It is also here that we get the official live release from the tour:

Maiden England (Recorded 1988, released 1989)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1d/IronmaidenMaidenengland.jpg/220px-IronmaidenMaidenengland.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ea/Maiden_England_%2788_DVD_cover.jpg/220px-Maiden_England_%2788_DVD_cover.jpg)
(2013 cover)

Maiden England was recorded on the band’s UK tour at Birmingham’s NEC. This was their first time playing the venue and they sold out two nights there. As was often the case for bands in the 70s and 80s, it was important for this video to be significantly different than Live After Death, from the setlist to the cinematography.

Steve Harris requested he be in charge for the next Iron Maiden video, so Maiden England marks his directorial debut. The differences between the videos are pretty clear. Steve wanted the vibe of the video to be similar to that of a bootleg, as if it was from an audience member’s perspective. As a result, you get lots of closeups of the band members, less audience shots, and overall a more intimate portrayal of the band compared to the larger-than-life persona of Live After Death.

The setlist featured the standard 6 songs from the latest album. Only two songs (The Prophecy and Only the Good Die Young) from Seventh Son were left off the setlist. Unlike the previous three tours, nothing from the new album was dropped by the end, so all 6 songs are represented on the video. By this time, the band had actually added to the setlist. It seems to me that they were preparing for the live video with the setlist, because the songs added were rarities that weren’t featured on Live After Death. Killers and Still Life hadn’t been played for years and live recordings of these songs did not exist at the time. The rest of the setlist was also unique, with 6 new songs and 2 songs from Somewhere In Time, which hadn’t been recorded live yet. They also performed The Prisoner, which hadn’t been performed since 1982. Overall, the original VHS release contains only 4 duplicate songs from Live After Death. In 2013, the video was finally released on DVD with the addition of the encore (it was not included on the original VHS). The encore is identical to the one on Live After Death, but is still nice for the full concert experience.

Of course the other thing that makes every Maiden video special is that it captures the latest stage show. As usual, the band brought the album artwork to life with the blue dominated icy landscapes. There were iceberg props, a fortune teller ball that appeared at the start of the show, and two large Eddies. The first appeared during Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, representing his “prophet” look from the inner sleeve artwork, and again of course during Iron Maiden mimicking his look on the album cover.

Another unique moment during this show is Steve’s bass tech, Michael Kenney, joining the band on stage in costume for the keyboard parts to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Kenney had been enlisted to cover the synth parts backstage during the Somewhere In Time tour and continues as the man behind the curtain to this day.

Maiden England is another essential Maiden release, especially now that it is widely available on DVD. The video looks fantastic and it features some great bonus features, including a documentary that covers 1986-1988 and 12 Wasted Years. I always felt that Maiden England was the one for the hardcore fans, as it features many live rarities that are still only available on this video.

This is really one of the few tours where bootlegs are unnecessary. Maiden England features pretty much all the songs performed on this tour and the ones that aren’t included aren’t exactly rarities. It’s a great video and you get the full experience of the tour. Donington is partially available and the video is decent enough. But I decided to upload something anyway because I actually wasn’t able to find this one on youtube. This is one of several secret gigs the band performed under the name of Charlotte and the Harlots. They performed a few shows in Germany, where the album was recorded, and then a club show in New York City to practice for the full tour. This is the New York City gig. This is late 80s Maiden in a club. No stage production, no frills, the band are even in more everyday outfits. It’s an incomplete video, but is really fascinating to watch.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l8z999c40gkppuk/AABg8dAW09K31SZXEEYzceLda?dl=0

And that's what many consider to be the end of Maiden's golden age. Obviously at the time they weren’t planning on a lineup change or the coming change in the musical landscape, but they really ended the decade on a high note. A number one album, a headline performance at the premier rock festival, and a video that is in many ways a love letter to the band’s original fanbase. You couldn't ask for a better end to this lineup.


On Friday we’ll talk about how the members of Maiden spent 1989 before moving on to the next album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 10, 2017, 08:34:43 PM
Hey, that is definitely not funny!  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 11, 2017, 01:30:31 AM
Fantastic show and tour. I was too young to attend, but at least I saw its third millennium version with the Maiden England tour in 2013 AND 2014.

I did see the original VHS lent to me by a classmate however, and it was simply gorgeous to sink in the whole atmosphere. It's hard to compare it to Live After Death, it's discussing which one is better between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini, but I'll just say that while the LAD stage set looked like a fantastic and amazing, well, stage set, the Seventh Son stage was basically another world, more like a theatre production. With all the props, icebergs and white covered amps, it felt really like a complete and immersive experience than "just" a -surely amazing- stage set. Absolutely awesome.

I agree that even though they didn't know it yet, they ended the '80s and the run of the classic line-up on the highest possible note. Maiden were at the very top of the world and it would have took them at least a decade or more to come back there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 11, 2017, 03:32:35 AM
This tour came through the summer prior to me starting my junior year in high school. There was a US version of the Monster’s of Rock tour that had rolled through NE Ohio the week prior to this concert that included Van Halen and Metallica so many fans chose to go to that and skip Maiden. It also didn’t help that the show was the night of July 3rd. As a result the venue (same place where SIT was at) was only about 40% full. I vaguely remember Bruce even saying something like where are all the f**cking fans! It didn’t matter to him really – they played an awesome show.

Set List:
Moonchild
The Evil That Men Do
The Prisoner
Infinite Dreams
The Trooper
Can I Play With Madness
Heaven Can Wait
Wasted Years
The Clairvoyant
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden

Encore:
Run to the Hills
2 Minutes to Midnight
Running Free

This time they included a track from Piece of Mind but to me the real bonus was seeing The Prisoner live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Freeze on July 11, 2017, 04:34:05 AM
Iron Maiden was my first real arena concert experience. This was in "Drammenshallen" just outside of Oslo in October 1988. I was thirteen years old , and remember finding the concert mindblowing. To this day I still find the opening with "Moonchild" one of the strongest openings of any Maiden tour. I also remember buying a t-shirt at the concert that was way too big , so I guess I kind of looked like a young boy wearing a Iron Maiden dress. I have seen Maiden several times in concert since then , but they have yet to top that first experience. Today the "Drammenshallen" is no longer in use for concerts.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 11, 2017, 05:03:05 AM
[...]and then a club show in New York City to practice for the full tour. This is the New York City gig. This is late 80s Maiden in a club. No stage production, no frills, the band are even in more everyday outfits. It’s an incomplete video, but is really fascinating to watch.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l8z999c40gkppuk/AABg8dAW09K31SZXEEYzceLda?dl=0


I'm not sure if the DVD uploaded correctly. It's only 34 mb as a download and selecting a song just returns me to the menu.

Another very enjoyable write-up - nice work.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 08:01:54 AM
Awesome write up Mosh!

The boot of KISS on that German date is one of my all time favorite Boots. It's KISS performing outside in the daytime. I've had a copy of that show since the late 80's and it's awesome.

 
[...]and then a club show in New York City to practice for the full tour. This is the New York City gig. This is late 80s Maiden in a club. No stage production, no frills, the band are even in more everyday outfits. It’s an incomplete video, but is really fascinating to watch.   


I also remember having this as well. My college roommate, who lived in northern New Jersey, and I made a pact that if they even did another show like that we would be there, and of course 4 years later, we went to the show at The Ritz.

 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 08:12:18 AM
Ticket stubs and tour book.

(https://i.imgur.com/Jx0jpSi.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vRqgHiD.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/trP8k5V.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/75r3fel.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/4r6Rigz.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/PmQQUq2.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/m57QpjP.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/xF119xA.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/uSFzk1N.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/OyCCCUP.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/sLFgvm4.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/WKWlbhs.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/ZPwZbXA.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/NZ2VjgU.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 08:13:45 AM
July 17, 1988
The Centrum
Worcester, Ma

(https://i.imgur.com/m7Lefbw.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/GPT62JP.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/eunzpvi.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vWmLJFm.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/49nOhJP.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/hkkqzvL.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/hg2ibC0.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/p3FvJ9y.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/cYkIvuC.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/cyJ4yod.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/nz8OcZH.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 08:15:06 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/UHGx7eK.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vJUwFBS.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/ELKUiyj.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/bJH4gzt.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vixnknT.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/kJD71VL.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/oykvHSv.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/DKBIkbC.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/DusqTaV.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/bfjFQ6t.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/gG99CpT.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/SePwVNS.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/WiBGtDy.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/gPcj3Db.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/rQ0goZR.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/w8qR3E4.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Stadler on July 11, 2017, 08:31:46 AM
I'd pay to see that warmup gig in NY.  I love when bands just PLAY with no stage gear.  There are a couple of Kiss like that, and they're awesome. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 11, 2017, 08:35:38 AM
Yea, that NYC show sounds awesome, something I would love to be able to attend.

Nice pics TAC, I can't believe how cheap your tickets were and how close you were  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 08:36:42 AM
I'd pay to see that warmup gig in NY.  I love when bands just PLAY with no stage gear.  There are a couple of Kiss like that, and they're awesome. 

Stadler, did you see the Revenge club tour anywhere?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 08:42:13 AM
Nice pics TAC, I can't believe how cheap your tickets were and how close you were  :lol

For the Worcester show, where I took the pics, I bought a floor seat and went solo. I worked my way up during Ace Frehley. I have great shots of Ace as well. In fact, in the 2nd and 3rd pic of my first post, where Bruce is up on the riser, you can tell it was during Moonchild because the red/pink curtail in the lower left corner of the pic is still up, and that was part of Ace's stage. In later shots, the curtain is gone.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 11, 2017, 09:14:17 AM
Mosh -- great coverage. Fun to read.

Tim -- Great pics! Been waiting for you to post some in the QR discography thread...I know you got 'em. ;)

Maiden is such an incredible story. It's really cool to have someone like Mosh who is so versed in it that when you read what is posted, you actually feel like you've been there. Nicely done.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 09:24:19 AM
Tim -- Great pics! Been waiting for you to post some in the QR discography thread...I know you got 'em. ;)

I actually don't have any QR pics. I know I've sent you some ticket stubs.

I do have great pics to the Metallica show in Worcester from '89, but for some reason, I don't think I took any QR shots. I don't have any in my collection, I'd have to dig out the negatives.

I did record the Promised Land show, and traded that out back in the day, but I'm pretty sure I don't have that anymore either!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Samsara on July 11, 2017, 09:37:24 AM
I'd pay to see that warmup gig in NY.  I love when bands just PLAY with no stage gear.  There are a couple of Kiss like that, and they're awesome.

I agree. Those gigs are killer. I remember when I traveled a lot to LA and Arizona, I was always hoping I'd see a local bar with the name: Vic & The Rattleheads, TONIGHT ONLY. Seeing Megadeth in a bar, would just be incredible. I could only imagine seeing Maiden in a club. Intense.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 11, 2017, 09:39:25 AM
I wish they would actually do some special shows like that, but the logistics would be a nightmare. With internet booking, secondary ticketing, word of mouth spreading like wildfire over the internet, I'm afraid not even if they want to they could do a small show.

Maybe it should be a private event where you have to register on their website and be randomly selected as winner.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 11, 2017, 09:43:17 AM
I wish they would actually do some special shows like that, but the logistics would be a nightmare. With internet booking, secondary ticketing, word of mouth spreading like wildfire over the internet, I'm afraid not even if they want to they could do a small show.

Maybe it should be a private event where you have to register on their website and be randomly selected as winner.

Metallica did it before their current tour.  I believe it was a random selection for tickets through the fan club (maybe?) and they played at Webster Hall in NYC.   Would have been amazing to be there, but those tickets were like 500 on the secondary market and the gig was only announced a couple days prior.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: axeman90210 on July 11, 2017, 10:04:35 AM
I wish they would actually do some special shows like that, but the logistics would be a nightmare. With internet booking, secondary ticketing, word of mouth spreading like wildfire over the internet, I'm afraid not even if they want to they could do a small show.

Maybe it should be a private event where you have to register on their website and be randomly selected as winner.

Metallica did it before their current tour.  I believe it was a random selection for tickets through the fan club (maybe?) and they played at Webster Hall in NYC.   Would have been amazing to be there, but those tickets were like 500 on the secondary market and the gig was only announced a couple days prior.

Yeah, I really wanted to go as well. I basically found tickets on CL for $400 and then through stub hub or some other resale site they were $800. If I could have gotten them on StubHub for $400 knowing I was protected from frauds, I probably would have pulled the trigger.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Stadler on July 11, 2017, 10:19:00 AM
I'd pay to see that warmup gig in NY.  I love when bands just PLAY with no stage gear.  There are a couple of Kiss like that, and they're awesome. 

Stadler, did you see the Revenge club tour anywhere?

I did not, and it's one of my very few concert regrets (Purple on the Perfect Strangers tour and Oasis in 2008 are the other two biggies).  I don't have any real excuses, other than the closest date was New York or Boston and I wasn't going to concerts by myself back then (today I'd hop in the car and go without a thought).  My concert buddy at that point was big into prog; we saw Crimson, ELP and Yes something like ten times in that year span when Kiss was doing that run (Spring of '92 if memory serves; it does because I looked it up!).   They played the Troc in Philly and the Avalon Ballroom in Boston; I'da gone to either one of those at that point.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 10:21:35 AM
Cool. I went to Avalon, which is where Iron Maiden would play 4 years later..which I missed! >:(

We'll get to that in due time, I guess.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 11, 2017, 05:27:26 PM
[...]and then a club show in New York City to practice for the full tour. This is the New York City gig. This is late 80s Maiden in a club. No stage production, no frills, the band are even in more everyday outfits. It’s an incomplete video, but is really fascinating to watch.  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l8z999c40gkppuk/AABg8dAW09K31SZXEEYzceLda?dl=0


I'm not sure if the DVD uploaded correctly. It's only 34 mb as a download and selecting a song just returns me to the menu.

Another very enjoyable write-up - nice work.
Try this one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/mu8csylk1xeeelj/1988-05-08dvd.zip?dl=0
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 11, 2017, 06:40:33 PM
Awesome write up Mosh!

The boot of KISS on that German date is one of my all time favorite Boots. It's KISS performing outside in the daytime. I've had a copy of that show since the late 80's and it's awesome.
Quote
My dad was right in front of Paul Stanley for that. Great show, much better than the Crazy Nights show that got included on Kissology 2 IMO.

 Great pics BTW. You get a different perspective of the stage shows seeing them up close like that.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 11, 2017, 07:03:42 PM
Great pics BTW. You get a different perspective of the stage shows seeing them up close like that.
Thank you!

I forgot to mention that I got an Adrian pick at this show. For the life of me, I cannot locate it. But on one side was his signature, and on the other side it said "7th pick of the 7th tour".

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: wolfking on July 11, 2017, 11:44:33 PM
Tim delivering the goods once again.  Great pics.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 12, 2017, 07:33:40 AM
Great pics BTW. You get a different perspective of the stage shows seeing them up close like that.
Thank you!

I forgot to mention that I got an Adrian pick at this show. For the life of me, I cannot locate it. But on one side was his signature, and on the other side it said "7th pick of the 7th tour".

That's awesome, hope you find it though
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 12, 2017, 01:13:03 PM
I have to say watching the Maiden England DVD I've been a little underwhelmed. The concert video is great of course but they could've done more with the additional features. Maybe some Donington 88 footage or at least an excerpt of something from the Somewhere on Time tour. Just something really special and rare.

The documentary also seems to gloss over everything. There are a couple good stories but overall it feels more like a promotional video for the band than a dedicated documentary the way the first two "history of" videos were.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 12, 2017, 01:30:55 PM
As far as Donnington, if they had included a couple of tracks, that would've frustrated me more, as it would only be proof that they have footage but haven't released it. They blew their chance on Eddie's Archive to release the show.

I think getting the full show on Maiden England was good. I honestly haven't watched the documentary part since I bought the thing years ago.
Mosh, what topics at that time would you have liked comments on?


But as with typical rock documentaries or biographies, way too much time is spent on minutia. Like in Mick Wall's Run To the Hills, you're 160 pages in before Adrian even joins the band, SiT gets 5 pages and SSOASS gets about 8, with 3 of them being Donnington and the tragedy. I would rather heard about what was going on with the band during those years.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 12, 2017, 02:53:02 PM
As far as Donnington, if they had included a couple of tracks, that would've frustrated me more, as it would only be proof that they have footage but haven't released it. They blew their chance on Eddie's Archive to release the show.

I think getting the full show on Maiden England was good. I honestly haven't watched the documentary part since I bought the thing years ago.
Mosh, what topics at that time would you have liked comments on?


But as with typical rock documentaries or biographies, way too much time is spent on minutia. Like in Mick Wall's Run To the Hills, you're 160 pages in before Adrian even joins the band, SiT gets 5 pages and SSOASS gets about 8, with 3 of them being Donnington and the tragedy. I would rather heard about what was going on with the band during those years.
I'm sure they have Donington. The footage of it that I've seen is pretty dark, which is why I think they haven't released it. They screwed up on BBC Archives, but we'll get to that later. I don't even need the full Donington though, just the highlights and songs not played at the NEC like with Rock in Rio on LAD.

I just wish the doc was longer. It's 40 minutes which means you get 20 min per album and half of that time is spent on the tours, so they ended up just rushing through everything. I would've liked more on SIT. On the Live After Deah doc you get some comments on how the songs were written and recorded. On the Maiden England doc they talk about Wasted Years and that was about it. I would've liked more on Alexander, maybe what happened to the Bruce songs that were rejected. The Seventh Son portion is a little bit better but still they could've done more with it. I would've liked a full hour long or even 90 minute doc.

Totally agree on band bios in general. They spend most of the time talking about the early days and then gloss over everything else, but I find that stuff more interesting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 12, 2017, 06:08:00 PM
The comments on the Maiden England "history of Iron Maiden" part got me thinking what they'll do next...reissue Donnington covering a few more years seems like a good choice, but how will they address the Blaze years? And will they dare to go on tour with a setlist based on their 90's output?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 12, 2017, 06:22:04 PM
Yea I have no idea. I'll be very disappointed if the documentaries end with Fear of the Dark though. They've filmed Blaze era stuff though, hopefully they release it.

I am certain there will be no 90s tour. The closest thing we'll get is if they do another TFF 2010 style tour before a new album comes out and they throw some 90s songs in.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 12, 2017, 06:51:05 PM
...reissue Donnington covering a few more years seems like a good choice, but how will they address the Blaze years? And will they dare to go on tour with a setlist based on their 90's output?
I don't even know how I'd feel about a Donnington '92 Reissue. It might literally be the worst concert video I've ever seen. Would love to hear the band discuss the 90's though.



I am certain there will be no 90s tour. The closest thing we'll get is if they do another TFF 2010 style tour before a new album comes out and they throw some 90s songs in.

And if they even play some Blaze material, it'll most likely be a repeat like The Clansman.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 12, 2017, 07:01:35 PM
In any case, I think the proper way to end those revival tours and the rather sketchy documentary they're doing to recap their career would be to wrap it up when the current lineup was formed. Reissue Rock in Rio with the final chapter of the story and that's it. What do you guys think?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 12, 2017, 07:15:59 PM
Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. At least bring it full circle to the Reunion Era.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Dream Team on July 12, 2017, 07:18:50 PM
Sorta on-topic, but has anyone been following the song-ranking countdown thread on Maidenfans? It's the most amazing one I've even seen, with rankings for the past 13 years, standard deviations, everything:

https://forum.maidenfans.com/threads/the-official-maidenfans-com-rankings-results-2004-2016.62069/

A few rankings I strongly disagree with of course, but interesting comments throughout.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 12, 2017, 07:28:18 PM
I'm kind of following it. I'm on Maidenfans, though I'm not wicked active. I haven't rated any songs. Seems like a huge task to do so. Typical countdown..this one's too high, this one's too low.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 12, 2017, 08:02:32 PM
I'm very active on there and yea it's a huge project. I went through and rated everything twice (2011 and 2015), some members have done it 4 or 5 times going back to 2004. I'd say the countdown is mostly interesting for the meta aspect, seeing how that particular community has changed over the years.

...reissue Donnington covering a few more years seems like a good choice, but how will they address the Blaze years? And will they dare to go on tour with a setlist based on their 90's output?
I don't even know how I'd feel about a Donnington '92 Reissue. It might literally be the worst concert video I've ever seen. Would love to hear the band discuss the 90's though.



I am certain there will be no 90s tour. The closest thing we'll get is if they do another TFF 2010 style tour before a new album comes out and they throw some 90s songs in.

And if they even play some Blaze material, it'll most likely be a repeat like The Clansman.

I'm hoping they fix the video if they ever release it on DVD. People call DOTR unwatchable, but Donington is so much worse. Also kind of a meh setlist and stage. I mostly want it for completion sake and holding out hope for some good bonus features. I'm assuming Raising Hell will be packaged with it (not that much of an improvement but an interesting oddity), I'm hoping the documentary will be good, and maybe we'll get some concert video from the vault. I'm pretty sure they filmed every other tour in the 90s.

If they play some 90s material on a tour, my thought is 3 songs from No Prayer and 3 songs from Fear: Tailgunner, Bring Your Daughter, Holy Smoke, ATSS, Be Quick Or Be Dead, and FOTD. Nothing too exciting. I doubt they'll ever do Blaze material again, but if they do it'll definitely be a repeat. Probably a shorter song though so not too much set time is devoted to it.

In any case, I think the proper way to end those revival tours and the rather sketchy documentary they're doing to recap their career would be to wrap it up when the current lineup was formed. Reissue Rock in Rio with the final chapter of the story and that's it. What do you guys think?

Yea, I figure they could put Rock In Rio out on blu ray or something. The 00s are pretty well covered, documentary wise, only BNW and TBOS don't have documentaries. At some point they are going to have to release the 00s tours that they filmed but haven't yet released.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: TAC on July 12, 2017, 08:16:07 PM

I'm hoping they fix the video if they ever release it on DVD. People call DOTR unwatchable, but Donington is so much worse. Also kind of a meh setlist and stage. I mostly want it for completion sake and holding out hope for some good bonus features. I'm assuming Raising Hell will be packaged with it (not that much of an improvement but an interesting oddity), 
 

I remember when Raising Hell was aired. It was a pay per view thingy. I remember having to go out that night, but I set my VCR, and being so pissed it didn't record.


Even though it's the best filmed Maiden concert, DOTR is unwatchable. But Donnington '92 is WORSE!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: cramx3 on July 13, 2017, 07:39:25 AM
Yea, I figure they could put Rock In Rio out on blu ray or something. The 00s are pretty well covered, documentary wise, only BNW and TBOS don't have documentaries. At some point they are going to have to release the 00s tours that they filmed but haven't yet released.

Was RiR filmed in widescreen?  I think that might hold it back from ever getting a blu ray release if thats the case, however, DotR would probably look beautiful if it got the blu-ray treatment (I think it looks great on DVD) however, it really needs a re-edit.  I'd still buy it and likely enjoy it though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: Mosh on July 14, 2017, 01:22:43 PM
After the conclusion of the Seventh Tour, Maiden took a year off for the very first time. 1989 is one of only three years with no Maiden activity since their formation. No tours and no new albums. Maiden England and an accompanying single were released later in the year, but of course that was recorded a year earlier. Most of the guys used the year off as a much deserved break from music, but Adrian Smith (still a member of Maiden at this point) and Bruce Dickinson both managed to keep busy. Bruce in particular, even then living up to his reputation as a man of many trades, made a solo album and wrote a book. There was probably some fencing involved too. Before moving on to No Prayer, let's take a look at the two Maiden related albums released in between.

ASAP - Silver and Gold (1989)

(https://img.discogs.com/KpQzpRt2nO3h-YDUtJrjBUrES5E=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2892358-1468299684-3465.jpeg.jpg)
ASAP (short for Adrian Smith and Project) was born out of The Entire Population Of Hackney, the short side project Adrian and Nicko participated in during Maiden’s last break. The lineup is the same, although Nicko didn’t participate this time because he was busy getting married. In his place, Adrian enlisted Ringo Starr’s son: Zak Starkey. Silver and Gold shows a more melodic AOR style of music from Adrian that we caught glimpses of with Wasted Years and the b-sides to the Somewhere In Time singles. If you enjoyed those songs or Adrian’s singing on Reach Out, this album is very much in that vein. Some of the songs originate from that project and can be heard on Entire Population Of Hackney bootlegs.

Unfortunately, the album was a commercial failure. There wasn’t much promotion for it and finding an audience for the music was difficult. It was such a stark contrast from even the more commercial leanings of Maiden that it did not appeal to most fans. Regardless, it gave Adrian Smith a new creative outlet and a taste of life outside of Maiden. Not much else to say about ASAP. The project didn’t continue after Adrian departed from Maiden, he actually quit the music industry altogether for a few years. We’ll get more into his departure when we talk No Prayer as it is more relevant to the making of that album.

Bruce Dickinson - Tattooed Millionaire (1990)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b2/TattooedMillionaire.jpg/220px-TattooedMillionaire.jpg)
Midway through 1989, Maiden were approached to record a song for the new Nightmare On Elm Street movie. Committed to their break, the band turned it down, but Bruce Dickinson took the offer instead as an opportunity to record his first solo music. He wrote Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter for the movie and teamed up with guitarist Janick Gers to record it. Janick had been a part of the British hard rock/metal scene since the late 70s, about the same time as Maiden. He had a short lived project called White Spirit (they released an album in 1980, it’s pretty good!) and gained most of his notoriety as Ian Gillan’s guitarist. He also did a project in the mid 80s with Paul Di’Anno and Clive Burr called Gogmagog. So Janick and Maiden had crossed paths throughout the 80s and were well aware of each other, making him a natural choice for Bruce when he needed a guitarist.

Bring Your Daughter wasn’t a major hit, it actually earned Bruce a Golden Raspberry award for Worst Original Song, but it did show his potential as a solo artist and EMI gave him the opportunity to come up with an album. The result was Tattooed Millionaire.

Tattooed Millionaire begins the short tradition of Bruce Dickinson using his solo albums as an opportunity to release music that wouldn’t fit in Maiden. This particular album boasts a more traditional Hard Rock sound, even with some hints of the LA Glam Metal scene. There is a lot of influence from bands such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, and even Guns N’ Roses. There’s also a Mott the Hoople cover: All the Young Dudes. Bruce also employes a new raspier vocal technique on the album. It’s a stark contrast from Bruce’s spandex-clad theatrics in Maiden, especially after an album like Seventh Son. The songs are simpler and contain big anthemic choruses. Of course Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter isn’t on the album, it was left off because Steve asked Bruce to save it for Maiden.

The album also proved Janick and Bruce to be effective writing partners, similar to the partnership between Adrian and Bruce. All songs on Tattooed Millionaire, with the exception of No Lies and All the Young Dudes, were co-written by the two. With Janick being the only guitarist, he has a lot more room to play than with Maiden. In some ways he gets to flex his playing muscles a little more than he did with Maiden, at least on the first couple albums. His soloing style is also more melodic and less manic.

Like Silver and Gold, the album was quite a departure from what fans were used to with Maiden. Tattooed Millionaire remains a controversial Bruce album and is often ranked as one of his weakest. It’s hard to compete with Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding, but I still like this album. It was the first Bruce Dickinson solo album I heard and at the time I was very much into 70s Hard Rock and 80s Glam Metal, so this stuff fit in fine with what I was listening to. I think Bruce did that sound a lot better than most of his contemporaries. Like most of Bruce’s early solo work, it can be enjoyed if you approach it with an open mind and don’t expect anything that sounds like Maiden.

Even though the album was recorded in 1989, it wasn’t released until May of next year. By the time it was released, Janick Gers had joined Maiden and is credited in the liner notes as “Now With Iron Maiden”. There were two top 40 UK singles: the title track which hit #18 and All the Young Dudes which hit #23. It was such a success for Bruce that he was able to tour for it, which brings us to:


Dive! Dive! Live! (Recorded 1990, Released in 1991)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/DiveDiveLive.jpg/220px-DiveDiveLive.jpg)
Somehow during the production of the next Maiden album, Bruce and Janick found time to tour on Tattooed Millionaire. This is a video from the tour recorded in LA that also used the same directors who worked on Live After Death. Once again, it shows Bruce in a totally different context. Watching this after Maiden England is especially interesting because it is the total opposite type of performance. It’s in a small club with a basic stage setup and Bruce is wearing fairly normal clothes. It actually foreshadows Maiden’s 90’s look. The setlist features every song from Tattooed Millionaire, plus some b-sides, Bring Your Daughter, an AC/DC cover, and a taste of Bruce’s past with Samson.

This video is available on Bruce’s Anthology DVD, which was released around the time of Tyranny Of Souls. It’s a great DVD that features two other concerts, an interview, and all of his music videos. Definitely a must for fans of his solo material and pretty easy to find. I got it for something ridiculous like $3. For 3 discs with that much content, you can't pass it up. 

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: cramx3 on July 14, 2017, 01:36:07 PM
I definitely got an 80s glam metal vibe from Tattooed Millionaire, and while I even enjoy 80s glam metal, I really never enjoyed the album.  A few decent songs, but I mostly found the album uninteresting.  I have Bruce's Anthology DVD and enjoy the Dive Dive Dive concert (even though, like I said, I'm not a huge fan of the music) but that concert is pretty different as Mosh explained so it's pretty interesting to see.  Also cool to see Bruce and Jannick together before IM. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 14, 2017, 01:37:58 PM
I have to confess I'm in the vast majority of those who haven't heard ASAP's Silver and Gold.

But I have heard basically everything Bruce has even done (except Samson here and there), and so I know Tattoed Millionarie. I surely heard the live version of Dive Dive Dive, don't remember if I ever watched the video... but I remember Janick playing No Lies with his face bleeding (Rod Smallwood would agree that it's good television - on Rock in Rio '85 Bruce hurt himself and he jokingly asked to bleed more 'cause it looked good on TV  :lol )

I like Tattoed Millionaire. I don't love it, but it's a fun album. Also because of the way it was born:

Midway through 1989, Maiden were approached to record a song for the new Nightmare On Elm Street movie. Committed to their break, the band turned it down, but Bruce Dickinson took the offer instead as an opportunity to record his first solo music.

I'd like to humbly offer a different perspective on this - Bruce is on record saying that he wrote the song, he was asked if he had an album to release, said he had it.... but he didn't, then called Janick Gers to write the album in a week. Tattoed Millionaire was born like that, and as I said I think it's a fun album. It starts off very, very strong, then each of the songs - especially the slower ones - are a bit worse than the previous, and by the end, well, it kinda falls off the rails.

Still, the title track is an anthemic and catchy hard rock song as you can get, and the oddly placed opener, Son of a Gun, is the true gem of the album. A true fantastic song, where Bruce's new style suits the mood of the song very well, and it has powerful lyrics and a great chorus. The bridge "Oh, in a blood red sunrise, take me to Jesus, with Judas my guide" sends shivers down my spine. The album is reedemed by this song alone. A redemption needed by stuff like Zulu Lulu which is probably one of the worst things Bruce has ever done  :lol

The first trio of songs (Born in '58 can't be forgotten) is amazing however. All things considered this is Bruce's worst solo album, but these three songs are gorgeous.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Grappler on July 14, 2017, 01:47:41 PM
I've never really cared for any of Bruce's solo stuff, except for the heavier stuff (AOB & onward).  So I have very little to contribute. 

I do recall that in Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries book, he claimed that the song Tattooed Millionaire is about him having had an affair with Bruce's wife at the time.  Who knows how true that is, but one review of the lyrics shows that it's a pretty pointed attack on the LA/glam metal scene, if not one person in particular.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Art on July 14, 2017, 01:53:18 PM
Tatooed Millionaire is a fun album, with it's fair share of filler, but it has some very good stuff in it, like: Born in 58, Son Of A Gun, title track. Hell, i even like Gypsy Road  :lol :metal

Since at that time the solo stuff was not his main gig, the album came out a lot more relaxed and with a jam-session vibe to it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (1988)
Post by: devieira73 on July 14, 2017, 01:55:47 PM
Still, the title track is an anthemic and catchy hard rock song as you can get, and the oddly placed opener, Son of a Gun, is the true gem of the album. A true fantastic song, where Bruce's new style suits the mood of the song very well, and it has powerful lyrics and a great chorus. The bridge "Oh, in a blood red sunrise, take me to Jesus, with Judas my guide" sends shivers down my spine. The album is reedemed by this song alone. A redemption needed by stuff like Zulu Lulu which is probably one of the worst things Bruce has ever done  :lol

The first trio of songs (Born in '58 can't be forgotten) is amazing however. All things considered this is Bruce's worst solo album, but these three songs are gorgeous.
Totally this. This song should have been recorded by Maiden IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: TAC on July 14, 2017, 02:18:14 PM
Awesome writeup Mosh. Lots to chew on.

I was very excited for the ASAP album. I found it very underwhelming. I remember liking the title track, but in all seriousness, I haven't listened to it in ages. I just dug my vinyl copy out of my attic, along with Bruce's book.

(https://i.imgur.com/lWXJY8q.jpg)


As far as Tattooed Millionaire, This is a nice little album. It felt like something Bruce may have had to do to get out of his system, or simply to keep busy while Maiden took their longest break to date between albums. The album is kind of a mixed bag, and is cool enough for what it is, but it really gave no glimpse of what would become an amazing solo career.

Born In '58 is an absolute masterpiece and might be my #1 Bruce solo track. . I also love No Lies and Son Of A Gun. Gypsy Road too.

I was also lucky enough to see the TM tour at The Living Room in Providence on July 22, 1990. The Living Room is a freaking shoebox. I have some pics, but honestly most of them came out blurry as I was "at the stage" getting pushed around, plus trying to keep Bruce and Jannick in focus is quite difficult. Being so close, my camera just didn't quite focus right.

(https://i.imgur.com/BsjOPLl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/rQjAYUZ.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/D5RXPKN.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/tqzQOGa.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/9zXAhZe.jpg)

...and tour shirt:

(https://i.imgur.com/8ZEIYbh.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/5g3dXt3.jpg)


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: cramx3 on July 14, 2017, 02:25:57 PM
Wow TAC, that's awesome you got to see Bruce in a club show like that  :metal :metal :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: TAC on July 14, 2017, 02:30:18 PM
Those are really the only pics I can share. I have about 15-20 more that are nothing but fuzzballs. I was so pissed when I got the film back.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Lowdz on July 14, 2017, 03:00:06 PM
I have never heard TM - I heard the singles and didn't like them. I was falling out of love with Maiden and I never really bothered following Bruce. I heard all his others more recently but never went back to this one.

I bought his book and thought it was complete shite.

I have Silver and Gold on vinyl, and a silver vinyl version of the single. I played the album recently and it's ok, but nothing really noteworthy.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: TAC on July 14, 2017, 03:04:01 PM
I bought his book and thought it was complete shite.

 :lol

It is. I read it at the time, and it is complete nonsense. In fact, even though it's written in English, I couldn't understand a single word! :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Lowdz on July 14, 2017, 04:17:54 PM
I bought his book and thought it was complete shite.

 :lol

It is. I read it at the time, and it is complete nonsense. In fact, even though it's written in English, I couldn't understand a single word! :lol

To be fair, it is very English. Though I think it's how we plebs think the rich folk live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: TAC on July 15, 2017, 12:30:29 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dScD0309o8
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Mladen on July 15, 2017, 02:15:43 PM
Just when I thought TAC couldn't surprise me anymore with his "I was there", "I attended this concert", "I saw this tour" posts. That's truly impressive.  :hefdaddy

Tattoed millionaire is way too vanilla hard rock for me, I'm not sure which tracks would be my favorites. None of it is really great. I've never listened to that ASAP album, but I've been telling myself I need to check it out for years now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: TAC on July 15, 2017, 02:43:36 PM
Just when I thought TAC couldn't surprise me anymore with his "I was there", "I attended this concert", "I saw this tour" posts. That's truly impressive.  :hefdaddy

Haha thanks. Just lucky to be around at the time and I was a huge Iron Maiden fan. I was a few months short of turning 22 at the time.

  I've never listened to that ASAP album, but I've been telling myself I need to check it out for years now.

Click the youtube link above. It's the title track introduced by the man himself.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 15, 2017, 03:16:10 PM
I can't remember specifics, but I remember someone telling me that the model on the ASAP album was Adrian's wife at the time. Can anyone confirm this?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Mosh on July 15, 2017, 05:04:11 PM
Great pics TAC! I really hope Bruce tours again some day. Would love to see him in a small venue.

I have to confess I'm in the vast majority of those who haven't heard ASAP's Silver and Gold.

But I have heard basically everything Bruce has even done (except Samson here and there), and so I know Tattoed Millionarie. I surely heard the live version of Dive Dive Dive, don't remember if I ever watched the video... but I remember Janick playing No Lies with his face bleeding (Rod Smallwood would agree that it's good television - on Rock in Rio '85 Bruce hurt himself and he jokingly asked to bleed more 'cause it looked good on TV  :lol )

I like Tattoed Millionaire. I don't love it, but it's a fun album. Also because of the way it was born:

Midway through 1989, Maiden were approached to record a song for the new Nightmare On Elm Street movie. Committed to their break, the band turned it down, but Bruce Dickinson took the offer instead as an opportunity to record his first solo music.

I'd like to humbly offer a different perspective on this - Bruce is on record saying that he wrote the song, he was asked if he had an album to release, said he had it.... but he didn't, then called Janick Gers to write the album in a week. Tattoed Millionaire was born like that, and as I said I think it's a fun album. It starts off very, very strong, then each of the songs - especially the slower ones - are a bit worse than the previous, and by the end, well, it kinda falls off the rails.

I've heard that story before too but was having a hard time finding the source of that. Might've been on that Anthology doc, I'd have to watch it again. I also agree that the album starts off strong and then quickly declines. The first three tracks are incredible, then you have three songs which aren't bad but seem very derivative and below Bruce's standards. All the Young Dudes is good, but then it's three more ok to mediocre songs.

All that being said, I still have a soft spot for it. It's a better glam metal album than most legit glam bands were actually putting out at the time.

I do recall that in Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries book, he claimed that the song Tattooed Millionaire is about him having had an affair with Bruce's wife at the time.  Who knows how true that is, but one review of the lyrics shows that it's a pretty pointed attack on the LA/glam metal scene, if not one person in particular.
That's another story I've heard many times but not from Bruce himself. Could be true that it inspired the song, but the lyrics are pretty obviously not about that.

ASAP is OK. Adrian Smith has one of those voices that works great as a background or occasional lead but can't really carry a whole album. There are some decent songs but it gets pretty samey after awhile. I can take the album in small doses.

Never checked out Bruce's book. If I came across it in a thrift store or something I'd pick it up but I'm not going to actively seek it out.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Stadler on July 17, 2017, 11:28:22 AM
Count me in on the people who:
- Like but not love the TM album (don't like the raspier singing; it foreshadowed what was coming in Miaden, and that wasn't a good thing);
- Have the ASAP album (and the two singles, which each have unreleased songs on the "b-sides"). It's kind of a curiosity though; Adrian's voice is good as contrast to Bruce's but not to carry an entire album.  EDIT: Didn't read Mosh's post until I posted; I guess we agree!)

"Tattoed Millionaire" is pretty obviously slamming the LA scene of which Motley - and therefore Nikki - was a big big part.  And there are implications there being no loyalty among thieves, which you can read into as saying "we're both musicians, we look out for our own" and the LA boys not playing by those rules. 

I had the chance to see Bruce on that tour at Toad's (also a shoe box).  It made the news; there was a fight at the show and Bruce had to stop the show and calm things down.  I used to have a boot of that I think.   It was a weekend, and I was at the time getting up at 3:00 am to be at a jobsite at 5:00 am for work.  No bueno. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: Mosh on July 17, 2017, 10:07:43 PM
No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitars
Janick Gers - Guitars
Steve Harris - Bass
Nicko McBrain - Drums

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures08_npftd/album08_npftd_a_small.jpg)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/00/Iron_Maiden_-_No_Prayer_For_The_Dying.jpg/220px-Iron_Maiden_-_No_Prayer_For_The_Dying.jpg)
(1998 remaster cover)

When Maiden reconvened in early 1990 after a year off, they quickly hit a roadblock: Adrian Smith decided to leave the band. Like most Maiden departures up until this point, there was a level of mutuality between Adrian and the rest of the band in his decision to leave. Adrian felt that he wasn’t fully into it anymore. He recently married and was planning on starting a family which made the idea of yet another full album/tour cycle very unappealing. A reliably straight shooter in situations like these, Steve Harris made it clear that if Adrian wasn’t completely dedicated to Maiden, it was necessary for them to find someone else.

Luckily, the search for Adrian’s replacement was quick and easy. Having just worked with Bruce Dickinson on his solo album and being well known to everyone in the band already, the obvious choice was Janick Gers. Janick was given 24 hours to learn Iron Maiden, The Prisoner, and Children of the Damned for an audition. Needless to say, he nailed it and was offered the job.

By the time Janick joined, the album was already mostly written. The band originally planned to record in a London studio, but since things had moved along so quickly they decided to go in a different direction rather than wait for the studio to become available. Steve had a barn that Maiden used as a rehearsal studio and the band enjoyed the vibe so much that they decided to just record the album there. To record, they used a mobile studio (the same one that Led Zeppelin used to record Physical Graffiti).

No Prayer is a strange album. After a period of experimentation and taking the progressive element as far as it could conceivably go, the band decided to go back to their roots and go for a more direct approach with the songwriting. They wanted to recapture the “street” vibe of Maiden that dominated the first two albums. As a result, the keyboard usage was cut back severely (they only appear on two songs) and there are no songs that exceed the 6 minute mark. The only other album not to feature any longer songs was Killers. The lyrical themes also saw an overhaul with this album. The mythological, fantastical, and science fiction tinged lyrics were exchanged for historic topics and social commentary. Holy Smoke shows Maiden taking a stab at a popular topic in Metal at the time (although they were pretty late to the party): televangelists. Mother Russia is a brief commentary on the fall of the soviet union. Tailgunner shows the long awaited return of Maiden’s war themed songs with a trip back to World War II.

To complement the change in style, Bruce traded in his operatic singing style for something more raspy and aggressive. He was already experimenting with the different singing style on his solo album, but on No Prayer he goes all out with it.

The writing for No Prayer was kickstarted by Bruce Dickinson’s solo effort, Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter. Steve Harris liked the song so much that he insisted that Bruce leave it off his solo album and save it for the next Maiden album. The straightforward hard rock sound of the song seemed to shape the album’s overall direction.

With one of the key songwriters out of the band, new songwriting collaborations were formed. Bruce and Steve worked together for the first time on the previous album with Only the Good Die Young and the partnership naturally continued on the next album. On No Prayer, the duo wrote 3 songs together. Tailgunner is a return to the energetic Harris opener with an air battle theme, although the lyrics were written by Bruce. It’s very similar to Aces High and Where Eagles Dare, sharing a similar structure and high energy. Holy Smoke, the album’s lead single, is a more commercial track that has an almost hard rock drive. Finally, there’s Run Silent Run Deep, which features lyrics that were left over from Bruce’s Somewhere In Time rejects.

The album is also unusual in that it features two Dave Murray contributions. Public Enema Number One is Dave’s first collaboration with Bruce and the first time he collaborated with anybody other than Steve. It’s an interesting combination with Dave’s usual lyrical guitar melodies and Bruce’s newfound aggressive vocal style and his vivid lyrics. The other Murray contribution is a more familiar collaboration with Steve Harris, Fates Warning. This song features the typical slow bluesy intro followed by a fast paced rocker. Where Dave’s contributions up until this point were often among the more forgotten tracks, his two contributions to No Prayer stand as some of the most memorable and arguably the best tracks on the album.

Always the primary songwriter, Steve Harris dominated the writing for this album. On the previous few albums he had relaxed some of his hold on the writing to let in more ideas from Bruce and Adrian, but Adrian’s departure left a void that Steve was happy to fill. 8 of the 10 songs are credited to Steve and three were written on his own. The Assassin thematically feels like a spiritual successor to Killers, although musically it is quite different. The other two Harris songs are the closest this album gets to the prog influence of the late 80’s. The title track is like a followup to Infinite Dreams, featuring a slow bluesy intro followed by a heavier conclusion, all in a shorter song format. The lyrics are also similar, dealing with the familiar Harris topics of dreams, spirituality, and inner turmoil. Mother Russia is the closest thing to an epic on this album, and is the longest song just shy of 6 minutes. These two songs also feature the only appearances of keyboards on the album.

Despite leaving the band, Adrian still leaves a mark on this album. Hooks In You was a song Bruce and Adrian worked on together before he left the band and it is musically what you would expect from the duo. While it is seen by many as one of Maiden’s weakest songs, it still contains most of the same traits as in other Smith/Dickinson efforts. Hooks In You is to this day the only Maiden song that credits a member who is not currently in the band.

Since Janick joined so late in the game, he was not able to contribute to the writing process. His playing is also somewhat understated on this album. He was used to being the only guitarist in the bands he played in, so having to share the stage with another guitar player, let alone one who had been in the band since the beginning, was a challenge. This may be a controversial opinion, but I find No Prayer to be the closest Maiden ever got to making a “one guitar” album. Obviously Janick plays on everything, but the twin guitar harmonies are less utilized and the solo tradeoff isn’t quite the same as what you got with Adrian and Dave. Where those two players often complemented each other with different tones on playing styles, Janick is very close in style to Dave. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish the two players. This is not a slight against Janick, by the next album he was settled and found his place in the band as a writer and as a player, but on No Prayer he seems to be more in a “hired gun” role. It’s different from when the other members joined and were immediately involved in the creative process.

Sticking to the “back to the roots” theme of No Prayer, it was natural to go the same route with the artwork. Derek Riggs was commissioned to create a “classic” Eddie design. This was something Riggs was not enthusiastic about, as he wanted to continue with the “deconstruction” of Eddie that was depicted on the artwork for Seventh Son. The album covers up until this point had a level of progression. There wasn’t a concrete story behind the covers, but they were still linear in design. All covers after Piece of Mind showed the screws in his head from the lobotomy, the cyborg design from Somewhere In Time continued into Seventh Son. On No Prayer, these features are all gone and Eddie’s look is closer to the first album. The graveyard scene was also less extravagant and other-worldly, the way the older covers were. This marked the beginning of Iron Maiden album covers that didn’t feature a sequence in the Eddie designs. Eddie might be general of an army of the undead for one album and a space monster on the next. This was also the last time Eddie was drawn exclusively by Riggs, but more on that later.

No Prayer is one of the band’s most controversial albums and marks the beginning of what many see as a decline in quality for the band. Man fans were blindsided by the band’s sudden change in direction. While fans of Maiden’s early days were delighted to hear a return to that style, those who followed the band’s progression over the years were disappointed to find the growth coming to a sudden halt. Even some who did welcome the change weren’t impressed with the actual content of the music. Many see it as the band’s worst album. Some question Bruce’s commitment to the band, citing his change in approach to the vocals, despite his claims that Tattooed Millionaire gave him the space necessary to get excited about the next Maiden album. Their sales also began to decline, becoming the second album in a row not to reach platinum status in the US. However, they were still doing well in the UK and charted at #2 with the album. The Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter single also became the band’s first UK #1, although that is largely credited to them releasing it during Christmas when there was little competition and with several different “collectable” versions.

Despite all this, there is still much to appreciate about No Prayer. It was the beginning of a new decade and a new lineup for the band. The 80s were gone and Maiden embraced the changes by trying something new. There are some really good songs on here, Especially from Dave Murray. Like Tattooed Millionaire, it is best to approach this album not expecting Seventh Son or a masterpiece. Taken on its own merits, it is a decent effort and an important moment in the band’s history.

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures08_npftd/single21_holysmoke_a_small.jpg)(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures08_npftd/single22_daughter_a_small.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6f/MaidenDaughter.jpg/220px-MaidenDaughter.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Side Projects (1989 - 90)
Post by: wolfking on July 17, 2017, 10:10:13 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dScD0309o8

That Mullet is incredible.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: wolfking on July 17, 2017, 10:21:26 PM
Great writeup again Mosh.

No Prayer was one of my first three Maiden and metal albums are a young boy, so even though it's mostly frowned upon, I have a soft spot for it.  It certainly isn't the strongest collection of Maiden tunes and even listening back now there's some slightly awkward moments but on a whole, it's enjoyable. 

I like how you mentioned about Dave and Janick, I always felt as a guitarist that it was the hardest album to really distinguish between both of them.  It's funny when you hear Janick and Dave now how different they are, but on here they really do keep you guessing at times who is doing what.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on July 17, 2017, 11:35:51 PM
Gotta agree - very well written Mosh!

For me personally, while like most fans, this is the beginning of the 90s decline of quality for the band, I would say this (IMO) is their best album of the decade. It's not great, but I'll take it over FotD and both Blaze albums without blinking an eye. Really, I think the album gets unfairly bashed a bit. For me, there's only 3 real clunkers on the album - ironically the 2 singles from the album, and Adrian's final contribution. All 3 are pure garbage to my ears - I can't stand listening to any of them and I can't understand how they thought it was a good idea to make the first 2 singles! Even The Assassin is better than these 3!

Both the title track and Mother Russia sound like rehashes of older songs, but that doesn't phase me at all - I like 'em both. And really most of the other tracks, while not of the quality of their 80s output, was still pretty decent. In particular, I don't understand the hate for Public Enema Number One - I love the driving verses and both the chorus and solo section are perfectly fine.

I'm surprised that Mosh didn't comment on them, but I gotta give it to the band for the 2 covers they chose for the Holy Smoke single; the A-side may have been pure unadulterated crap, but the 2 B-sides are among the best: All in Your Mind and Kill Me Ce Soir. I had gotten the CD single when it first came out and I remember listening to those 2 songs repeatedly. I wish more of their B-sides were of the same quality as these and the ones they did for SiT.

As for the cover art, I too was bummed when they decided to "reset" Eddie, and even more disappointed in seeing the revised version of the cover for the reissues. Don't understand why Rod Smallwood had such an issue with the undertaker in the picture.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Zydar on July 18, 2017, 02:15:36 AM
It's definitely a step down in quality from the previous albums (especially 7th Son), but I find it to be the best of their 90s albums. My favourites here are Tailgunner, the title track, Hooks In You, and Mother Russia. Bruce's change in vocal style is understandable if he wanted to experiment, but I still prefer his more operatic style. I haven't reflected over the guitars here, considering Janick being the new member, and how he integrated into the sound.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 18, 2017, 02:17:39 AM
Once again a great and comprehensive write up!  :tup

As I said earlier, Maiden is my favorite band of all time, even if I don't listen to them anymore 'cause I've heard all their songs a gazillion times. And I wasn't around when No Prayer came out, so I didn't live through the big change and my soft spot for Maiden allows me to endure even their lowest points... which are still higher than many bands' standard.

So, all in all I don't really dislike the album, I'm actually glad people are supporting it in their last comments, though I would never fault anyone for disliking, I totally get those who can't stomach this album.

It's a little pity that the album was so divisive because the idea behind it was quite good - after having gone as far as the bombastic operatic route could take them, how about strip down everything? how about an album raw like Iron Maiden, but with today's (well, then's) songwriting skills, experience, production, and with Bruce? the idea was exciting, it's the end result that kinda fell flat.

The only song I truly dislike and I don't care for is Hooks in You... kinda a bad last memory for Adrian to leave. All the other songs I don't mind them, some I actually like and some at worst do not annoy me. No Prayer for the Dying would be my favorite, and probably the "best chorus" award should go to Run Silent, Run Deep. I understand the lyrics are not that classy but I never minded Bring your Daugther, I actually like it and I think it's a fun rocking song, with the bass intro being prolonged live that offers quite a nice moment.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: wolfking on July 18, 2017, 05:48:28 AM
Both the title track and Mother Russia sound like rehashes of older songs, but that doesn't phase me at all - I like 'em both.

The title track is one of my fav Maiden tunes, so underrated.  But the solo section of Mother Russia is such a blatant rip of the 7th Son solo section it actually makes me laugh. 

The only song I truly dislike and I don't care for is Hooks in You... kinda a bad last memory for Adrian to leave.

I totally agree with this.  So out of left field for H in regards to Maiden it just seems a bit weird all round.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Art on July 18, 2017, 06:40:53 AM
I really enjoy NPFTD, being one of the first Maiden albums i heard. The only track that i really don't like is The Assassin. I love hooks In You  :lol. The title track, Tailgunner, Public Enema, Mother Russia are all amazing tracks.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Grappler on July 18, 2017, 06:42:11 AM
No Prayer is the one Maiden studio album that I don't own.  I never got around to buying it when I was getting into the band and buying all of their records nearly 20 years ago - I already had Bring Your Daughter on the Best of the Beast album and a few live versions on A Real Live One and Live at Donnington (both also include Tailgunner).

I don't feel like I'm missing out at all. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 18, 2017, 06:51:55 AM
I really liked No Prayer when it came out. Like most nerdy/introverted metal fans, I found comfort in Maiden's releases then, and I was halfway through high school when it came out. Since releases were quite delayed in Brazil at the time, I think Bruce's solo album was released there almost at the same time as No Prayer, so we were offered a double dose of Jannick. I was really surprised at Bruce's choice of singing style for those albums, but loved every detail of NPFTD. To this day I can whistle all solos in this album!!!

Out of curiosity: MTV started in Brazil in 1990, and the local version of Headbanger's Ball showed the "premiere" of Holy Smoke and Megadeth's Holy Wars on the same day!

I read Bruce's unnoficial bio where he says he was quite unhappy with the end result of No Prayer, and that to this day he considers Run Silent Run Deep to be the band's worst song.

That tour was good though, and had a great setlist, but I guess we'll focus on that later in the week, right?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 18, 2017, 07:16:36 AM
When I was discovering the IM discography and finally purchased this album, I had no idea it was going to sound like this.  I had heard Holy Smoke before and honestly find it to be one of the better songs on the album.  It's pretty basic, but I love that guitar solo in it.  Anyway, when I gave the album a full a listen I was really disappointed and confused.  Like how could a band that had sooo many amazing albums then release this?  I was not aware of the history or what was going on until reading up on it much later.  I was just confused. 

I kind of find the album to essentially be terrible.  There's some moments of awesomeness and I really like the title track.  I think it's the only song on the album that holds its own compared to the rest of the discography.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 18, 2017, 07:42:23 AM
Gotta agree - very well written Mosh!

For me personally, while like most fans, this is the beginning of the 90s decline of quality for the band, I would say this (IMO) is their best album of the decade. It's not great, but I'll take it over FotD and both Blaze albums without blinking an eye. Really, I think the album gets unfairly bashed a bit. For me, there's only 3 real clunkers on the album - ironically the 2 singles from the album, and Adrian's final contribution. All 3 are pure garbage to my ears - I can't stand listening to any of them and I can't understand how they thought it was a good idea to make the first 2 singles! Even The Assassin is better than these 3!

I don't think I've read a post here in recent memory that I agreed with so much and disagreed with so much, all in one!!

I agree with all of the above, wholeheartedly, with one (3?) exceptions.  It's the best of the 90's for me, by a long shot.   I think the album DOES get unfairly maligned, but I can understand that after Seventh Son.   There are only a handful of clunkers, agreed, but here's where we disagree:   My favorite three songs on the record are Tailgunner, Holy Smoke (that SOLO!) and Hooks In You. 

Not really a fan of The Assassin or Run Silent... I kind of like "Bring Your Daughter...", but most of the criticisms of "Hooks..." here I would apply to that.  Just doesn't sound like Maiden to me.   

Quote
Both the title track and Mother Russia sound like rehashes of older songs, but that doesn't phase me at all - I like 'em both. And really most of the other tracks, while not of the quality of their 80s output, was still pretty decent. In particular, I don't understand the hate for Public Enema Number One - I love the driving verses and both the chorus and solo section are perfectly fine.

Mother Russia is okay, but it sounds like a rehash, and is WAY too short.   Not that more of a rehash is better, but it just seems to get into gear, then Bruce sings the chorus and it's done!   I don't mind the song "PENO", but that title has to go.  Lame-o!

Quote
I'm surprised that Mosh didn't comment on them, but I gotta give it to the band for the 2 covers they chose for the Holy Smoke single; the A-side may have been pure unadulterated crap, but the 2 B-sides are among the best: All in Your Mind and Kill Me Ce Soir. I had gotten the CD single when it first came out and I remember listening to those 2 songs repeatedly. I wish more of their B-sides were of the same quality as these and the ones they did for SiT.

"All In Your Mind" is one of my favorite Maiden songs ever.   I LOVE that song, everything about it.  I love Bruce's vocals (showing that he COULD sing in the old style, just that he was making the - for me, unfortunate - stylistic choice).   I was already a fan of Golden Earring, so Kill Me Ce Soir was familiar to me, but I really like the Maiden version.  Not what you'd typically expect of the band and in a good way.

Quote
As for the cover art, I too was bummed when they decided to "reset" Eddie, and even more disappointed in seeing the revised version of the cover for the reissues. Don't understand why Rod Smallwood had such an issue with the undertaker in the picture.

I didn't have a problem with the cover, per se, but I did wonder why the cover art on this (and some subsequent releases) became such an issue.    It's not really a coincidence to me that once the controversy started, the "classic-ness" of the coevrs started to change.   Other than "Brave New World", I can't really imagine a poster on my wall of any of the post-No Prayer album covers like I can "Number..." or "Killers" or "Seventh Son...".   I REALLY was lost when Eddie started to look like Gollum, but I'm getting ahead....
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 18, 2017, 08:00:33 AM
Other than "Brave New World", I can't really imagine a poster on my wall of any of the post-No Prayer album covers like I can "Number..." or "Killers" or "Seventh Son...".   I REALLY was lost when Eddie started to look like Gollum, but I'm getting ahead....

I have three IM flag posters hanging in my basement.  They are these three album covers Brave New World, Powerslave, and.... En Vivo.  The En Vivo one I got last and I like it because it's a live shot.  But the other two, my college room mate (He's coming to IM with me on Saturday) and I bought and hung in our college apartment.  Essentially we both loved those two album covers and felt an old and a new was the way to go.  I really like FotD's album cover, but the other 90s covers are not so interesting IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Samsara on July 18, 2017, 08:11:50 AM
Thank you Mosh! Great job!

No Prayer is the...forgotten album for me. As I have said, I'm newer to Maiden fandom, and this record is one of the last I acquired (not counting the Blaze era which I bought but just don't sit well with me). As a result, I can probably count on one hand the times I have listened to it. I am listening to it now to more appreciate the history Mosh gave us. It's OK, and not bad by any stretch. But it certainly does dip a bit below the 80s in quality, almost as if Bruce and the band didn't have much left to do that was "new" for them. Sorta Maiden's mid-life crisis record. Trying to recapture the past and being a bit lackluster...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 18, 2017, 09:22:27 AM

A lot had changed since the last Maiden album. I had graduated college in the spring of 1990, and of course Adrian was no longer in the band. I vividly remember reading the news that Adrian left. I was still in school and it was in a blurb in the CMJ (College Music Journal), which I had, since I had a show on my college's radio station. I was gutted. I loved what Adrian was doing and how it affected Maiden. But the blurb also included the fact that Jannick Gers was the replacement, which actually made me feel good. At least I thought, well, he's in "the family", having just done Bruce's album and tour, and also having been part of the Gogmagog project with Paul Dianno and Clive Burr.

There is no waxing romantically about having to be there at the time. This was their weakest album then, and it's their weakest album now. After such a long layoff, I remember getting the Holy Smoke single ahead of the album. While I was so happy to have new Maiden, this track felt like a B side. Lyrically, it just didn't seem serious enough for a Maiden album.

It was clear from the outset that this was an extremely sub par album.

But first..what I like.

Love the album cover and color scheme.

I LOVE the title track. It's a TAC Top 15 Maiden track. It really is a mini masterpiece.

I like Public Enema Number One. The title is ridiculous, and again, I can't believe someone thought it was ok to have a title like that on an album proper. Maiden was all about class, and this undermined that. Still, there's nothing at all wrong with the song. It's actually pretty cool.

I have always loved Run Silent Run Deep. Might be Maiden's best chorus. Plus it has Maiden's first and only MOSH PART from 2:19-2:34. And the way the two guitars come out of the solo is wonderful.

While Fates Warning has one of my least favorite choruses, the intro is absolutely spectacular, as are the verses.

I think musically Bring Your Daughter is fantastic, expecially live, but my God, the lyrics and title just blow. What a joke.

I like The Assassin, though it's not Maiden's strongest, and I do like Mother Russia for what it is. Unfortunately, it's position on the album, and arrangement, gets it grouped with previous Maiden epics, which it is clearly not on par with.

The problems? Well, even though I like The Assassin and PE#1, they are below average Maiden songs. I truly love ONE song and merely like a few others.

The production is terrible. Tailgunner is fairly decent live, but on the album, there is zero life to it, especially the chorus, which lies so flat and lame.

How on earth does Hooks In You make it on to an album proper? Lyrically, it's embarrassing, and musically, it's barely a B side.

I realize Maiden may have blown their load with 7th Son, but after an extended layoff, I can't believe that this was the best they came up with.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 18, 2017, 09:33:01 AM
TAC, my ideas on the songs are so little different from yours, that I won't even bother with nitpicking with my opinions. Give or take a little detail here and there, I generally agree with you.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 18, 2017, 09:48:47 AM
My biggest issue was the quality of tracks after the long layoff. And including a piece of shit like Hooks In You just proves they were not prepared to go in and record an album.

To me, the Holy Smoke lyrics are on par with Black Bart or Sherriff Of Huddersfield.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 18, 2017, 10:09:54 AM
I think what strikes me about TAC's post (which I largely agree with, by the way) is that this is the first Maiden album in a while that you can't say anything without some caveat.

"I like it, but..."
"It's good, but..."
"Strong song, but..."
"Good cover, but..."
"Great playing, but..."

Powerslave?  No buts. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 18, 2017, 10:13:46 AM
Hah!

I actually have plenty of "but"s with Powerslave.


To me, this is their worst album, in terms of actual songs. I still listen to it more than TXF and VXI, but that has more to do with Bruce continuity and the production/demo qualities of those albums. Musically, I think both of those albums are better than this.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 18, 2017, 11:17:45 AM
I actually have plenty of "but"s with Powerslave.

:lol  Exactly.  Let's not pretend for even a moment that Powerslave is anything better than an "okay" album by a great band (or half of a great album, if you prefer to look at it that way). 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 18, 2017, 11:48:34 AM
So Powerslave is "just as good" as "No Prayer..."?   Even allowing for "personal taste", I don't think objectively you can say that the album that turned them into international superstars and which was played almost in it's entirety live, and spawned one of the greatest live albums of all time is "on par" with "No Prayer...".


And I was exaggerating a tad; I do have "buts" with Powerslave (not a fan of "Flash of the Blade") but my point was EVERYTHING about "No Prayer..." has a "but". 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 18, 2017, 11:50:33 AM
Well, only half of the album was regularly played live; when "lucky", a 5th song got in the set.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son deserves more that claim, with always 6 songs out of 8 played at basically every show of the corresponding tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 18, 2017, 12:13:29 PM
Well, only half of the album was regularly played live; when "lucky", a 5th song got in the set.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son deserves more that claim, with always 6 songs out of 8 played at basically every show of the corresponding tour.

I think AMoLaD has something to say about that.

However, I'm not entirely sure the live songs truly represent how good an album is.

Either way though, I agree, there's little to no comparison between NPftD and Powerslave.  One's at worst a solid album and the other's at best a solid album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 18, 2017, 12:25:24 PM
So Powerslave is "just as good" as "No Prayer..."?   

I never said anything about comparing the two.  I don't even own No Prayer, so what does that tell you?  :lol  Just saying, Powerslave is just "good."  The two opening songs and two closing songs alone make the album more than worthwhile.  But despite that three of those are fantastic, the middle four songs are just there and drag it down to just "good" status as a whole piece of work.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 18, 2017, 12:36:50 PM
Either way though, I agree, there's little to no comparison between NPftD and Powerslave.  One's at worst a solid album and the other's at best a solid album.


I think that's where I was going.   I thought it was a great idea (the "buts") but I guess not.  I'll leave it at "No Prayer... is only a good album with a lot of missed opportunities for me."

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 18, 2017, 12:58:06 PM
Powerslave suffers from having some really good songs surrounded by absolute brilliance. The songs that are merely "really good" take a hit in most fans' eyes because they are always going to be compared with the other songs on the album. Consider the fact that there are no songs on the album that dip in quality to the levels of Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel, Invaders or Gangland. When I look at the album in those terms it invariably raises it to another level.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: kaos2900 on July 18, 2017, 01:11:11 PM
As already stated this is a weaker album. Running Silent, The Assassin, and Tailgunner are the only songs I don't like.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 18, 2017, 01:12:29 PM
Powerslave suffers from having some really good songs surrounded by absolute brilliance. The songs that are merely "really good" take a hit in most fans' eyes because they are always going to be compared with the other songs on the album. Consider the fact that there are no songs on the album that dip in quality to the levels of Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel, Invaders or Gangland. When I look at the album in those terms it invariably raises it to another level.

Quest for Fire is awesome, and any of the other songs you listed are head and shoulders above the middle four songs on Powerslave.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 18, 2017, 01:18:40 PM
Powerslave suffers from having some really good songs surrounded by absolute brilliance. The songs that are merely "really good" take a hit in most fans' eyes because they are always going to be compared with the other songs on the album. Consider the fact that there are no songs on the album that dip in quality to the levels of Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel, Invaders or Gangland. When I look at the album in those terms it invariably raises it to another level.

Quest for Fire is awesome, and any of the other songs you listed are head and shoulders above the middle four songs on Powerslave.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm completely in Stad's corner on my feelings about it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mladen on July 18, 2017, 01:20:04 PM
The only Iron Maiden album without a single song I would call truly great.

That's saying something.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 18, 2017, 01:50:36 PM
Powerslave suffers from having some really good songs surrounded by absolute brilliance. The songs that are merely "really good" take a hit in most fans' eyes because they are always going to be compared with the other songs on the album. Consider the fact that there are no songs on the album that dip in quality to the levels of Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel, Invaders or Gangland. When I look at the album in those terms it invariably raises it to another level.

Quest for Fire is awesome, and any of the other songs you listed are head and shoulders above the middle four songs on Powerslave.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm completely in Stad's corner on my feelings about it.

That's fine.  I respect your right to be wrong.  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Samsara on July 18, 2017, 03:39:22 PM
Powerslave suffers from having some really good songs surrounded by absolute brilliance. The songs that are merely "really good" take a hit in most fans' eyes because they are always going to be compared with the other songs on the album. Consider the fact that there are no songs on the album that dip in quality to the levels of Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel, Invaders or Gangland. When I look at the album in those terms it invariably raises it to another level.

Quest for Fire is awesome, and any of the other songs you listed are head and shoulders above the middle four songs on Powerslave.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm completely in Stad's corner on my feelings about it.

That's fine.  I respect your right to be wrong.  :biggrin:

This coming from the man who thinks "All I Want" is a great Queensryche song. I side with the others, just to be contrary.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 18, 2017, 03:45:57 PM
Powerslave suffers from having some really good songs surrounded by absolute brilliance. The songs that are merely "really good" take a hit in most fans' eyes because they are always going to be compared with the other songs on the album. Consider the fact that there are no songs on the album that dip in quality to the levels of Quest for Fire, Sun and Steel, Invaders or Gangland. When I look at the album in those terms it invariably raises it to another level.

Quest for Fire is awesome, and any of the other songs you listed are head and shoulders above the middle four songs on Powerslave.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm completely in Stad's corner on my feelings about it.

That's fine.  I respect your right to be wrong.  :biggrin:

This coming from the man who thinks "All I Want" is a great Queensryche song. I side with the others, just to be contrary.  :lol

That's some pretty damning evidence  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 18, 2017, 03:49:36 PM
:bosk1:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Lowdz on July 18, 2017, 04:06:31 PM
Don't think I've heard this one all the way through. I'd given up on Maiden by this point. My musical taste had moved on. Queensryche were kicking their arse and I was into the Shrapnel label shredders. I heard the singles and wasn't bothered to check the album out. Still don't own it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: The Silent Cody on July 18, 2017, 04:20:06 PM
Well I think that Holy Smoke and Bring Daughter To The Slaughter was first Maiden songs I've heard when I was a young boy. After that my dad showed my Maiden England on VHS I liked it very much. NPFTD is a good album, from Iron golden era. Brave New World was the last album that I have enjoyed with... 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 18, 2017, 07:29:50 PM
I have a soft spot for No Prayer. When I first discovered Maiden, there wasn't really any historical context to the albums I was listening to. I knew Dance of Death and BNW were the most recent albums, but beyond that I wasn't concerned with which albums came out when and why they sounded the way they did. So in that sense, everything was on equal ground. No Prayer was one of my favorites. I loved the raw energy and aggression as well as the graveyard vibe of the artwork and photos. Bruce's growl sounded pure evil to me, which I liked. Everything embodied what I liked about Maiden and, again no context, I felt it was closer to NOTB than anything else. On the other hand, I disliked Fear Of the Dark even back then.

Fast forward to today and while I definitely see its flaws and why many dislike it, I have to admit I'm still surprised at just how much hate it gets. I put it on about the same level as Tattooed Millionaire: decent albums for what they are but definitely a departure from what made Maiden and Bruce great. If I want to hear classic Maiden, there's plenty of that out there. If I want something different, No Prayer can sometimes be a fun departure from what I'm used to (I also feel this way about other "controversial" albums, such as Kiss Unmasked).

I hinted at it in my original post, but the MVP for me is without a doubt Dave Murray. The two best tracks are easily Public Enema and Fates Warning. If more of the album was in that vein, it'd be much more of a success IMO. Not only that, but I feel Dave really held down the fort on this album. Steve and Bruce seemed creatively lost, Janick was barely in the band at this point, and Nicko is consistently Nicko. Dave's guitar playing fits the material and his songwriting contributions make for some of the album's most memorable moments. You could definitely make the argument for him being the heart of the band, just by virtue of being there through all the ups and downs since the beginning.

Ironically, and this may be controversial, some of the weaker moments on the album are actually the title track and Mother Russia. They both seem like contrived rehashes to me. If they wanted to make something heavy and aggressive, they should've gone all out. Ditch the keyboards completely (they don't sound good on these songs) and don't worry about writing the obligatory "epic". Bruce's vocals on No Prayer just sound ridiculous to me too. I don't mind the raspy approach on the bulk of this album, but on that song in particular it just doesn't work.

Other controversial opinions: I actually like Hooks In You. I kinda agree with TAC that it seems like an obvious b-side, but I don't mind too much. The Assassin is another one that gets a lot of hate and while I don't dislike it, I'm pretty meh on it. Tailgunner is decent but another rehash. I go back and forth on Holy Smoke. It has some cool parts but is also fairly generic. The lyrics are well written but I feel Maiden were late to the subject by a couple years. Ozzy Osbourne already did a song about televangelists in 88 and Zappa had a routine about it around the same time. Of course at this point it doesn't really matter.

I used to dislike Bring Your Daughter, but I've come to appreciate it more for what it is. Run Silent Run Deep is awesome, I've heard Bruce dislikes it which seemed bizarre to me.

I'm surprised that Mosh didn't comment on them, but I gotta give it to the band for the 2 covers they chose for the Holy Smoke single; the A-side may have been pure unadulterated crap, but the 2 B-sides are among the best: All in Your Mind and Kill Me Ce Soir. I had gotten the CD single when it first came out and I remember listening to those 2 songs repeatedly. I wish more of their B-sides were of the same quality as these and the ones they did for SiT.
I've purposely avoided talking about most of the B-Sides since we will eventually get to Eddie's Archive which contains most of them. Feel free to discuss them though of course.

The only song I truly dislike and I don't care for is Hooks in You... kinda a bad last memory for Adrian to leave.

I totally agree with this.  So out of left field for H in regards to Maiden it just seems a bit weird all round.
I think the riffs are pretty typical Adrian, my best guess is that Bruce twisted the song into something else once Adrian was no longer there to collaborate. I don't think Bruce totally recovered from the SIT burnout until the late 90s, a lot of what he did in between then was often just weird and aimless. When grounded by Adrian, Steve, or (later on) Roy Z, he can do some really cool stuff. But left to his own devices you got things like Hooks In You, Dive Dive Dive, and the Adventures of Lord Iffy Boatrace. He just wasn't really taking it seriously as much as before.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 18, 2017, 08:06:35 PM
Mosh, there's much to chew on in that post. I'll totally ass it up if I try to quote each passage and respond but...

* Sometimes I am actually envious of people that didn't experience these albums in "real time". I appreciate the opinions of those that did not. To them, it's all "back catalog". Every album is measured on its own merits. For one day, I would love to suspend my memory and experience their discography all at once. I would love that.

* I disagree on the title track. To me, it's really the standout track. And musically Bring Your Daughter is amazing. After that, it's pretty garbled.

* I'm surprised to hear Bruce doesn't like RSRD. He puts forth a great performance (for this album, anyway) on it.

* Fear Of The Dark (the album) is 10X better. Should be a good week discussing that!

* You talk about the MVP being Dave Murray. We'll talk about this more during the tour portion of the thread, but Jannick brought Davey out of his shell. If anyone wants to know why Jannick is still in the band, they should ask Dave Murray.

*  I kind of think Mother Russia is fine for what it is. As a stand alone track, I think it's fine. Unfortunately any song about Russia was at least a year or two too late at this point, and as I said before, it's position and arrangement unfortunately pit it against the other Maiden epics.

* Other than Bruce literally trying to grind my eardrums out, Kill ME Ce Sior is awesome!


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 18, 2017, 09:07:09 PM
I found this really cool interview with Bruce where he talks about No Prayer, FOTD and Dream Theater:
https://brucedickinsonforeverofficialblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/archives-bruce-dickinson-interviewed-on-a-tourbus-in-1996/
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 18, 2017, 09:20:27 PM
Wow, Rodrigo, that's quite a find and quite a read.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 18, 2017, 09:28:45 PM
And such a coincidence too, that we're addressing No Prayer this week and I come across this article today!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 18, 2017, 10:03:40 PM
Really cool read. I have to say though, Bruce talked a lot of BS in the 90s and even the early 00's. I don't trust a lot of what he says to be completely truthful. He talks about No Prayer as if everyone else wanted to go in that direction and he was the only one who knew any better. I have to wonder, if No Prayer was a #1 album, outsold Seventh Son, and was released to universal acclaim, would Bruce still be writing it off? The tone I get from a lot of those Skunkworks interviews (and Bruce pretty much says as much) is that he's trying to separate himself from Maiden and maybe in some ways wash his hands of some of their less successful moments.

There are some interesting nuggets in there though. I wonder if bringing in Kevin Shirley as a producer was one of Bruce's demands for returning?

@TAC

1: Janick's importance in the band becomes clear on Fear Of the Dark and remains to this day IMO. He brings a lot to the table as a songwriter and has come into his own as a soloist (at least in studio, live he is seriously inconsistent). I remember reading that if the three guitar thing didn't work out, Steve was going to keep Janick and not Adrian. That might say more about the importance of loyalty to Steve, but it also speaks to Janick's worth in the band for him to be chosen over the guy who was there through the band's classic period.

2: It really struck me yesterday how well written Bring Your Daughter is. It's got a great hook, a really cool bridge, and a nice singalong section. The goofy lyrics really undersell the song. It also came a little too late maybe. I wonder if, given the proper promotion, it'd be a huge hit in 1988 America.

3: Ce Soir is possibly the last great Maiden b-side. Not a big fan of the ones on Fear (Space Station No. 5 is OK) and after that they became more focused on releasing live tracks and alternate versions as b-sides. The selection of live tracks was also very questionable toward the end.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 18, 2017, 10:09:07 PM
I found this really cool interview with Bruce where he talks about No Prayer, FOTD and Dream Theater:
https://brucedickinsonforeverofficialblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/archives-bruce-dickinson-interviewed-on-a-tourbus-in-1996/

Did any of you guys catch the reference to the R101? Twenty years later he'd be writing a song about it.

And then the reference to Gangland. Even the guy that helped write the song thought that it sucks  :lol

And you could tell that he wasn't on very good terms with Steve at this point in time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 19, 2017, 01:32:19 AM
Always nice to see people appreciate for personal reasons albums many other despise  :hat

That interview with Bruce made me remember about that b-side of Skunworks, R101... does the name sound familiar in light of recent events?  :biggrin: I love how he brushes it away with "yeah, that's a song about a Zeppelin that crushed", just a single line, while later he would write the longest Iron Maiden song ever about it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mladen on July 19, 2017, 03:13:37 AM
Whoa, what a read! That interview is fantastic, I really enjoy the way he talks about the Dream Theater sound and his love of Van der Graaf Generator. I've always known Peter influenced Bruce, but I never knew to which extent.

Also, it's odd that Bruce had problems with the way No prayer sounded. I never had an issue with the sound and production, I was always more put off by the music itself.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: soupytwist on July 19, 2017, 04:31:54 AM
No Prayer for me is Maidens fun throw away album.  I can chuck this album up and enjoy it all the way though.  Nothing boring or bland (sadly this cannot be said for the other 90's albums).   While none of the songs are classics, they do play surprisingly well together as an cohesive album.   I much prefer this over Fear of the Dark, which may have better high points - but Christ on a bike the bad songs on that album are utterly shite (and there are quite a few of them).

I'll also side with Mosh.  'Hooks in you' is perfectly decent (if you don't concentrate on the lyrics too much ;) )
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: wolfking on July 19, 2017, 05:35:40 AM
* I disagree on the title track. To me, it's really the standout track.

Totally agree. 

As I mentioned earlier too in regards to Dave, it's clear his stage presence and performances did lift when Janick jonied, I never really knew why but would definitely like to know.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 19, 2017, 06:05:40 AM
No Prayer for me is Maidens fun throw away album.  I can chuck this album up and enjoy it all the way though.  Nothing boring or bland (sadly this cannot be said for the other 90's albums).   While none of the songs are classics, they do play surprisingly well together as an cohesive album.   I much prefer this over Fear of the Dark, which may have better high points - but Christ on a bike the bad songs on that album are utterly shite (and there are quite a few of them).

I'll also side with Mosh.  'Hooks in you' is perfectly decent (if you don't concentrate on the lyrics too much ;) )

Totally agree with this. No Prayer is quite cohesive, if not the most inspired collection of songs. FOTD has some highs, but awful lows. Plus, the songs on No Prayer are short, so if you don't like anything, it goes by quickly.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 19, 2017, 07:19:16 AM
I have to say though, Bruce talked a lot of BS in the 90s and even the early 00's. I don't trust a lot of what he says to be completely truthful. 

Bruce has always been full of BS. Full of it.


No Prayer for me is Maidens fun throw away album.  I can chuck this album up and enjoy it all the way though.   

Yeah, I don't have any issue with this. I enjoy it. But I'm also aware that for me, it's their worst collection of songs.

  I much prefer this over Fear of the Dark, which may have better high points - but Christ on a bike the bad songs on that album are utterly shite (and there are quite a few of them).

I can go 8 songs deep easy on FOTD. Unfortunately I can really only go 1 song deep on No Prayer.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: kaos2900 on July 19, 2017, 08:22:42 AM
I think I prefer Fear over Prayer as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 19, 2017, 08:25:50 AM
I have to say though, Bruce talked a lot of BS in the 90s and even the early 00's. I don't trust a lot of what he says to be completely truthful. 

Bruce has always been full of BS. Full of it.

Absolutely. But in the 90s especially so, to the point where many of his interviews aren't even really worth checking out. I think he has changed a bit since then. He did a ton of press for TBOS and came off more genuine than usual.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 19, 2017, 08:31:50 AM
Bruce has always been my least favorite member of Iron Maiden. He just seems like such an ass. I felt like that in the 80's and I still kind of feel that way.

This thread will soon be approaching my double barreled Bruce epiphany in a "creative" sense. Though, I'll likely be away on vacation when it all does down. :facepalm: Figures.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: kaos2900 on July 19, 2017, 08:36:53 AM
Wow, I've never gotten an asshole vibe from Bruce.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 19, 2017, 08:51:11 AM
Fast forward to today and while I definitely see its flaws and why many dislike it, I have to admit I'm still surprised at just how much hate it gets. I put it on about the same level as Tattooed Millionaire: decent albums for what they are but definitely a departure from what made Maiden and Bruce great. If I want to hear classic Maiden, there's plenty of that out there. If I want something different, No Prayer can sometimes be a fun departure from what I'm used to (I also feel this way about other "controversial" albums, such as Kiss Unmasked).
Interesting that you say that, because I often find myself in the same boat.  That's why I truly love and appreciate albums like Hear in the Now Frontier and Risk.  I may have to check this album out after all.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: soupytwist on July 19, 2017, 08:52:37 AM
Bruce has always been my least favorite member of Iron Maiden. He just seems like such an ass. I felt like that in the 80's and I still kind of feel that way.

I kind off know what you mean.  Certainly in the early days I felt he came off as a bit of a prima donna.  Surprisingly though he was really good on the radio when he hosted his Rock Show.   My opinion has changed now I think he's got a sly sense of humour, and is quite happy to stir things up - which can on occasion make him sound a bit like a dick.   He's certainly not scared of voicing his opinion!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 19, 2017, 09:09:19 AM
Fast forward to today and while I definitely see its flaws and why many dislike it, I have to admit I'm still surprised at just how much hate it gets. I put it on about the same level as Tattooed Millionaire: decent albums for what they are but definitely a departure from what made Maiden and Bruce great. If I want to hear classic Maiden, there's plenty of that out there. If I want something different, No Prayer can sometimes be a fun departure from what I'm used to (I also feel this way about other "controversial" albums, such as Kiss Unmasked).
Interesting that you say that, because I often find myself in the same boat.  That's why I truly love and appreciate albums like Hear in the Now Frontier and Risk.  I may have to check this album out after all.

I understand this too. But I think as with "The Elder" that it is it's complete own animal. And it's meant to be that way. On purpose.

But with Risk, No Prayer, and HITNF, they just come off as albums that, well I. would hate to call them uninspired, because I don't think that's fair, but there seems to be a cap on the creativity.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Samsara on July 19, 2017, 09:28:20 AM
Fast forward to today and while I definitely see its flaws and why many dislike it, I have to admit I'm still surprised at just how much hate it gets. I put it on about the same level as Tattooed Millionaire: decent albums for what they are but definitely a departure from what made Maiden and Bruce great. If I want to hear classic Maiden, there's plenty of that out there. If I want something different, No Prayer can sometimes be a fun departure from what I'm used to (I also feel this way about other "controversial" albums, such as Kiss Unmasked).
Interesting that you say that, because I often find myself in the same boat.  That's why I truly love and appreciate albums like Hear in the Now Frontier and Risk.  I may have to check this album out after all.

I understand this too. But I think as with "The Elder" that it is it's complete own animal. And it's meant to be that way. On purpose.

But with Risk, No Prayer, and HITNF, they just come off as albums that, well I. would hate to call them uninspired, because I don't think that's fair, but there seems to be a cap on the creativity.

I'll address this more with HITNF when we get to it in the QR discography thread, but I'll say this -- it's not that those three records are uninspired. The bands (or at least songwriters) were obviously inspired on all of them. But all three attempt to strip away something that was key to each of those bands' successes. All three had some good songs, but pushed the envelope WAY too far in a direction that wasn't befitting of the band (Maiden actually doesn't go too far in this regard, but it simply doesn't sound the way most people thought it should). That move, and timing, are reasons why those records were "failures," even though there are some really good moments on them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Zydar on July 19, 2017, 09:30:22 AM
Wow, I've never gotten an asshole vibe from Bruce.

Me neither, rather the opposite in fact.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 19, 2017, 09:49:33 AM
I think I prefer Fear over Prayer as well.

To me, though, it's like saying "I prefer heartburn over flatulence".   I'd ideally have neither.    I prefer No Prayer... only because FotD feels like a bad sequel.    We'll talk about it more when we get there, but still with shorter songs, still with Bruce's raspier singing, still with a weak cover, still with the inner artwork all five guys in black leather jackets standing at some obscure location in the wilderness (Nicko is even wearing the same leather jacket in some shots).   If No Prayer... was a "rehash of past glories", then FotD to me was a "rehash of No Prayer...", which is not a positive thing in my book. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 19, 2017, 09:53:30 AM
Wow Stadler. I so disagree with this.


    If No Prayer... was a "rehash of past glories", then FotD to me was a "rehash of No Prayer...", which is not a positive thing in my book. 

No Prayer never was a rehash of past glories, and Fear is certainly not a rehash of No Prayer. That second sentiment is mind boggling to me.

You know I'm recovering from surgery, and I think I just pooped my hernia back out after reading that!  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 19, 2017, 09:59:52 AM
Wow Stadler. I so disagree with this.


    If No Prayer... was a "rehash of past glories", then FotD to me was a "rehash of No Prayer...", which is not a positive thing in my book. 

No Prayer never was a rehash of past glories, and Fear is certainly not a rehash of No Prayer. That second sentiment is mind boggling to me.

You know I'm recovering from surgery, and I think I just pooped my hernia back out after reading that!  ;D

HAHA, just my opinion.   I'd be willing to debate "rehash", but it certainly was in keeping with the formula.    I'm being a little harsh on No Prayer - it's really not a bad album, and "mid-tier" Maiden still slays 90% of bands out there - but I really don't like FotD.  But we'll get to that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 19, 2017, 10:14:16 AM
Yes, like the 90's are surely interesting and divisive. Can't wait to get to Fear. I'm gonna need some sedation.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 19, 2017, 11:26:27 AM
Yea, Im interested to read Mosh's write up on Fear to learn more about what was going on in IM during that time, but, like Stadler, I've always felt Fear was a follow up (or rehash) of No Prayer.  I feel both albums are similar, and both are fairly terrible overall albums.  I do rank Fear slightly higher than No Prayer though.  Besides having the best song of the bunch (FotD) it also does have a few other really solid songs.  Prayer does not have that. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: DoctorAction on July 19, 2017, 04:20:10 PM
This thread is so fun. Stuck on RSRD, PEN1 and NPFTD whilst doing laundry.  :metal

This is almost my least favourite Bruce Maiden album but I don't feel horribly toward it (that's for FOTD). And those three tracks above I love.

There are some horrid mis-steps. Things were obviously grinding in the band and they were sounding a bit desperate, frankly. A mixture of ham-fisted self-reference and Maiden trying to be rock and roll, which is painful, like Tattooed Millionaire.

Run Silent Run Deep is such a perfect Maiden song. One of my favourites in the whole catalogue.

The drums sound fresh and the tempo is brisk throughout, which is nice. I miss this in Maiden now. Nicko sticks out as lumbering for me these days.

The whole production is good, in my book. Hasn't aged badly at all. The guitars are clear and upfront. Drums nice. I like it.

Janick is here. Great on rhythm and harmonies. I really dislike his leads. But then he's written many great Maiden tunes...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 19, 2017, 05:30:49 PM
This album came out the year I graduated from High School and by this time I was heavy into Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles and other similar bands. I still kept up with Maiden and read about the latest changes in the band but they were no longer my one and only. I remember reading the articles in the popular magazines at the time that were quoting Steve Harris’ saying how he wanted to scale it all back and strip it all down.  I think he got what he wanted but….

I have to agree with Adrian on this one and wished they had continued down the path of Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son. When the album came out I remember liking it a lot if for no other reason than it was different than the current (old) music that I was listening to but still Iron Maiden.  Something familiar by a band that even at that time was still considered my favorite even though I wasn’t listening to them that much.

I put this CD in to listen for this thread and can say that it hasn’t aged very well for me. It’s like an entire album of second tier Maiden songs. They’re not bad, they just aren’t that great.

Unlike the self-titled or Killers that still have the raw edge and punkish roots, this album even with its polished production and still mostly legendary line up starts, wanders around and then ends without much of a whimper.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Dream Team on July 19, 2017, 07:32:52 PM
Yes, NPFTD is in my opinion extremely inferior to FOTD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 20, 2017, 01:11:39 AM
Yes, NPFTD is in my opinion extremely inferior to FOTD.

I see it as the "first draft" of making this kind of raw and wild album. Fear of the Dark sounds like they were more used to this new course... problem is that the new course wasn't that awesome as the previous albums to begin with!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: jingle.boy on July 20, 2017, 04:49:25 AM
For me, there's two tales to this album - how I felt about it when it dropped, and how I feel about it now.

No Prayer was the first release after I became a fan.  I was SOOOOO looking forward to it.  IM had become a Top 5 band for me after diving into the back catalog (at least, back to NOTB... it would still take some time for me to get Killers and s/t).  I was also somewhat eager to expand my the inventory of pure metal bands.  As I mentioned, I was mainly a classic/hair/glam metal guy at the time, with a fair amount of hard rock thrown in for good measure.  I remember putting in the CD with much anticipation.  Tailgunner... not bad.  Didn't grab me the same way every other album's opening track did.  Then Holy Smoke.  Appropriate title.  Definitely not impressed.  Title track?  Way too slow a start, and I wasn't feeling it.  It gradually went downhill from there.  Nothing on this album impressed me at all.  I was so disappointed.  The lack of vocal range given to us by Bruce annoyed me.  This was too much of his low range and raspy style.  Nothing original.  There are more than a dozen examples where they are ripping themselves off... some subtle and some blatant; entire sections or just a riff.  Much has already been mentioned.

* Sometimes I am actually envious of people that didn't experience these albums in "real time". I appreciate the opinions of those that did not. To them, it's all "back catalog". Every album is measured on its own merits. For one day, I would love to suspend my memory and experience their discography all at once. I would love that.

Bingo.  @ Mosh... I envy how you discovered this album.  The same has happened for me with several bands, and it's great when one can love an album without knowing any of the 'backstory' as to why others dislike it.  However, this album just grates me every time I think about it. I lost touch with Maiden after that.  Didn't even bother with FOTD (I was at Uni at the time as well, and not buying hardly any albums), and then with Bruce gone, I totally gave up on them.  It wasn't until the Back Somewhere in Time tour (I was supposed to go, but ultimately things got buggered up and I didn't) that I discovered they'd reunited with BNW, and I went re-discovering them again.  More on that when we get to BNW.

That was the worst of times.  The 'best' of times is this week... and relistening for this thread.  I couldn't tell you the last time I listened to this album - likely sometime in the mid-90s.  It's not nearly as bad as I remember it to be 27 years ago.  Tailgunner's pretty good, and I now appreciate the slow build of the title track.  Despite it being such a blatant ripoff, Mother Russia is enjoyable enough.  Still, the worst IM album in my catalog, but it's not as much tripe as it was for my ears back in '90.  Bring Your Daughter still honks on Bobo, and the middle tracks are entirely meh.

I'm still mostly pissed at this album though, because (imo) it was the beginning of what ended up being a completely wasted decade for the band.  Would anyone say that the 90s (studio and touring) was NOT the worst decade for them?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 20, 2017, 06:49:58 AM
That's the thing; if you can remember when there wasn't an internet (or at least as ubiquitous an internet) and you waited a year or more between releases with little news (and without the obligatory every-tour DVD package), to be steeped in the run from Number... through Seventh... and then get... this?   Especially at that moment, when there was a lot of other music with energy, uniqueness and originality (Vigil..., Passion and Warfare, but for me more like "Ritual de lo Habitual" and "Manic Nirvana", which was Plant finally coming to grips with the fact that he was in Led Zeppelin for ten years), it's not surprising that No Prayer was met with a little bit of indifference.   

Some of the bigger bands were struggling; Painkiller (which I'm not a huge fan of either) and Slaves and Masters (which I love but I clearly understand why it's a huge misstep for Purple) and Crazy World (Scorpions).   And for whatever reason, a TON of bands were in 'recap' mode, releasing live or compilation records (Gabriel, Ozzy, Elton John, Squeeze...). 

And while it will factor in more shortly, don't forget, a little band called "Soundgarden" put out their first EP this year and another band, "Mother Love Bone", their first album.    Things were about to get real, as the kids say. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 20, 2017, 08:31:33 AM
Bring Your Daughter still honks on Bobo, and the middle tracks are entirely meh.

I lol'd
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: romdrums on July 20, 2017, 10:46:57 AM
Thanks to this thread, I've been listening to a lot of Maiden over the past few weeks (listening to Dance of Death right now.  Slightly underrated reunion era album?)  and I've come to a significant realization.  Recording to a click track would have been near impossible for this band.  Whether that's good or bad depends on your point of view, but I think, especially in the reunion era and tracking live as a band, that if Nicko had a click in his ear, the music would be vastly different.  As a drummer who has practiced with a metronome for decades and as a music fan who's listening tastes generally veer towards music of the gridded out variety, I can find listening to Maiden to be challenging with their sudden tempo changes, especially the tempo changes that, to my ears, come off as a course correction.  If I get some time, I may drop something like Can I Play With Madness into Pro Tools or something similar and do a tempo map, just to see how much it changes throughout the song.  The thing I find impressive about the tempo changes is that they manage to pull it off as a band.  It's not just Nicko making adjustments and everyone else fumbling to fall back or catch up, it's the whole band working as one.  That's a pretty impressive inter band telepathy. :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 20, 2017, 11:22:30 AM
Thanks to this thread, I've been listening to a lot of Maiden over the past few weeks (listening to Dance of Death right now.  Slightly underrated reunion era album?)  and I've come to a significant realization.  Recording to a click track would have been near impossible for this band.  Whether that's good or bad depends on your point of view, but I think, especially in the reunion era and tracking live as a band, that if Nicko had a click in his ear, the music would be vastly different.  As a drummer who has practiced with a metronome for decades and as a music fan who's listening tastes generally veer towards music of the gridded out variety, I can find listening to Maiden to be challenging with their sudden tempo changes, especially the tempo changes that, to my ears, come off as a course correction.  If I get some time, I may drop something like Can I Play With Madness into Pro Tools or something similar and do a tempo map, just to see how much it changes throughout the song.  The thing I find impressive about the tempo changes is that they manage to pull it off as a band.  It's not just Nicko making adjustments and everyone else fumbling to fall back or catch up, it's the whole band working as one.  That's a pretty impressive inter band telepathy. :metal

I'm not a drummer, though I have played in bands before (including marching bands, which is significant here) and I feel like the greatest bands do what you describe and it is - in part - why they are the greatest.  I've written here before, but it's to me why the vast majority of drummers STILL cite John Bonham as being the guy, and yet the majority of Zeppelin covers fall flat.   He and Page, in particular, had a really smooth way of doing just what you describe.   When I saw Temple of the Dog, they SMOKED a cover of Achilles Last Stand - one of the best Zeppelin covers I have ever heard - and in part it was because Matt Cameron and Stone Gossard were locked in, but the tempo was not.   It ebbed and flowed but did so as a band unit, not one guy scrambling to catch up to the other. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 20, 2017, 12:51:54 PM
If I get some time, I may drop something like Can I Play With Madness into Pro Tools or something similar and do a tempo map, just to see how much it changes throughout the song.

I, for one, would find that absolutely fascinating. Hope you get the time ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: romdrums on July 20, 2017, 01:28:06 PM
If I get some time, I may drop something like Can I Play With Madness into Pro Tools or something similar and do a tempo map, just to see how much it changes throughout the song.

I, for one, would find that absolutely fascinating. Hope you get the time ;D

I'm going to check a few of their tunes if I can get the time.  One of my buddies and I are very interested to see just how much the tempo varies in some of their songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 20, 2017, 11:17:24 PM
I would argue against the 90s being a wasted decade for them. Regardless of opinions on the quality of those albums, most of the creative foundation for the music they'd make in the next decade were laid in the 90s. Not so much on Prayer, but definitely the following three albums. Virtual XI is basically proto-BNw. A lot of other bands in Maiden's position reset themselves eventually and went in other directions (or tried to go back to their roots), but when the reunion happened Maiden (or more specifically Steve) didn't alter their musical direction much at all. I think that contributed a lot to the longevity of the reunion and the quality of the music they're making to this day.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 21, 2017, 12:29:26 AM
I would argue against the 90s being a wasted decade for them. Regardless of opinions on the quality of those albums, most of the creative foundation for the music they'd make in the next decade were laid in the 90s. Not so much on Prayer, but definitely the following three albums. Virtual XI is basically proto-BNw. A lot of other bands in Maiden's position reset themselves eventually and went in other directions (or tried to go back to their roots), but when the reunion happened Maiden (or more specifically Steve) didn't alter their musical direction much at all. I think that contributed a lot to the longevity of the reunion and the quality of the music they're making to this day.

The direction may have been the same excluding the vocal melodies (the importance of this can't be understated). However, the execution is far superior in the reunion era. An example of the poor execution is one of the later 90's albums had what could easily be the worst drum performances in the history of the band. Nicko's playing just sounded flat and uninspiring. I can't remember which record it was, but I'm sure that it will come up in discussion when we get to the album. Those two factors (no pun intended) separate the 90's and the reunion era greatly. Also, while there have been a couple of miss-steps (Dance of Death and The Final Frontier), the reunion era albums have sounded a ton better as far as the overall production.

An argument could also be made that quite a few songs on Dance of Death were very much different than anything that they had done before. Face in the Sand, and Age of Innocence in particular really seem to stand out to me as being very different/non-standard IM songs. Journeyman could probably fall into that category as well.

I do understand where you're coming from, but I don't think that it's fair to cover the entire reunion era as just being a continuation of the 90's output.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2017, 05:46:50 AM
I would argue against the 90s being a wasted decade for them.

As would I.  They needed that decade to make the reunion as good as it was IMO. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 21, 2017, 08:15:05 AM
I would argue against the 90s being a wasted decade for them. Regardless of opinions on the quality of those albums, most of the creative foundation for the music they'd make in the next decade were laid in the 90s. Not so much on Prayer, but definitely the following three albums. Virtual XI is basically proto-BNw. A lot of other bands in Maiden's position reset themselves eventually and went in other directions (or tried to go back to their roots), but when the reunion happened Maiden (or more specifically Steve) didn't alter their musical direction much at all. I think that contributed a lot to the longevity of the reunion and the quality of the music they're making to this day.

The direction may have been the same excluding the vocal melodies (the importance of this can't be understated). However, the execution is far superior in the reunion era. An example of the poor execution is one of the later 90's albums had what could easily be the worst drum performances in the history of the band. Nicko's playing just sounded flat and uninspiring. I can't remember which record it was, but I'm sure that it will come up in discussion when we get to the album. Those two factors (no pun intended) separate the 90's and the reunion era greatly.

I was listening to the X Factor yesterday (Homework!!!) and there was one song... might have been Man On The Edge, but don't quote me on that - and I thought "WOW, I have to look to see who played on this because that CERTAINLY isn't Nicko".  The drums sounded like someone was banging on cardboard boxes with a wooden spoon, and had none of that "motion" that Nicko is so good at (the galloping beat isn't just Harry's triplet base lines). 

Quote
Also, while there have been a couple of miss-steps (Dance of Death and The Final Frontier), the reunion era albums have sounded a ton better as far as the overall production.

An argument could also be made that quite a few songs on Dance of Death were very much different than anything that they had done before. Face in the Sand, and Age of Innocence in particular really seem to stand out to me as being very different/non-standard IM songs. Journeyman could probably fall into that category as well.

I do understand where you're coming from, but I don't think that it's fair to cover the entire reunion era as just being a continuation of the 90's output.

Haha, I read that quickly and I thought you included "Dance of Death" in there as one of the missteps!   Wait.... you did!   What are you thinking?  That's probably my second favorite reunion era album.  I go back to that a LOT more than BNW (which I like) and AMOLOD (which is great but hasn't really dug in roots with me yet).   Journeyman (both versions) is a top 10 Maiden song for me, easily. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 21, 2017, 08:36:12 AM
^No kidding!  Man, if not for Dance of Death and The Final Frontier, I'm not sure I would have ever even bothered becoming a Maiden fan.  Forget reunion era--those are two of their best albums EVER.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 21, 2017, 08:37:38 AM
Nicko was musically absent for a lot of the Blaze years, especially Virtual. He took Bruce's departure very personally and never seemed to accept Blaze in the band (he story goes that Nicko convinced Steve that Blaze had to go).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 21, 2017, 11:40:55 AM
Dance of Death is an incredible album. However, the production suffered from poor mastering. The record label bumped the levels without consulting the band. TFF is hard to describe for me. It sounds like its buried under too much delay/reverb a lot of the time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2017, 11:45:27 AM
DoD is an amazing album with bad production, agreed.  Honestly would rank TFF just above or around the 90s albums.  Not very interesting songs for my taste.

Just listened to No Prayer twice today.  It's been awhile since I've listened to it, and I was pretty harsh on it in my initial post regarding it here, but I think it's a bit better than I had stated.  It's not good, but it's still very clearly IM and while the songs are mostly poor, there's lots of good music on the album.  Also, I enjoy the production on this one.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: kaos2900 on July 21, 2017, 12:37:39 PM
I think TFF is easily the weakest of the reunion albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2017, 12:39:21 PM
I think TFF is easily the weakest of the reunion albums.

By far.  When reading some people's disappointments at the time of NPftD's release, I feel like I can relate for the release of TFF.  I guess I'll hold off anymore feelings on it until we get there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Lowdz on July 21, 2017, 12:48:36 PM
I've ever felt that a Maiden have ever had a great sounding album, not since TNotB anyway.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: bosk1 on July 21, 2017, 01:18:52 PM
I think TFF is easily the weakest of the reunion albums.
Nope.  Best Maiden album of ANY era.  And it isn't even close.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 21, 2017, 01:25:21 PM
I've ever felt that a Maiden have ever had a great sounding album, not since TNotB anyway.
All Birch albums up to Seventh Son and Brave New World IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 21, 2017, 01:28:51 PM
I LOVE TFF. My favorite Reunion Era album. I may concede that AMOLAD is better, and they're basically tied for me, but TFF is just a bit brighter than AMOLAD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Kwyjibo on July 21, 2017, 01:31:03 PM
TFF is great, not their best but better than most
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2017, 01:39:07 PM
I've ever felt that a Maiden have ever had a great sounding album, not since TNotB anyway.
All Birch albums up to Seventh Son and Brave New World IMO.

BNW definitely.  LOVE the sound of that album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: wolfking on July 21, 2017, 04:35:05 PM
I think TFF is easily the weakest of the reunion albums.
Nope.  Best Maiden album of ANY era.  And it isn't even close.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/O5NyCibf93upy/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 21, 2017, 04:38:45 PM
To each their own I say, at least we are all fans  :lol About to head out of my hotel to see them tonight, sold out in Brooklyn  :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 21, 2017, 05:01:01 PM
Have fun Marc!  Will check the Cram youtube page tomorrow for a report!  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: King Postwhore on July 21, 2017, 05:18:20 PM
I LOVE TFF. My favorite Reunion Era album. I may concede that AMOLAD is better, and they're basically tied for me, but TFF is just a bit brighter than AMOLAD.

AMOLAD is my favorite post reunion album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 21, 2017, 07:32:28 PM
I will always maintain that AMOLAD is the defining album of the Reunion Era.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 21, 2017, 10:35:52 PM
I think TFF is easily the weakest of the reunion albums.
Nope.  Best Maiden album of ANY era.  And it isn't even close.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/O5NyCibf93upy/giphy.gif)

Yup. That's my reaction to anyone who says similar about A Matter of Life and Death, too :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 22, 2017, 11:34:21 AM
Have fun Marc!  Will check the Cram youtube page tomorrow for a report!  ;D

I got a ghost video up, but I'll have one long maiden video ready tomorrow afternoon i think.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 22, 2017, 03:18:27 PM
Have fun Marc!  Will check the Cram youtube page tomorrow for a report!  ;D

I got a ghost video up, but I'll have one long maiden video ready tomorrow afternoon i think.

Checked it out..very nice! :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Ruba on July 23, 2017, 01:57:45 PM
Aww guys, seems like I missed the start of the party. You've already been through the 80s. But I'll give a quick power ranking of Iron Maiden's seven first albums:

1. Killers
2. Iron Maiden
3. Powerslave
4. Piece of Mind
5. The Number of the Beast
6. Somewhere in Time
7. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

I like the Di'Anno albums best musically, even though Bruce is way better singer. And again, I'll take some of the Bruce's solo albums ahead of any Iron Maiden album. Also, I didn't first think I'd put Powerslave that high up, but when I thought about it, it's pretty damn solid album, without any filler. Those are also pretty much the best Iron Maiden albums. Maybe I'd snuck The X Factor between TNOBT and SIT.

Now onto No Prayer for the Dying. After Seventh Son, guitarist Adrian Smith (who I think is the best guitarist of the current three) left the band. After No Prayer, long-time graphic designer Derek Riggs left the band and and the follow-up Fear of the Dark is the last album produced by Martin Birch. After touring for FOTD Bruce Dickinson left to pursue a solo career. Early nineties were a clear end of an era to Iron Maiden to my mind the band has never reached the heights of the 1980s, even with Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson rejoining the fold in 1999.

I love the cover art. It's pretty simple and effective. It's also worth noting that Eddie is no longer sporting metal plate keeping his skull in one piece in his forehead, which he received after being lobotomized in Piece of Mind era. Oh, and the original picture with Eddie strangling the undertaker is the better one.

Musically, Maiden pretty much abandoned the synths and proggier song structures and opted to make pretty much balls-out rock record, the album along with Killers are the only Maiden albums to date not to have at least one longer epic song. The overall sound of the album is also a lot grittier than most of its predecessors. Bruce also sings with raspier voice than on earlier Maiden albums. The new guitarist, Janick Gers, is a good guitarist, but severely lacks the finesse when compared to Adrian Smith. I feel Adrian's solos are usually tasteful and well thought-out, where as Janick just squirts notes all around.

The material on the album is very uneven, there are some amazing songs and some meh songs. I think you could make one great album if you'd take the best tracks from No Prayer and Fear of the Dark, but both albums have too many lackluster songs.

The album starts with two rockier songs. Tailgunner (named after an XXX movie) evokes again images of II World War dogfights, but is musically a far cry from Aces High. Holy Smoke has a catchy main riff, but is otherwise pretty dull (fun guitar solos though). Oh, and it has an absolutely hilarious music video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPV4jlOlWjA)

Then the quality thankfully jumps up a lot. The title track has some of the best guitar melodies in the band's whole catalogue. Public Enema Number One is the best straight-forward rocker on the album, with catchy chord structure and an amazing guitar solo by Dave Murray. I love the punny title and its rather dystopic lyrics. Fates Warning begins with a slow guitar intrduction reminiscing De Ja Vu from Somewhere in Time, but soon picks up pace with heavy gallopping rhythm and heavy guitar chords. The verse has an amazing guitar melody.

The Assassin has some good ideas, but the end product feels quite disjointed. The same can be said about the album closer Mother Russia.

Run Silent Run Deep is also one of the highlights of the album, amazing verse riff and a catchy chorus. I remember reading from some interview that Bruce doesn't really like the lyrics of the song, but I'll have to disagree, they'll portray pretty well the nature of submarine warfare. Also, the twin-guitar solo at 2:51 is one of the greatest moments in any Iron Maiden song ever.

Hooks in You is the only song on the album that has writing credits for Adrian Smith. It is yet another straight-forward major key hard rocker such as the two opening song. And similarly with them, it is a decent, but not very memorable song. Although it has cowbell in the intro. ;D

Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter is a reimagining of a Bruce Dickinson solo song written for A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, with a heavier sound, but it's pretty much home among the other rockers on the album. I've never liked the song very much, but it's an OK hard rock track. Damn, did Maiden want to make an AC/DC record? ;D

Mother Russia, like I said before, has its moments, but it seems like it's composed of parts that don't always go together seamlessly.

To recap, there are four top notch songs on the album (No Prayer for the Dying, Public Enema Number One, Fates Warning and Run Silent Run Deep). I wouldn't call any song on the album bad, but most are just quite average. I don't think hard rock/hair metal is where the Maiden should be at, they're a fucking heavy metal band with some progressive edge. ;D

I also want to say that I love this cover of Kill Me (Ce Soir) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QraxyacvNQ) which was a B-side and it beats most of the album easily.

Well, this turned out to be a slight novel. Thanks for everyone who bothered to read this far!

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: ChuckSteak on July 23, 2017, 02:41:00 PM
Killers on the top.  :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer For the Dying (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 23, 2017, 07:41:35 PM
I’m currently working on an entry for the No Prayer tour, was hoping to have it up earlier but I’ve been pretty busy. Since the conversation has strayed away from the No Prayer album and has become more of a retrospective on their whole career (and since I’ve I think I’ve talked about just about everything up to this point anyway) might as well make a quick entry for this:

The First Ten Years (1990)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/38/First_ten_years.jpg/220px-First_ten_years.jpg)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/videos/video07_tenyears.jpg)
In early 1990, to commemorate 10 years of recorded history, Maiden reissued all of their singles on 12” double LPs, CD, and cassette. The singles were packaged in pairs with the original b-sides and a commentary track at the end by Nicko. This also included the Maiden Japan EP paired with the Purgatory single. Later on in the year, after the release of No Prayer, a VHS of The First Ten Years was released which featured all of the band’s music videos. The first five videos were previously collected on Video Pieces and Stranger In a Strange Land was on 12 Wasted Years, but none of the other videos were available commercially until this point.

With this release, Maiden were beginning to look back on their career more. This obviously showed on the album as well and even the tour (which we’ll get to). Of course, starting in the 90s, more compilations, reissues, and other archival releases followed. The closest thing they had to a greatest hits album was Live After Death and that was a whole five years old at this point.The First Ten Years remains as one of the best archival Maiden releases. They’re pretty hard to find now, but they did a good job with the CDs/LPs. Putting two singles on one disc was a nice way to give fans their money’s worth and the Nicko commentaries are awesome. Listening to the singles in order (or watching the VHS) really shows how quickly the band evolved over the years. As mentioned earlier, this is also the only way to get Maiden Japan officially on CD.

The First Ten Years was a success for the band with each of the CDs charting in the UK albums top 20. Maiden’s may have been declining in the US, but they were still going strong in their home country. Overall, a nice final retrospective of 80's Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: TAC on July 23, 2017, 07:50:59 PM
I have literally zero recollection of those releases!

I’m currently working on an entry for the No Prayer tour, was hoping to have it up earlier but I’ve been pretty busy. 

I'm ready with comments and pics!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 23, 2017, 08:10:55 PM
I'm not sure if they actually came out in the US. I've never seen them sold second hand out here or known anyone from here who had them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Lowdz on July 24, 2017, 01:28:19 AM
I've got some of those First Ten Years singles but nowhere near all. The Nickolas commentaries were funny.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Zydar on July 24, 2017, 01:50:28 AM
I actually have that on VHS somewhere.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 24, 2017, 04:30:50 AM
I have most if not every "First Ten Years" CDs and I agree they're a nice collection, also the Listen with Nicko sessions are awesome. Sure, I mostly forgot what they are all about by now, but they were just awesome commentaries from him, with the occasional filthy joke thrown in at the end.

I agree that they were a nice packaging for those fans coming in later, and wanting to have a proper singles collection. All the comments I've been able to offer on the B-Sides, are solely and completely thanks to these CDs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 24, 2017, 06:50:47 AM
I have most if not every "First Ten Years" CDs and I agree they're a nice collection, also the Listen with Nicko sessions are awesome. Sure, I mostly forgot what they are all about by now, but they were just awesome commentaries from him, with the occasional filthy joke thrown in at the end.

I agree that they were a nice packaging for those fans coming in later, and wanting to have a proper singles collection. All the comments I've been able to offer on the B-Sides, are solely and completely thanks to these CDs.

They came out on Castle.  I have all of them at this point (the Live After Death is critical, because I think that's the only place to get some of the alternate live versions).   But some of the early, live b-sides are great, as are the b-sides for Powerslave and Somewhere In Time. 

"Nicko, here!  Hi.   Hi."

"We're gonna put it on a CD!"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 24, 2017, 07:10:00 AM
Yeah, the Live After Death release has Murders in the Rue Morgue and Losfer Words live on the World Slavery Tour. Awesome versions, too!!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Samsara on July 24, 2017, 08:54:17 AM
Wow, cool. I had never heard of this 10 Years thing. As an aside, 10 Years is a killer band.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 24, 2017, 10:20:44 AM
Wow, cool. I had never heard of this 10 Years thing. As an aside, 10 Years is a killer band.  :lol

Just wanna leave this here - Maiden covering Montrose´s I´ve Got The Fire. They used to play this song in their early days with Paul, and recorded a studio version as a B side of the Flight of Icarus single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n1XEzmPV10
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: cramx3 on July 24, 2017, 10:39:41 AM
I've always loved that cover
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on July 24, 2017, 07:12:33 PM
I remember when the first 10 years box set was released. I was at the height of my Maiden fandom at the time and super psyched to get each CD. Don't remember how I found out about the box set, altho I was an avid reader of Circus, Hit Parader and RIP! magazines at the time, so probably thru them. It was definitely not something available domestically in the US, so I remember having to drive down to the east side of Milwaukee to a music store that carried import releases. I did that every week for 10 weeks in a row. I also managed to get the box that housed the CDs, altho that cost me (I think) an extra $10 instead of exchanging all the vouchers that came with each CD.

I have very fond memories of that box set and all the B-sides within. It was like a hidden treasure-trove of stuff that I only had a small idea of existing (having seen a few Maiden cassette singles a couple years before).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 24, 2017, 08:00:33 PM
They released a live version of "I've Got The Fire" with Paul as well (b-side of "Sanctuary", with "Drifter (Live)". 

My version of the b-sides was not in a box, but as two-CD versions of the main albums.   So my copy of "Iron Maiden" has a second disk with "Sanctuary", "Burning Ambition", "Drifter (Live)" and "I've Got The Fire (Live)". 

Maiden is easily Top Three (with Genesis and Oasis) for b-sides.  Love them, and Total Eclipse is in my Top 10 Maiden songs ever.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on July 24, 2017, 08:12:04 PM
My version of the b-sides was not in a box, but as two-CD versions of the main albums.   So my copy of "Iron Maiden" has a second disk with "Sanctuary", "Burning Ambition", "Drifter (Live)" and "I've Got The Fire (Live)". 
Right - those were the 1995 reissues on the Castle label. AFAIK, those were released domestically in the US, as I recall picking up some of them in a Musicland or some other generic music store chain. Interesting thing about the bonus CD for Live After Death was that it had Losfer Words, Sanctuary and Murders in the Rue Morgue instead of "side 4" from the original album. I wish they'd reissue LAD once again and finally include those tracks as well (properly sequenced in the setlist (as well as "side 4"), even tho I know they weren't part of the Long Beach shows) since there's plenty of room on the second CD. Ah well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 24, 2017, 08:12:59 PM
They released a live version of "I've Got The Fire" with Paul as well (b-side of "Sanctuary", with "Drifter (Live)".

I don't know about anyone else, but I've always liked this version better than the one that they did in the studio with Bruce.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Mosh on July 24, 2017, 08:17:17 PM
No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures08_npftd/tourbook08_npftd.jpg)
Keeping with the “back to the roots” theme of the album, when it was time to take No Prayer For the Dying on the road it made sense to maintain this aesthetic for the stage show. Fans of the elaborate productions throughout the 80s may have been disappointed to find that Maiden were employing a bare bones approach with their new tour. The props were gone, the fantastical backdrops were replaced with a huge line of Marshall cabinets, and the spandex costumes were exchanged for a more down to earth look with jeans, t-shirts, and leather jackets. Still an arena band, the stage setup wasn’t completely bare. The lighting rig changed a bit and incorporated brighter lights that were more integrated into the stage. This tour also saw the increased usage of background drapes with various artwork. The drapes made their first appearance on the World Slavery Tour, but were always used to complement the stage design. Since this tour didn’t really have a stage design, the drapes instead used single artwork and the tour poster. This became the standard that continues to this day.

They also scaled back Eddie compared to previous tours. Seventh Son featured the most extravagant Eddies yet, with two large Eddie’s and accompanying pyro. The No Prayer tour began with just one walk on Eddie wearing jeans and a leather jacket. Later on in the tour they added a big Eddie which came out of a tombstone ala World Slavery Tour.

Luckily the band made up for the barebones stage by putting on one of their most high energy performances ever. The addition of Janick Gers lit a fire under the rest of the band that was on clear display at nearly every show. Bruce and Steve have always been good about audience interaction and covering the whole stage, while Adrian and Dave typically stayed in their corners for the majority of the shows. Janick, however, is more like Bruce and Steve in that he essentially became a third frontman. Anyone who’s seen Maiden since 1990 knows what I’m talking about because he’s still the same kind of performer. From his very first tour with the band, he was throwing his guitar around, climbing up rafters, and generally having a good time on stage. He also got plenty of chances to show off his playing. Not only did he get to play all of Adrian’s old solos and interpret them his own way, but he also got a short unaccompanied solo spot at the end of 22 Acacia Avenue. This newfound energy also seemed to rub off on Dave, who was moving around on stage more than ever before.

Since Maiden weren’t scheduling themselves around a festival event, the tour itinerary returned to the usual UK tour followed by greater Europe tour followed by USA. The band also visited Japan for the first time since 1987. Similar to the Seventh Tour, the tour kicked off with a secret gig, this time under the name The Holy Smokers. The gig took place in the UK and was used mainly to introduce Janick to the fans. There was also a TV special covering the gig (link below).

As usual, the setlist was heavy on new material with some older songs mixed in. No Prayer received unusually heavy representation with seven new songs on the set. This was the most amount of new material played live since Piece of Mind, clearly the band were confident in their new release. They also played Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter as an encore track, the first time since the Killers tour that a song from the latest album was played during the encore. The show predictably opened with Tailgunner, which was followed by Public Enema Number One. Rather than mix the rest of the No Prayer songs in with other “classics”, as was the Maiden standard at this point, the band used their older method of hitting the audience with a gauntlet of new songs in the middle of the set.

Somewhat appropriate for this tour, there seemed to be extra focus on The Number Of the Beast. Four songs were played from Number Of the Beast, with the occasional addition of The Prisoner making five. Only one song each from the previous three albums were played and two songs from Piece of Mind were played. The rest were the standard staples from the first two albums. They also messed with the typical song order a bit by placing The Trooper near the end and Hallowed Be Thy Name very early on. This was an interesting change of pace but overall I think most fans would agree that Hallowed is best toward the end of the set.

Overall, say what you will about the album, but the No Prayer On the Road tour saw a revitalized Maiden. The year off and change of personnel really made a difference for the better. The songs had more energy than the last few tours and Bruce sounded great. Unlike on the album, the raspy singing style was not used the whole time and was cleverly mixed with his more traditional operatic style. His operatic singing sounded stronger than before and his consistency on this tour was higher than usual. While he would leave the band just a couple years later, any question of his dedication to Maiden could be laid to rest after witnessing this tour.
 

Bootlegs and TV appearances
Unfortunately, No Prayer is the second tour not to have any official live release associated with it. This seemed like a bizarre move to me as it was Maiden’s “comeback” tour after a break and with a new lineup, plus the band sounded great, unlike much of the Somewhere In Time tour. The only official material from this tour is in the form of b-sides from Fear Of the Dark recorded at Wembley. Hopefully this concert is officially released some day. I’m also holding out hope that they have some video footage in the vault that will come out whenever they release Live At Donington on DVD.
That being said, they did do a lot of TV appearances during this tour and there are some very good bootlegs out there, so let's take a look:

Holy Smokers TV Special: This is a short document of the Holy Smokers secret gig that combines live and interview footage. Nothing too special, although you get Public Enema Number One which was only played on this tour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6FG7QZfYmo

No Prayer On the Road Documentary: Very cool documentary that once again features some live footage. This time you get Tailgunner, Wrathchild, Public Enema Number One, and Hallowed Be Thy Name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UjuCBLD-cI&t=1771s

Live at Wembley: This is a soundboard recording of one of the Wembley gigs and is among the best Iron Maiden bootlegs. The audio quality is fantastic and it almost sounds like an official release. The show is incomplete, but most of the important songs are there. The only glaring omission is Bring Your Daughter, but luckily it was well represented on live albums later on. Definitely don’t miss out on this one.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5unqrwbnt7bf2dk/AADgwUbM2OdNBOkrhK4JkynFa?dl=0

Dortmund: This is probably the best audience recording of the tour, as the camera angle is perfect. You get a full view of the stage right in the center. Sound quality is decent but I’m mostly including this so everyone can experience the stage show for this tour.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-h_lGp7ymdERSCBeF33aDoLN8Wh-3opW

Rockslide 1991: The band finished their tour with a short European run that mainly coincided with an appearance at the Rockslide festival in Denmark. The song selection on this one is less exciting, just Run To the Hills and Sanctuary, but there’s some interview footage too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKePPbdvMlo
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 24, 2017, 08:43:04 PM
I saw them twice on this tour:
1-21-91  Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands, NJ
1-25-91 Civic Center, Providence, RI

I must say that this was really one of my favorite tours. I loved the wall of Marshalls that replaced the scenic stages of the 80's.
Upon seeing the band hit the stage, there were two things that became obvious..Jannick was insanely demonstrative, and I had never seen Dave so engaged. I felt that Jannick really pulled Dave out of his shell. This fact was noted by Mick Wall in Run To the Hills, but it is truly my main memory of these shows.

And the setlist kicked ass. After opening with Tailgunner and PE#1, they went right into Wrathchild, Die With Your Boots On, and then Hallowed Be Thy Name in a rare early spot. But it worked so greatly. Then surprisingly launched right into 22 Acacia Avenue. I just thought it was such a cool run of tracks. Again, my high school and college days are now officially behind me, and I thought it was such a great trip down memory lane to start off the show. Not sure if any of that makes any sense..

Anthrax opened!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 24, 2017, 08:45:31 PM
A friend of mine had a bootleg from that tour called Live at Paul Ricard, which was awesome.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 24, 2017, 08:47:50 PM
I remember that.

I taped the Providence show. Bruce greets the crowd, "How you doing Rochester?". WTF??  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 24, 2017, 08:57:05 PM
January 25, 1991
Civic Center
Providence, RI

(https://i.imgur.com/SSzV7OW.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/2SGCNGu.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/BIqWmMD.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/0K6aHVx.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/1RxR8Qm.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/MfYg1UF.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/lV5Cem0.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/W8PiBag.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/jHbw3xo.jpg)



And the New York Event shirt bought at the Brendan Byrne Arena in NJ.

(https://i.imgur.com/FOp5WgU.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/0odP3vX.jpg)


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Mosh on July 24, 2017, 08:59:29 PM
Awesome pics! I love the artwork around this tour. The poster is awesome and the backdrops were so cool.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: wolfking on July 24, 2017, 09:05:56 PM
That Live at Wembley soundboard bootleg it wonderful.  I'd love a pro shot show form this tour, seems like an absolute cracker.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 24, 2017, 09:07:52 PM
They obviously taped some of the shows - isn't there a live video of Bring your daughter?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 24, 2017, 09:13:13 PM
Awesome pics! I love the artwork around this tour. The poster is awesome and the backdrops were so cool.

This is actually one of my favorite tours. Dave was like a new person. You can tell, even today, that Dave really likes Jannick when they are on stage together.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Mosh on July 24, 2017, 09:36:32 PM
They obviously taped some of the shows - isn't there a live video of Bring your daughter?
Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean the whole gig was filmed. A video bootleg exists of the same gig that Stranger In a Strange Land was recorded at and you can see that the film crew only came out for two songs (Stranger and Iron Maiden). Was probably similar for all music video shoots.

That being said, video recording had come a long way in the 90s and bands were recording more often. I would not be surprised if Wembley was filmed, maybe that Holy Smokers gig too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 25, 2017, 01:17:20 AM
Too early for me to attend it, but all things considered and looking back at their history, it would have been quite nice to see such a "stripped down" tour! not that I ever complained about their bombastic productions, but this particular tour must have been a rarity all things considered.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: cramx3 on July 25, 2017, 06:51:42 AM
I'm kind of surprised by the positive reviews of this tour.  I just didn't have anything to go on other than most people didn't like the album as much and with a stripped down show, figured people didn't enjoy the shows as much either, but I guess not!  That's cool they had some new life in them for this tour.  Nice pics again TAC.  Did Bruce get booed for calling out the wrong town?  I have a Van Halen bootleg where DLR does that as well.   :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Grappler on July 25, 2017, 07:02:16 AM
I would have loved to see that kind of a stripped-down Maiden show.  I pretty much did with the Ed Hunter tour, though that also featured their current stage-setup, but with less frills.

Also, I saw Kiss once in Champaign, IL, which is 2 hours/120 miles south of Chicago.  Peter Criss came out to sing Beth and said "How are you doing Chicago," and received some boos.   After he finished, Paul Stanley came back to the mic and just said "we're going to buy him a map."   :lol

As amazing as Bruce is, he's not immune to the occasional mix-up, so I wouldn't begrudge him for that, though it is somewhat maddening when artists can't keep the cities that they're in straight.  I think that's why some bands put the names of the cities on the setlist.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 25, 2017, 07:16:20 AM
Well, I wouldn't ask anyone to remember the details of all cities like Alice Cooper does in Wayne's world (  ;D ), and I understand tour is just an alienating experience where you jump from the stage to the bus and from the bus to the stage, but yeah, at the very least know the damn place said bus stranded you in, shouldn't be such an impossible task  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 25, 2017, 07:28:34 AM
I'm kind of surprised by the positive reviews of this tour.  I just didn't have anything to go on other than most people didn't like the album as much and with a stripped down show, figured people didn't enjoy the shows as much either, but I guess not!  That's cool they had some new life in them for this tour.  Nice pics again TAC.  Did Bruce get booed for calling out the wrong town?  I have a Van Halen bootleg where DLR does that as well.   :lol

I thought the wall of Marshall amps looked bad ass. It was also the first time I noticed the guys going to the back line to tune between songs. Just thought that was cool. Maybe they're not actually tuning, but it looked cool.

Right before Die With Your Boots on, he screams out "How the fuck are you Rochester?". He seems to immediately know he fucked up and goes "Shit........huh.......it's been a long time isn't it, you know.."  Oddly less than a minute earlier before the last chorus of Wrathchild he says "Providence, come on".

Before No Prayer, he talks about him and Jan playing The Living Room the previous year and that they "had a great time".



Also, I saw Kiss once in Champaign, IL, which is 2 hours/120 miles south of Chicago.  Peter Criss came out to sing Beth and said "How are you doing Chicago," and received some boos.   After he finished, Paul Stanley came back to the mic and just said "we're going to buy him a map."   :lol
Love Paul!

We get that a lot in Mansfield, which is in the middle of nowhere, halfway between Providence and Boston. Iron Maiden has always taken the time to call out Providence, but Bruce generally refers to it as Boston or Massachusetts. He also calls out Mansfield too. Bands will also give Worcester a shout out as well from time to time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: Stadler on July 25, 2017, 10:49:43 AM
My version of the b-sides was not in a box, but as two-CD versions of the main albums.   So my copy of "Iron Maiden" has a second disk with "Sanctuary", "Burning Ambition", "Drifter (Live)" and "I've Got The Fire (Live)". 
Right - those were the 1995 reissues on the Castle label. AFAIK, those were released domestically in the US, as I recall picking up some of them in a Musicland or some other generic music store chain. Interesting thing about the bonus CD for Live After Death was that it had Losfer Words, Sanctuary and Murders in the Rue Morgue instead of "side 4" from the original album. I wish they'd reissue LAD once again and finally include those tracks as well (properly sequenced in the setlist (as well as "side 4"), even tho I know they weren't part of the Long Beach shows) since there's plenty of room on the second CD. Ah well.

I'm traveling today, but I'll check it when I get home... the subsequent release of Live After Death (around the time of the "Enahnced CDs" and when they first put "Total Eclipse" back on "Number...") have the fourth side.  So you need two versions, but you can get the whole set.

I love that fourth side (from Hammersmith).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Lowdz on July 25, 2017, 03:50:48 PM
Just had a listen to the album. Mother Russia was a bit of a wtf moment as the intro is very reminiscent of Yngwie's Devil In Disguise intro, released very close together.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 25, 2017, 06:52:34 PM
This would be my last Iron Maiden concert until Brave New World. The 90’s were a busy decade for me as I began a full time job and going to college part time at night. I was not expecting the ultra stripped down stage show or the band members hitting the stage in black leather jackets and denim. The show was pretty good and the set list filled in a few more classics that I had yet to see live up to this show.

Intro - "633 Squadron" theme
Tailgunner
Public Enema Number One
Wrathchild
Die With Your Boots On
Hallowed Be Thy Name
22 Acacia Avenue
Holy Smoke
No Prayer for the Dying
The Clairvoyant
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Trooper
Heaven Can Wait
Iron Maiden

Encore:
The Number of the Beast
Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter
Run to the Hills
Sanctuary

Wrathchild, Die With Your Boots On, 22 Acacia Avenue and Sanctuary were new to me and I was satisfied when I left that I was able to add them to my list of songs I’ve seen played live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 25, 2017, 07:45:19 PM
Didn't they play Prisoner on a few dates?

Man, Adrian's solo on Prisoner is so good... I can't imagine what Jannick could have done with it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Mosh on July 25, 2017, 09:01:41 PM
I'm kind of surprised by the positive reviews of this tour.  I just didn't have anything to go on other than most people didn't like the album as much and with a stripped down show, figured people didn't enjoy the shows as much either, but I guess not!  That's cool they had some new life in them for this tour.  Nice pics again TAC.  Did Bruce get booed for calling out the wrong town?  I have a Van Halen bootleg where DLR does that as well.   :lol

I really think the stripped down show was the right move. The downside of huge stage shows is that it creates a disconnect with the audience and, if someone in the band isn't feeling it, it's very easy to hide behind the stage production. You always get an energetic show with Maiden, but I think this tour served as a reminder to the band of why they gained such a massive following in the first place.

Didn't they play Prisoner on a few dates?

Man, Adrian's solo on Prisoner is so good... I can't imagine what Jannick could have done with it.
Yea it was played on the last European run and at a few dates the previous year.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The First Ten Years (1990)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 26, 2017, 02:16:30 AM

Live at Wembley: This is a soundboard recording of one of the Wembley gigs and is among the best Iron Maiden bootlegs. The audio quality is fantastic and it almost sounds like an official release. The show is incomplete, but most of the important songs are there. The only glaring omission is Bring Your Daughter, but luckily it was well represented on live albums later on. Definitely don’t miss out on this one.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5unqrwbnt7bf2dk/AADgwUbM2OdNBOkrhK4JkynFa?dl=0

Fabulous bootleg, thanks for mentioning it. Listened on my bike ride this morning. Enjoyed Bruce's banter. Shame it's incomplete.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Mosh on July 27, 2017, 07:08:13 PM
Moving on to Fear tomorrow or Saturday, but one last thought on the tour. I can't emphasize enough how good Bruce sounded on this tour. This was the beginning of him really developing as a musician, culminating in a trilogy of maybe his greatest vocal performances (Accident of Birth, Chemical Wedding, Brave New World).

The interesting thing is that it seems at some point on this tour he stopped caring. There are some recordings from later on in the tour where he doesn't sound as good. And his banter seemed a bit different, less enthusiastic maybe. It seemed he wanted to stretch himself as a musician and an artist, but felt he needed to do that outside Maiden. Maybe he didn't realize that yet, but it became clear on the next tour. I look forward to reading more about this in his upcoming book.

Also the stage looks huge. Maybe it's the barebones thing, but it does look like they have a lot more space to work with.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 27, 2017, 07:33:49 PM
It's been a long time since I did a bootleg run of this tour. The only show I listen to is the Providence show. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 27, 2017, 07:46:58 PM
Moving on to Fear tomorrow or Saturday, 

 :metal
Let's get on with the awesomeness that is....Fear Of The Dark!! :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 27, 2017, 08:24:54 PM

The interesting thing is that it seems at some point on this tour he stopped caring. There are some recordings from later on in the tour where he doesn't sound as good. And his banter seemed a bit different, less enthusiastic maybe. It seemed he wanted to stretch himself as a musician and an artist, but felt he needed to do that outside Maiden. Maybe he didn't realize that yet, but it became clear on the next tour. I look forward to reading more about this in his upcoming book.

Maybe the "official" story is different, but I can't help but thinking he already wanted to leave (and the band knew about it) when they recorded FOTD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Mosh on July 27, 2017, 08:28:04 PM
I think he informed the band of his departure before the Real Live Tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 28, 2017, 01:04:50 AM
We'll never know for sure, but if I recall correctly, the "official" version is that when Fear of the Dark was into writing he was still into it, and that he realized over the first leg of the tour that he wanted to leave, informing them before the second run which basically was turned into a farewell tour.

I still remember a quote from godknowswhere of him saying something like "Why it's so hard doing it night after night? and maybe you realize the reason is... you don't want to do it anymore".
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Stadler on July 28, 2017, 07:38:46 AM
Moving on to Fear tomorrow or Saturday, 

 :metal
Let's get on with the awesomeness that is....Fear Of The Dark!! :metal :metal
Isn't sarcasm supposed to be in "green" on this forum?   

I kid! I kid! (Not really...)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: TAC on July 28, 2017, 08:17:23 AM
Fear Of The Dark is awesome and that is NOT sarcasm. Sure we could trim a couple three tracks from it but I maintain the album is 8 tracks deep.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Samsara on July 28, 2017, 08:54:37 AM
Fear Of The Dark is awesome and that is NOT sarcasm. Sure we could trim a couple three tracks from it but I maintain the album is 8 tracks deep.

I know we are skipping ahead, but I dig Fear of the Dark. I probably wouldn't go eight-deep, but certainly six. I need to re-listen. It has been a while.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Grappler on July 28, 2017, 09:47:49 AM
Fear Of The Dark is awesome and that is NOT sarcasm. Sure we could trim a couple three tracks from it but I maintain the album is 8 tracks deep.

Totally agree.  I'll expand more once we reach that point.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Dream Team on July 28, 2017, 12:20:31 PM
Fear Of The Dark is awesome and that is NOT sarcasm. Sure we could trim a couple three tracks from it but I maintain the album is 8 tracks deep.

Yup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: Mosh on July 28, 2017, 08:07:06 PM
Fear Of the Dark (1992)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures09_fotd/album09_fotd_a_small.jpg)
With their first world tour as a new band under their belts, Iron Maiden were energized going into the next album. The new lineup was stable and Janick could be involved in the creative process. Improvements were also made to Steve’s Barnyard studio to improve the sound (with assistance from Martin Birch). The band decided to continue the raw sound, but also reintroduce elements of their classic sound. The synthesizers were eased back in and the more experimental side of Maiden wouldn’t be rejected in the same way as on No Prayer For the Dying. In some ways, Maiden were going to attempt to combine the best elements of both sides. This album also showed Steve Harris taking a more active role in the production and marks the first time he receives a producer credit on a Maiden studio album.

Of course this album is best remembered as being the last to feature Bruce Dickinson (before his return in 1999), but Bruce’s decision to leave didn’t occur until later. In fact, Bruce insists that he was 100% still into the band at this point. In fact, the morale was very high going into Fear Of the Dark. While the musical landscape had changed, especially in America, Maiden were still enjoying their usual amount of success in the UK. Janick had breathed new life into the band, they had their first UK #1 single with Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter, and the tour was a success with many highpoints. Steve Harris even felt like Fear Of the Dark would be a new beginning for the band.  If No Prayer was Maiden adjusting to a change, Fear Of the Dark would show a more comfortable and confident Maiden.

It does seem like the band had experienced a sort of creative renaissance, as Fear of the Dark was their longest album to date and their first double LP length album (although CDs were the primary format at this point so it wasn’t considered a double album). At 12 tracks, it remains to this day as the Maiden album with the most songs. It could also be argued as the band’s most eclectic album, running the gamut from straightforward Hard Rock to Prog and everything in between. It even contains a power ballad. Say what you will about the album, but they were definitely at least attempting to take Maiden to new places.

Arguably the most important addition to Fear Of the Dark is Janick Gers’ as a creative force. On No Prayer he is very much a hired gun; his playing is more reserved and he didn’t write anything on the album. Janick truly comes into his own as a writer and performer on this album. His solos are more distinctive and he contributes to 5 of the 12 songs on Fear. Having worked with Bruce as a writing partner on his solo album, it was natural for the two to collaborate yet again on Fear. In fact, Wasting Love is actually a leftover from Tattooed Millionaire. This isn’t hard to believe when you listen to the track, which is the closest Maiden has come to a power ballad. It definitely would fit more on Tattooed Millionaire than a Maiden album, but then again it also fits the eccentricity of Fear Of the Dark.

The duo contributed two more songs to the album: Fear Is the Key and Be Quick Or Be Dead. Both songs (as well as Wasting Love) show a continuation of the more “socially conscious” Maiden that really came out on No Prayer. Fear Is the Key deals with the AIDs epidemic and makes reference to Freddie Mercury who died a year earlier (“nobody cares til somebody famous dies”). Be Quick Or Be Dead deals with corrupt politicians, specifically Robert Maxwell who was entangled in a banking scandal at the time (he can be seen strangled by Eddie on the single artwork). The song is a raucous opener that almost borders on Thrash Metal. It also marks the second time the album opener wasn’t written by Steve (this wouldn’t happen again until The Book Of Souls).

Janick Gers also collaborated with Steve Harris on two songs: Weekend Warrior and The Apparition. These songs also happen to be among the album’s most controversial. Weekend Warrior shows a more American styled Hard Rock sound while The Apparition is a very unusual tune that contains a 70s tinged synth break and no chorus. Both songs frequently fight for the place of weakest Maiden song (the recent Maidenfans ranking shows the two at the very bottom). Weekend Warrior also has a peculiar lyric, dealing with football hooligans. It’s a topic Steve is obviously passionate about, although it seems like an odd subject for a Metal song. On the other hand, despite all of its other quirks, The Apparition is your standard Harris lyrical affair.
After collaborating for the first time on No Prayer, Bruce and Dave gave it another shot with two more songs. Dave seemed to be having an increase of creativity during this period, contributing more than one song for two albums in a row. The first song, Chains of Misery, is another point of controversy in the Maiden catalog. Very similar to Weekend Warrior in its Hard Rock vibe, especially with the gang vocals in the chorus. Most would agree that the other attempt by the and was far more successful. Judas Be My Guide stands as one of the album’s hidden gems. It’s a heavy track that is stylistically not that far removed from Public Enema Number One. It’s actually probably one of the more “traditional” sounding songs on the album.

Of course the rest of the album is dominated by the usual slew of Harris tracks. Five songs were written exclusively by Steve and stylistically they’re really all over the place. From Here To Eternity is an oddity and feels more like an AC/DC song than a Maiden song. It almost seems like Steve wanted to write his version of Bring Your Daughter, or maybe he wanted to appeal more to the American audience since the previous two albums underperformed there. It does contain a “back to the roots” element in that it revisits an old topic for the band: Charlotte the Harlot. The song tells the story of Charlotte hitching a motorcycle ride with the Devil. The Fugitive and Childhood’s End are fairly straightforward, with Childhood’s End being another track that addresses a real world topic.

While Steve’s other contributions are inconsistent at best, he delivers the goods with what are considered by many to be the highlights of the album: Afraid To Shoot Strangers and the title track. Both songs harken back to the earlier progressive Maiden but, unlike Mother Russia and No Prayer For the Dying, Steve fully commits to his epic side. Afraid To Shoot Strangers deals with the Gulf War and is probably the earliest example of the “Modern Maiden” format of a slow soft intro followed by an explosive middle section and instrumental. This song contains a massive buildup. The title track has of course become a staple at concerts and is probably still their most famous post-80s track. Revisiting the studio version is always disorienting as I’m sure most fans have grown used to the crowd singing along with every note.

Fear Of the Dark was yet another divisive album for fans, but its most controversial aspect may actually be something that has nothing to do with the music itself: the cover. Starting in the 90s, Maiden began accepting artwork from other artists. The idea was to “update” Eddie for a new decade and take the character in different directions. When it came time to select the artwork for Fear Of the Dark, they had more options than what Riggs presented. Consequently, Riggs’ design was rejected in favor of artwork submitted by Melvyn Grant. Grant would create several more covers for the band and is the next most frequent contributor to Maiden artwork after Riggs. The decision to work with other artists was yet another step in a change of Maiden’s image compared to the 80s. Eddie did go on to evolve a great deal in the 90s and Fear Of the Dark was the first major step in the evolution. The “Tree Eddie” is controversial, but ultimately it was the right decision. Riggs was clearly less interested in doing work for Maiden, so it only made sense to let other artists try their hand at the character. Iron Maiden’s covers are often described as having a “comic book” quality to them and very few comic books feature the same artist for the entire run. Riggs’ submission for Fear Of the Dark did surface recently and, in my opinion, it only reaffirms the fact that Maiden were right to go a different direction.

(https://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxypcker1P1r2ocqxo1_540.jpg)

Riggs did provide the artwork for the Be Quick Or Be Dead single, though. So he wasn’t completely cut off from Maiden. Strangely, Be Quick Or Be Dead is the only single from the album to feature Eddie on the cover. A rare move for the band to have an official release without Eddie on the cover, yet two of the three singles from this album are without Eddie.

Fear Of the Dark marks the end of yet another era for the band. The next album would feature a new singer, a new producer, and an even more peculiar cover. But it didn’t feel that way for them at the time. Fear Of the Dark was yet another success for the band and became their third #1 album in the UK. Where many other Metal bands were floundering around this time, Maiden were still keeping strong at home. They continued to decline in the US, making it their first album not to be certified gold. It did have a respectable chart performance at #12 though.

Fear Of the Dark and No Prayer For the Dying are often grouped together for their stylistic similarities and being the only two albums to feature this particular lineup. For many they represent low points in the band’s discography, and the band seems to feel the same way given their lack of attention to the era. Fear Of the Dark is a much more daring album than No Prayer, but in some ways that works to the album’s detriment. However it can also be seen as a necessary stepping stone for greater things. The band’s massive following in South America actually started around this time and some of the stylistic elements found especially in Afraid To Shoot Strangers and Fear Of the Dark remain in the band’s sound to this day. In some ways, Steve was right that this was a new beginning for the band, but maybe not in the way he intended.

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures09_fotd/single23_bequick_a_small.jpg)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures09_fotd/single24a_eternity_a_small.jpg)
(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures09_fotd/single25_wastinglove_a_small.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 28, 2017, 08:26:00 PM
yay. Fear Of The Dark!!

After the debacle of No Prayer, I was quite curious about Fear when it came out. Well leading off with Be Quick Or Be Dead, it was clear that this would be a much better album. Be Quick is an absolute monster of an opener. I remember it being played on the radio, in fact.

 
First off, I'll start this off with Fear's two major problems. First, as with No Prayer, what the hell happened to Bruce's voice? Not sure if he wasn't taking care of himself, vocally at the time or what, but these two albums were steps back, especially this one.
And there is way too much filler here. Generally chalked up to the first album in the "CD age", there was more time to fill, but this album is in need of editing. With a little trimming, this makes a damn fine 40-45 minute album.

Side A:
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key
Wasting Love

Side B:
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
(Chains Of Misery)
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

I trim From Here To Eternity and The Apparition, which I do think is pretty neat, but a total B side if there ever was one. I go back and forth on Chains Of Misery.

I realize that Fear Is The Key is universally panned, but I have always loved it. I find it a very different type of Maiden song. I feel it's a total nod to Deep Purple, and I love how at 3:10, the guitars lead you out of a cool instrumental part and into what seems to be the most controversial part at 3:25. To me, Bruce is going full on Ian Gillan here. This is how I've always heard this part, and I actually think in that vain, it's kind of cool.

I also love Childhood's End. I've seen that one panned as well. I don't get it. Nicko's toms take my breath away every time. Love the solo section in that song too.

And Wasting Love is fantastic. Jannick's solo is beautiful.

And the title track...I distinctly remember rolling down my windows and BLASTING this. This is the most intense Maiden song there is, and it sits at #2 in my rankings.

Well, this may be a bit controversial, but using the desert isle argument, I'm likely taking Fear Of the Dark over Powerslave and Somewhere In Time.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 28, 2017, 08:57:57 PM
Another awesome read! Thanks Mosh!! I have really grown to appreciate FOTD over time. When it was released I hated it, and kept wanting another Powerslave or 07h Son. But even with a band like Maiden, who operate within a certain "framework", the only way is forward. The only songs I liked when the album came out were Be Quick, From Here to Eternity, Childhood´s End and the title track. Afraid to Shoot Strangers did start the "slow intro with a build up and fast tempo solos" pattern, one which they would repeat way too many times during their career and even after the ressurgence with today´s lineup. This song was a highlight of the tour, but in hindsight, they drank too much of that fointain in the years to come. This was the first tour I saw them live, and the opener was UK´s Thunder. They were SERIOUSLY booed off the stage in the show I saw in Rio.

One slight correction I should make to Mosh´s post is that Maiden´s fandom in South America started a few years before that, when they played their first Rock in Rio, to an estimated audience of 250 thousand people, sandwiched between Whitesnake and Queen. That´s right, during the height of their popularity in the World Slavery Tour, Maiden OPENED for Queen!!!

Another thing I should mention from that period is that they were prohibited from playing in Chile during the "Fear of the Tour", due to protests by the catholic church there. So I guess the "En Vivo!", released years later, is sort of Maiden giving the middle finger to the church and making amends with the Chilean audience somehow.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 28, 2017, 09:10:19 PM
  The only songs I liked when the album came out were ......, Childhood´s End ...

Yes, chalk another up for Childhood's End!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: njfirefighter on July 28, 2017, 09:28:23 PM
I always liked this album and still do. I pull this one out quite often. I actually always liked "The apparition" myself.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 29, 2017, 12:24:55 AM
I actually always liked "The apparition" myself.

Yes! It's refreshingly different for Maiden. Nice, interesting feel to it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: nobloodyname on July 29, 2017, 12:30:27 AM
I also love Childhood's End. I've seen that one panned as well. I don't get it. Nicko's toms take my breath away every time. Love the solo section in that song too.

I enjoy Childhood's End. But there's a very recognisable beat - not really a musician so I don't know the proper term - during the verses that's been repeated time and time again on Maiden albums since Fear of the Dark, reaching its most oft-repeated on A Matter of Life and Death (and it's one of the reasons I've never really got along with that album, unlike 99% of the fan base. Lovely double vinyl picture disc, though, which I finally just got around to acquiring!).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 29, 2017, 04:51:29 AM
I'll go down the Captain Obvious path to say that that Derek Riggs artwork was far from his best... I'm glad they chose Melvyn Grant's idea.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mladen on July 29, 2017, 05:03:43 AM
This album has always been my least favorite of all. I appreciate them trying to take the band in different places, but the places they're going to have long been abandoned and rarely returned to. Wasting love sounds like music glam rock bands gave up on years before it came out, and most of the shorter, rockier tunes are rather average - there are dozens of bands that did this style more justice back in the eighties. The places they went to in the late eighties and late nineties are far more exciting and fresh.

I was also never thrilled about the lyrical direction. As far as I'm concerned, Maiden is great when addressing philosophical topics, being inspired by literature, history and war. Lyrics like Weekend warrior and Childhood's end aren't what I'm in for when listening to Maiden. I might as well read the newspaper. Childhood's end is probably their worst song in my book - the chorus is as uninspired as it gets, and lets not mention their laziest song ending ever.

I enjoy some of the truly inovative or classic Maiden tunes like Afraid to shoot strangers, Fear of the dark and even Fear is the key, though. On a good day, I can actally rock out to From here to eternity as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: MirrorMask on July 29, 2017, 05:47:09 AM
Not the biggest fan of this album but I don't think it sucks either. With so many songs divisive among the fanbase, it feels like they were trying to write more and more stuff to achieve that ultimate greatness that was still lacking aside from the obvious standouts. Like a photographer not being able to take few but very good pics, and therefore taking as many as possible so that in the middle of it all and in the great quantity, there may be something decent.

After Painkiller and Where Eagles Dare, Be Quick or Be Dead has my favorite drum intro. A pity I never heard it live, I saw it however performed by a Maiden cover band that had Dennis Stratton as guest. They were already on stage finalizing the soundcheck, and the singer said "Ok guys, we are ready, are you ready as well? ok? let's go!!!", with the drum intro immediately starting... badass!

The Apparition may be the definitive answer to the question "Can good lyrics save a song alone?"... well, they don't. Out of the songs not played live, Judas Be My Guide would be my favorite, but I always liked Chains of Misery, it has a nice groove and chorus. The Fugitive and Childood's End are also quite good, Weekend Warrior is kinda whacky and I don't find anything wrong with Fear is the Key.

More generally, I could either see reasons why fans would say that this or that song suck, just as I could find something good enough in those songs to somehow appreciate them and not consider them utter garbage.

About the artwork: if there had been any drama about it, I wasn't there to live it. Looking back I consider it a fine cover, and certainly superior to the Riggs one - never saw that one, great find Mosh!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 29, 2017, 06:09:18 AM
I heard it again this morning on my 8km run, and it has aged well, except for Nicko's snare sound. The Apparition and Weekend Warrior still suck though. I agree that "social commentary" is probably best to be left out of Maiden's lyrics. I really enjoyed listening to The Fugitive, Chains of Misery and Judas My Guide again. The Apparition needed some trimming, lyric and musically wise. Weekend Warrior is an example of them trying to broaden the lyric spectrum, but choosing a theme that's 100% UK related, so what's the point? And I bet that Wasting Love is an attempt to capture some of Guns n Rose's audience - remember that they had just risen to fame during that time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on July 29, 2017, 11:51:22 AM
Lots to respond to here already.

First off, I'll start this off with Fear's two major problems. First, as with No Prayer, what the hell happened to Bruce's voice? Not sure if he wasn't taking care of himself, vocally at the time or what, but these two albums were steps back, especially this one.
Yea, I like the vocals enough on No Prayer but he just sounds awful on this album. It's one area where I do suspect that he wasn't totally into it because it sounds like he's not even really trying on some songs. Then again, the first couple solo albums after Maiden also sound this way, so I think it's more that he was trying something different. The strange thing is he sounds great on the No Prayer tour and parts of the Fear tour. He sings in a more operatic style and is much more consistent than much of the 80s. I don't really understand why he didn't just sing the songs that way on the album.

One slight correction I should make to Mosh´s post is that Maiden´s fandom in South America started a few years before that, when they played their first Rock in Rio, to an estimated audience of 250 thousand people, sandwiched between Whitesnake and Queen. That´s right, during the height of their popularity in the World Slavery Tour, Maiden OPENED for Queen!!!
Of course. Still, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, my impression is that they really flourished in South America during the 90s when the rest of the world was moving away from them. They were touring there for the first time and playing to their biggest crowds.

I also love Childhood's End. I've seen that one panned as well. I don't get it. Nicko's toms take my breath away every time. Love the solo section in that song too.

I enjoy Childhood's End. But there's a very recognisable beat - not really a musician so I don't know the proper term - during the verses that's been repeated time and time again on Maiden albums since Fear of the Dark, reaching its most oft-repeated on A Matter of Life and Death (and it's one of the reasons I've never really got along with that album, unlike 99% of the fan base. Lovely double vinyl picture disc, though, which I finally just got around to acquiring!).
I call it the 3+3+2 rhythm and it has popped up in a few 80s Maiden songs but it really became a regular thing starting on Fear of the Dark. I'm not a huge fan of it either, especially on Fear.

About the artwork: if there had been any drama about it, I wasn't there to live it. Looking back I consider it a fine cover, and certainly superior to the Riggs one - never saw that one, great find Mosh!
I'm not sure if there was drama, but to this day there is a segment of the fanbase who think Riggs needs to be brought back. Yea Maiden's had some missteps with their artwork since the 80s, but bringing Riggs back isn't going to solve anything. Most of his recent Eddie paintings just aren't very good. I will say not using his Futureal artwork was a huge misstep though. His artwork for Flight 666 was also awesome, I suspect they didn't want to pay him for it and that's why it wasn't the cover.

Also, I wouldn't count out Be Quick Or Be Dead being played live again. I could see it being brought back whenever Live At Donington comes out on DVD. They won't do a full tour for it, but it'd be a good song to bring back.

And I bet that Wasting Love is an attempt to capture some of Guns n Rose's audience - remember that they had just risen to fame during that time.
There are a few blatant attempts at appealing to America on this album, Wasting Love being one of them. Steve Harris was very frank about being disappointed in Seventh Son's lack of success in the US.

Fear Of the Dark is by far my least favorite Maiden album. It's the only one I actively dislike. I try to find something to appreciate every time I put it on, but there isn't much on there. I'll quickly give my positives and negatives:

Positives:
Afraid to Shoot Strangers. AWESOME song. The best thing to come out of both albums with this lineup. To me it's proof that much of these two albums is contrived. Steve still had the epic side in him, but for some reason he was holding himself back. One reason the Blaze albums are far superior is that Steve didn't hold back on writing what he wants. You get some of that on Fear too, but it's mixed with songs that are less genuine.

Judas Be My Guide. As I said before, the hidden gem of the album. Love the riffing and it has a fantastic chorus. I'll never understand how this didn't make it on the setlist.

Janick Gers is easily the MVP on this album. He contributes a ton (some good, some bad) and his playing is great. You can tell he has the drive to prove himself as a member of Maiden. I like Wasting Love. Yea it's a blatant attempt at something commercial but if it's a good song I don't care. It's pretty much what I'd expect from a Maiden power ballad, and that's not a bad thing.

As for the negatives:
I already mentioned Bruce's voice.

I'm surprised nobody is talking about the production. It's easily the worst sounding Birch album and probably top 3 worst produced Maiden albums. It's just so thin and lifeless. I do have to vouch for the new vinyl reissue of the album though. It sounds great, songs like Childhood's End and Fugitive have a lot more needed punch. If you want a reevaluation of the album, I suggest giving it a shot. The vinyl reissues are sourced from the 2015 itunes remasters, so maybe the itunes Fear Of the Dark is equally good.

Sorry TAC, but I hate Childhood's End. One of the worst songs. I hate that pummeling beat and the chorus. One of their worst songs.

I'm also actually not a big fan of Be Quick Or Be Dead either. The riff is kinda meh and Bruce sounds annoying.

I don't dislike or like The Apparition. It's a weird track but not horrible.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 29, 2017, 12:20:46 PM
One more thing on Childhood's End: as soon as I heard that "plumbing" beat I thought of Maiden's cover of King of Twilight, which came out as a B side of Aces High (or was it Two Minutes to Midnight?).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 29, 2017, 02:54:05 PM
Can’t offer much to discuss with this release other than my own take which is similar to many posting here.  Like TAC, I was impressed with Be Quick or Be Dead and was expecting something a little bit harder for this album. After the first couple of listens I thought it was a little bit better than No Prayer if only because there were a few stand out tracks as opposed to No Prayer’s tracks which seemed all second tier to me. Fear of the Dark was the first Maiden album to contain third tier, or skippable tracks in my book.

Top Tier:
Be Quick or Be Dead
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
Fear of the Dark
Judas Be My Guide

Second Tier:
From Here to Eternity
Fear Is the Key
Childhood's End
Wasting Love
The Fugitive
Chains of Misery

Third Tier:
The Apparition
Weekend Warrior

To be honest this disc is never the one I reach for when I want to hear some early Maiden.

Thankfully, the best Maiden album of the 90’s was yet to come.

         
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 29, 2017, 03:15:49 PM
I realized today that Live at Donnington is the only Maiden album I never bought. Then I went to check it out on Google Play, and the setlist really put me off. All songs are already on A Real Live One + A Real Dead One, except for Wratchchild, which has been on countless other live releases. The only other "novelty" on this release is Adrian Smith´s presence in Running Free. But let´s be honest, it´s not really a track where he´s able to display much in terms of ability. So I guess I´ll look into buying it once more 20 years from now... :smiley:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 29, 2017, 04:19:36 PM
Fear of the Dark was the first Maiden album to contain third tier, or skippable tracks in my book.

Most of their albums still have skippable tracks.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: stargazer18 on July 29, 2017, 05:35:28 PM
Fear of the Dark was the first Maiden album to contain third tier, or skippable tracks in my book.

Most of their albums still have skippable tracks.

At the time, given their discography up to then, I rarely skipped ANYTHING from them. Now it's different and I do skip a lot, even when listening to classic era stuff.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 29, 2017, 05:46:54 PM
Lots to respond to here already.

That is probably due to how awesome this album is!  ;D


Mosh, I don't have any issue with the production. Sounds like it rocks.



Sorry TAC, but I hate Childhood's End. One of the worst songs. I hate that pummeling beat and the chorus. One of their worst songs.
 

This does not even compute. ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 29, 2017, 06:16:10 PM
Fear of the Dark was the first Maiden album to contain third tier, or skippable tracks in my book.

Most of their albums still have skippable tracks.

At the time, given their discography up to then, I rarely skipped ANYTHING from them. Now it's different and I do skip a lot, even when listening to classic era stuff.

Same here. Every time I listen to certain albums from 1994 onwards I find tracks that I didn't even remember they existed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 29, 2017, 06:31:59 PM
Fear could use some trimming for sure. But to me, the core tracks on this album are pretty good. I have never gotten sick of listening to this album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Grappler on July 29, 2017, 10:17:51 PM
Here we go!

In 1991 or 92, I discovered metal via Metallica and listened to a tape of the black album and nothing else for a year, maybe two.  A friend had a Megadeth cd, and when I eventually got a CD player in 1993, I started getting the first 5 Metallica albums, Countdown to Extinction, and Def Leppard's Adrenalize.  At this time, I also started riding my bike to the library in town and discovered that they LENT OUT TAPES AND CDS!  My mind was blown - I was just getting into metal music, I was 13, maybe 14 and I could go get free tapes and cd's and copy them onto tape.  I couldn't get a job until I was 15, so this was my only way to check out new music.  So I start perusing the cd's and heavy metal tape section.  I experiment with Testament, Queensryche (Promised Land...completely forgot that I tried this album on tape way before I ever got into them) and I find a copy of Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark on tape.

This album was my introduction to Maiden.  I was only into a few thrash bands and some radio rock, so I had no clue about melody, or melodic singing.  I had no idea who Bruce Dickinson was.  But I loved the immediacy and heaviness of Be Quick or Be Dead, From Here to Eternity, The Fugitive, Judas Be My Guide and the title track.  I actually remember copying about 6-8 songs onto a tape.  Several years later, I picked up Best of the Beast and my love of Maiden went from a handful of song on a mix tape to full-blown fan, devouring the discography over the following years.

About 10 years ago, I discovered more of the deeper cuts on this album.  I absolutely love Childhood's End.  Those guitars are so bad ass in the verses, and then the instrumental run at 2:14 is fucking awesome.  Old school Maiden harmony type riffs lead into the solo.  Fear is the Key is pretty good.  Sure, this album has some clunkers, but I will always love it as the random tape that I found in the library and allowed me to discover the band.  I'm glad that the title track has remained a constant in their set - it's such a great live song.  I get goosebumps hearing the crowd sing the melodies.

PS:  They need to play Judas Be My Guide someday before they hang it up.  That song is so amazing. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: wolfking on July 30, 2017, 05:46:00 AM
It's late and I'm off to bed so I'm not going to go into my thoughts on this album until tomorrow so I don't rush what I'm thinking, but FOTD I'd say is probably a top 5 Maiden album for me.  I'll give my thoughts tomorrow.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 06:41:23 AM
Here we go!.......
 

Grap, enjoyed the read. Love those kinds of stories. Nothing can ever replace being a 13 y/o discovering metal!


It's late and I'm off to bed so I'm not going to go into my thoughts on this album until tomorrow so I don't rush what I'm thinking, but FOTD I'd say is probably a top 5 Maiden album for me.  I'll give my thoughts tomorrow.

That's awesome! I wouldn't go Top 5, but it's a great album that catches far too much grief.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 30, 2017, 09:56:41 AM
I'm jumping the gun a bit, but I listened to A Real Live/Dead One during my run this morning, and boy, was there a dip in energy....it shows on Bruce's voice that a change was needed. And to think that those versions were hand picked by Harris to represent the best performances of that time...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on July 30, 2017, 10:08:55 AM
We will definitely discuss the tour and all live releases related to it next.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Lowdz on July 30, 2017, 10:19:52 AM
Having not bothered to buy the previous album after falling out of love with Maiden over the previous couple of albums, I actually bought this one. It's ok, nothing more than that. Some very good songs dragged down by somewhat by some average ones which makes me less likely to play the album.
I played it the other day and enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 30, 2017, 11:51:18 AM
At this point I was a HUGE Queensryche fan, was listening to a lot of early Genesis and was on the verge of discovering Dream Theater. Needless to say, I had left IM behind for the most part at this time. I had went from being a huge fan to being completely turned off by Bruce. This is by far his worst work, and until I discovered his solo work that was to come later in the decade, I had completely given up on him. I'm also not a fan of Janick's playing. He would end up writing some of my favorite reunion era songs in later years, but his contributions weren't that worthy at this point in his career. I prefer structure in IM solo sections, and his style is counter to that in many ways.

I've listened to this album a few times this week to refresh my memory of it. It does have some good moments, and those good moments are things that I can see myself coming back to, and listening to on occasion in the future.

Be quick or be dead: Fairly competent opener. Lots of energy from the band. The guitar solos are listenable, and of course I prefer Dave's.

From here to eternity: Fairly catchy chorus. The rest of the song really doesn't do anything for me. The guitar solos are pretty bad.

Afraid to shoot strangers: Bruce has never done this kind of vocal delivery very well. The transition from the opening section to the main body of the song is a little jarring. And yes, I'm saying that on a forum that's dedicated to prog rock/metal. The harmony section between the guitar solos is ok, but those solos are painful.

Fear is the key: This is mostly a good song. I can appreciate the section prior to the guitar solo, but I don't think that it was executed well.

Childhood's end: This song is ok, and Nicko gets to add a little extra flare. The solos are a pile of meh.

Wasting love: Definitely not your standard IM song, but I don't mind this one. As someone else has already pointed out, it's quite a bit like things that other bands had already done by this point, but they do a good job on this one.

The fugitive: I can see the call back to songs that they had already done up to this point in their career, but those songs from before were simply done better.

Chains of misery: I like this song. Nothing very remarkable about it, but that's ok. Good song.

The aparition: Steaming pile of shit part 1

Judas be my guide: Best song on the album. They've never played this live? WTF are they thinking?

Weekend warrior: Steaming pile of shit part 2

Fear of the Dark: I have a special place in my heart for this song. The part of my heart that despises things. This song suffers in comparison to every other epic that they had written prior to this. Yes, I understand how good it works in a live setting. However, that doesn't mean that it's worthy of any of their other epics. One of my favorite concerts of all time was the Somewhere Back in Time tour that they did about 10 years ago, but instead of pulling out a surprise and giving homage to a song from that era that was rarely played (To Tame a Land), or a song that had never been played (Alexander), they chose to trot out this turd. For as much as I enjoyed that show, that was an extremely disappointing moment, and probably made me hate this song rather than simply feel indifferent towards it.

What am I going to do on Monday? Probably not listen to this album  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: wolfking on July 30, 2017, 03:55:57 PM
I stated before that No Prayer was one of the first three Maiden albums I got and I have always really enjoyed it.  When it comes to Fear of the Dark, I can't quite remember where this album fell into the time and place in the timeline of discovery for me.  When it comes to Maiden, I got into them just before the reunion period so I never really held any judgement or disappointment for any era or album.  Fear I'd say over time has become a top 5 Maiden album for me.

I really enjoyed what the band did and the style on No Prayer so I feel this one is even stronger.  From the opening riff of Be Quick or Be Dead, I knew this was my style of music.  I don't think there is anything specific about this album that makes me rank it so high, I just think it's one I've found myself WANTING to listen to and replay more than most of the others.  This is actually one of my most played Maiden albums. 

In discussion about the production, I always really liked the sound on this one and never had an issue.  The performances are brilliant and the songwriting IMO is varied, creative and even though there are a few weaker moments, it's the band really pushing the boundaries at times.  Fear is the Key gets such a bashing, but have you ever heard Maiden do something quite like it.  Such a brooding atmosphere and I applaud and really really like this one.  Wasting Love, yes, might be the and trying to reach the mainstream, but again, something the band haven't done and a really great ballad.  The Apparition is a structure the band has never used and again, just something new and different.

When I said before about not being sure what the specifics are about this album, I will pinpoint one in the guitar work.  Janick obviously here finds his place compared to No Prayer but Dave absolutely shreds his ass off on this album and I fucking love it.  Chains of Misery might be a standard blusey affair but its something like that guitar solo in the middle that can really change the game, that solo is blistering.  Judas would be a top 15 Maiden song for me and Dave shows his skills all over this.  Again Weekend Warrior might not be their best song, but damn those solos are fantastic.  This would probably be my fav album when it comes to guitar work, I think that's what makes it so good for me.

As for the other songs, I have to defend Childhood's End.  Love the groove, love the main theme with the harmonies over Nicko's toms.  but again it's the middle guitar solo section that explodes.  The solos on this one are freaking brilliant.  And the magic thing is the transition between the two guitar players and the key change.  You almost don't know where Janick exactly stops and Dave comes in.  The way Dave comes in it's like he finishes a lick Janick started then continues on in a higher key, brilliant.

Gotta give a shout to the Fugitive too.  Love the verses here, the stomping rhythms fits the bill perfectly.  And yeah, the chorus is a bit cheesy but I love it.  The solo section is another expansive one with some really tricky shit going on here.  Constant key changes in Janick's solo is really different and gives a great mood.  Maiden really play around here and challenge themselves.

I think what helped this album was the live at Donington 92 video that I also got when discovering Maiden.  I bloody loved that VHS and use to come home from school and watch it every single day.  I ouldn't get enough of it.  Great video.  I really wish they would officially release that one on DVD.

Last thing random to add, the harmonies at 4:19 of Afraid to Shoot Strangers would easily be in the top 5 harmony sections the band have ever done.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 04:05:58 PM
Awesome post, Kade. Dead on!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: wolfking on July 30, 2017, 04:11:59 PM
Awesome post, Kade. Dead on!

Pretty random though, I know, but I have so many thoughts on this one, I really feel it gets such a bad wrap.  Listening to Judas now, and Dave rips so much.  He's definitely one of the reasons I love this one so much.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 04:15:23 PM
I think they certainly have more...not sure what the word is...classic..maybe..albums, but there's a feeling this one gives me when I listen to it that some others don't.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on July 30, 2017, 04:30:21 PM
I'm sure everyone has those albums. For me it'd be No Prayer. I've got those with other bands too. Black Clouds and Silver Linings, Kiss Unmasked/Crazy Nights, Diver Down, to name a few. The only band I can think of where my tastes line up pretty much exactly with the general consensus is Rush.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Stadler on July 30, 2017, 06:52:21 PM
I feel like SUCH the iconoclast here, and I trust that the fact that I've said all this stuff already will save me from accusations of just arguing to be difficult...BUT:

I would take the Riggs cover over the Grant cover any day of the week (I'm assuming it's incomplete, with the white bed).

I don't "love" anything about this album, but I liked the following best:
- Be Quick or Be Dead
- From Here To Eternity (dumb-ish lyrics, but the one song I would actually put this album on to listen to)
- Afraid To Shoot Strangers
- Fear of the Dark

I am endlessly intrigued by "Childhood's End" (which I like but not love) and especially "Weekend Warrior"; musically, the latter is very very different for Maiden, but it is destroyed (for me) by the inane lyrics.  I get what it is about, but that's not why I listen to Maiden.

I think the production is ok, only ok.  I think Bruce - the greatest frontman in metal history - turns in his only subpar performance as a member of the band (contrast that with the way he not only delivered, but EMBRACED and made his own the Blaze material that he has played since rejoining the band).   

The album to me is a rehash; Bruce continues the "Bon Scott" vocals of NPFTD.  The lyrical content is in the same vein as NPFTD.  The cover (and CD booklet) is almost exactly the same as NPFTD (Nicko even wears the same jacket in some of the photos).   

This is Maiden missing the mark, and not at all in the same way that Kiss did with Unmasked or Van Halen allegedly did with Diver Down.   Having said that, it's STILL Maiden, and I won't go as far as to say "IT SUCKS".  It's just not what that band is capable of. 

(In all fairness; I wrote most of this yesterday and then listened to it again on headphones last night while playing PS3, and it wasn't bad.   It wasn't POwerslave (my favorite) but there are flashes of what makes Maiden great.  I see what people mean when they say that Gers brought new ideas to the band.   Someone mentioned "Deep Purple" in relation to "Fear Is The Key", but to me, the real Deep Purple nod is "Be Quick Or Be Dead"; from the opening riff that song could have been on "The Battle Rages On".) 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Phoenix87x on July 30, 2017, 07:03:56 PM
I love the album art and also like how its the only one with the vertical band name. The music on the album, not so much. There's some stuff on it that I thoroughly enjoy, like the title track, but the overall album is just so so for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 07:17:00 PM
Stadler, you don't get a Deep Purple vibe from Fear Is The Key?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: jammindude on July 30, 2017, 07:56:44 PM
I feel like SUCH the iconoclast here, and I trust that the fact that I've said all this stuff already will save me from accusations of just arguing to be difficult...BUT:

I would take the Riggs cover over the Grant cover any day of the week (I'm assuming it's incomplete, with the white bed).

I don't "love" anything about this album, but I liked the following best:
- Be Quick or Be Dead
- From Here To Eternity (dumb-ish lyrics, but the one song I would actually put this album on to listen to)
- Fear of the Dark

I am endlessly intrigued by "Childhood's End" and especially "Weekend Warrior"; musically, the latter is very very different for Maiden, but it is destroyed (for me) by the inane lyrics.  I get what it is about, but that's not why I listen to Maiden.

I think the production is ok, only ok.  I think Bruce - the greatest frontman in metal history - turns in his only subpar performance as a member of the band (contrast that with the way he not only delivered, but EMBRACED and made his own the Blaze material that he has played since rejoining the band).   

The album to me is a rehash; Bruce continues the "Bon Scott" vocals of NPFTD.  The lyrical content is in the same vein.  The cover (and CD booklet) is almost exactly the same as NPFTD (Nicko even wears the same jacket in some of the photos).   

This is Maiden missing the mark, and not at all in the same way that Kiss did with Unmasked or Van Halen allegedly did with Diver Down.

Couldn't disagree more about the bolded part. 

I've only seen one performance of Sign of the Cross (I think it was from Rock in Rio) and I thought it felt like Bruce was just trying to get through it....like he didn't really want to be doing it.   Even though *everything* about Bruce is better generally (better voice, better presence, better frontman) I think the song was written with Blaze in mind, and Blaze absolutely *FREAKIN KILLS IT*.     

Now that I think about it though, I've never seen a live performance of Blaze with SotC, I only know the studio version absolutely destroys Bruce's live version.   Maybe some of it is on Steve for doing that thing he always does....speed up a song that doesn't need to be sped up.   I think they do it slightly faster on RiR, and it kills the "brooding" mood of the original.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: jammindude on July 30, 2017, 08:33:19 PM
UPDATE on previous post...

I have since checked out Blaze's performances live and they are very much lacking.   Bruce is still better live than Blaze ever was....even on the Blaze stuff. 

However, as I suspected, some of it is the speed.   The one performance I heard where Blaze sounded pretty damn amazing was on his personal live album "Live as it Gets"....but it's tuned down, and slowed down.   The results are actually pretty cool. 

I don't want to derail the discography thread, but here is that performance for reference purposes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWH6RCcSUvo
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 08:37:16 PM
Everything about Blaze was much better after he left Iron Maiden. Kind of like Derek Sherinian after he left Dream Theater.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on July 30, 2017, 08:42:09 PM
Kind of like Derek Sherinian after he left Dream Theater.
Great comparison. He took what he learned in Maiden and applied it to music that fit his style better. Lots of respect for the guy from me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 08:52:26 PM
Kind of like Derek Sherinian after he left Dream Theater.
Great comparison. He took what he learned in Maiden and applied it to music that fit his style better. Lots of respect for the guy from me.

Yup, anyone that doesn't have respect for Blaze post Maiden, they just ain't paying attention.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 30, 2017, 08:53:17 PM
Blaze was great with Wolfsbane before joining MAiden as well. He was just an ill fit. Again, we´ll get to that when Mosh addresses Bruce leaving and Blaze joining, but why did they do a "global search", receiving tapes from everywhere, and decided to go for such a weird choice, is still beyond me. Judas was equally criticized when Rob Halford left, but at least Tim could sing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 30, 2017, 09:00:50 PM
I cannot sing.  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: jammindude on July 30, 2017, 09:06:10 PM
Blaze was great with Wolfsbane before joining MAiden as well. He was just an ill fit. Again, we´ll get to that when Mosh addresses Bruce leaving and Blaze joining, but why did they do a "global search", receiving tapes from everywhere, and decided to go for such a weird choice, is still beyond me. Judas was equally criticized when Rob Halford left, but at least Tim could sing the older material by his band

FTFY

Blaze could sing, as other people can attest to.   He just doesn't have the same range as Bruce and was never suited for Maiden for that reason.   He was NEVER going to be able to do Bruce's material justice.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on July 30, 2017, 09:08:10 PM
Exactly, jammindude. Thank you for fixing/expanding my post. Why chosing a guy who couldn´t do the previous material justice, if they had the intention of continuing to play those songs? My opinion - not based in any fact whatsoever: Blaze was a manager´s choice.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: wolfking on July 30, 2017, 09:28:23 PM
Getting back onto Fear because I'm sure there'll be plenty of talk regarding Blaze in the next couple of albums which I'll certainly jump in on, but I listened to Fear again this morning and it still sits in my top 5 Maiden.

I have never really had an issue with Bruce's vocals on this or No Prayer, nor have I really given it much thought to be honest.  Perhaps for me, everything this guy touches turns to gold but I have no issues with his voice here.

On another note, I have put the 1990-2010 best of (can't remember what it's called) in the car today for something different and this is a really really odd compilation.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: The Silent Cody on July 30, 2017, 10:38:19 PM
To be honest I really never liked Fear Of The Dark so much. Of course, it has got some classics like Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Wasting Love or title track which has been played everywhere so many times that I'm almost puking when I hear it  ::) My favourite 3 Maiden albums are Somewhere In Time, Powerslave and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, and Fear Of The Dark isn't in my top 5 Maiden records...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: DoctorAction on July 31, 2017, 12:42:01 AM
FOTD is the Bruce Maiden album I never listen to anymore. I was 16/17 at college when it came out and it was on constantly in my car at home. It was the new Maiden! It had to be great! But I slowly realised, as it failed to grow like all the others, it really wasn't.

I love Judas My Guide. Be Quick Or Be Dead could be awesome but the miserable flat production and mix kills it. (The drums sound nice though.) Wasting Love is an out of place cracker and the title track is nearly great but kind of naff, in my opinion. Still, an amazing riff. ATSS is ok.

It's the sound of a band losing its identity and shooting wide of the mark to me. And I think that's mainly just bad luck. Bruce just doesn't sound good trying to be "rock". And neither do Maiden. They have SUCH an identifiable, unique sound that other styles just don't fit in. They have a kind of crusty, stiff-but-loose, folky English vibe that is actually weird as fuck. For a band this influential and imitated, none have ever managed to touch it, and it's hard to say why. The parts where they're more typically Maiden also are low on here (The Assassin).

So yeah. Great artwork. But a bad one for me.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Grappler on July 31, 2017, 08:14:03 AM
So yeah. Great artwork.

I've always liked the Fear of the Dark art - I like when Eddie transforms a little bit, and isn't just a character with a new outfit (oh, let's put him in a military uniform with a rifle this time....), or is in a new situation. 

The Riggs version seems really disjointed.  It's hard to tell what Eddie's up to.  Whereas the official art to me is much more creepy. I've been out late at night in the dark and always wonder what could be lurking in the shadows - it really captures the album title, rather than Riggs' version of a bad dream.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Stadler on July 31, 2017, 08:18:27 AM
Stadler, you don't get a Deep Purple vibe from Fear Is The Key?

Funny you say that; I just edited my post.  I read that reference (I forgot it was you that said it!) and as I listened to the album again last night I forgot what song you meant and I IMMEDIATELY thought "Yeah, he's right; "Be Quick or Be Dead" DOES sound like Purple!". 

There are a couple of nods on there to DP, which isn't bad, and isn't to be a surprise, since Gers played with Gillan, Dickinson's favorite album is "In Rock" (or one of them) and they wrote, almost two albums of material (for TM, the b-sides, and a couple songs that found their way to FOTD). 

All good with me, since Purple is one of my favorite bands EVER (I even like Slaves and Masters).   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Lowdz on July 31, 2017, 08:32:05 AM
I saw Janice with Gillan. I was a bit disappointed as I alwAys liked Bernie Torme and was expecting to see him.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Samsara on July 31, 2017, 09:31:23 AM
Thanks for another great write-up, Mosh!

I have to admit, I am not as familiar with No Prayer and FotD as I should be. I know the latter's title track, as it is played regularly. But I'm going back and re-discovering these albums. I enjoy FotD quite a bit. It's a continuation of that stylistic shift for sure, at least vocally, but given the time period, I don't find it surprising. Air Raid sirens were falling out of favor. I mean, look what Anthrax did by switching to John Bush.

Anyway, I enjoy FotD quite a bit, but there are many other Maiden records I reach for before I get to it, and that's saying something.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Lowdz on July 31, 2017, 04:01:56 PM
Having another listen now, and bloody hell, how did I never notice the total Deep Purpleness of Fear Is The Key? Even the soloing is in Blackmore country. Bruce is doing Gillan, the riff is Perfect Strangers-esque.

The whole album is a lot better than I remember and I don't think I gave this album a fair go at the time, or since. Apart from The Apparition, that's shit.

And I'd never noticed that Riggs didn't do the cover, because its Maiden and he just did.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 31, 2017, 04:09:30 PM
So I'm going to drop out of sight for a few days, so I asked Mosh if I could jump his Fear Of The Dark Tour post.

So during the Seventh Son Tour Post, Mosh mentioned the L'Amour's show. My college roommate and I made a pact that if they ever played a club like that again, we must be there.
Well, when we found out they were going to do a pre tour show at The Ritz, it was a slam dunk.

It was an awesome day for many reasons that I won't bore any of you with, but I remember getting to the Ritz early to get a good spot. Once we went in, we got right down to the stage. Of course this meant that we had to stand there for some local no name band.
But once Maiden hit the stage, I was in absolute awe. Seeing them in that venue, that close, I mean, I had been very close in previous arena tours, but this was a club. They blew me away.

I do have pictures, unfortunately not many. When the film was developed, they ruined a good portion of it. You can see the effects on one of these pics with Bruce and Steve. Plus, I got a lot of unfocused pics just due to how it was down there.

Also, if you've seen the boot of this show, you can see my flash going off right down near Dave's side.

(https://i.imgur.com/t4DsWG0.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/5bvxLuq.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/AVDvMAG.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/XDJdbUD.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/nWa9snk.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/AblXhh6.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/HhyZCN2.jpg)



Oh..and that no name opening band?

(https://i.imgur.com/5tmTx4c.jpg)


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 31, 2017, 04:10:22 PM
Having another listen now, and bloody hell, how did I never notice the total Deep Purpleness of Fear Is The Key? Even the soloing is in Blackmore country. Bruce is doing Gillan, the riff is Perfect Strangers-esque.
 

That's what I'm here for, brother! :)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 31, 2017, 04:13:22 PM
Tim, is it the picture where Steve is turned green that you're talking about? It almost looks like the effect of stage lighting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 31, 2017, 04:16:21 PM
Tim, is it the picture where Steve is turned green that you're talking about? It almost looks like the effect of stage lighting.

The green is due to the lighting, but you can see the wrinkle of the film right through Steve.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: PowerSlave on July 31, 2017, 04:32:38 PM
Tim, is it the picture where Steve is turned green that you're talking about? It almost looks like the effect of stage lighting.

The green is due to the lighting, but you can see the wrinkle of the film right through Steve.

Yeah, I notice that now. Very odd. If you still have the pictures and would like to have them fixed I can give it a shot. I used to work for a company fixing photos with Adobe etc... PM me
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on July 31, 2017, 04:43:42 PM
Thank you. Those are pretty much the only decent pics I have of the show. Lots were unfocused and I cut off a few heads..
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: cramx3 on July 31, 2017, 06:52:06 PM
So this was the infamous DT and IM show, so cool.  Sucks most of the pics didn't come out, but you got a couple and the memory of a sick show. 

I'm not sure I have much to add to the FotD discussion.  I'm not crazy about the album.  I like it better than NPftD but that's not saying a whole lot.  There's a few really solid songs here that can hold their own to IM's other material, but there's also a handful of some of the worst songs in IM"s catalog.  (I'm talking FotD, Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Be Quick of Be Dead vs. The Apparition, Chains of Misery, Fear is the Key).  The rest is mostly average material and not strong enough to make this album come anywhere close to my top 5.  I'd actually put it 3rd from the bottom.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: No Prayer On the Road (1990 - 91)
Post by: The Curious Orange on August 03, 2017, 02:25:12 AM

When it came time to select the artwork for Fear Of the Dark, they had more options than what Riggs presented. Consequently, Riggs’ design was rejected in favor of artwork submitted by Melvyn Grant... Riggs was clearly less interested in doing work for Maiden, so it only made sense to let other artists try their hand at the character.

Riggs had been under contract to produce the artwork for Maiden - this is somewhat unusual in the music business. His contract expired after NPFTD, no great conspiracy. Both the band and Riggs wanted to explore different options. The artists they've used since have all been on a freelance basis - the usual music biz way. Riggs has very publicly stated he didn't think the band were paying him enough given the contribution his artwork made to their image.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mladen on August 03, 2017, 11:48:14 AM
Great shot of the sign above the venue, TAC. I've been around for years and this is the first time I noticed it says TheaTR.  :lol

No photos of that opening band?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on August 03, 2017, 12:31:15 PM
I didn't take any. I was so afraid of getting busted with my camera. It was all about Iron Maiden. But I will say that it took less than 30 seconds of DT before my jaw was on the floor. They blew me away.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 03, 2017, 12:36:54 PM
I imagine 1992 DT upstaging 1992 Maiden big time, similar to Maiden opening for Priest and Kiss in the early 80s.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Samsara on August 03, 2017, 12:40:19 PM
I didn't take any. I was so afraid of getting busted with my camera. It was all about Iron Maiden. But I will say that it took less than 30 seconds of DT before my jaw was on the floor. They blew me away.

Man, I would have loved to have seen this (the show, not your jaw). Sure, Maiden was in a bit of a downward, but they still were incredible. And DT, on Images.  :hefdaddy

Man. That would be like me seeing Queensryche on the Mindcrime tour as a headliner with Fates Warning in tow on the Perfect Symmetry tour, or No Exit. Man.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on August 03, 2017, 01:15:08 PM
I imagine 1992 DT upstaging 1992 Maiden big time, similar to Maiden opening for Priest and Kiss in the early 80s.

Well except that nobody upstages Iron Maiden. Pretty sure Dream Theater did not make a bigger impression than they did on me, but I never have once even considered that they upstaged Maiden. This was a great Maiden show. The boot has long been around. They were great.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 03, 2017, 04:03:12 PM
I imagine 1992 DT upstaging 1992 Maiden big time, similar to Maiden opening for Priest and Kiss in the early 80s.

Well except that nobody upstages Iron Maiden. Pretty sure Dream Theater did not make a bigger impression than they did on me, but I never have once even considered that they upstaged Maiden. This was a great Maiden show. The boot has long been around. They were great.
Very true. I'm not even really dissing Maiden, but DT were a young hungry band then and had a lot of onstage energy. And of course they also had the songs. I'll look for the boot this weekend but I'm assuming they played most of I&W?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 03, 2017, 04:06:22 PM
I've been pretty busy this past week and with school starting it's not going to get easier, but I still want to keep regular updates going. I'm going to try and work ahead in the next few days. Ive also decided I will split the next tour into two entries. Technically they're two different tours anyway, though the stage and set list were similar. There are also (technically) four releases associated with the next two tours, so it'll give everyone time to check it all out. After that we'll talk about Balls to Picasso before coming back to Maiden for The X Factor.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: TAC on August 04, 2017, 01:57:54 AM
Mosh, the DT boot is called Maiden Voyage.
Set list:
PMU
UAGM
Met Pt1
AFIL
LTL

I've been pretty busy this past week and with school starting it's not going to get easier, but I still want to keep regular updates going. I'm going to try and work ahead in the next few days. Ive also decided I will split the next tour into two entries. Technically they're two different tours anyway, though the stage and set list were similar. There are also (technically) four releases associated with the next two tours, so it'll give everyone time to check it all out. After that we'll talk about Balls to Picasso before coming back to Maiden for The X Factor.

Balls To Picasso is Part 1 of my Bruce epiphany.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 04, 2017, 04:22:45 AM
It's a shame the conversation has dried up a little over the last two albums but then that tells its own story, I suppose.

Taking of stories: I became a Maiden fan a few months after the release of Fear of the Dark. Actually, it might have been in the August/September before the release. I remember the circumstances well enough, just not the exact time. It's confused in my mind because I originally left home to attend university in September 1991 but quit the course and returned to start a new one a year later. But I remember receiving virtually the entire back catalogue from a chap I'd attended primary school (between the ages of 5-11/12 here, depending where you live) with and only stayed in occasional contact with in the intervening years. David. David Winter, that was his name.

I was a relative latecomer to metal at around the age of 15. And music itself, actually, finally becoming interested in very late 1986. In 1987, I attended my first concert: Madonna at Wembley Stadium, followed by Michael Jackson, same venue, a year later. Several months before seeing Michael Jackson, I'd got into Richard Marx (stop smirking!) and he acted as my gateway, really, into music with a rockier edge. Not long after discovering Richard Marx (although it seemed an eternity later at the time), I remember queuing outside the room for double physics when Nicholas Russell (who had a really cool sounding dressed-in-black big brother who worked in music in London) was stood there brandishing the vinyl of Poison's Open Up and Say ...ahh! (stop smirking!). My attitude towards any type of metal at the time was one that I imagine you'll recognise: it was all screaming and no melody.

"Okay, if it's so good, lend it to me!", I demanded.

He did. And two sides of vinyl later, my world had changed. I couldn't believe how melodic the music was and how it much I felt like it spoke to me (hey, you know what it's like being a bag of testosterone at that age!).

I digress a little.

So there I was getting into metal but, to me, Iron Maiden was this goofy looking band with an ugly lead singer who had these awful faux-operatic tones. Seventh Son had not long since been released meaning Can I Play with Madness and The Evil That Men Do had been riding high in the charts, and videos had been shown on Top of the Pops (old British music show that everyone used to watch on a Thursday night at 7:30). Both songs and both videos were awful to me.

Anyway: back to David Winter a couple of years later (although, again, it really surprises me it was only a couple of years. Strange how slow time is when you're growing up and experiencing so many things for the first time, isn't it?), shortly before leaving for university. I don't recall how we got in contact again but I think it must have been when I popped into one of my favourite haunts at the time, a record shop called Record House, and, much to my surprise, David was behind the counter. We must have exchanged contact details because shortly after he got in touch (this was in the days before mobiles, of course).

"So, uh... I can get you CDs cheap, if you like!"
"Oh, wow. Okay! What, anything at all?"
"Yeah! Just let me know what you want."
"Erm... well, maybe I should try some Iron Maiden!"
"Okay, I'll get you them all eventually, might take a few weeks."

And he did. I worked through the entire back catalogue in just a few weeks. Much to my amazement, I found myself liking the music, particularly the earlier albums. And that ugly singer really wasn't so ugly after all. And he could sing! I remember being really surprised at The Phantom of the Opera. Its intro had been used as the soundtrack to a Lucozade (sports drink/ill people drink, can't remember if it's available outside the UK, horrible stuff) advert in the early 80s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBetudbtRto (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBetudbtRto)) but, like many I suppose, I never knew the origin or significance of the piece. So when I heard it on an album for the first time, my mind was blown.

I never looked back after that.

David probably did, though. A year or two later, I heard he'd been imprisoned for theft while working at Record House :blush

Thinking about it again, Fear of the Dark must have been the first Iron Maiden album I bought myself, and it must have been around the time of release. I recall enjoying it then, and I still enjoy it now. In fact, despite having retained a keen interest in Iron Maiden since the early 90s, and having been a frequent poster in the Iron Maiden newsgroup (newsgroup... haha! That'll puzzle younger members here!) back in the day, it's come as a bit of a surprise that so many people don't really like the album. Further it's really surprised me just how unpopular Weekend Warrior and The Apparition are! I always thought they were quite different for Maiden and all the better for it. I guess being British, with football hooliganism being as big a deal as it was in the 80s, I never found the lyrics for Weekend Warrior to be anything other than perfectly reasonable unlike just about everyone else. And The Apparition? Well, I liked its odd feel and structure.

Well, that post took longer than I imagined it would. Just ended up thinking about days gone by, nice memories, and tapping out a train of thought. But hey, hopefully that Lucozade advert will be new to some of you ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Cyclopssss on August 04, 2017, 04:48:14 AM
Tried to post about No Prayer, but it got lost somewhere. I liked the opener, Tailgunner and Holy Smoke, after that it took a serious nosedive for me, liked Runs silent, run deep well enough and Public Enemy no I. Hated Bring your daughter...etc. And I quite liked the artwork.

Fear is a different story as I loved the artwork very much and it was the first studio double from them. Liked most of the tracks, but some tracks just seemed forgettable to me (Wasted Love, Weekend Warrior) loved the titletrack and the much mentioned Judas, be my guide. After this album though....I lost Maiden out of sight for a couple years, let's just say.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 04, 2017, 09:52:59 PM
Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures09_fotd/tourbook09_fotd.jpg)
In early ‘92, Maiden were approached to headline the Donington Monsters of Rock festival for the second time. A historic moment, as the only other band to headline twice was AC/DC. Since they had to work their schedule around the festival again, the tour started in the US. However, true to the tradition of the last few years, they put on a few small gigs before officially starting the tour. The first show was in the UK under the name of Nodding Donkeys (after the b-side: Nodding Donkey Blues). They then visited Iceland for the very first time en route to New York for the Ritz performance that TAC has already given his account on. The Fear Of the Dark tour was one of the band’s most adventurous and there’s actually a ton to talk about here. I’m probably not going to get to update this again until Wednesday at the earliest, so I recommend everyone take their time going through all the releases and YouTube clips discussed.


The Stage
Similar to Fear Of the Dark’s concept of maintaining the raw sound established on No Prayer while subtly reintroducing elements of the band’s more progressive side, Maiden put a little bit more into the stage production for the tour. The backdrop of artwork drapes and the row of Marshall amps remained, but stage decorations were added to match the creepy nighttime vibe of the album artwork. Some shows featured a bat-winged Eddie at the top of the rafters. There were also the usual two appearances of Eddie, once as a walk on and the second time as a massive head with two hands behind the drum riser. The elaborate floor design also returned keeping with the night time theme. It wasn’t the spectacle of the band’s 80s tours, but it was a still less bare-bones than the previous tour. Additionally, there was a more elaborate lighting rig this time around.

The Setlist
The Fear Of the Dark tour was probably the first time a Maiden show didn’t really have an obvious focus on a single album. Only five out of the twelve songs from Fear of the Dark were performed. Powerslave and Somewhere In Time were the last albums to only have five songs performed on the tour, but the songs were longer on those albums and were centerpieces of the shows. The Fear of the Dark songs were shorter and didn’t really seem to be the focus of this show. There was no gauntlet of new songs like on the No Prayer tour. Instead, they were spread out and mixed with the “classics”. Personally, I think a lot of that has to do with them starting the tour in the US. The album wasn’t very successful there so it made sense for them to not put as much emphasis on it as they normally would. When it was time to take the production to Europe, they were probably so comfortable with it that it didn’t seem necessary to add new songs.

It was also a predictable selection of songs: the three singles (including the album opener) and the two Harris epics. Overall, this tour seemed like the first time an album was getting the shaft. Still, it wasn’t necessarily a setlist dedicated to the band’s “Golden Years”. There were two songs from No Prayer performed, Tailgunner and Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter were included the beef up the 90’s representation.

The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album also made a return after being completely disregarded on the previous tour. Three songs from the album were performed: The Clairvoyant, The Evil That Men Do, and Can I Play With Madness. These three songs would go on to be the “staples” from the album.

The rest of the setlist featured the usual suspects. By this time the band had definitely settled on a “typical” Maiden setlist. While the previous tours would often trade out songs from various albums (for example, Die With Your Boots On instead of The Trooper in 1988), less adventurous setlist choices were being made as it became clear what the live favorites were. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. The last tour had a narrow focus, featuring No Prayer and Number of the Beast in particular. The setlist for Fear Of the Dark, on the other hand, is much more balanced and you really get a taste of every album. From that view, it’s a good retrospective of the band’s career up until this point, the way the World Slavery Tour was 7 years earlier.

The Tour
The tour proper began in Canada with Corrosion of Conformity and Testament as the opening acts. The tour was very short, lasting just a little over a month. It was their shortest run in the US as a headline act. This wasn’t an overnight shift, Maiden were seeing a decline in the US since Seventh Son as the American public moved on to other styles of music. As a result, the tours continued to get shorter. The band also just wasn’t touring as heavily as in the 80’s.

Where Maiden weren’t getting the same reaction in the US that they were used to, their popularity in other areas continued to grow. The band’s next stop was their first tour in South America. They had visited before for the legendary Rock In Rio 1985, but had never toured there. They were greeted by huge crowds and some of their biggest performances ever. Fortunately, the South American tour was captured on video with a TV broadcast of their Argentina performance.

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

Next it was time to return to Europe for Monsters of Rock. There were a few warm up shows and then it was time for Donington. Their return to Donington was triumphant and in some ways better than in 1988. The rest of the lineup wasn’t quite as strong, mainly featuring Skid Row, Slayer, and WASP. Still, Maiden put on a great performance and were clearly energized by the warm welcome from their home country as well as being fresh off a successful South American run.

The highlight of the show was undoubtedly the return of Adrian Smith, who joined them for Running Free. At the time it was a nice reunion and great to see them still on good terms, but looking back of course it’s also a historic moment as it’s the first performance of the current three guitar lineup of Maiden. A foreshadowing moment.

The performance was broadcast on radio and TV and immortalized with a live VHS and CD release, which I will discuss further later on. However, unlike the 1988 Monsters of Rock, Donington was not the only location where Maiden were broadcast. Their appearance at the Italian Monsters of Rock a few weeks later was also broadcast. This was a much stronger lineup, featuring Black Sabbath, Pantera, and Megadeth among others. The broadcast, which is only missing the opener, is a nice alternate look at the band’s European run. This show was also the source of Heaven Can Wait on A Real Live One.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bxI0I75190

Following the European tour, Maiden conquered new territory again with their first visit to Central America. Like South America, the band were greeted to a largely untapped market and discovered a huge fanbase there. There’s yet another TV broadcast for this tour, this time in Mexico City.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsd1zeJTIFo

Maiden wrapped up their Fear Of the Dark tour with some short runs in Australia and Japan. This marked the first time the band visited Japan two tours in a row. On the other hand, this was their first time in Australia since 1985.

Spanning 4 continents and several never-before-visited countries, the Fear of the Dark tour ended up being the band’s most extensive tour so far. They bucked their usual touring schedule for the first time and explored new markets. While their popularity in America may have been waning, it was hard to be worried for the band’s future after such a successful tour everywhere else in the world.

You may be wondering about the UK tour. For the first time in the band’s 13 year touring history, there was no UK tour. This was the beginning of a series of controversial decisions by Maiden to favor the festival circuit over a full UK tour. The band would tour the UK again, but these tours would be less frequent and with only a few shows in the future.

Official Releases
One reason I want to split this tour and the accompanying releases is to give some context on how they were released. They probably seem mostly redundant to a lot of fans, but there are some key differences. A Real Live One was the first live release from the Fear Of the Dark tour and also the first officially released live album since Live After Death. There was Maiden England, but the CD version wasn’t released until 1994 as a limited bundle with the VHS. Live At Donington was almost an afterthought, not being released until the end of 1993 and with not much emphasis put on the CD. So with that in mind, a single CD live album focusing entirely on material from 1986 and later was actually quite smart.

So with that out of the way, we move on to:
A Real Live One (1993)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/08/Iron_Maiden_-_A_Real_Live_One.jpg/220px-Iron_Maiden_-_A_Real_Live_One.jpg)
This is the result of Steve Harris compiling what he felt to be the highlights of the Fear of the Dark tour. Instead of selecting one show, Steve combined various recordings from throughout the European tour. He also focused exclusively on material from the latest four albums, so fans were treated to the first officially released recordings of songs from No Prayer and Fear Of the Dark, as well as some selections from Heaven Can Wait and Seventh Son, of particular interest due to the presence of Janick Gers. As previously mentioned, Maiden England wasn’t yet available on CD, so none of these songs had appeared on a live album yet. They were also soundboard recordings, so it’s a much more raw sounding album, more akin to b-sides than Live After Death. It may not be polished, but it does capture the band’s energy and there is more crowd presence.

The raw sound was pretty off putting to a lot of fans and it’s questionable whether Steve truly picked the best performances. I have a soft spot for this (along with A Real Dead One) personally and I actually reach for it quite a bit when I’m in the mood for 90s Maiden. I like that it’s not polished and that it just captures the band in their normal touring mode, as opposed to a special performance like five nights at Long Beach. It also has a nice track list. Since it’s a compilation of various performances and focused on a particular era, Steve was able to mess with the sequencing a bit. The typical setlist tropes aren’t there and you’re not getting the 80s staples, so it’s a fairly unpredictable listen. Overall, it’s a nice way to punctuate the last two tours.


Live At Donington (Recorded 1992, Released 1993)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/DoningtonIron.jpeg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/74/Live_at_Donington_%28Iron_Maiden_album%29_cover.jpg/220px-Live_at_Donington_%28Iron_Maiden_album%29_cover.jpg)
(Original limited CD cover)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/46/Ironmaidendoningtonrevised.jpg/220px-Ironmaidendoningtonrevised.jpg)
(1998 Remastered cover)

The band decided to make their second stop at Donington the official video for this tour. A CD was given a limited release with a plain white cover (meant to resemble a bootleg), but it wasn’t given a wide release until the entire catalog was remastered in 1998. So, at the time, Live At Donington was meant to be the visual document of this tour and A Real Live/Dead One was meant to be the audio document. Where A Real Live One is a compilation of various performances, Live At Donington gives a better look at what a show on this tour was actually like, in terms of the order and flow of the setlist. It also gave a look at the band’s new stage show and the larger than life crowd at Donington.

The video was once again directed by Steve Harris and is probably the first example of his seizure-inducing editing style. Not only is it filled with quick edits, but it also annoyingly switches between color and black and white. Honestly, I haven’t watched it more than once or twice, the edits make it completely unwatchable for me. It is also the last Maiden video that has not yet been released on DVD. It’s not certain as of yet when the DVD will be released, but, given their usual pattern of archival releases, it’s reasonable to expect it very soon. Hopefully it’ll be reedited to at least be fully in color. Because there is no official DVD release of this, I recommend sticking to the CD, which is still in print and on spotify, and for videos check out one of the TV broadcasts from this tour. Obviously the audio video quality won’t be as good, but it’s still better than what we got with the Live At Donington video.

Next week: A Real Live Tour, featuring A Real Dead One, Raising Hell, and the departure of Bruce Dickinson.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Mladen on August 05, 2017, 03:11:51 AM
Interesting. I never realizedA Real live one and A Real dead one weren't released at the same time. Great write up all around.  :tup

I once saw the plain white version of Live at Donnington in a local store but resisted buying it. I'm not sure how rare it is, honestly.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 05, 2017, 05:02:20 AM
Another awesome read! I have a few things to add:

1) they played Die With Your Boots On ONCE during that tour, on the show in Argentina;

2) The stage floor had roots from the FOTD tree.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 05, 2017, 06:23:55 AM
I once saw the plain white version of Live at Donnington in a local store but resisted buying it. I'm not sure how rare it is, honestly.

It's not particularly rare (on CD). You can pick up a copy for around £15.

Vinyl is a different matter, though. Probably looking at a couple of hundred pounds.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 05, 2017, 07:35:37 AM
As usual, an interesting read!  :tup

I agree that for the first time ever, the tour seemed more like a "greatest hits" tour, even though as usual the latest album still had more songs than the rest. At least they did the unprecedented move of sticking The Number of the Beast right at the second song, all in all they never had, before or after, this attitude or throwing a fan favorite classic right at the beginning.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: TAC on August 05, 2017, 09:46:54 AM
I thought TNOTB in the second spot was a great place for it.

I have never thought of this as a greatest hits tour. Seemed the usual new album based set list. Probably need to get home to get more into it instead of on my phone.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 05, 2017, 10:10:06 AM
TNOTB is way better earlier in the set than towards the end IMO. They opened with it at my first Maiden gig in 2003, great way to start the show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Stadler on August 07, 2017, 08:06:55 AM
I still don't agree with it, but reading this, I now sort of get why the band keeps going back to the same songs from the earlier albums (Wrathschild is an obvious example, as is The Trooper).   

If I was the leader of that band, and given the reaction to the recent albums, I would've made DAMN sure that the touring wasn't compromised one bit.   It was the 90's, so they were probably still making decent bank off the releases, but their legend was made live.   I can't see that legend being as strong based on half-assed versions of 22 Acacia Avenue one year, and a half-assed version of Quest For Fire another year...  if you're going to go down fighting, go down with your best weapons, and for better or worse, that's "Hallowed..." and "Trooper" and so on.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 07, 2017, 12:35:58 PM
I still don't agree with it, but reading this, I now sort of get why the band keeps going back to the same songs from the earlier albums (Wrathschild is an obvious example, as is The Trooper).   

If I was the leader of that band, and given the reaction to the recent albums, I would've made DAMN sure that the touring wasn't compromised one bit.   It was the 90's, so they were probably still making decent bank off the releases, but their legend was made live.   I can't see that legend being as strong based on half-assed versions of 22 Acacia Avenue one year, and a half-assed version of Quest For Fire another year...  if you're going to go down fighting, go down with your best weapons, and for better or worse, that's "Hallowed..." and "Trooper" and so on.

I completely understand your point. But imagine the fan reaction/enthusiasm when they pull the occasional rarely played song out for a tour. I remember people being excited when they heard that Children of the Damned was going to be played on this last tour. Mixing it up a little seems like it would keep things fresh, and add to the excitement if those chose the right songs to do it with.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: cramx3 on August 07, 2017, 12:43:59 PM
Fresh for the fans and the band.  I doubt they want to play all the same songs constantly just as much as the fans dont always want to hear the same songs.  It's a balance and sometimes IM's done it well and othertimes not so well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Stadler on August 07, 2017, 12:51:36 PM
Honest question:  is that really true?  Look, I get that I am the guy that wants to hear "Total Eclipse" and "All In Your Mind" and it isn't going to happen unless and until I can book Maiden to play my daughter's wedding, and even then, it'll probably cost me extra.   But when I was at the Barclay's center two weeks ago, at least where I was, those people couldn't give a fuck less whether it was "Wrathschild" or "Another Life", "The Trooper" or "Sun And Steel".   With that high level of energy, commitment, it seems to me more and more that it is less about WHAT they play and more about HOW they play it. 

Now, the one caveat is, when Bruce gets tired of singing "FOTD" and starts phoning it in, all bets are off.  But he didn't phone in a single minute in the concert I saw, and with that level of investment, I would have gladly listened to him deliver Neal Diamond's Greatest Hits. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: cramx3 on August 07, 2017, 01:08:03 PM
Well I think Alexander the Great is a good example for this.  That's the only "epic" IM haven't played live.  There's a solid fan base for that song.  Yet it doesn't get played live.  I think it's part because the band knows a large amount of the fan base is not going to react to that song. 

They swapped Brighter Than A Thousand Suns for Wratchchild during one tour.  They said it was due to Nicko struggling, but I think we all know the real reason is more likely that the fans didn't react to that song like they do for Wrathchild.  It's a reason why that song got mixed in for this tour as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 07, 2017, 01:12:52 PM
Wrathchild it's their filler song for whenver another song doesn't work. They've done it some times already in recent history. You think you're finally rid of it and it pops up again in the next leg, ugh.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 07, 2017, 01:26:36 PM
Honest question:  is that really true?  Look, I get that I am the guy that wants to hear "Total Eclipse" and "All In Your Mind" and it isn't going to happen unless and until I can book Maiden to play my daughter's wedding, and even then, it'll probably cost me extra.   But when I was at the Barclay's center two weeks ago, at least where I was, those people couldn't give a fuck less whether it was "Wrathschild" or "Another Life", "The Trooper" or "Sun And Steel".   With that high level of energy, commitment, it seems to me more and more that it is less about WHAT they play and more about HOW they play it. 

Now, the one caveat is, when Bruce gets tired of singing "FOTD" and starts phoning it in, all bets are off.  But he didn't phone in a single minute in the concert I saw, and with that level of investment, I would have gladly listened to him deliver Neal Diamond's Greatest Hits.

No doubt they've been able to maintain a great level of energy in their performances. Bruce alone is worth the price of admission every time I've seen them. But I've seen the air go out of a venue with their song selection on two occasions. One of those occasions was because they were only playing newer songs throughout most of the set. That was the last time that I seen them, and the tour that Dream Theater were opening up for them. It was an unfortunate thing in my opinion, because I think that the reunion material is as good as their classic era, but I doubt that it's as popular with the fanbase overall.

The other time was on the Somewhere Back in Time tour when they played FOTD. It was an overall flawless concert, but the song wasn't from that era, and I think that people were hoping for a "hidden gem" so to speak.

One of the most enthusiastic shows(from an audience standpoint) that I've been to was their early days tour when they were playing songs exclusively from the first 4 albums. From observation, it seems like most of the fanbase is familiar with, and loves a lot of the early material. But the band only pulls out Wrathchild and Iron Maiden on most tours. I think that something like Remember Tomorrow would be really well received, or Killers and Phantom just to name a few.

For me, it adds a little bit of spice to a show if a band pulls out something good, but unexpected. I don't fault them for sticking with their strengths, but they were good enough to play those other rare songs very well in recent years. It's a shame that they ignore that great music most of the time.

Note: Yes, I realize that I'm making a lot of generalizations about the fans, and I certainly don't mean to speak for everyone. It's just a product of my observations for the most part, and some of my own wishes as a long time fan as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 07, 2017, 01:37:32 PM
The other time was on the Somewhere Back in Time tour when they played FOTD. It was an overall flawless concert, but the song wasn't from that era, and I think that people were hoping for a "hidden gem" so to speak.

I wonder what possessed them to include that song. Did the vast majority of the fan base said "Well, the Early Days tour was great but damn, we didn't get Fear of the Dark"? would anyone have complained about the lack of Fear of the Dark in a tour about the '80s? they had a setlist full of wonderful classics of the time they became the biggest band in the world but still they felt they needed to throw in that song? geez, they know and we know they'd play it until the end of time, just give it a rest when it's classics time, and then have people longing for it for the next tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: cramx3 on August 07, 2017, 01:49:32 PM
The other time was on the Somewhere Back in Time tour when they played FOTD. It was an overall flawless concert, but the song wasn't from that era, and I think that people were hoping for a "hidden gem" so to speak.

I wonder what possessed them to include that song. Did the vast majority of the fan base said "Well, the Early Days tour was great but damn, we didn't get Fear of the Dark"? would anyone have complained about the lack of Fear of the Dark in a tour about the '80s? they had a setlist full of wonderful classics of the time they became the biggest band in the world but still they felt they needed to throw in that song? geez, they know and we know they'd play it until the end of time, just give it a rest when it's classics time, and then have people longing for it for the next tour.

I'm not sure, I know lots of people didn't like it in the setlist, but I am yet to go to an IM concert where that song does not excite the fan base including both SBIT shows I went to.  It didn't fit, but it still worked in the live setting. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: TAC on August 07, 2017, 01:51:36 PM
I need my computer!! >:(

Two more days!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: jammindude on August 07, 2017, 10:22:11 PM
In spite of its being overplayed, (which does wear on me a bit)....I don't think anyone can deny that FOTD is the last IM *****CLASSIC****** live song.   As in, I'm not talking "cult favorite", but (like it or not) it is up there as being with The Trooper, RTTH, 2MTM, Hallowed....etc etc.   

I had lost interest in IM after being initially disappointed with SiT.  (Typical American 16yr old...."synths are for pussies" attitude).    But I was working at a CD shop when "Best of the Beast" came out.   That live version (which I believe is taken from ARLO) is just freaking STUNNING the first time you hear it.   Its one of those songs that makes you wish you were there....it actually makes you FEEL like you are there. 

There is something magical about that song when it is played live. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 07, 2017, 11:16:34 PM
The other time was on the Somewhere Back in Time tour when they played FOTD. It was an overall flawless concert, but the song wasn't from that era, and I think that people were hoping for a "hidden gem" so to speak.

I wonder what possessed them to include that song. Did the vast majority of the fan base said "Well, the Early Days tour was great but damn, we didn't get Fear of the Dark"? would anyone have complained about the lack of Fear of the Dark in a tour about the '80s? they had a setlist full of wonderful classics of the time they became the biggest band in the world but still they felt they needed to throw in that song? geez, they know and we know they'd play it until the end of time, just give it a rest when it's classics time, and then have people longing for it for the next tour.

I'm not sure, I know lots of people didn't like it in the setlist, but I am yet to go to an IM concert where that song does not excite the fan base including both SBIT shows I went to.  It didn't fit, but it still worked in the live setting.

I was toward the back of the pavilion at Blossom just outside of Cleveland for that tour. At that show the place went quiet at the beginning of the song. The crowd did eventually join in, but there seemed to be a little bit of shock when the song began.

The later tour with DT opening was also at Blossom. The crowd was very quiet that evening, and I'm not certain, but I think that's the last time IM played in this area. I sometimes wonder if the lack of enthusiasm by the crowd that last time is one of the factors that has kept them away. It's a shame, because I'd love to see them on every tour, but I can't travel great distances to see a show and justify it financially.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Grappler on August 08, 2017, 06:47:12 AM
I had lost interest in IM after being initially disappointed with SiT.  (Typical American 16yr old...."synths are for pussies" attitude).    But I was working at a CD shop when "Best of the Beast" came out.   That live version (which I believe is taken from ARLO) is just freaking STUNNING the first time you hear it.   Its one of those songs that makes you wish you were there....it actually makes you FEEL like you are there. 

That was the recording that got me into the song as well, which came from A Real Live One.  I had no idea international audiences sang the melodies and riffs like that, so the live version blew me away completely.  It's a fantastic live song, and every time I've seen them, the crowd really gets into it.

For a long time I listened to only Live at Donnington, but a handful of years ago, I started to enjoy A Real Live One a lot.  This thread brought me back to Live at Donninton, which is a nice change of pace.  It's nice to have a full show from this tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 09, 2017, 12:11:50 AM
Looking at the patterns in the setlists up until this tour, it does seem like they experimented to figure out with what worked and what didn't. Some songs that rarely get played today, such as Children Of the Damned or Die With Your Boots On, actually got a really fair shot during the 80s. The songs that are staples today have endured for a good reason. By 1992 they knew what the cream of the crop was live and what got the best reactions.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Fear Of the Dark Tour (1992)
Post by: Mosh on August 12, 2017, 05:04:20 PM
A Real Live Tour (1993)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures09b_reallivedead/tourbook09b_reallive.jpg)
Following the end of the Fear Of the Dark tour, Maiden took a short break. The idea was to take a few months off for Steve Harris to put together A Real Live One, and the band would go back out on the road for what was effectively a second leg of the tour. However, the tour was given added significance when, during the break, Bruce Dickinson announced he would be leaving the band at the end of the tour. What was originally going to be a sort of victory lap for another successful tour became a farewell tour for Bruce. It was to be a very brief run taking place exclusively in Europe for a period of just over 2 months. It also included a handful of UK dates, although it was still a far cry from the usual UK itinerary.

Being an extension of the Fear Of the Dark tour, the stage production was pretty much the same as before. The setlist was similar but with some added “classics” from the band’s early albums. Songs that hadn’t been performed since 1983 or earlier, such as Prowler and Remember Tomorrow were back in the setlist. Other songs which had been in and out of the set over the past few years, such as Where Eagles Dare and Wasted Years, were also included. If the 1992 tour wasn’t a “greatest hits” 1993 certainly was.

Over the years, Maiden have earned a reputation as a band with virtually no publicized drama or infighting. A Real Live Tour was the closest they ever got to that point. While the band remained professionals on stage, Steve and Nicko in particular were very candid about Bruce’s decision to leave. Steve felt that Bruce was no longer putting effort into his performances unless he knew they would be recorded for TV or radio. Nicko made similar comments in addition to voicing a feeling of betrayal. On the other hand, Bruce repeatedly claimed that he was having a blast on stage and that there was no friction between the band. There are a lot of bootlegs from this tour so luckily the fans can be the judge here.

Unfortunately, a full show from A Real Live tour has not been released by the band. Raising Hell technically counts, but it is more of a one-off than a part of a tour. Some recordings from the tour appear on A Real Dead One, so the band definitely at least has audio in the archives. There is a TV broadcast from Milan on this tour, but it’s not a full performance. Still worth watching to see how this tour compared to the previous visually.

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

A Real Dead One (1993)

(https://maidenrevelations.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/arealdeadonealbumartwork.jpg)
The sequel to A Real Live One, A Real Dead One was supposed to be released shortly after but was delayed until the end of the tour. This turned out to be a positive as Steve was able to add the rarities played on the 1993 tour. The result is a mixture of songs from both A Real Live Tour and Fear Of the Dark tour.

Where A Real Live One focused exclusively on the post-Live After Death era, A Real Dead One focuses on songs from before Live After Death. While only four of the twelve songs didn’t appear on the classic live album, A Real Dead One doesn’t feel like a retread of Live After Death. It was recorded 8 years later with a different lineup and, as a result, the songs have a different feel. It also continues the raw sound of A Real Live One with the songs being recorded at different venues.

The tracklist is especially interesting because, being a compilation, it once again does not have the typical flow of a Maiden concert. Number Of the Beast had never been a concert opener, and the typical encore tracks Sanctuary and Running Free are in the middle of the album. Like A Real Live One, unless you’re reading the back of the CD case, it’s an unpredictable selection of songs.

A single was released for A Real Dead One, Hallowed Be Thy Name. It was to be the last single released with Bruce in the band and, appropriately, features Bruce being murdered by Eddie on the cover. You might remember Paul Di’Anno meeting a similar fate in an alternate artwork for Maiden Japan years earlier. The b-sides to the single are outtakes from the tour that didn’t make it on A Real Dead One: Wasted Years and Wrathchild. Wasted Years is of particular interest because it’s a signature Adrian Smith song being performed without Adrian in the band, and of course Janick takes the solo.

(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vSqDdTvaEto/V0dby-Y87BI/AAAAAAAASbI/QM8xLMjQ9nQe-sjl79FtlZrbEJEjfS3CwCLcB/s1600/Front.jpg)

Raising Hell (Recorded 1993, released 1994)

(https://images.eil.com/large_image/IRON_MAIDEN_RAISING%2BHELL-283332.jpg)
Raising Hell is probably the strangest thing Maiden has ever done in their career. It was recorded on a soundstage in the UK’s Pinewood Studios for a pay-per-view TV event (remember those?). The performance itself actually took place a couple months after the last show on the A Real Live One tour, so the band were already searching for a new singer and Bruce was working on his solo album. While Raising Hell is seen as Bruce’s final farewell, it’s almost like a mini-reunion before they went their separate ways.

If a pay-per-view Maiden event recorded in a TV studio wasn’t unusual enough, the gig was topped off with a collaboration with British magician Simon Drake. Drake performs magic tricks in between and even during the band’s performance. There are props, special effects, and overall it’s the most theatric Iron Maiden concert.

The setlist is mostly based on A Real Live Tour but with some tweaks. The concert was edited to change some of the songs around, so it’s a different experience than listening to a bootleg from the tour. Unfortunately, most of the rarities from the tour weren’t included in this video, with the exception of Transylvania. I’m not sure if Remember Tomorrow, Prowler, or Where Eagles Dare were actually performed, but they aren’t on the video. The best way to describe it is a shuffled version of the Fear Of the Dark setlist with some minor additions.

The performance itself has received mixed reviews with fans and is generally not regarded as one of their best moments. Tensions within the band were at a high, especially since Bruce was beginning to take shots at Maiden in interviews. Steve has recalled being furious at Bruce during the concert and it’s obvious that they are avoiding each other in the video. Bruce also seems bored and is clearly done with Maiden. Most fans agree that the magic portions are a distraction at best and cheesy at worst.

A VHS of the performance was released in 1994, probably to fill the gap of what would be one of Maiden’s quietest years. A DVD was released later on and can be found pretty cheap. It’s worth watching for the historic significance and for the novelty, but is probably the worst live video the band has released.

Bruce’s Departure & Closing Thoughts On the 1990-1993 Lineup
It’s hard to say what the catalyst was for Bruce leaving Maiden. He’s never really given a straight answer and there are multiple possibilities. The most likely explanation is that he continued to discover other interests outside of Maiden and eventually realized he was being held back. In the time since Seventh Son, Bruce wrote two books, released a solo album, and received his pilot’s license. Like Adrian a few years earlier, it was better for everyone involved for Bruce to leave if he wasn’t 100% into it.

Despite the negativity mentioned earlier, Bruce’s departure is widely considered one of the amicable splits in Rock history. There was very little drama within the band during the breakup and Bruce remained on their label and management during his solo career. Steve and Nicko were clearly unhappy with Bruce’s performances toward the end, but for the most part everybody acted like adults. The dynamic was mostly the same through the 90s, with the two camps occasionally taking small jabs at each other, but they were also often complementary and never resorted to pettines. This is at least partially the reason why they were able to reunite not long after.

Coincidentally, around the same time Bruce decided to quit Maiden, Martin Birch announced that he would be retiring after 10 years of working almost exclusively with Maiden. Birch had actually wanted to retire earlier but was so satisfied with the Maiden partnership that he hung on for a few more years. Steve Harris was becoming more involved in the production process, so Birch felt comfortable leaving it in his hands. As a result, A Real Live/Dead One and Live At Donington were both entirely produced by Steve. With Bruce and Martin Birch out of the picture, Maiden were truly heading into uncharted waters.

Maiden took 1994 off to search for Bruce’s replacement, making it the second year with no live performances or studio releases. Steve used the vacancy as an opportunity to take Maiden in a different direction. He was adamant that the new vocalist would be an unknown British vocalist and not a Bruce Dickinson clone. Blaze Bayley was actually Steve’s first choice. Blaze and Maiden knew each other from the No Prayer On the Road Tour where Wolfsbane opened for Maiden. Blaze was reluctant at first, so the band went through audition tapes to no avail. Eventually they were able to convince Blaze to audition and he was accepted into the band. It wouldn’t be until late 1995 when audiences had their first chance to hear the new band, as Maiden decided to take their time with the next album. It was, after all, one of the most critical moments of their career. Many were questioning their ability to survive the 90s so it was important for the next album to be a strong artistic statement.

We’ll talk about The X Factor next Friday, but stay tuned for a quick write up on Balls To Picasso a few days before.

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6c/84/1b/6c841be5d9c20e33224749ba3eed79e8.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 12, 2017, 06:07:18 PM
I remember really liking A Real Live One. I played it a lot. And I was looking at the US dates of that first leg. It's a lot more shows than I remember. I thought they played Canada and the West Coast. I was surprised to see some mid America dates. They never made it back to the Northeast, unfortunately.

I was heavy into bootleg trading during this time. I remember enjoying the Montreal boot a lot.
Also, on video, there was a great boot from Toronto. I can't seem to locate it on Youtube, but the Oslo show is one of my all time favorites. This show is awesome!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STAGBsL8jK0&t=1961s


I like A Real Dead One for the rarities. I remember reading a two word review of the album.
Iron Maiden-A Real Dead One..."No kidding!".

I've never really bothered with the '93 shows. I actually bought the Pay Per View of Raising Hell. Problem was, I was away that weekend. I believe it was a Saturday night. I set my VCR to record it. When I got home I was so pissed!! It didn't record. And I got billed for it!!
Anyway, it might be the most cringeworthy thing I've ever seen the band do. I cannot even watch the concert. And the magic show?? WTF??
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 12, 2017, 10:52:44 PM
"Bruce would make a country album if he thought it would sell." - Steve Harris
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 13, 2017, 02:31:26 AM
Well, the production and Bruce being not really into it are two things that fans usually don't like about the Real Live / Dead one albums, but in indsight, the idea of having two companion releases, one for the post-LAD stuff and one for the early years, was quite good, certainly more innovative than the later DVDs with the "Current tour setlist and who cares if Trooper, Iron Maiden, Fear of the Dark and 666 are still in it" approach.

I've seen videos here and there of Raising Hell, but never the whole thing.  I always thought of it as the last concert of the tour, I never realized it was almost an afterthought and therefore a "mini reunion" when the parting of the ways already happened.

When I was being introduced to Iron Maiden, I remember hearing as well the "Bruce sang good only in important gigs" thing, so it's probably something that got quite widespread around even in the very early days of the internet.

Also I didn't know that Blaze was essentially handpicked, and that he himself had doubts (Steve, if someone feels they can't sing for Maiden, just take their heed  :biggrin: ), I thought there was a regular audition process, and Blaze in the end won also helped by the fact that he was british.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Mladen on August 13, 2017, 03:00:28 AM
The live releases from the early 90s is my least favorite live stuff of theirs. It's not my favorite Maiden line up, the concerts don't sound that great and the albums they promoted weren't their best, so the choice to put the accent on the greatest hits was a desperate move. Even those hits have already been released in better performances.

Raising hell is a mess. I had it on the DVD but decided to give it away since I realized I had never watched it as often as Rock in Rio, Flight 666 and even Death on the road.

Anyway, such an ugly era for the band. Bruce was right to walk away and go into more adventurous, interesting solo career, and Maiden definitely needed a refreshment, which was perfectly provided by the brilliant Blaze Bayley. I'm looking forward to discussing that era, but bring on Balls to Picasso first.  ;)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: wolfking on August 13, 2017, 04:10:41 AM
Going back to Live at Donington, that is one of my fav Maiden releases for nostalgic reasons.  When I discovered Maiden a managed to get a few of the cd's at a local second hand cd store.  They had some VHS's and Donighton was there.  It was my first live experience with Maiden and I was blown away.  I use to get home from school and watch the whole thing every single afternoon.

I never had a problem with Bruce's vocals over these years.  To me, Bruce is one of those singers that on a bad night, are still good. 

Raising Hell is cheesy but enjoyable.  So raw and very sloppy, but I love watching Dave on this one.  He's seriously playing like it might actually be the last time Maiden play again.  Love it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 13, 2017, 05:45:07 AM
Funny you mention Dave. I actually feel bad for him on Raising Hell.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 13, 2017, 11:39:17 AM
One thing about A Real Dead One: the version of Where Eagles Dare is shorter than the studio one. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking "nooooooo!!!! Why did they mess up with this song???". And the solos in that version sound awful...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: jammindude on August 13, 2017, 11:49:50 AM
One thing about A Real Dead One: the version of Where Eagles Dare is shorter than the studio one. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking "nooooooo!!!! Why did they mess up with this song???". And the solos in that version sound awful...

This really irritated me too.   Where Eagles Dare is instantly in my top 5 pre-synth Maiden songs, and I was so excited that a live version was finally getting an official release.   I was profoundly disappointed in the result. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 13, 2017, 12:00:46 PM
I've never heard that live version. Did they just cut parts of the song out?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Mosh on August 13, 2017, 12:12:03 PM
They just play it insanely fast.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 13, 2017, 01:37:40 PM
Here's the version I'm referring to: https://youtu.be/tPfxj0TK-vQ

The whole section of "Bavarian Alps that lay all around they seem to stare from below" is cut. And what Jannick does at 03:04 is why I don't like him. He just ruins this song by doing that...to me, when he does this it sounds like he's taking a piss.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: wolfking on August 13, 2017, 03:33:18 PM
Funny, I always quite liked what Janick did on that one.

Funny you mention Dave. I actually feel bad for him on Raising Hell.

All he wants to do is play and you can see he thinks there's a chance with Bruce moving on that nothing is certain and could in fact be the end.  He shreds his heart out on this one. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 13, 2017, 04:01:52 PM
I don't mind Jannick did there on ARDO's Where Eagles Dare.
Lots of moving parts on that track.

One thing about A Real Dead One: the version of Where Eagles Dare is shorter than the studio one. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking "nooooooo!!!! Why did they mess up with this song???". And the solos in that version sound awful...

I seriously never thought that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Grappler on August 13, 2017, 09:31:07 PM
A Real Dead One is awesome for the rare songs, before the Eddies Archives box set came out, this was all we had.

Raising Hell was one of the first 3 DVD's that I ever bought in early 2000/2001 when I got my first DVD player.   Gladiator, Metallica's Cunning Stunts and Raising Hell.  Pisses me off to see Gladiator in the $5 bin now, when I paid $24 for it back then.  I had some bootleg Maiden videos from the BNW tour, and saw them in 99, but this was my first of their official live video releases.  Finally, something digital, something where I could skip through by pushing a button and not fast forwarding or rewinding a VHS tape.  I loved that video, even with the stupid magic crap...until I got Rock in Rio.

A few years ago, I sold a bunch of CD's and DVD's and had no regrets about getting rid of Raising Hell.  Not with the live cd's from this tour - A Real Live/Dead One, Live at Donnington.  That's enough for me.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: wolfking on August 14, 2017, 04:43:07 AM
I don't mind Jannick did there on ARDO's Where Eagles Dare.
Lots of moving parts on that track.

One thing about A Real Dead One: the version of Where Eagles Dare is shorter than the studio one. I remember hearing it for the first time and thinking "nooooooo!!!! Why did they mess up with this song???". And the solos in that version sound awful...

I seriously never thought that.

Besides the usual Janick like roughness, the solo he constructs for the song is actually really really good.  Janick gets slammed for rushing his solos and playing all over the place as fast as he can without purpose, but here, he comes up with something more thought out and fitting and he still cops it.  Bloke can't win.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: efx on August 14, 2017, 05:43:25 AM
I have a special place for a real live one as they pulled the performance of ATSS from the Stockholm show I was at. The last tour with Dickinson was really interesting setlist wise. Was great hearing Prowler and Transylvania live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Mosh on August 14, 2017, 07:01:58 PM
I like what Janick did with Where Eagles Dare. I wouldn't want it to replace the studio version, but I enjoy when they change things up. It's a solid solo too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 14, 2017, 07:07:21 PM
Not that any band with Steve Harris needed anymore of it, but there's a certain genuineness and honesty about Jannick.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 14, 2017, 07:28:59 PM
I like what Janick did with Where Eagles Dare. I wouldn't want it to replace the studio version, but I enjoy when they change things up. It's a solid solo too.

I think that you and wolfking are referring to the full solo. The first part is ok, but that's played by Dave. It's the second bit, played by Jannick, that I don't like. Check out the time stamp I put on my post and see if that makes sense.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 14, 2017, 07:36:53 PM
Jannick's solo isn't that bad in that version. It's not that great, but he's done worse.

The problem is the tempo. Holy shit, are they flying through that song, or what?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Mosh on August 14, 2017, 08:07:47 PM
I like what Janick did with Where Eagles Dare. I wouldn't want it to replace the studio version, but I enjoy when they change things up. It's a solid solo too.

I think that you and wolfking are referring to the full solo. The first part is ok, but that's played by Dave. It's the second bit, played by Jannick, that I don't like. Check out the time stamp I put on my post and see if that makes sense.
Nope, I was referring to that second bit.

Not that any band with Steve Harris needed anymore of it, but there's a certain genuineness and honesty about Jannick.
Absolutely. I love what he's brought to the band over the years, his playing and writing continues to improve with every album. The hate he gets from a (small) group of fans is unfair. A lot of people have no idea what he contributes.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 14, 2017, 08:25:10 PM
So I was thinking about this while listening to Q2K tonight for Sam's thread...

Degarmo leaving QR was a huge blow. I was trying to compare it to Adrian leaving Maiden. And then coinciding with what many people feel are Maiden's two worst albums. Are there similarities?
On the surface, perhaps. But when Degarmo left, QR seemed to have become a rudderless ship. There seemed to be no leadership, no direction.

I think the difference was that with Steve Harris, Maiden HAD leadership. But without Adrian, and (this will be the basis of my upcoming Bruce epiphany) with a seemingly less interested Bruce, Maiden lacked a certain balance. With all of Steve's greatness, Adrian, and especially Bruce, helped keep him in check. This is what Balls To Picasso and The X Factor proved to me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Mosh on August 14, 2017, 09:27:46 PM
I don't know if No Prayer and Fear are dramatic departures the way Q2K is. It's different, but it was a sound familiar to Maiden. You're right, Steve Harris is one of the most driven and focused artists in the business. For all their changes in style and experimentation, I don't think you could ever utter the phrase "this doesn't sound like Maiden". The sound was established day one and they've been building on it ever since.

Bruce is an interesting character. I think at the end of the day he's a storyteller and an entertainer. The vehicle for achieving that isn't as important. The combination between someone like him and someone like Steve who is pure musician is something very special. Throw Adrian in there and you have the formula for greatness. Among the all time greatest, and in some ways most underrated, writing partnerships. Also unusual since you usually hear about two-man writing partnerships.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Stadler on August 15, 2017, 06:18:35 AM
Bruce is an interesting character. I think at the end of the day he's a storyteller and an entertainer. The vehicle for achieving that isn't as important. The combination between someone like him and someone like Steve who is pure musician is something very special. Throw Adrian in there and you have the formula for greatness. Among the all time greatest, and in some ways most underrated, writing partnerships. Also unusual since you usually hear about two-man writing partnerships.

I love this.  I'm a big fan of what the sports fans call "the clubhouse" - the interplay between the musicians behind the scenes that make the big picture what it is.   For example, I don't think the Rolling Stones are the same band if Keith and Mick weren't sniping at each other all the time.  Rush.   I think Bruce and Steve are like that.   It showed when Bruce joined the band in '82, it showed when he lost interest in, what, '90-ish, and it showed when he rejoined in '99.    I'm not naïve; I get that there is probably some element of "Bruce Live!" that is part of the act (he does tend to use the same raps at the same spots night after night) but he's the perfect guy for the unit that is "Iron Maiden", and a huge part of that is Steve Harris. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 15, 2017, 06:20:53 AM
Well said, Stadler!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 15, 2017, 06:35:00 AM
Bruce is an interesting character. I think at the end of the day he's a storyteller and an entertainer. The vehicle for achieving that isn't as important. The combination between someone like him and someone like Steve who is pure musician is something very special. Throw Adrian in there and you have the formula for greatness. Among the all time greatest, and in some ways most underrated, writing partnerships. Also unusual since you usually hear about two-man writing partnerships.

I love this.  I'm a big fan of what the sports fans call "the clubhouse" - the interplay between the musicians behind the scenes that make the big picture what it is.   For example, I don't think the Rolling Stones are the same band if Keith and Mick weren't sniping at each other all the time.  Rush.   I think Bruce and Steve are like that.   It showed when Bruce joined the band in '82, it showed when he lost interest in, what, '90-ish, and it showed when he rejoined in '99.    I'm not naïve; I get that there is probably some element of "Bruce Live!" that is part of the act (he does tend to use the same raps at the same spots night after night) but he's the perfect guy for the unit that is "Iron Maiden", and a huge part of that is Steve Harris.

Yup, that's what I was saying. Like I said, I'll be discussing this during the BTP and TXF period.

Also, the "clubhouse" interplay you mention, I believe that Jannick is a catalyst for this. He seems to bridge every personal gap.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Samsara on August 15, 2017, 10:47:50 AM
So I was thinking about this while listening to Q2K tonight for Sam's thread...

Degarmo leaving QR was a huge blow. I was trying to compare it to Adrian leaving Maiden. And then coinciding with what many people feel are Maiden's two worst albums. Are there similarities?
On the surface, perhaps. But when Degarmo left, QR seemed to have become a rudderless ship. There seemed to be no leadership, no direction.

I think the difference was that with Steve Harris, Maiden HAD leadership. But without Adrian, and (this will be the basis of my upcoming Bruce epiphany) with a seemingly less interested Bruce, Maiden lacked a certain balance. With all of Steve's greatness, Adrian, and especially Bruce, helped keep him in check. This is what Balls To Picasso and The X Factor proved to me.

DeGarmo was Queensryche's version of Steve Harris. It's a perfect apples-to-apples comparison. Smith leaving doesn't really match up, because Smith's role as a part writer and co-lead guitarist are small roles in comparison to DeGarmo's role in Queensryche.

DeGarmo wrote a lot of the songs, arranged most of them, wrote at least half the lyrics, and set the musical direction for the band. So losing DeGarmo for Queensryche would be like Iron Maiden losing Steve Harris. And thankfully for Maiden, that didn't happen.

For Queensryche, think DeGarmo/Tate being Harris/Dickinson. You lose either of those guys, the band is completely different, because of their impact. In Queensryche's case, they lost both of them, and the band is a MUCH different animal these days, even if many fans prefer the direction they've taken musically. Queensryche is nowhere near what it once was, artistically, even if they replicate the old songs better than when Tate was in the band.

Maiden will always be Maiden with Steve Harris. With TXF and VXI, obviously a new voice was at the forefront, and we'll talk about that when Mosh gets to it. But it wasn't the same because of the impact Bruce had, even if the music was stellar and very much Maiden in tone and character.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: cramx3 on August 15, 2017, 10:50:18 AM
I may be alone, but I love the magic bits on Raising Hell.

I think it ranks as one of their worst DVDs, but I kind of enjoyed the different take on the concert (being in studio and adding some magic).  A lot of it is cheesy, like Dave playing the guitar with the fake hands, but some of the other stand alone magic was kind of cool.  Also killing Bruce in an Iron Maiden in the end was epic.

I first watched this with my college roommate while in college and we both fell in love with the little boy right next to Steve during Heaven Can Wait.  We didn't know this was a normal thing for this song and we would often bring up our jealousies about the little boy getting on stage with them.... until we actually did during HCW on the Somewhere Back in Time tour.  We still joke about this today, how we became the little boy.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: TAC on August 15, 2017, 11:14:56 AM
So I was thinking about this while listening to Q2K tonight for Sam's thread...

Degarmo leaving QR was a huge blow. I was trying to compare it to Adrian leaving Maiden. And then coinciding with what many people feel are Maiden's two worst albums. Are there similarities?
On the surface, perhaps. But when Degarmo left, QR seemed to have become a rudderless ship. There seemed to be no leadership, no direction.

I think the difference was that with Steve Harris, Maiden HAD leadership. But without Adrian, and (this will be the basis of my upcoming Bruce epiphany) with a seemingly less interested Bruce, Maiden lacked a certain balance. With all of Steve's greatness, Adrian, and especially Bruce, helped keep him in check. This is what Balls To Picasso and The X Factor proved to me.

DeGarmo was Queensryche's version of Steve Harris. It's a perfect apples-to-apples comparison. Smith leaving doesn't really match up, because Smith's role as a part writer and co-lead guitarist are small roles in comparison to DeGarmo's role in Queensryche.

DeGarmo wrote a lot of the songs, arranged most of them, wrote at least half the lyrics, and set the musical direction for the band. So losing DeGarmo for Queensryche would be like Iron Maiden losing Steve Harris. And thankfully for Maiden, that didn't happen.

For Queensryche, think DeGarmo/Tate being Harris/Dickinson. You lose either of those guys, the band is completely different, because of their impact. In Queensryche's case, they lost both of them, and the band is a MUCH different animal these days, even if many fans prefer the direction they've taken musically. Queensryche is nowhere near what it once was, artistically, even if they replicate the old songs better than when Tate was in the band.

Maiden will always be Maiden with Steve Harris. With TXF and VXI, obviously a new voice was at the forefront, and we'll talk about that when Mosh gets to it. But it wasn't the same because of the impact Bruce had, even if the music was stellar and very much Maiden in tone and character.

Right. I agree. What I was trying to say was that while listening to Q2K, I found myself comparing the two bands at those points in time in each band's career, and I first thought about Degarmo and Smith leaving, but then I realized that they are not similar circumstances and effects at all. We agree.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Stadler on August 15, 2017, 01:46:11 PM
So I was thinking about this while listening to Q2K tonight for Sam's thread...

Degarmo leaving QR was a huge blow. I was trying to compare it to Adrian leaving Maiden. And then coinciding with what many people feel are Maiden's two worst albums. Are there similarities?
On the surface, perhaps. But when Degarmo left, QR seemed to have become a rudderless ship. There seemed to be no leadership, no direction.

I think the difference was that with Steve Harris, Maiden HAD leadership. But without Adrian, and (this will be the basis of my upcoming Bruce epiphany) with a seemingly less interested Bruce, Maiden lacked a certain balance. With all of Steve's greatness, Adrian, and especially Bruce, helped keep him in check. This is what Balls To Picasso and The X Factor proved to me.

DeGarmo was Queensryche's version of Steve Harris. It's a perfect apples-to-apples comparison. Smith leaving doesn't really match up, because Smith's role as a part writer and co-lead guitarist are small roles in comparison to DeGarmo's role in Queensryche.

DeGarmo wrote a lot of the songs, arranged most of them, wrote at least half the lyrics, and set the musical direction for the band. So losing DeGarmo for Queensryche would be like Iron Maiden losing Steve Harris. And thankfully for Maiden, that didn't happen.

For Queensryche, think DeGarmo/Tate being Harris/Dickinson. You lose either of those guys, the band is completely different, because of their impact. In Queensryche's case, they lost both of them, and the band is a MUCH different animal these days, even if many fans prefer the direction they've taken musically. Queensryche is nowhere near what it once was, artistically, even if they replicate the old songs better than when Tate was in the band.

Maiden will always be Maiden with Steve Harris. With TXF and VXI, obviously a new voice was at the forefront, and we'll talk about that when Mosh gets to it. But it wasn't the same because of the impact Bruce had, even if the music was stellar and very much Maiden in tone and character.

I think there's a crucial difference though:   There is NO QUESTION who runs Maiden.  It's not up for discussion, and has been that way since Day One.  HARRIS wrote all the songs.  HARRIS did the press.  HARRIS hired and fired.   DeGarmo left QR.   There is no reality where Harris leaves Maiden.   I'm not saying that the "LEAVING" is the difference, but the idea and thought process that could lead to a DeGarmo leaving QR tells me that it's NOT the same.  There is no idea or thought process that leads to Harris leaving Maiden.    Even if it's only because the rest of the band acknowledges Harris being the man, whereas I never once ever even got a whiff that the rest of QR felt that way.  I could be wrong, and you know QR WAYYYYYYY better than I do, but I do know Maiden, and everything in that band happens with the benevolent blessing of Mr. Steve Harris.  PERIOD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Samsara on August 15, 2017, 02:42:56 PM

I think there's a crucial difference though:   There is NO QUESTION who runs Maiden.  It's not up for discussion, and has been that way since Day One.  HARRIS wrote all the songs.  HARRIS did the press.  HARRIS hired and fired.   DeGarmo left QR.   There is no reality where Harris leaves Maiden.   I'm not saying that the "LEAVING" is the difference, but the idea and thought process that could lead to a DeGarmo leaving QR tells me that it's NOT the same.  There is no idea or thought process that leads to Harris leaving Maiden.    Even if it's only because the rest of the band acknowledges Harris being the man, whereas I never once ever even got a whiff that the rest of QR felt that way.  I could be wrong, and you know QR WAYYYYYYY better than I do, but I do know Maiden, and everything in that band happens with the benevolent blessing of Mr. Steve Harris.  PERIOD.

You're right that from a public standpoint, it was very clear where everyone stood in Iron Maiden. Absolutely. Harris was the man, and continues to be. But remember, before the Internet, and before DeGarmo left, Queensryche was a very private band. But when the veil of secrecy got lifted over the years, and you trace it all back, you come to find that it was indeed DeGarmo that was the driving force, both creatively and business-wise.

We all knew DeGarmo was credited on most of the band's songs. What we didn't know, was that he did a lot of the arrangements and really worked Tate's vocal melodies over too. That all came to light after he left, and the proof is in what music followed his departure. Add to that -- he was president of the band's corporation, and the rest of the band basically expected him to do all the heavy lifting, business wise, it becomes very clear that Chris DeGarmo was the focal point of Queensryche. He was the Steve Harris of Queensryche. It may not have been as publicly crystal clear as Iron Maiden, but it was indeed IT.

The difference is mostly in what was publicly observed. And Wilton had a bigger role in the earlier years than the Maiden guitarists had in songwriting. Tate's role was basically the same as Bruce's in Maiden, except Bruce wrote music in addition to lyrics, and for the most part, I think Tate had more writing credits, but those are somewhat deceiving when you find out how much DeGarmo worked on stuff with Tate.

Harris and DeGarmo are/were vital to the sound of their respective bands. Although, I think it's accurate to say that Queensryche had a slight more reliance on the whole band in shaping the overall sound, even if DeGarmo was the key cog that drove it all.

Sorry to Maiden fans if we got sidetracked a bit. the Harris/DeGarmo thing is a pretty interesting topic (at least to me).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Stadler on August 16, 2017, 05:35:10 AM
It's a VERY interesting topic to me; I'm fascinated by the dynamics of band situations. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Mosh on August 16, 2017, 08:44:24 PM
Bruce Dickinson - Balls To Picasso (1994)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f5/BallsToPicasso.jpg/220px-BallsToPicasso.jpg)
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals

Featuring Tribe of Gypsies:
Roy Z - Guitar
Eddie Casillas - Bass Guitar
Dave Ingraham - Drums
Doug Van Booven - Percussion

The story of how Bruce’s first solo album came to be is more interesting than most Maiden albums. Work actually began on the followup to Tattooed Millionaire in 1992 when Bruce was still in Maiden recording and touring for Fear Of the Dark. The album was to once again be produced by Chris Tsangarides and this time Bruce’s backing band would be Skins, one of Maiden’s labelmates (the drummer for Skins actually played in Bruce’s 1990 touring band). Ultimately, Bruce wasn’t satisfied with the results and scrapped the project. The only remnant of these sessions was a drum track for a song called Pendragon’s Day.

At the beginning of 1993, while Maiden were taking some time off in between the Fear of the Dark Tour and A Real Live Tour, Bruce made another attempt at a solo album. This time he flew to LA to work with acclaimed producer Keith Olsen, who had worked with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Ozzy Osbourne. Bruce’s intention was to create something musically radical. By this time he had decided that he would be leaving Maiden and wanted to make an album that would differentiate himself from his old band. One of his major influences for the Keith Olson project was Peter Gabriel after departing Genesis. The music from these sessions were of a similar vibe, with lots of Electronic elements and even Dance influences. Bruce seemed on board with this direction as late as November of 1993 when, asked by an interviewer if listeners should expect a “techo” Bruce Dickinson, he responded that Rock was losing its edge and that he wanted to explore these new sounds and styles. Still, this direction wasn’t quite what Bruce was looking for and the project was scrapped yet again.

Somewhere along the way, Bruce came across Latin Hard Rock band Tribe of Gypsies. Bruce was impressed with their incorporation of Latin rhythms and the band’s aggressive street vibe. Bruce felt current Rock music was lacking groove, an area Tribe of Gypsies excelled in. Originally, Tribe Of Gypsies were going to be brought in to augment the songs Bruce worked on with Keith Olson, but Bruce and Roy Z were so compatible as songwriters that they were able to write an entire album of stronger material. It was a very similar relationship to what Bruce had previously experienced with Janick Gers and Adrian Smith. Bruce went all in on the new direction and, finally, a direction was settled on.

Once again, the only remnant of the Keith Olson sessions was Pendragon’s Day, which was now retitled to Tears Of the Dragon. The Keith Olson version of Tears Of the Dragon, along with several other unused songs from the sessions, were eventually released as b-sides and later included on the 2CD edition of Balls To Picasso.
With Tribe of Gypsies as his new backing band, Bruce relocated back to London and got to work on the album. Bruce and Roy Z had a very productive writing session together so there was plenty of material to choose from. After a very slow start, things were finally moving along quickly and smoothly.

Musically, Bruce wanted to capture the band’s street level energy and groove. This can be heard especially in songs like Gods Of War and  Shoot All the Clowns. It’s definitely Metal, but a different flavor than what Maiden were doing. Roy Z was also a more than competent guitar player. Not only did the music groove, but it had blistering guitar solos and heavy riffs that any Maiden fan could appreciate. It was much more familiar territory than what Bruce was doing with Keith Olson, but it was still innovative and fresh.

The Latin side of Tribe of Gypsies comes out several times on the album, but especially on the two ballads. The bulk of Tears Of the Dragon had been established in the original versions, but Roy Z’s Latin flavored guitar playing gave the song a new edge. Tears was also the album’s lead single and produced a minor hit for Bruce, charting at Top 40 both in the US and the UK. The style was also present in Change Of Heart, which stands as one of the album’s hidden gems.

Around the time he was leaving Maiden, Bruce voiced dissatisfaction with the Maiden lyrical style. He felt he was growing out of the allegorical style of Maiden lyrics such as Revelations or Moonchild and was more interested in writing straightforward lyrics. This comes out on his last albums with Maiden and even Tattooed Millionaire, but he really commits to it on Balls To Picasso. The lyrical themes of the songs are obvious and easily relatable. Tears Of the Dragon deals with facing your fears, Sacred Cowboys is about political corruption (a favorite topic for Bruce in the early 90s), and Change Of Heart is another ballad lyrically in the vein of Wasting Love.

Other notable songs include the epic opener Cyclops, which is the perfect introduction to Bruce’s new direction. It’s heavy, groovy, and artistically bold. It also showcases Bruce’s still evolving vocal style, which has moved back to the operatic style he became famous for. His voice was still experiencing some growing pains at the time, but it was still probably the best vocal performance he had turned in since Seventh Son. One of Bruce’s favorite tracks, Laughing In the Hiding Bush, was titled by his son Austin. Appropriately, Austin Dickinson receives a writing credit on the song.

The album’s other single, Shoot All the Clowns, was the label’s attempt at a hit for the album. Bruce was delivered a copy of Aerosmith’s Rocks and told to write something in that vein. Shoot All the Clowns was the result. Bruce recalls this was his least favorite memory of the Balls to Picasso sessions. While it did OK, charting at #37 in the UK, it certainly wasn’t what the label was hoping for.

“Below expectations” could also be used to describe the album’s commercial performance in general. The music industry had experienced many major changes in the past few years and a Bruce Dickinson solo album didn’t have the same appeal as before. Critically, it got mixed reviews. The Metal publications appreciated the unique style, but many considered it inconsistent at best. Metal Hammer completely disregarded it. Around this time, EMI/Mercury were also downsizing, so, a few months after the release, Bruce was dumped from the label.

Looking back on Balls To Picasso, Bruce voiced two regrets about the album: one being that Roy Z didn’t produce. By this point, Bruce had scrapped two albums and blown through a sizeable chunk of the label’s budget. Keith Olson’s engineer, Shay Baby, was already signed on for the project and the label insisted that he stay on to produce. While a competent producer, Shay Baby probably wasn’t the right choice and Balls To Picasso wasn’t quite as heavy sonically as it could have been.

Bruce’s other regret is the title. The album was originally going to be called Laughing In the Hiding Bush. Pink Floyd (and, a few years later, Dream Theater) artist Storm Thorgerson was initially tapped to do the artwork, but, again because of a lack of budget, couldn’t afford the rights to use the artwork. However, this artwork did see the light of day a year later in a form many of you may recognize:

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ec/28/48/ec2848949ceb994324aeb60ffe97a8cc.jpg)

When trying to decide on an idea for a new cover, Bruce came across graffiti on a bathroom stall that read “Balls to Picasso”. Bruce liked the phrase and decided to use it for the album title and visual concept. Years later, Bruce stated that the album should’ve been called Laughing In the Hiding Bush after all. 

Needless to say, Bruce’s solo career was off to a strange start. Luckily, most of the uncertainty around the album was being settled while Bruce was still with Maiden, so the album came out shortly after his official departure. While it was not a commercial or even critical hit, it was something Bruce was proud of, and still seems to be proud of in retrospect. However, after the low sales and being dropped from the label as a result, Bruce decided he would pursue a different direction with the next album. The story of this new direction actually begins with the live album from this period.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/Tears_of_the_Dragon.jpg/220px-Tears_of_the_Dragon.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0b/Shoot_All_the_Clowns.jpg/220px-Shoot_All_the_Clowns.jpg)

Alive In Studio A (Recorded in 1994, released in 1995)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fa/Alive_in_Studio_A.jpg/220px-Alive_in_Studio_A.jpg)
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
Alex Dickson - Guitars
Chris Dale - Bass
Alessandro Elena - Drums

Bruce was only “borrowing” Tribe of Gypsies for the album, so when it was time to take it on the road he was in need of a new band. First, Bruce called guitarist Alex Dickson, who was a friend of his. They made some TV appearances together playing acoustic guitars. Eventually, he found the rhythm section for the new band through Skins (the original backing band for Balls to Picasso). With yet another new band, it was time to embark on a tour for Balls to Picasso.

Bruce felt it would be appropriate to introduce the new band to the world before the next album by releasing a live recording. This way, listeners could be introduced to them with familiar material. Alive In Studio A is actually two separate performances. The first disc, Alive In Studio A, was an in studio performance that was originally meant to be aired on American radio. The second disc is an actual live performance recorded at the Marquee in London. The songs featured are almost identical, so including both might seem redundant to many listeners, but for hardcore fans of Bruce and people who especially like Balls To Picasso, this collection is worth having. Of course it’s also a new band, so the renditions are different from what you get with Tribe Of Gypsies.

So by 1995, before Iron Maiden had done anything with their new lineup, Bruce Dickinson already had recorded a studio album, a live album, and started yet another brand new band to start work on the next album. Bruce hit the ground running with his solo career and would remain very productive during his time outside of Maiden. We’ll come back to him after discussing The X Factor and its tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 17, 2017, 01:57:44 AM
Congratulations on another detailed recap, I knew about Bruce's two attempts at a solo album before doing Balls to Picasso, and there were both many hidden gems and hopefully more hidden atrocities from those (Cadillac Gas Mask, I'm looking at you).

I think the best non album tracks of those embryo days are The Breeding House and especially No Way Out... to Be Continued. As for the album itself, I like it. It's not his ultimate masterpiece but I like the vibe, most of the songs, and of course his return to "clean" vocals after his last stints in Maiden.

I remember reading that Bruce's son had labeled a bush in their garden "Laughing bush", and when Bruce asked him what he was doing, he meant to reply that he was hiding in said laughing bush, 'cause he was actually hiding, but he mixed it up giving therefore the song, and almost the album, the title. However it's one of my least favorite songs on the album.

My favorite ones are obviously Tears of the Dragon, and then Cyclops, 1000 Points of Light, Change of Heart and Hell No. Sacred Cowboys starts as the ultimate "filler" song (a semi-rap at the penultimate song?) and then explodes into that catchy and memorable chorus.

All in all I like all the songs, Fire and Laughing are the one I dig the least but there's not truly a sucky song (those has been "saved" for the unborn Keith Olsen album - thank the gods, I'd add). I'm happy Bruce doesn't disown it and from time to time it's nice to hear some of these songs.

Bruce made 6 solo albums, three are metal and three are more alternative - it's hard to compare the first three to one another, but I'd say that Balls to Picasso is the best "weird" album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Mladen on August 17, 2017, 02:19:24 AM
Yep, Mosh knocked it out of the park once again.  :tup

Cyclops, 1000 points of light, Laughing, Change of heart and Sacred cowboys are absolutely fantastic. The others are so and so, making the album slightly inconsistent but still an enjoyable listen. Tears of the dragon is probably his most overrated solo song - it's not bad, but way too generic and predictable to be considered great.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: sneakyblueberry on August 17, 2017, 02:33:57 AM
Great write up. 

I listened to these albums in reverse order - I was well familiar with the live album before BtP.  I really, really love the marquee show.  I think Alex Dickson is/was an awesome fit, and his aggressive and precise playing on that is always a joy to listen to.  And the fact that it's a live three piece is a nice treat - you can tell that band had played a few shows at the point, they're pretty dang tight with it.

Listening to BtP was a let down after hearing Alive at the Marquee - I think it could've been great if Bruce and the Gypsies had broken the songs in a lot more in a live setting.  For me BtP plods along - the usual effects of touring (the sped up tempos and a better sense of comfortability with the material) could've made BtP a great album.  I look at it more like a demo for the live cd now, tbh.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: TAC on August 17, 2017, 06:06:11 AM
First off, I LOVE Stomp 442. One of my favorite albums of all time.

This is the first half of my Bruce Dickinson epiphany. I mail ordered Balls To Picasso, and the Tears Of The Dragon single as soon as I saw it listed. Bruce was never my favorite Maiden member. If anything, he was my least favorite. Loved his vocals, but I just always kind of found him douchey.

BTP sounded so fresh and interesting. And Bruce sounded better than he had in a number of years. This was the first time I truly realized that Bruce Dickinson was more than just a singer. He was a really talented musician. I had this moment where I felt that I had actually taken Bruce for granted. I never thought he had an album like this in him. I know he would go on to release more classic albums, but to me, BTP is a landmark album. I never looked at Bruce the same way again.

And holy shit, the Tribe Of Gypsies! :hefdaddy

  The Breeding House and especially No Way Out... to Be Continued. 
Awesome tunes!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Zydar on August 17, 2017, 06:18:48 AM
Tears Of The Dragon :hefdaddy  Probably my favourite Bruce solo song ever.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: TAC on August 17, 2017, 06:21:13 AM
Tears Of The Dragon :hefdaddy  Probably my favourite Bruce solo song ever.

It's such a great tune. And definitely right up there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Lowdz on August 17, 2017, 07:47:21 AM
I was a fan of Tribe of Gypsies before Bruce hooked up with them so was interested in this, though I'd fallen out of love with Maiden and Bruce at the time.
I bought it and quite enjoyed it.
I replaced my cassette with the expanded rerelease a few years ago but don't think I've ever played the 2nd disc. I did like the tracks on the Tears of a Dragon single.

His live band after the album was a trade down after ToG
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 17, 2017, 07:56:54 AM
I saw one of his shows on the Balls to Picasso tour. Not a single Maiden song was played. When this album was released I was too much of a Maidenhead to appreciate it, but having heard it recently, I think it's brilliant. Heavy, but fresh and modern. But I think that what kids wanted at that time was new bands with new sounds, not an already established act trying to rebrand himself. A vocalist with a solo career in heavy metal is a tough thing to carry on. To this day, I think only Ozzy and Dio managed to hold it together for so long. And mind you, Dio had stints with Sabbath in-between. Halford tried it, Paul Dianno did too, Geoff Tate is having a go, but commercially, it's very hard to keep this going.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: cramx3 on August 17, 2017, 08:18:32 AM
Great write up Mosh.  I really learned a lot from this post. 

I found BtP to be much better than Tattooed Millionaire.  Also, I typically found myself listening to Alive moreso than the album.  I liked the more raw live versions of the songs, but had no idea of the backing band.  Just kind of assumed it was the same (and this is coming from me listening to Bruce's discogaphy way later in time). 

Now having said I liked this more than TM, I still think the album as a whole is just alright.  Tears of a Clown is my clear favorite track and there's really nothing bad on it, but while rest of the is decent music, it also doesn't blow me away.   I do find the album to be more interesting than FotD though so I do wonder what it must have been like to hear this after IM had just parted ways with Bruce.   It seems TAC really enjoyed it, and I can understand why. 

Also, if you haven't seen/listened to this version of Tears of a Clown, I highly suggest you check it out (that instrumental breakdown  :metal):

Tribuzy (featuring Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z) performing Tears of a Clown live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeVtMrvUNc)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Art on August 17, 2017, 09:10:07 AM
Balls to Picasso is amazing. The Tribe was an awesome back-up band (seeing them live on the CW tour proved that they were also incredible live). Love the direction, the only weakers songs would be, IMO, Fire and Sacred Cowboys, but i don't hate them.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Samsara on August 17, 2017, 09:16:33 AM
Keeping me on my toes, Mosh! Great job. I haven't listened to Balls to Picasso in forever. It's now on. Different, but very cool album.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Stadler on August 17, 2017, 11:02:58 AM

Tribuzy (featuring Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z) performing Tears of a Clown live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeVtMrvUNc)

That right there is a tutorial as to why Bruce is the best metal frontman in history.  He's got the showmanship of Roth and yet, can deliver a note-perfect, emotionally taut vocal performance with the best of them.

The Roy Z solo was lackluster (a little clichéd, especially with the hammer-ons while beckoning the audience to cheer), but I loved that little harmony part he played while Bruce sang the last chorus. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Zydar on August 17, 2017, 11:09:53 AM
Listening now to it for the first time in a long while. I'd forgotten how great it is. Sacred Cowboys, Cyclops, Gods Of War, Change of Heart...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 17, 2017, 05:50:06 PM
Also, if you haven't seen/listened to this version of Tears of a Clown, I highly suggest you check it out (that instrumental breakdown  :metal):

Tribuzy (featuring Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z) performing Tears of a Clown live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeVtMrvUNc)

Wrong band/song, right singer...  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 17, 2017, 05:58:54 PM
At the time that this album came out I was very disenchanted with Bruce and Iron Maiden alike. I heard it a few times, but I had my mind made up that I was going to dislike everything that either entity did. For a few years that was my loss, entirely.

When I opened my mind, and got into his solo work in the later part of the 90's, I got drawn into this album because of the live versions of Tears and Hiding Bush that were on Scream for Me, Brazil. Hiding Bush is my favorite song on the album. There seems to be some kind of energy on that song that connects with me.

I don't think that there's a bad song on the album, but if I had to choose least favorites they would be Change of Heart and Fire.

I don't think that this album is as good as Accident or Wedding, but it was a great preview of what was to come.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Dream Team on August 17, 2017, 06:20:16 PM
Yep, Mosh knocked it out of the park once again.  :tup

Cyclops, 1000 points of light, Laughing, Change of heart and Sacred cowboys are absolutely fantastic. The others are so and so, making the album slightly inconsistent but still an enjoyable listen. Tears of the dragon is probably his most overrated solo song - it's not bad, but way too generic and predictable to be considered great.


Agreed on TotD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Mosh on August 17, 2017, 07:31:38 PM
Glad everyone enjoyed the writeup.

I have a soft spot for Balls to Picasso. When I heard it, I wasn't aware of any of his other solo albums (Tyranny Of Souls also wasn't out yet). My only exposure to Bruce was this album and Tattooed Millionaire. I think I liked them both about the same, maybe TM more so since I was really into that glam metal thing then. But also, since Bruce was the most important part of Maiden for me, I held both at the same level of importance as the Maiden albums.

I still think it's a great album, although it's hard to compare it to what he did with Roy Z later. There are definitely moments where it misses the mark, but the best moments are incredible.

The Keith Olson stuff is interesting. I have to admit every time I listen to those songs I appreciate them a little bit more. Tibet and Over and Out are decent tunes. I'm glad he didn't go in that direction, but there's some interesting stuff there. I will say that Bruce is fairly limited in what he can do stylistically. I'll go into more detail with this when we get to Skunkworks, because it definitely applies there, but his operatic singing style doesn't gel with certain musical styles. The techno/rock hybrid thing he was trying with Keith Olson is an example of one such style.

Congratulations on another detailed recap, I knew about Bruce's two attempts at a solo album before doing Balls to Picasso, and there were both many hidden gems and hopefully more hidden atrocities from those (Cadillac Gas Mask, I'm looking at you).

I think the best non album tracks of those embryo days are The Breeding House and especially No Way Out... to Be Continued. As for the album itself, I like it. It's not his ultimate masterpiece but I like the vibe, most of the songs, and of course his return to "clean" vocals after his last stints in Maiden.

I remember reading that Bruce's son had labeled a bush in their garden "Laughing bush", and when Bruce asked him what he was doing, he meant to reply that he was hiding in said laughing bush, 'cause he was actually hiding, but he mixed it up giving therefore the song, and almost the album, the title. However it's one of my least favorite songs on the album.

My favorite ones are obviously Tears of the Dragon, and then Cyclops, 1000 Points of Light, Change of Heart and Hell No. Sacred Cowboys starts as the ultimate "filler" song (a semi-rap at the penultimate song?) and then explodes into that catchy and memorable chorus.

All in all I like all the songs, Fire and Laughing are the one I dig the least but there's not truly a sucky song (those has been "saved" for the unborn Keith Olsen album - thank the gods, I'd add). I'm happy Bruce doesn't disown it and from time to time it's nice to hear some of these songs.

Bruce made 6 solo albums, three are metal and three are more alternative - it's hard to compare the first three to one another, but I'd say that Balls to Picasso is the best "weird" album.
I pretty much agree with all of this, including favorite and least favorite songs. I always thought Laughing In the Hiding Bush was kind of a goofy song and finding out how he came up with the idea didn't really help its image to me. It's not a bad song by any means, but average. It also doesn't help that this, along with Tears, is one of the more enduring songs from the album in Bruce's live shows. Sacred Cowboys has a great chorus hidden within a very messy song. Fire is bleh.

The other weak song for me is Shoot All the Clowns. I wasn't surprised at all when I learned that it was born out of label pressure. Just a dumb song, although it has a pretty decent middle section.

Cyclops, 1000 points of light, Laughing, Change of heart and Sacred cowboys are absolutely fantastic. The others are so and so, making the album slightly inconsistent but still an enjoyable listen. Tears of the dragon is probably his most overrated solo song - it's not bad, but way too generic and predictable to be considered great.
I agree Tears is fairly overrated, although it's a great song. A huge part of its charm is the vocal performance.

Listening to BtP was a let down after hearing Alive at the Marquee - I think it could've been great if Bruce and the Gypsies had broken the songs in a lot more in a live setting.  For me BtP plods along - the usual effects of touring (the sped up tempos and a better sense of comfortability with the material) could've made BtP a great album.  I look at it more like a demo for the live cd now, tbh.
The production has a lot to do with this. It's like it doesn't want to be a Metal album, but there's a lot of canned energy.

BTP sounded so fresh and interesting. And Bruce sounded better than he had in a number of years. This was the first time I truly realized that Bruce Dickinson was more than just a singer. He was a really talented musician. I had this moment where I felt that I had actually taken Bruce for granted. I never thought he had an album like this in him. I know he would go on to release more classic albums, but to me, BTP is a landmark album. I never looked at Bruce the same way again.
It's a revealing album. I like Tattooed Millionaire but in some ways it seems like Bruce on autopilot. He's chasing a trend and, while doing a decent job at it, it doesn't speak much to his ability as an artist outside Maiden. Balls To Picasso has a lot more to say and shows a lot more range than what Bruce had shown up to this point. I think he actually reached his creative peak outside of Maiden, but we'll get to that later.

I replaced my cassette with the expanded rerelease a few years ago but don't think I've ever played the 2nd disc. I did like the tracks on the Tears of a Dragon single.
The bonus disc is worth listening to just to get inside Bruce's head at the time. Frankly, it's a mess and it's actually pretty incredible that he was able to come up with an album like Balls.

I saw one of his shows on the Balls to Picasso tour. Not a single Maiden song was played. When this album was released I was too much of a Maidenhead to appreciate it, but having heard it recently, I think it's brilliant. Heavy, but fresh and modern. But I think that what kids wanted at that time was new bands with new sounds, not an already established act trying to rebrand himself. A vocalist with a solo career in heavy metal is a tough thing to carry on. To this day, I think only Ozzy and Dio managed to hold it together for so long. And mind you, Dio had stints with Sabbath in-between. Halford tried it, Paul Dianno did too, Geoff Tate is having a go, but commercially, it's very hard to keep this going.
Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Stadler on August 18, 2017, 06:57:38 AM

Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

If Ozzy played on one, or two, or even three classic records, I would agree that he's been the lucky recipient of a freak accident.  But for me, he's sustained it now for 48 years, and I have a really hard time dismissing that as a "freak accident".  It wasn't just his partners; even when Sabbath was not getting along, they put out great music.   I personally don't think there's a duff record in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue (yes, Never Say Die is not the same style as Paranoid, but honestly, I think that's a matter of taste more than anything else).   The two Randy records are masterpieces - at least the second one is - but Bark is a very good album (with Jake) and he has at least two classic records with Zakk (No More Tears and Ozzmosis; No Rest For The Wicked has its moments).   For my money, he's only really gone off the rails with the last two, Black Rain and Scream, but that's a stylistic issue (I miss the more classic NWOBHM stylings of the older Ozzy stuff). 

I do agree - and hadn't thought of this before - that Dio and Ozzy went solo at the "right time".  That early, mid 80's period for metal was pretty robust and strong, and both Dio and Ozzy were out there, and both put out two great albums right in a row (Blizzard and Diary, Holy Diver and The Last In Line).   Some of that is clearly luck, but some isn't.  They were good performers backing good material.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Real Live Tour (1993)
Post by: Cruithne on August 18, 2017, 07:00:05 AM
So I was thinking about this while listening to Q2K tonight for Sam's thread...

Degarmo leaving QR was a huge blow. I was trying to compare it to Adrian leaving Maiden. And then coinciding with what many people feel are Maiden's two worst albums. Are there similarities?
On the surface, perhaps. But when Degarmo left, QR seemed to have become a rudderless ship. There seemed to be no leadership, no direction.

I think the difference was that with Steve Harris, Maiden HAD leadership. But without Adrian, and (this will be the basis of my upcoming Bruce epiphany) with a seemingly less interested Bruce, Maiden lacked a certain balance. With all of Steve's greatness, Adrian, and especially Bruce, helped keep him in check. This is what Balls To Picasso and The X Factor proved to me.

(...and similarly the effect Steve Clark dying had on Def Leppard's music)

Sometimes the arrangement work a musician does has a bigger impact on the music than is apparent until they leave and I think Adrian Smith added a lot of texture to the arrangements of Harris' songs. For example, there's a part towards the start of The Number Of The Beast that has a particular chord thrown in there that I doubt Harris wrote that I suspect was Smith's idea and it just adds a little bit of class to the song. Also, the little lead guitar bits at the start, and during, Wrathchild were purportedly added by Adrian and serve as enhancements to the song.

Plus, I think Adrian was a good foil for Dave Murray. With Adrian's solos being thoughtful, melodic, well constructed efforts it encouraged Murray to be less improvisational and more melodic than perhaps comes naturally. With Gers writing largely chaotic, improvisational flurries it seemed to rub off badly on Murray and Maiden went from a band that regularly had several memorable solos per record to having none by The X-Factor.

In general, I think Adrian always brought a good ear for melody and harmony to the band that was lacking without him.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: bosk1 on August 18, 2017, 07:10:47 AM

Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

If Ozzy played on one, or two, or even three classic records, I would agree that he's been the lucky recipient of a freak accident.  But for me, he's sustained it now for 48 years, and I have a really hard time dismissing that as a "freak accident".  It wasn't just his partners; even when Sabbath was not getting along, they put out great music.   I personally don't think there's a duff record in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue (yes, Never Say Die is not the same style as Paranoid, but honestly, I think that's a matter of taste more than anything else).   The two Randy records are masterpieces - at least the second one is - but Bark is a very good album (with Jake) and he has at least two classic records with Zakk (No More Tears and Ozzmosis; No Rest For The Wicked has its moments).   For my money, he's only really gone off the rails with the last two, Black Rain and Scream, but that's a stylistic issue (I miss the more classic NWOBHM stylings of the older Ozzy stuff). 

I do agree - and hadn't thought of this before - that Dio and Ozzy went solo at the "right time".  That early, mid 80's period for metal was pretty robust and strong, and both Dio and Ozzy were out there, and both put out two great albums right in a row (Blizzard and Diary, Holy Diver and The Last In Line).   Some of that is clearly luck, but some isn't.  They were good performers backing good material.

As with a lot of musicians, I think it is both:  luck/timing AND talent/writing good songs.  To go back to Mosh's example of Geoff Tate, part of his problem was timing.  But a huge part of it was that the songs on his solo album just weren't good. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: cramx3 on August 18, 2017, 07:12:55 AM
Also, if you haven't seen/listened to this version of Tears of a Clown, I highly suggest you check it out (that instrumental breakdown  :metal):

Tribuzy (featuring Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z) performing Tears of a Clown the Dragon live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeVtMrvUNc)

Wrong band/song, right singer...  :biggrin:

LOL at the song, but who is the band?  I only went off youtube, not familiar at all with who that band actually is.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Lowdz on August 18, 2017, 08:50:31 AM

Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

If Ozzy played on one, or two, or even three classic records, I would agree that he's been the lucky recipient of a freak accident.  But for me, he's sustained it now for 48 years, and I have a really hard time dismissing that as a "freak accident".  It wasn't just his partners; even when Sabbath was not getting along, they put out great music.   I personally don't think there's a duff record in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue (yes, Never Say Die is not the same style as Paranoid, but honestly, I think that's a matter of taste more than anything else).   The two Randy records are masterpieces - at least the second one is - but Bark is a very good album (with Jake) and he has at least two classic records with Zakk (No More Tears and Ozzmosis; No Rest For The Wicked has its moments).   For my money, he's only really gone off the rails with the last two, Black Rain and Scream, but that's a stylistic issue (I miss the more classic NWOBHM stylings of the older Ozzy stuff). 

I do agree - and hadn't thought of this before - that Dio and Ozzy went solo at the "right time".  That early, mid 80's period for metal was pretty robust and strong, and both Dio and Ozzy were out there, and both put out two great albums right in a row (Blizzard and Diary, Holy Diver and The Last In Line).   Some of that is clearly luck, but some isn't.  They were good performers backing good material.

As with a lot of musicians, I think it is both:  luck/timing AND talent/writing good songs.  To go back to Mosh's example of Geoff Tate, part of his problem was timing.  But a huge part of it was that the songs on his solo album just weren't good.

Ozzy and RJD also had the advantage of great guitarists too. Tate went the other way, into a direction away from any fan base he had.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 18, 2017, 10:11:59 AM
Also, if you haven't seen/listened to this version of Tears of a Clown, I highly suggest you check it out (that instrumental breakdown  :metal):

Tribuzy (featuring Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z) performing Tears of a Clown the Dragon live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeVtMrvUNc)

Wrong band/song, right singer...  :biggrin:

LOL at the song, but who is the band?  I only went off youtube, not familiar at all with who that band actually is.

I just meant that listed it as the maiden song title. To be honest, I'm not sure who all those guys are in that clip. I know Roy, but I'm lost beyond that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 18, 2017, 10:40:58 AM
Also, if you haven't seen/listened to this version of Tears of a Clown, I highly suggest you check it out (that instrumental breakdown  :metal):

Tribuzy (featuring Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z) performing Tears of a Clown the Dragon live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxeVtMrvUNc)

Wrong band/song, right singer...  :biggrin:

LOL at the song, but who is the band?  I only went off youtube, not familiar at all with who that band actually is.

I just meant that listed it as the maiden song title. To be honest, I'm not sure who all those guys are in that clip. I know Roy, but I'm lost beyond that.

That band is Brazilian, and the singer is Renato Tribuzy. That show was a one off event.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 18, 2017, 10:42:44 AM
More on Tribuzy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribuzy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Mosh on August 18, 2017, 11:35:41 AM

Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

If Ozzy played on one, or two, or even three classic records, I would agree that he's been the lucky recipient of a freak accident.  But for me, he's sustained it now for 48 years, and I have a really hard time dismissing that as a "freak accident".  It wasn't just his partners; even when Sabbath was not getting along, they put out great music.   I personally don't think there's a duff record in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue (yes, Never Say Die is not the same style as Paranoid, but honestly, I think that's a matter of taste more than anything else).   The two Randy records are masterpieces - at least the second one is - but Bark is a very good album (with Jake) and he has at least two classic records with Zakk (No More Tears and Ozzmosis; No Rest For The Wicked has its moments).   For my money, he's only really gone off the rails with the last two, Black Rain and Scream, but that's a stylistic issue (I miss the more classic NWOBHM stylings of the older Ozzy stuff). 
I should clarify that I don't mean freak accident in the sense that Ozzy got lucky and that wasn't meant to be dismissive. If Ozzy didn't have the great material and live act, none of this would matter. But he also had the right timing and somehow managed to never lose relevance when his contemporaries were struggling. You could make a great album and still go unnoticed for a number of reasons, just ask Bruce. Anyway, the point was that it's almost unfair to use Ozzy as a benchmark for solo careers because his success is an outlier.

I was going to post X Factor today, but there's some good discussion happening so I'll wait a day or two.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: TAC on August 18, 2017, 07:23:25 PM
I must say that I hardly ever listen to Alive In Studio A. Not sure why..
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: jammindude on August 19, 2017, 09:05:54 AM

Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

If Ozzy played on one, or two, or even three classic records, I would agree that he's been the lucky recipient of a freak accident.  But for me, he's sustained it now for 48 years, and I have a really hard time dismissing that as a "freak accident".  It wasn't just his partners; even when Sabbath was not getting along, they put out great music.   I personally don't think there's a duff record in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue (yes, Never Say Die is not the same style as Paranoid, but honestly, I think that's a matter of taste more than anything else).   The two Randy records are masterpieces - at least the second one is - but Bark is a very good album (with Jake) and he has at least two classic records with Zakk (No More Tears and Ozzmosis; No Rest For The Wicked has its moments).   For my money, he's only really gone off the rails with the last two, Black Rain and Scream, but that's a stylistic issue (I miss the more classic NWOBHM stylings of the older Ozzy stuff). 
I should clarify that I don't mean freak accident in the sense that Ozzy got lucky and that wasn't meant to be dismissive. If Ozzy didn't have the great material and live act, none of this would matter. But he also had the right timing and somehow managed to never lose relevance when his contemporaries were struggling. You could make a great album and still go unnoticed for a number of reasons, just ask Bruce. Anyway, the point was that it's almost unfair to use Ozzy as a benchmark for solo careers because his success is an outlier.

I was going to post X Factor today, but there's some good discussion happening so I'll wait a day or two.

Let's not kid ourselves.  Ozzy(tm) was the OG of BS, and the benefactor of Iommi's amazing riff writing.

As a solo act, he has 3 excellent albums written by other people (who were the real talent).   That guy is still relevant today for one reason, and one reason ONLY.   MARKETING.   He has successful created a "brand".   So he has Iommi to thank for his early career, and $haron to thank for marketing his brand.   She is the heavy metal Walt Disney, and Ozzy(tm) is her Mickey Mouse. 

But no more off topic.  I'm excited to talk about the most underrated IM album in their catalog. 

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 19, 2017, 12:06:15 PM

Ozzy's success was, like most things in his life it seems, a freak accident. The fact that he even lived through the 80s, let alone with a really successful solo career, is amazing. That being said, Ozzy and Dio also had really good timing. Many other artists went solo later in the 80s or in the 90s and missed their wave. The problem with the Geoff Tate solo career is that people lost interest in him long before he left Queensryche.

If Ozzy played on one, or two, or even three classic records, I would agree that he's been the lucky recipient of a freak accident.  But for me, he's sustained it now for 48 years, and I have a really hard time dismissing that as a "freak accident".  It wasn't just his partners; even when Sabbath was not getting along, they put out great music.   I personally don't think there's a duff record in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue (yes, Never Say Die is not the same style as Paranoid, but honestly, I think that's a matter of taste more than anything else).   The two Randy records are masterpieces - at least the second one is - but Bark is a very good album (with Jake) and he has at least two classic records with Zakk (No More Tears and Ozzmosis; No Rest For The Wicked has its moments).   For my money, he's only really gone off the rails with the last two, Black Rain and Scream, but that's a stylistic issue (I miss the more classic NWOBHM stylings of the older Ozzy stuff). 
I should clarify that I don't mean freak accident in the sense that Ozzy got lucky and that wasn't meant to be dismissive. If Ozzy didn't have the great material and live act, none of this would matter. But he also had the right timing and somehow managed to never lose relevance when his contemporaries were struggling. You could make a great album and still go unnoticed for a number of reasons, just ask Bruce. Anyway, the point was that it's almost unfair to use Ozzy as a benchmark for solo careers because his success is an outlier.

I was going to post X Factor today, but there's some good discussion happening so I'll wait a day or two.

Let's not kid ourselves.  Ozzy(tm) was the OG of BS, and the benefactor of Iommi's amazing riff writing.

As a solo act, he has 3 excellent albums written by other people (who were the real talent).   That guy is still relevant today for one reason, and one reason ONLY.   MARKETING.   He has successful created a "brand".   So he has Iommi to thank for his early career, and $haron to thank for marketing his brand.   She is the heavy metal Walt Disney, and Ozzy(tm) is her Mickey Mouse. 

But no more off topic.  I'm excited to talk about the most underrated IM album in their catalog.

Well said about Ozzy. But I disagree about The X Factor. Will give it another spin with open eyes and ears in preparation for this discussion, but I'm not keeping my hopes up...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: TAC on August 19, 2017, 05:17:00 PM
I'm excited to talk about the most underrated IM album in their catalog.

Well, we already discussed Fear Of the Dark, but if you'd like to get a word in before The X factor, I'd suggest you hurry.  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Balls to Picasso (1994)
Post by: Mosh on August 19, 2017, 10:10:10 PM
The X Factor (1995)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/Iron_Maiden_-_The_X_Factor.jpg/220px-Iron_Maiden_-_The_X_Factor.jpg)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/29/Iron_Maiden_-_1995_-_The_X_Factor_%28alternative%29.jpg/220px-Iron_Maiden_-_1995_-_The_X_Factor_%28alternative%29.jpg)
Alternate "reverse" cover

Blaze Bayley - Vocals
Dave Murray - Guitar
Janick Gers - Guitar
Steve Harris - Bass
Nicko McBrain - Drums

The months following Bruce’s departure were a scary time for Maiden. Not only did they lose a lead singer and major songwriter, but they also lost producer Martin Birch who had retired early 1993. Where other bands would’ve taken the safe route of hiring a Bruce Dickinson clone and making the best attempt at recapturing their 80s glories, Maiden took the opportunity to create what is quite possibly the boldest and most controversial album of their careers.

Of course this starts with the new lead singer. The “obvious” and highly rumored choices included Doogie White and Michael Kiske. However, they were never under consideration as they failed to meet two of Steve’s requirements: One, the new singer had to be a relative unknown. Two, the new singer had to be English. From Steve’s perspective, Blaze fit the bill perfectly. He had a great relationship with the band already and he had a unique voice that was very unlike Bruce’s. Where Bruce had a wide range with an operatic style and tenor voice, Blaze was much more limited and was a baritone. His low vocal style would be well suited to the darker music Steve was writing.

Which brings us to the album itself. Why is The X Factor so dark? The truth is that Steve Harris was going through a very rough time. In addition to the major changes in the Maiden camp, Steve was also going through a divorce. During the making of the album, the band would read interviews from Bruce that were dismissive of Maiden, which didn’t help the morale. It was a time of uncertainty both in the band’s professional and personal lives. However, times like these can serve as inspiration. That is exactly what happened with The X Factor.

Once the band begun to write, doubts within the Maiden camp were quickly cast aside. The music was fresh and exciting. It was a brand new direction, with the band returning to the progressive tendencies of the late 80s but with a new dark twist. The album’s opening song, The Sign Of the Cross, immediately signals to the listener that they are in for something different. The new Steve Harris epic was the second longest Maiden song, being just 2 minutes shorter than Rime. In addition to being the first song on the album, it was one of the first songs brought into the sessions. The dark, heavy, and progressive tone helped shape the rest of the album.

In many ways, The X Factor is Steve’s baby. Through the 80s and early 90s, as the band developed along with Bruce and Adrian becoming increasingly influential in the musical direction, Maiden was becoming more of a collaborative effort. That remains the case on The X Factor, but in some ways it also goes back to the band’s early days when Steve was the primary songwriter and creative director. Steve has a hand in all but one song on The X Factor, with four of the eleven songs being solo compositions. Steve’s lyrics are introspective and brutally honest. The themes include depression, doubting your beliefs, and PTSD. There are also several songs that deal with war in particular. However, they don’t deal it in the almost glorified portrayal of songs like The Trooper, but more along the lines of Afraid To Shoot Strangers. They deal with the effects of war on the soldiers who fight them. The common theme of a soldier’s mental health seems to tie in nicely with Harris’ own autobiographical lyrics.

Interestingly, around the time Bruce was leaving the band, he commented that Steve tends to be closed off and isn’t one to write about his personal experiences or feelings. When informed of the comment, Steve expressed surprise and disagreed. Of course, the next album happened to contain Steve’s most personal songs to date, and maybe the most personal in his career. There is some truth to Bruce’s statement, however. Very few of Steve’s songs were clearly autobiographical. Existential themes were common in songs like Number Of the Beast and Infinite Dreams, but they were through the eyes of another character. On The X Factor, songs like 2 A.M. and Judgement of Heaven seem purely biographical. However, as previously mentioned, there are still moments of allegory in the songs that deal with war and soldiers.

In addition to The Sign Of the Cross, the sole Harris compositions include Fortunes Of War, Judgement of Heaven, and Blood On the World’s Hands. Fortunes Of War is where the meat of the album begins. After an epic and two high energy singles, the album starts to get “difficult”. Fortunes of War is very dynamic, with many abrupt shifts between soft and heavy. It’s one of several songs on the album to use the “heavy song with a soft intro” format that would become a staple of modern Maiden. Blood On the World’s Hands is a much more unique structure, starting with a surprise bass solo. When the song kicks in it’s more characteristic of the rest of the album, although it features really heavy riffing and a triplet based rhythmic structure that gives a contrast to the more typical 4/4 rhythms. Judgement of Heaven is one of the few lighthearted and energetic moments on the album. Lyrically though it’s another dark affair with Steve questioning his purpose in life and the afterlife.

Steve also wrote two songs with Janick Gers. The first, Lord of the Flies, is another one of the few energetic songs. It was also the second single. Lord Of the Flies is probably the closest thing this album has to a classic Harris rocker. It contains a theme based on literature, it has a “woah oh oh” singalong chorus, and of course it has the Maiden energy. The only thing it seems to be lacking is the classic Maiden gallop, which the band slowly phased out in the 90s. The other Harris/Gers track is the total opposite of Lord Of the Flies. The album closer, The Unbeliever, is one of the oddest songs in the Maiden catalog. It features a really strange rhythm during the verses and an acoustic chorus. It’s a controversial track on an already controversial album, but it is probably the most appropriate way to end the album for that reason. The lyrics are like a continuation of Judgement of Heaven, but with more focus on Harris’ (lack of) faith in God.

One benefit to having a new lineup ready to go when starting sessions for the new album is that Blaze was able to take an active role in the songwriting process. This was important as Bruce had become the most important writer after Steve. Blaze contributes to five songs on the album, although it’s not clear what exactly he contributed to certain songs. Most of the songs he writes on are also credited to Janick and Steve. When Bruce wrote a song with Steve and Janick or Adrian, he typically handled all the vocal parts while Steve tied the parts together and added various sections. However, some of the songs credited to Blaze, Steve, and Janick feature obvious Harris lyrics. The best example is The Aftermath which, similar to Fortunes of War, deals with PTSD and nightmares that former soldiers deal with. The other definite Harris lyric is found on The Edge of Darkness, a song based on the film Apocalypse Now.

Blaze probably wrote the lyrics to the other Bayley/Gers/Harris compositions: Look For the Truth and 2 A.M. The latter in particular fits perfectly with the album’s musical and lyrical themes. Look For the Truth is another song with a slower start. The lyrics for both songs deal with depression, but the theme is given a fresh take coming from a different lyricist than Steve.

The only song without a Harris writing credit also became the first single: Man On the Edge. Along with Lord of the Flies, Man On the Edge is the closest this album comes to classic sounding Maiden (ironic considering it was written by the two most recent members). It’s an uptempo rocker that proves this version of Maiden is still capable of capturing their earlier glories.

Everybody was driven to prove themselves with The X Factor and the sessions proved to be one of Maiden’s most fruitful.  14 songs were written for The X Factor, clocking in at about 80 minutes total. For the first time since Number Of the Beast, Maiden had a surplus of material. Three songs had to be cut from the album: Justice Of the Peace, I Live My Way, and Judgement Day. Justice Of the Peace also happened to be Dave Murray’s only contribution to the album. These songs also happened to represent the more energetic side of the sessions and were probably cut for clashing with the overall mood. They were used later on b-sides and a bonus CD for the Japanese edition. Even with these three songs cut, the 70 minute album was Maiden’s longest at the time.

Like the last two albums, The X Factor was recorded at Steve Harris’ home studio. Though this time it was mostly produced by Steve Harris. The album also credits Nigel Green, who was Martin Birch’s engineer. Steve Harris’ production style is yet another one of the album’s many controversial elements. The X Factor has a very hollow and thin sound that’s very unlike the powerful 80’s albums. In some ways it’s appropriate for the style of music on the album, although the weak sound definitely makes an already challenging album less appealing to many listeners.

All that being said, the album’s controversy starts with the cover. Maiden spent the 90s trying to “modernize” Eddie. The first step was to move away from Derek Riggs as the album artist. Melvyn Grant’s Fear Of the Dark painting was different but still largely maintained the comic book style of Riggs. With The X Factor, Maiden decided to take it to the next extreme: a live action Eddie. The album cover was created by an artist who is notorious around here: Hugh Syme. It featured a realistic looking Eddie undergoing a lobotomy. The cover is nothing like anything Maiden has done before or since and is another aspect of the album that divided fans, although it’s probably much more universally disliked than any other aspect of the album. The graphic nature of the cover also put off retailers, so it was shipped with a reversible cover that showed Eddie at a distance. The artwork for the singles was also all variations of the cover photo shoot.

The title contains multiple meanings. The obvious meaning is that it references this being the band’s tenth studio album. The X Factor was actually the album’s working title and was meant to inspire the band. Many things could be this album’s “X Factor”, from the new lineup to the experimental sound. The band liked this idea so much that they ended up keeping it as the title. This also makes it the second Maiden album not to contain a title track.

Perhaps inevitably, The X Factor was met with mixed reviews. Many fans felt that it lacked the best qualities of early Maiden. There were very few high energy rocking moments and most of the album was slow, introspective, and, to some, plodding. As previously mentioned, the production also didn’t help matters and The X Factor became the first of many Maiden albums to be criticized for Harris’ poor production style.

Most of the criticism seemed directed at the new singer. Again, something that was probably to be expected. It was going to be impossible for anyone to step into Bruce’s shoes, but Blaze’s job was especially hard considering his style was so different. Many were put off by his voice and the dry production gave a very warts and all presentation of his singing. There was a significant backlash against his vocals and many fans walked away from this new incarnation of Maiden.
 
All of that being said, The X Factor is still highly regarded among many fans. For many it was a breath of fresh air after two mediocre albums. Fans of the band’s progressive side welcomed its return in songs like Sign of the Cross, The Unbeliever, and Blood On the World’s Hands. The album’s dark and introspective vibe also spoke to fans, especially those who were in dark places themselves. Those who liked the album hailed it as one of the greatest moments in Maiden’s career. They also welcomed Blaze into the band, arguing that his low voice fit the material.

Commercially, the album actually did OK. By this point Maiden were pretty much irrelevant in America, with the album just barely making it on the Billboard Top 200. In the UK, Maiden still had clout. The Man On the Edge single was met with great anticipation in the UK and landed comfortably at #10. The album followed a month later at #8, no small feat especially for a Metal band in the 90s. Interestingly, the band did especially well in the Nordic countries. Man On the Edge was a #1 single in Finland and the album peaked at #2. Despite the album’s mixed reception, Maiden were still holding on in Europe.


The X Factor is really the beginning of the modern Maiden sound. For better or worse, many of the characteristics found on their current albums begin here. From the obvious slow intro format to more subtle things like the E C G D chord progression. It’s also the beginning of songs that are longer and progressive in nature. There are hints of many of these things on the last few albums, but it all comes together in a direct and focused way on The X Factor.

I try not to editorialize too much with these posts, but The X Factor is one of those albums that gets a unique reaction. Most people seem to love it or hate it. Personally, I think it ranks solidly in the middle of Maiden’s discography. It’s certainly their most unique album and takes multiple listens to digest. You also need to be in the right mood for it. This isn’t a carefree summer type of album. It’s best listened to and appreciated when the listener is in a dark place as well. I urge everyone to approach this album with an open mind and try to understand where the band (and Steve in particular) was when they were making it. Regardless of the quality, it’s commendable that they did anything but go the safe route. While maybe it didn’t get the attention it deserved, it’s an example of why Maiden have such a large dedicated fanbase and it was a necessary step toward where they are today.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7d/Single28a_manontheedge1_a_small.jpg/220px-Single28a_manontheedge1_a_small.jpg)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/dc/Single29_lordoftheflies_a_small.jpg/220px-Single29_lordoftheflies_a_small.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: stargazer18 on August 20, 2017, 01:49:35 AM
Getting this in before being offline for the next week...

So those who were looking for something different from the band got it on this album at least as far as I’m concerned. I think I heard one or two of the new songs driving home one night listening to college radio. I had not heard Blaze’s voice up until then and thought he sounded good. Not great, certainly no Dickinson, but good none the less.

I think this album is pretty good. The only truly bad song to me is Falling Down because of the horrible lyrics. I couldn’t believe I really heard “The car is an oven and baking is wild.” Really? Skip!

The music is another story and even some of the slower, plodding tunes have enough to keep my interest. My favorites include the The Sign of the Cross, Fortunes of War, Look for the Truth, The Aftermath, Judgement of Heaven, Blood on the Worlds Hands, The Edge of Darkness and The Unbeliever.  So, most of the disc basically!

Their best album of the 90’s for me.

Top Tier:
Sign of the Cross
Fortunes of War
Look for the Truth
Judgement of Heaven
Blood on the Words Hands
The Aftermath
The Unbeliever

Second Tier:
Lord of the Flies
2 A.M.

Third Tier:
Falling Down
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 20, 2017, 03:03:47 AM
Sorry, I've tried but this album is very poor. Repetitive, very little in the way of memorable songs (Man on the Edge and SotC are it), and a singer who can't. No range, limited ability to deliver a melody, makes everything sound the same.

I even prefer the next one, but not by enough to ever want to play either again. I have relistened recently for this, but nothing has changed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mladen on August 20, 2017, 03:36:07 AM
The music is another story and even some of the slower, plodding tunes have enough to keep my interest. My favorites include the title track, Fortunes of War, Look for the Truth, The Aftermath, Judgement of Heaven, Blood on the Worlds Hands, The Edge of Darkness and The Unbeliever.  So, most of the disc basically!
This actually isn't the first time I see someone mistakenly refer to Sign of the cross as the title track. Many people do it as well with the follow up album, refering to Futureal as tre title track.  :biggrin:

I'm sorry to repeat myself, but once again, I need to give it up for Mosh. What a masterful write-up!  :tup

This album is magnificent. The mood, lyrical content, melodies, vocal performance - every single one of these aspects is innovative, fresh sounding, and most of all, executed excellently. Sign of the cross is probably the best song I've ever heard. My other favorites include The Aftermath, Man on the edge, The Unbeliever, Fortunes of war and many others. The album is my 3rd favorite Maiden album, right behind Somewhere in time and Seventh son.

Lets also take a moment and appreciate the effort Blaze Bayley put into this album. He was considerably young and inexperienced, yet he managed to pull it together to contribute some fantastic lyrics and make sure he puts his own stamp on the album vocally. His performance is focused, consistent and not for a single moment trying to be something his not, e.g. a Bruce Dickinson clone. If I have to choose my favorite Blaze performance on the album, it's probably The Edge of darkness. Both the highs and the lows are performed with perfect pitch, delivery, energy and passion. What I admire is, even when he's aware of occassional issues and limitations of his voice, he utilizes them in a way that sounds appropriately vulnerable. The "knife in my hand" line in The Edge of darkness comes to mind, as well as the chorus of The Unbeliever. The hopelessness and fragileness of the words couldn't have been performed better by anybody else.

A question regarding the lyrics - I was always sure all of the songs that list Blaze with a writing feature his lyrics. I'm surprised that's not the case. I'd question what his contributions to some of those songs were.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: efx on August 20, 2017, 04:19:05 AM
For me this was an album I never got into this album as by 1995 I was 8 years into my maiden fandom and discovering other things. I will say this though, I caught the tour for the album and when they came to Sweden they had literally gone in about a year and half time from playing stadiums to a venue I held one of my high school graduation party's in. Seeing Maiden play for about 400 people in a small setting like that was retrospectively something very unique that I still treasure to this day.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: The Curious Orange on August 20, 2017, 04:35:36 AM
TXF is criminally under-rated IMO. It's a great album given that it was released at the height of the grunge explosion, it's Maiden 's darkest album, it's better than NPFTD and FOTD, and a million times better than VXI. Sure, Blaze wasn't Bruce, but he was the best replacement they could have hoped to find, and he didn't deserve the hatred that some sections of the fanbase threw at him. An album that is long overdue for a critical reappraisal.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 20, 2017, 04:45:38 AM
When Bruce left I was quite excited to see who they would replace him with. They would have the pick of the rock world. And they chose Blaze. I knew him from Wolfsbane, a pretty shit rock band in the uk. I like Blaze, once had a drink with him and the rest of Wolfsbane. He just wasn't a good enough singer for a Maiden.
His vocal lines are flat and monotone and the band had a back catalogue of over a decade that he couldn't sing.

I understand that his personality was a big part of choosing him. They would have to live with him for the rest of their careers in their minds. There must be a nice guy with a great voice out there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 20, 2017, 09:50:53 AM
I listened to it again on my run today...while it's admirable that they tried something different in a time of uncertainty in the music business, this album still doesn't cut it for me. Blaze sounds out of tune even in the studio. There's a scream he does on 2 a.m. which is downright embarassing. Speaking of which, this song does not belong on a Maiden album, much like Weekend Warrior or The Apparition. Blaze has a good personality, but whoever told him he could sing doesn't understand music. When he sang the songs from the back catalogue in his audition, how come nobody noticed he wouldn't be a good fit?!?!?!

With that said, Sign of the Cross and Man on the Edge are cool songs, worthy of a spot in the setlist even in the current lineup. I'm being as generous as I can here. I saw them live in Rio in 96 on my first day of vacation and had fun, but wouldn't catch them live until the Rock in Rio show, even though I had plenty of chances of doing so.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 20, 2017, 10:16:30 AM
Come on guys.   Iron Maiden hired an Uruk Hai to be their lead singer!!!  How metal is that??

(https://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r47/jammindude/urukhai_zpsjg1tvjgq.jpg~original)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 20, 2017, 12:16:36 PM
Great writeup Mosh!!


The X Factor. Wow. Where to begin..
1...Blaze Bayley. I think he really has an awesome voice, and even had a cool look. He did sound like a mix of Dianno and Dickinson. I thought his voice was perfect for what Maiden was doing on this album. But as Blaze's later albums prove, he just wasn't ready vocally to rise to Maiden's level. Blaze has matured into a cool singer. He was just too young and unrefined. By all accounts, Blaze is an awesome guy, and he really deserves respect. Stepping in for Bruce was an unforgiving challenge. And if it truly came down to Blaze and Doogie White, I still say that Maiden easily made the right choice.

2... The Production. Brutal. Terrible. No meat on the guitars, no power on the drums. TXF sounds like a demo, and it will FOREVER hold this album back.

3...Jannick's songwriting is brilliant on this album. He has a hand in 8 of the 11 album tracks plus Judgement Day. I think anyone that takes the position that TXF is a masterpiece, yet doesn't care for Jannick being in the band, is confused.

4....This would be the second half of my Bruce epiphany. Because what this album truly feels like it needs is balance. Personally, other than Sign Of The Cross, Man On The Edge, Lord Of The Flies, and 2 AM, I'm not sure the other tracks are completely fleshed out. I think you get Steve's vision, and I've often referred to TXF as  Steve Harris solo album, but I've always wondered if some of these more meandering tracks could've used a little more push back in the studio. I have a hard time thinking Jannick, and especially Blaze would've challenged Steve with an occasional "you know Steve, that really doesn't work." This is where I truly understood how Bruce's absence would be realized. Especially when comparing TXF to the fresh and exciting Picasso.




I feel like Fortunes Of War, The Aftermath, The Edge Of Darkness are all basically the same song. I just feel like a little refining to these tracks would've really enhanced them. I feel like the FOW chorus is quite weak. I would've stopped TEOD right at "the genius must die".

The only song I really don't like is Judgement Of Heaven. The back half of this album really needed Judgement Day added to it.

Even The Unbeliever, which has all kinds of incredible things going on for a Maiden track, has to me at least, a remedial verse that just doesn't live up to the rest of the track.

To me, Maiden were really sitting on a Back In Black type masterpiece, but it ends up being a "just miss". It's disappointing because I think some of Maiden strongest material is laying dormant here, and these tracks will ultimately be frozen in time with this poorly produced/demo style format.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mladen on August 20, 2017, 12:35:53 PM
Even though I'm an enormous fan of the album, the production is certainly its weakness. I can only imagine how powerful this album would have sounded with Martin Birch at helm.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: ozzy554 on August 20, 2017, 01:03:02 PM
X Factor ( weak production aside) has my vote for most underrated Iron Maiden album. There are quite a few songs on there that I listen to on a regular basis like 2.am, blood on the worlds hands, SOTC, and man on the edge.

Also you can't really put all the blame on Blaze for how he sounded live. Steve Harris is the one who decided to hire a replacement singer with a much more limited range and then refuse to downtown to make it easier on him to sing the bruce tracks. It really is a shame because some songs he was just so close to doing well. If only they had helped him out a bit I think he would've been looked upon a bit more favorably.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: DoctorAction on August 20, 2017, 01:27:19 PM
Well. I was already a fan of Blaze as I loved Wolfsbane and saw them several times. Maiden were struggling. I didn't like FOTD. I was pretty excited to hear Blaze with Maiden as Bruce had been doing stuff that didn't suit him to my ears When I saw the artwork I was worried. Wtf? It was nasty AND poorly done. It's always disappointing to see your hero's weaknesses in public and this art (and the DOD cover) showed piss-poor judgment. Cut to the music and I really liked TSOTC but the rest has never caught me. MONE is quite fun. I love Falling Down as a movie so that helps. As many have said, it's a dreadful sounding album.

The bottom line for me: I never listen to it. Ever. I never bought VX1 based on this.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Dream Team on August 20, 2017, 08:13:12 PM
Agree with Lowdz, dreadful album. My least favorite along with VXI.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 20, 2017, 08:34:05 PM
Mosh,

Your finest to date. I am so blown away by how detailed this is, i am going to crank the record tomorrow morning in my office and give it a fresh listen.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 20, 2017, 09:49:28 PM
The production reminds me of the debut (for better or for worse) and I think that's what Steve was going for.

I think the album is completely brilliant.  Easily the most underrated IM album in the catalog.   The biggest crime IM fans commit is lumping this incredible album in with the absolute beer coaster that came after it.  They are nothing alike.  This album is thought out, dark, brooding, calculated, and one of the few post-PS albums with very little nauseating repetition.

The second biggest crime IM fans commit is refusing to listen to this album objectively.   The "no-Bruce = no-Maiden" pre-disposition of most fans prevents this album from getting a fair shake. But to be fair, I kinda get it.   I personally think Blaze kills it.  Even Bruce's live version of SotC cannot touch Blaze's studio version.   They guy comes out of the gates swinging, and he completely owns it.  There is so much conviction in his singing, even if he doesn't have the range.   You can definitely tell that he's young and hungry and feels he has something to prove.  And that raw passion does not go unnoticed. 

The main problem is that this album doesn't exist in a vacuum.   If it did, it may be one of the best Maiden albums ever recorded.   But it doesn't.   Blaze was a TERRIBLE fit for Iron Maiden.   Steve was out of his mind in choosing someone who was never going to be able to sing the back catalog.  The only thing more bone-headed than to pick Blaze in the first place, was to put everyone through the motions of releasing that piece of crap that came after.   But we will get to that. 

I love this album.  SotC is a top 3 all time IM song, and every other song on this album slays.   They wouldn't have an album this conisistent again until AMOLAD.  Fortunes of War may be the one weak point in my mind.   But even that is pretty decent.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Zydar on August 21, 2017, 12:32:43 AM
I'm not a fan of the darker type of metal, and not Blaze's vocals either. There are some good songs here (Sign Of The Cross, Lord Of The Flies, Man On The Edge, and Judgement Of Heaven), but overall it's not to my taste. I'd rank it last, with Virtual XI one step above it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: wolfking on August 21, 2017, 04:50:36 AM
I've been away for a few days but will go through this thread and post a writeup tomorrow.  What an album this is.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 21, 2017, 06:06:45 AM
The other thing I remember is how the band sent out a call for auditions, asking singers from all over the world to send out tapes. Some Brazilian singers capitalize on that even today. But why doing that, if Steve had his mind set on Blaze all along? And why did nobody hear Blaze test out his abilities on the back catalogue before asking him to join?

Other people who I heard have auditioned were Steve Grimmet and Doogie White. Actually, Doogie went to Steve's studio for his audition on December 24th, thinking "they must be really serious  about hiring me, if they're calling me to drop by on Christmas Eve!".  He's still pissed that they chose Blaze over him.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Art on August 21, 2017, 08:09:57 AM
First, about IM choosing Blaze to replace Bruce:

As much as i am a Blaze fan (his first 3 solo albuns are KILLER, and he still keeps putting out good albuns, even with a much smaller budget nowadays) he was a strange choice for Maiden. I think Steve got him because he already had an idea about how TXF would sound. Blaze is very good on the album, after all, the songs were written for his voice. If this was another band, or a Steve Harris solo album, Blaze would not get half the critiscism he gets. The error was not considering he would have to sing Bruce-era material live, which he clearly could not do. That frustrated the fans even more, and generated a big backlash against Blaze. I remember at the time, everybody "hated" the album and Blaze, most of the times without even listening to it.

It took me some time to get over that prejudice and give the album a fair listen, but once i did, i was hooked.

About the album:

TXF for me is a very good album, that planted the seeds to what would be the Reunion Era sound of Maiden. Love the songs, especially TSOTC, MOTE, LOTF, JOH, BOTWH...i like the whole album, and never skip a song. The only downside, as already pointed, is the production, which is too weak, thin and flat. That did't help the album.

All in all, this is an album that i hold very dearly, and listen to in a regular basis. And it also turned me into a Blaze fan. I have enormous respect for him, because almost everybody hated him when he was on Maiden, and still give him grief until today about it, and he's still one of the nicest guys in metal. I went to at least 3  Blaze solo concerts here in Brazil, and they were all awesome. The guy really sings his heart out on stage, and is always thoughtful and very nice to his fans. He plays the show, and after he's done, he's on the bar stool having a beer and taking pictures, giving autographs or just having conversations with all the fans. I also admire how he keeps on constant touring around the world, playing small venues and never complains about it. I saw a show of the Syllicon Messiah tour for about 4/5000 people and a more recent tour maybe for 200 people and his enthuasiasm and performance were the same.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Grappler on August 21, 2017, 08:18:49 AM
I recently listened to the album in full a few weeks ago as this thread was approaching it.  Since I became a Maiden fan in the late 90's, I usually just put on the first 3 songs, rocked the hell out, and then had my fill of the record.  I agree that Blaze is awesome on the album (and Silicon Messiah, damnit), and the criticism of him really just comes from two things:

1.  He isn't Bruce
2.  He sucks at singing anything that Bruce did.  Also, he isn't Bruce.

I really need to spend some time with it and look at the album as the start of the reunion-era style, as opposed to any other thoughts that I have had about the album over time.

Finally - there is NO way that Bruce's version of Sign of the Cross isn't better than the album version.  Because....he isn't Blaze.   :lol   I love the live versions of the Blaze songs that Bruce has done, especially Sign of the Cross.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Phoenix87x on August 21, 2017, 08:52:05 AM
I've tried multiple times to get into the Blaze era albums and couldn't. Not much else to say besides that. Just not for me
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 21, 2017, 09:32:04 AM
Couple things;  I'll put my Maiden bona fides against anyone here, and that is only to say "not a casual fan", and "serious about the context as well as the music".   I object to a fair number of things here:

- First and foremost, the notion that we "reject Blaze" because he's "not Bruce".  Look, it's painfully obvious that he's not Bruce, but I LOVE Di'anno, who isn't Bruce either.  Killers is a Top Three Maiden record for me (and potentially a Top 15 ALL TIME record for me, which I guess makes it a Top Two Maiden album, since only Powerslave is in my Top 15 all time list).  Blaze just wasn't a good fit for Maiden, period.   Di'Anno wasn't either, but the music was different and it didn't show as much.  Maiden then was 3:25 seconds of grit, grime and attitude.  That is NOT Maiden circa 1995.

This was epic metal with a prog underwire supporting it (bra reference, yep!) and Blaze did not have that element to support it.  I don't know that Doogie did either, to be honest, but there ARE guys out there that could have had the "nice guy", the grit, and were not Bruce, but could have bridged the gap to that prog infrastructure.  Tony Martin for one (not that he would have or could have done it). 

- Second, that it is "underrated"; it is, in my opinion, exactly correctly rated. It IS a polarizing album.  There are good points - Sign of the Cross, the Genesis rip-offs not withstanding, and The Unbeliever - but this is a classic example of that common pitfall of the mid'-90's (ironically, Genesis fell into it with "We Can't Dance" as well) and that is, just because a CD holds 80 minutes, doesn't mean that you have 80 minutes worth filling.  "Falling Down" is a generic, middle of the road Maiden song on it's best day.   

- I think that this album was important, though, for one reason:  it confirmed what we all knew:  Iron Maiden exists at the whim and whimsy of Steve Harris.  If he's not on board, it doesn't happen, and if he is on board, it will happen, even if it isn't the best idea on the planet.  I think Blaze is a reaction to Bruce, not a purely singular selection in his own right.  He - Steve - wanted a singer that could contribute creatively, but that was ultimately a cog in the machine.

- What are we, fourth now?  I think the songwriting is average.   I've listened to this countless times - it's not quite "Grace Under Pressure", my least favorite Rush album that I revisit religiously about every year to see if I've missed something or to see if I have warmed to it, but it's close - and there just aren't the hooks or the melodies that the best Maiden - even the heaviest Maiden - has.   

- Fifth, the production DOES blow, but Martin Birch notwithstanding, Maiden has never been known to be a "production paradigm".  Is there a Maiden album where you go "WOW, is that a finely produced piece of work!  The songs suck, the playing is awful, but it just sounds SO FUCKING GOOD?"   There is not.    One of the brilliant things about Jimmy Page is that, in Zeppelin, no one ever stepped on each other.  The guitars were playing in different frequencies than the bass (or keys), the bass was not competing rhythmically with Bonzo, but rather complementing and contrasting, and rarely did anyone venture up into the same registers that Plant did.  Those early and mid period Zeppelin records are master classes in the sonic distinction of the elements in a band all working together to create a sum greater than it's parts.  That is NOT "The X Factor".  I think the various elements of the band are competing for space here in a way that is not complimentary to the music, and Blaze just compounds that problem.  He doesn't cut through, and doesn't contrast enough with everything that is going on around him.  This makes for an EXCEEDINGLY tedious 70 minutes, 54 seconds.

- Sixth, and finally, I think this album suffers because of Nicko McBrain; famously, he was (allegedly) the guy that told Steve "it's your band, your call, but you need to SERIOUSLY consider bringing Bruce back, bro."  I think he consciously/subconsciously knew that this wasn't right.  There are parts on this record (and the follow-up) where I've actually gone to Wikipedia because I wasn't convinced it was actually him playing.   That's a CRUCIAL point for a power band like Maiden.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 21, 2017, 10:29:33 AM
I agree with pretty much everything you said there Stadler. Except I love most of P/g
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 21, 2017, 10:32:50 AM
I recently listened to the album in full a few weeks ago as this thread was approaching it.  Since I became a Maiden fan in the late 90's, I usually just put on the first 3 songs, rocked the hell out, and then had my fill of the record.  I agree that Blaze is awesome on the album (and Silicon Messiah, damnit), and the criticism of him really just comes from two things:

1.  He isn't Bruce
2.  He sucks at singing anything that Bruce did.  Also, he isn't Bruce.

I really need to spend some time with it and look at the album as the start of the reunion-era style, as opposed to any other thoughts that I have had about the album over time.

Finally - there is NO way that Bruce's version of Sign of the Cross isn't better than the album version.  Because....he isn't Blaze.   :lol   I love the live versions of the Blaze songs that Bruce has done, especially Sign of the Cross.

We obviously have very different ideas about what makes an amazing singer.

And I'd also fallen out of love with Bruce at his time so your argument doesn't stand up. I was excited at the thought of Maiden with a new singer, but they blew it.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 21, 2017, 10:51:05 AM
So, I listened to The X Factor this morning, after a long time. I tried really hard to not think of Bruce, which is difficult to do. For the most part, I think the record is an interesting, darker new beginning for Maiden.

But what bothers me is the vocals. I didn't need the vocals to sound like Bruce, but the problem with both TXF and VXI is that the vocals aren't DYNAMIC. He sings very monotone, and there's not a lot of excitement or passion in what I'm hearing. That's why it is hard not to think of Bruce on this. The missing FACTOR is dynamic vocals, which Bruce had in spades.

I don't think the record is bad, per se, but the vocals are weak. And I like Blaze. I have a live album from him that I enjoy very much. But his voice didn't translate well to what was being done, IMO.

Without getting too far ahead, I continued to VXI, and hear the same issue, although the music is more immediate.

Anyway, I am not a Blaze hater by any means. But his singing on TXF lacks a certain excitement that really drags the record down.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 21, 2017, 11:31:14 AM
Finally - there is NO way that Bruce's version of Sign of the Cross isn't better than the album version.  Because....he isn't Blaze.   :lol   I love the live versions of the Blaze songs that Bruce has done, especially Sign of the Cross.

I love that version from Rock in Rio; I think Bruce kills it, especially when the vocals come back in at the end and the tempo slows down a little.  I saw the tour where Maiden played sheds with Dio and Motorhead, and they did "The Clansmen", and Bruce delivered on that one too.

I know, I know, I'm begging the "but you like it because it's BRUCE" argument, but it just shows why he is so good.  He takes whatever and makes it his own, and delivers it with the energy it deserves.  Not that Gillan "I'm not singing that!" or the Sammy Hagar "I'll sing it, but I'll sing it with such detachment that you'll know I'm mocking it and not taking it seriously". 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: bosk1 on August 21, 2017, 11:42:42 AM
Finally - there is NO way that Bruce's version of Sign of the Cross isn't better than the album version.  Because....he isn't Blaze.   :lol   I love the live versions of the Blaze songs that Bruce has done, especially Sign of the Cross.

I love that version from Rock in Rio; I think Bruce kills it, especially when the vocals come back in at the end and the tempo slows down a little.  I saw the tour where Maiden played sheds with Dio and Motorhead, and they did "The Clansmen", and Bruce delivered on that one too.

I know, I know, I'm begging the "but you like it because it's BRUCE" argument, but it just shows why he is so good.  He takes whatever and makes it his own, and delivers it with the energy it deserves. 

I agree with all of that.  But I also am coming at it from a different angle.  I mean, I was around and listening to metal during the classic era when they were putting out albums like NOTB, POM, and Powerslave.  I wasn't a fan, but I heard some of it back then.  I didn't really dig in and start really liking Maiden until the previous album cycle for TFF.  Obviously, it was the Bruce material that made me a fan.  And some of the first albums I heard during that initial cycle a few years ago was Rock in Rio and the collection that has his live version of Man on the Edge.  So not only did I get into the band because of Bruce's singing (like most of us), but my first exposure to some of the Blaze-era tracks was with Bruce singing them rather than Blaze.  Having now heard both, I am VERY much partial to the Bruce versions.  I give Blaze his due for what he does on them.  But I strongly prefer the Bruce versions.  And I am fine recognizing that a big part of that is just bias because the Bruce versions of those songs were the ones I initially became familiar with.  But I think I can also be fair and just feel that Bruce does a better job with them.  Or at least, he renders a performance that I personally like better. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mladen on August 21, 2017, 11:47:21 AM
All in all, this is an album that i hold very dearly, and listen to in a regular basis. And it also turned me into a Blaze fan. I have enormous respect for him, because almost everybody hated him when he was on Maiden, and still give him grief until today about it, and he's still one of the nicest guys in metal. I went to at least 3  Blaze solo concerts here in Brazil, and they were all awesome. The guy really sings his heart out on stage, and is always thoughtful and very nice to his fans. He plays the show, and after he's done, he's on the bar stool having a beer and taking pictures, giving autographs or just having conversations with all the fans. I also admire how he keeps on constant touring around the world, playing small venues and never complains about it. I saw a show of the Syllicon Messiah tour for about 4/5000 people and a more recent tour maybe for 200 people and his enthuasiasm and performance were the same.
I'm glad someone brought this up. I've already shared my thoughts on Blaze as a singer, but his personality makes him truly an interesting figure. He performed several times in Serbia and spent almost an hour afterwards (once even prior to the gig) signing stuff and taking photos with people. He's not very talkative, he comes across as a bit shy when he talks to you in private (which is odd considering how wild he is on stage), but he still takes time to greet the fans. Once he played in front of 100 people in a local club in Belgrade and delivered a speech thanking each and every one of us, as if the audience wasn't extremely small. What a guy.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mister Gold on August 21, 2017, 02:52:58 PM
Ahhh, The X Factor. Glad to finally be talking about this album!

My thoughts on the album go back and forth. It took me years to really "get" the album, despite my general preferences for darker, more progressive music. I took to A Matter of Life and Death almost instantly after I first heard that album, but there's certain elements about TXF that make it a more challenging album to digest.

Is it Blaze? Well, maybe? I do think that Bruce is a better singer usually and that Blaze's ability to deliver vocal melodies improved greatly after his exit from Iron Maiden, yet at the same time Blaze pours his heart out on this album. The songs are far more emotionally intimate than usual, so Blaze's approach compliments that.

Yet the production on the album is definitely a hinderance. All the comparisons to the songs sounding like a demo are spot-on.

I'll probably come back and say more on my thoughts on the album later, but for now, I'll say that it's probably in my top three IM albums. It's not perfect, it's a bit messy, but god is it a sucker-punch to the gut once it really clicks for you.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 21, 2017, 03:01:08 PM
I think there's a couple reasons why the Bruce live versions are better received. I'm not saying "well it's Bruce obviously", But I think in general, TXF and to a lesser extent VXI, the songs are held back. By Blaze? Maybe. The production? Surely.

But the full band live performances (with Bruce) truly show the potential of the material.
What do we have so far?
Man On the Edge
Lord Of the Flies
Sign Of the Cross
Futureal
The Clansman

I think if the full band played any number of other tracks from the Blaze albums, I think they'd all go over pretty well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 21, 2017, 03:11:28 PM
I think there's a couple reasons why the Bruce live versions are better received. I'm not saying "well it's Bruce obviously", But I think in general, TXF and to a lesser extent VXI, the songs are held back. By Blaze? Maybe. The production? Surely.

But the full band live performances (with Bruce) truly show the potential of the material.
What do we have so far?
Man On the Edge
Lord Of the Flies
Sign Of the Cross
Futureal
The Clansman

I think if the full band played any number of other tracks from the Blaze albums, I think they'd all go over pretty well.

I know some are on the Rio release, but could you or Mosh list out where each of those tunes with Bruce singing van be fount (which releases). The ones i dont have, i will buy and rip a playlist.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 21, 2017, 03:15:40 PM
The Clansman and Sign Of the Cross are on RiR
Lord Of the Flies is on Death On The Road
Futureal and Man On The Edge are on The Wicker Man CD single
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: bosk1 on August 21, 2017, 03:23:30 PM
I listened to X and XI for the first time this morning.  Let me just say that, while they didn't do a whole lot for me overall, they were better than I expected.  And I liked XI better than X.  What I also found interesting was this:  I initially intended to listen to just X.  I found the complete album on Youtube and was listening while working.  Then it linked to XI and played that.  Then it linked to Brave New World and played that.  And even though BNW is my least favorite reunion album (I don't dislike it; I just like it less than the others), it felt like a huge step up from what I had been listening to.

That said, again, they weren't bad.  I am STILL of a similar opinion as I used to be.  Formerly, I had no desire really at all to explore the Blaze albums.  I wasn't actively avoiding them, but just didn't have any desire to listen to them.  I am perfectly content with the Maiden albums I have, with the caveat that if I happened to see FOTD or NP in the used bin for a reasonable price, I would pick them up.  I've changed that ever so slightly and have gone from having "no desire" to explore them to "no strong desire to do so immediately, but would add them to the category of: if I find them in the used been for a reasonable price, I'll pick them up." 

Going back to the Bruce renditions of the songs:

But the full band live performances (with Bruce) truly show the potential of the material.
What do we have so far?
Man On the Edge
Lord Of the Flies
Sign Of the Cross
Futureal
The Clansman

As noted above, I had heard Sign of the Cross, The Clansman, and Man on the Edge.  I REALLY like Bruce's renditions of the two former ones.  And Man on the Edge is okay.  Not great, but okay.  I just found Futureal and Lord of the Flies.  The former did nothing for me, even with Bruce singing.  I thought the latter with Bruce was great.  The studio version with Blaze that I heard earlier didn't do anything for me.  So of the four songs they've done that I actually like, I give the edge to the Bruce versions. 


EDIT:  Samsara, From Fear To Eternity also has three of them there (Man on the Edge, Sign of the Cross, and The Clansman)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: cramx3 on August 21, 2017, 03:25:36 PM
The Clansman and Sign Of the Cross are on RiR
Lord Of the Flies is on Death On The Road
Futureal and Man On The Edge are on The Wicker Man CD single

And of these, I only find the RiR songs to be better than the originals.  Blaze's voice works better on those, but Bruce does take The Clansman and Sign of the Cross to a new level IMO.

I really enjoy The X Factor.  The production is terrible and it really makes the album hard to listen to, as well as some of the plodding in a lot of the songs, which is a reason why it's still ranked low compared to the rest, but I don't consider it a band album.  There's a lot of really cool stuff going on musically that's really enjoyable.  I really didn't notice this when I first listened to the album, but it really does start the beginning of that reunion era style of music.  Longer progressive songs.  Sadly, most of them aren't as good as the songs to come when Bruce came back, but I really do enjoy a lot of this album, musically that is.  Blaze is a solid singer in my book, love his solo work, but I definitely feel the production holds him back as well.  He kind of sounds like shit.  It really just compounds the issues when you think about a new singer and this production.  I, once again, can't imagine what it must have been like as a fan at the time.  I can totally understand someone just hating this album while living through it. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 21, 2017, 03:37:58 PM
Thanks tim. Just bought dotr and the wickerman single.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 21, 2017, 03:44:44 PM
Thanks tim. Just bought dotr and the wickerman single.

We'll discuss it due time, but Death On the Road is my favorite Maiden live album.


And I liked XI better than X.   

Not surprised to hear that. Again, when we get to VXI, but it's a definitely more classic Maiden style album.

   I really didn't notice this when I first listened to the album, but it really does start the beginning of that reunion era style of music.  Longer progressive songs.  Sadly, most of them aren't as good as the songs to come when Bruce came back, 

Jannick has a ton of writing credits on TXF. But when you take that, and add Bruce and Adrian back to the fold, those style tracks are bound to "fill out".
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 21, 2017, 07:01:24 PM
I read a few years ago that Maiden played their longest ever set with Blaze when they were releasing an album - not sure if it was TXF or VXI, but I believe it was TXF. This was a private event for a fan club, and they played the album in full plus a handful of older songs. Does anyone have a clue about this? I tried to find it today, but didn´t see any info to back this up.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 21, 2017, 07:35:26 PM
I read a few years ago that Maiden played their longest ever set with Blaze when they were releasing an album - not sure if it was TXF or VXI, but I believe it was TXF. This was a private event for a fan club, and they played the album in full plus a handful of older songs. Does anyone have a clue about this? I tried to find it today, but didn´t see any info to back this up.

https://forum.maidenfans.com/threads/iron-maiden-pictures.15614/page-48

Scroll to halfway down the page.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 21, 2017, 07:54:30 PM
Great catch, TAC. I couldn´t see the pictures or the setlist though. So it was the release of The Angel and the Gambler then...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 21, 2017, 08:11:53 PM
(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2188-jpg.6090/)
(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2184-jpg.6086/)

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2186-jpg.6088/)

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2187-jpg.6089/)

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2189-jpg.6091/)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 21, 2017, 08:36:47 PM
Wow. Lots to chew on here. I'll work my through these comments throughout the week as I'm busy with school starting and a new job.

Here's my take on Blaze: He's not a bad singer at all. He's not great, but he's OK. The problem is that he was coming from what was essentially a bar band and was still very much an amateur. He developed a lot through his time in Maiden and really proved himself on his solo albums. Unfortunately, most people stopped paying attention by that point. It also didn't help that Steve was writing a lot of stuff that didn't suit his voice. His best performances are easily the songs that he had a hand in writing. He also gives more emotive performances. Look For the Truth is my vote for the album's hidden gem and it's also a fantastic performance from Blaze.

That being said, picking someone who couldn't handle the back catalog was a mistake. The least they could've done was downtune or change the melodies to better accommodate his vocals.

BTW, he did a cover of Blood Brothers a few years ago and it's fantastic. He would've done a more than respectable job had he stayed on for a third album.

- First and foremost, the notion that we "reject Blaze" because he's "not Bruce".  Look, it's painfully obvious that he's not Bruce, but I LOVE Di'anno, who isn't Bruce either.  Killers is a Top Three Maiden record for me (and potentially a Top 15 ALL TIME record for me, which I guess makes it a Top Two Maiden album, since only Powerslave is in my Top 15 all time list).  Blaze just wasn't a good fit for Maiden, period.   Di'Anno wasn't either, but the music was different and it didn't show as much.  Maiden then was 3:25 seconds of grit, grime and attitude.  That is NOT Maiden circa 1995.
There are definitely fans who rejected Blaze because he wasn't Bruce, my dad among them. As you said, you have to look at the context. Di'Anno wasn't replacing Bruce. People were either there to experience Paul in real time or in retrospect checking out Maiden's back catalog. Paul was allowed to exist in his own context while Blaze was always going to be in the shadow of Bruce. I think people are more open to his era now because he's in a similar position to Paul, as the former singer who was only there for a couple hours. But in 1995 that wasn't the case.

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- Second, that it is "underrated"; it is, in my opinion, exactly correctly rated. It IS a polarizing album.  There are good points - Sign of the Cross, the Genesis rip-offs not withstanding, and The Unbeliever - but this is a classic example of that common pitfall of the mid'-90's (ironically, Genesis fell into it with "We Can't Dance" as well) and that is, just because a CD holds 80 minutes, doesn't mean that you have 80 minutes worth filling.
I think I can agree with this. I tried to refrain from the word "underrated" both because it tends to be overused and I don't think it applies here. It's much like Train Of Thought in that it's fairly one dimensional. There's a single tone and mood to the album that isn't one of the hallmarks of Maiden so it's not going to be for everyone. But for those who appreciate that kind of thing, it's a real special treat.

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- What are we, fourth now?  I think the songwriting is average.   I've listened to this countless times - it's not quite "Grace Under Pressure", my least favorite Rush album that I revisit religiously about every year to see if I've missed something or to see if I have warmed to it, but it's close - and there just aren't the hooks or the melodies that the best Maiden - even the heaviest Maiden - has. 
This is where I refrain from putting the album on the pedestal that some fans have it on. I love that they tried something different and I really enjoy the result, but the songwriting doesn't hold up to most other albums. They're trying a new direction and they worked on refining it for years after. I don't think the modern Maiden formula was perfected until A Matter of Life and Death. That album is the zenith of what they were trying to achieve with The X Factor.

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- Fifth, the production DOES blow, but Martin Birch notwithstanding, Maiden has never been known to be a "production paradigm".
The production is bad even for modern Maiden standards. Some of the badly produced albums (mostly the debut) have a redeeming charm, but X Factor does not. For the reunion era, some of the albums could've been improved in the production department, but only Dance of Death is ruined the way The X Factor is, all the others are more than listenable.

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- Sixth, and finally, I think this album suffers because of Nicko McBrain; famously, he was (allegedly) the guy that told Steve "it's your band, your call, but you need to SERIOUSLY consider bringing Bruce back, bro."  I think he consciously/subconsciously knew that this wasn't right.  There are parts on this record (and the follow-up) where I've actually gone to Wikipedia because I wasn't convinced it was actually him playing.   That's a CRUCIAL point for a power band like Maiden.
This is the reason I give Dave and Janick more credit than Nicko for being the backbone of Maiden in the 90s. Nicko really took a back seat during the Blaze years and it gets worse on the next album. It's obvious that he took Bruce's departure really personally and Steve is lucky he's one of the most loyal guys in the business because otherwise he probably would've left shortly after.

A question regarding the lyrics - I was always sure all of the songs that list Blaze with a writing feature his lyrics. I'm surprised that's not the case. I'd question what his contributions to some of those songs were.
It's possible the details of the songwriting have been revealed, but I wasn't able to find anything. It seems that in the credits the lyricist is listed first on this album, so Blaze probably did the lyrics on Look For the Truth and 2 AM. It's also a very different writing style than Steve's, less literal and more metaphor. As for the other songs with Blaze's name in the credit, maybe he helped out with some of the vocal melodies. Bruce and Paul rarely worked as closely to Steve as Blaze did, so their creative relationship is very unique in Maiden's history.

3...Jannick's songwriting is brilliant on this album. He has a hand in 8 of the 11 album tracks plus Judgement Day. I think anyone that takes the position that TXF is a masterpiece, yet doesn't care for Jannick being in the band, is confused.
I'd take that further and say that anyone who doesn't like Janick but appreciates anything they've done since The X Factor is confused. The guy has been in the band for nearly 30 years and people still act like he's only allowed to stay in the band as some sort of courtesy. Anyway, he definitely hits his stride on this album. This album could've easily been entirely written by Harris and that wouldn't have been a good thing.

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4....This would be the second half of my Bruce epiphany. Because what this album truly feels like it needs is balance. Personally, other than Sign Of The Cross, Man On The Edge, Lord Of The Flies, and 2 AM, I'm not sure the other tracks are completely fleshed out. I think you get Steve's vision, and I've often referred to TXF as  Steve Harris solo album, but I've always wondered if some of these more meandering tracks could've used a little more push back in the studio. I have a hard time thinking Jannick, and especially Blaze would've challenged Steve with an occasional "you know Steve, that really doesn't work." This is where I truly understood how Bruce's absence would be realized. Especially when comparing TXF to the fresh and exciting Picasso.
I go back and forth on whether this album would've improved with Bruce's involvement.  I think Bruce's 1998 vocal style would've been good (as proven on Rock In Rio) but definitely not his 1993 vocal style. His voice was still going through a lot of growing pains throughout most of the 90s. I also think his creative contributions might've clashed with Steve's in a negative way. This album has flaws but Steve's vision isn't one of them. Bruce would've been good on Virtual though.

Bosk: That sounds like a pretty typical first impression. I preferred Virtual too at first, but over time I've grown to prefer X Factor. X Factor is a definite grower. I didn't get it at all at first. Also Brave New World is very close to Virtual, which will be discussed when we get there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 21, 2017, 08:38:34 PM
Great catch, TAC. I couldn´t see the pictures or the setlist though. So it was the release of The Angel and the Gambler then...
Nah, the album was out for a month already by the time they played that gig. It was just under the name The Angels and The Gamblers because it was a secret gig. Other secret gigs include Holy Smokers and Charlotte and the Harlots.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: wolfking on August 21, 2017, 09:19:43 PM
The X Factor was an album I discovered very early in my Maiden journey.  The small second hand store that was near me when I was like 13 that I spoke of earlier in this thread comes into play here again.  I had already gotten TNOTB, NPFTD and FOTD with also the LAD VHS.  So when I went back and picked up The X Factor, it was the only album they had left in stock from Maiden.

It took me a little while to get the likes of Powerslave, SIT etc. as I had to get them new and picked up these ones for like 10 bucks so I couldn't afford those but settled for whatever I could get.  At the time I had no idea about the history of the band and Bruce leaving, in fact there being other singers in their time.  So when I opened it up and saw Blaze, I was very surprised.  I had no info, opinions or anything else to go on the Blaze era whatsoever, this was a blind listen to this style of Maiden and Blaze in general.

Right away I noticed the length of the album and the dark atmosphere when SOTC starts.  Blaze's voice was something very different and a bit confusing compared to what I had heard beforehand.  I found it interesting and something just kept making me play this over and over and I went from "this is vertainly different,' to 'Jesus, this incredible.' This was number 3 in my top 50 and my favourite Maiden album.  If I had discovered Maiden through the classic era and this was one of the albums I discovered last, it probably wouldn't be but it was one of my first Maiden experiences and I still love it.  As a struggling early teenager dealing with the struggles of school and pre purberty blues, the mood, atmosphere and simply everything about this album just hooked me. 

The production is indeed a little flat, but it's fine and fits the mood IMO.  The performances are raw and Blaze is pure raw emotion, even if he is pitchy and flat at times, it's not a downer for me.  I always took this album for what it is and that obviously helps my appreciation.  It's different and balls to Steve and the band for going this way, even though it didn't quite work.

One thing I love is the rawness of the vocals.  No harmonies, double vocals, just one track, brilliant.  Love what Dave and Jan does on here too, Janick has some really nice moments here.

For kicks I went back and see what I wrote about it when I did my top 50;

I discovered this quite like I discovered Jugulator, on a whim at a second hand store.  This was my fourth or fifth Maiden album.  Again, I wasn't up to date with what the band were doing at the time and were not aware of their history.  I got it home and discovered Blaze Bayley at the vocal helm.  Interested by the artwork and concepts and put this cd on and really, on my first listen I still remember being very confused at what was on offer here.  This did not sound like the Maiden I had discovered.  I repeated the cd a few times to try and figure out what was going on.  The extreme length of the album, the long songs, the depressing, dark mood and the very raw vocals from Blaze was different.  The more I listened to it, the more it intrigued me.  Going from, "Man what is this, this isn't Maiden," eventually turned into "Wow, this album is incredible."  I still remember listening to 'Harry's Blood on the World's Hands intro wondering what the hell was going on.

To this day, it is by far my favourite Maiden album, and I still listen to it often.  This album was written in a dark time of 'Harry's life and it showed.  As a confused teen in high school, this album was like a coping tool at times.  The power, subtleness and brilliance displayed in this album is something unique.  Blaze showed he is different to Bruce but really, Bruce couldn't have pulled this off like Blaze did.  This album and Blaze were a match made in heaven, you gotta give Steve that.  This also contains my favourite Maiden song being Sign of the Cross.  It's epic, powerful, depressing and possibly the most complex and closest thing to prog Maiden have even gone.  Yes, the production is a little flat. Yes, Blaze is also a little flat in places, and yes it has some of the most out there and misunderstood Maiden moments ever, but this album and all 71 minutes of it, to me is perfect.  Also, check out the three original b-sides which never made it to the album; Judgement Day, Justice of the Peace and I Live My Way.

Best tracks - Sign of the Cross, Fortunes of War, The Aftermath, Blood on the Worlds Hands, Judgement of Heaven, The Edge of Darkness


I find it interesting that I listed JOH as one of the best tracks.  I probably wouldn't think that now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 21, 2017, 11:30:36 PM
Re: Bruce''s version of Cross

I just think he sounds bored. There's a very "let's get this over with" quality to his performance that reminds me of his live stuff during the FOTD tour.

Blaze, while not being as dynamic, sounds far more brooding...determined. ...I can actually FEEL the lyrics when he's doing it.

EDIT - Blaze makes me feel like I'm right there with him, feeling everything he's feeling.  Bruce's version,  while technically superior,  makes me feel nothing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: wolfking on August 22, 2017, 05:59:09 AM
Re: Bruce''s version of Cross

I just think he sounds bored. There's a very "let's get this over with" quality to his performance that reminds me of his live stuff during the FOTD tour.

Blaze, while not being as dynamic, sounds far more brooding...determined. ...I can actually FEEL the lyrics when he's doing it.

EDIT - Blaze makes me feel like I'm right there with him, feeling everything he's feeling.  Bruce's version,  while technically superior,  makes me feel nothing.

Agree with what you say here regarding Bruce's version.  It's fine but he almost gives me the impression that he is sort of too good to sing the song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 06:18:26 AM

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4....This would be the second half of my Bruce epiphany. Because what this album truly feels like it needs is balance. Personally, other than Sign Of The Cross, Man On The Edge, Lord Of The Flies, and 2 AM, I'm not sure the other tracks are completely fleshed out. I think you get Steve's vision, and I've often referred to TXF as  Steve Harris solo album, but I've always wondered if some of these more meandering tracks could've used a little more push back in the studio. I have a hard time thinking Jannick, and especially Blaze would've challenged Steve with an occasional "you know Steve, that really doesn't work." This is where I truly understood how Bruce's absence would be realized. Especially when comparing TXF to the fresh and exciting Picasso.
I go back and forth on whether this album would've improved with Bruce's involvement.  I think Bruce's 1998 vocal style would've been good (as proven on Rock In Rio) but definitely not his 1993 vocal style. His voice was still going through a lot of growing pains throughout most of the 90s. I also think his creative contributions might've clashed with Steve's in a negative way. This album has flaws but Steve's vision isn't one of them. Bruce would've been good on Virtual though.

No, Steve's vision is fine. And I certainly wasn't trying to say that this album would be better with Bruce on it. But I do feel like some of the tracks need a little help and rounding out.

Blaze showed he is different to Bruce but really, Bruce couldn't have pulled this off like Blaze did.  This album and Blaze were a match made in heaven, you gotta give Steve that. 

I agree with this completely.

Blaze has an awesome voice and it is perfect for this album.


Bruce would've been good on Virtual though.

Yes. Lots to talk about when comparing the two Blaze albums. We'll get there.

Re: Bruce''s version of Cross

I just think he sounds bored. There's a very "let's get this over with" quality to his performance that reminds me of his live stuff during the FOTD tour.

Blaze, while not being as dynamic, sounds far more brooding...determined. ...I can actually FEEL the lyrics when he's doing it.

EDIT - Blaze makes me feel like I'm right there with him, feeling everything he's feeling.  Bruce's version,  while technically superior,  makes me feel nothing.

I don't really disagree with this. Bruce seems to connect better with The Clansman.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: DoctorAction on August 22, 2017, 06:29:48 AM
Just to big up Blaze more. I love his voice in general and think his work on SOTC is fantastic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 22, 2017, 08:44:12 AM
BTW, he did a cover of Blood Brothers a few years ago and it's fantastic. He would've done a more than respectable job had he stayed on for a third album.

I think, though, that when you - like me - had "been with" Maiden since the early 80's, and seen them as a scraggly bunch of street fighters, almost "punk" without the "I don't give a fuck" ethos ("Iron Maiden" is the best punk album ever made, if you want to look at it that way), and you watched them get more and more and more epic... 'a more than respectable job' doesn't cut the mustard.  That's why they were looking for a singer to begin with, because Bruce - mentally, in himself - was finding it harder and harder to give 'more than a respectable job'.   In Maidenland, that's a fail.

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- First and foremost, the notion that we "reject Blaze" because he's "not Bruce".  Look, it's painfully obvious that he's not Bruce, but I LOVE Di'anno, who isn't Bruce either.  Killers is a Top Three Maiden record for me (and potentially a Top 15 ALL TIME record for me, which I guess makes it a Top Two Maiden album, since only Powerslave is in my Top 15 all time list).  Blaze just wasn't a good fit for Maiden, period.   Di'Anno wasn't either, but the music was different and it didn't show as much.  Maiden then was 3:25 seconds of grit, grime and attitude.  That is NOT Maiden circa 1995.
There are definitely fans who rejected Blaze because he wasn't Bruce, my dad among them. As you said, you have to look at the context. Di'Anno wasn't replacing Bruce. People were either there to experience Paul in real time or in retrospect checking out Maiden's back catalog. Paul was allowed to exist in his own context while Blaze was always going to be in the shadow of Bruce. I think people are more open to his era now because he's in a similar position to Paul, as the former singer who was only there for a couple hours. But in 1995 that wasn't the case.
We're kinda saying the same thing, but in a different way and drawing a different conclusion to it.   They ARE different circumstances.   Paul was Paul.   Bruce came in and didn't "replace" Paul, per se, he became "Bruce".   The band and he jumped to the next level together (I know this, because I saw it with mine own two eyes).   I don't really know what Blaze was trying to accomplish.   He was a young, inexperienced guy - a beautiful person, no doubt, probably hungry - but the band was not.  The band was a group of vets who had toured the world, and seen everything, including two hangings and a goat fucking.   In my view, he didn't elevate the band in the way that Bruce did; that it's not really Blaze's fault is immaterial, though I might add that Bruce DID in fact RE-elevate them when he rejoined, by allowing them to be a prog metal colossus that could tour stadia internationally without a hit and in some cases without even a new album release.  There are only a handful of bands that can do that.

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I think I can agree with this. I tried to refrain from the word "underrated" both because it tends to be overused and I don't think it applies here. It's much like Train Of Thought in that it's fairly one dimensional. There's a single tone and mood to the album that isn't one of the hallmarks of Maiden so it's not going to be for everyone. But for those who appreciate that kind of thing, it's a real special treat.

I don't think this needs to be said, but I'll say it anyway: I hope no one takes more from what I wrote than what is intended:  if "The X Factor" (or Virtual IX for that matter) click with you?  Awesome!  I sincerely couldn't be happier, and I'm just grateful that you have a way into the awesome world that is Iron Maiden (one of my favorite bands of all time).  I'm not at all telling anyone they are wrong, only that I disagree and hopefully giving a little insight into why. It's all with deep respect. 

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This is where I refrain from putting the album on the pedestal that some fans have it on. I love that they tried something different and I really enjoy the result, but the songwriting doesn't hold up to most other albums. They're trying a new direction and they worked on refining it for years after. I don't think the modern Maiden formula was perfected until A Matter of Life and Death. That album is the zenith of what they were trying to achieve with The X Factor.

I say "Dance of Death", but we're quibbling now.  I will say this:  I was literally breathless during "Blood Brothers" on this last tour; how they have come to own that song!!!!   It took on a life of it's own in the show I saw.  I was pleasantly surprised!

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The production is bad even for modern Maiden standards. Some of the badly produced albums (mostly the debut) have a redeeming charm, but X Factor does not. For the reunion era, some of the albums could've been improved in the production department, but only Dance of Death is ruined the way The X Factor is, all the others are more than listenable.

Well, in my opinion, the earlier records have an excuse; they were learning and they were setting a foundation. If you listen to the debut compared to some of the versions of those songs from even earlier, it's a vast improvement, and while some would say "BAD PRODUCTION!" I kind of think the sound of the first album fits the material.  "Prowler"; "Running Free"; "Sanctuary"; these are short, sharp tales of someone on the wrong side of the law and the production - loose, rough - fit that perfectly.   That same production (and I know it's not the same) doesn't work for an eleven minute, sixteen second epic murder mystery at a monastery during the time of the Inquisition.    Maiden circa 1995 should know better. 

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I'd take that further and say that anyone who doesn't like Janick but appreciates anything they've done since The X Factor is confused. The guy has been in the band for nearly 30 years and people still act like he's only allowed to stay in the band as some sort of courtesy. Anyway, he definitely hits his stride on this album. This album could've easily been entirely written by Harris and that wouldn't have been a good thing.

I can appreciate what he's done, and certainly, I am in grudging agreement that his songwriting is integral to what we now know as "Iron Maiden".   But I have yet to see where he's "the backbone".  I think Maiden continues - and at their current level - as long as Steve, Davey and Bruce have the will and the desire.  I think they can overcome the loss of Nicko (you have no idea how much it hurts me to say that), Adrian, and Jannick. 

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I go back and forth on whether this album would've improved with Bruce's involvement.  I think Bruce's 1998 vocal style would've been good (as proven on Rock In Rio) but definitely not his 1993 vocal style. His voice was still going through a lot of growing pains throughout most of the 90s. I also think his creative contributions might've clashed with Steve's in a negative way. This album has flaws but Steve's vision isn't one of them. Bruce would've been good on Virtual though.

This is KEY for me:   I think Bruce's "The Sign Of The Cross" blows Blaze's out of the water, but because he's singing in the style he did for the reunion.  I love Bruce, but I really, REALLY don't like the choices he made in that early 90's time frame.  I have Dio already; I don't need Bruce singing that way too.  I like the Air Raid Siren!!! 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 22, 2017, 08:56:09 AM
Re: Bruce''s version of Cross

I just think he sounds bored. There's a very "let's get this over with" quality to his performance that reminds me of his live stuff during the FOTD tour.

Blaze, while not being as dynamic, sounds far more brooding...determined. ...I can actually FEEL the lyrics when he's doing it.

EDIT - Blaze makes me feel like I'm right there with him, feeling everything he's feeling.  Bruce's version,  while technically superior,  makes me feel nothing.

There's a lot of mutual respect, here, Jammin, and you know that.   But I can't agree with that.  I actually think it's so good because he DOESN'T sound bored.  I've written a lot about how Bruce doesn't seem to give two craps who originally sang the songs he sings live.   When I saw him sing "The Clansman", it was almost as if Maiden was debuting a new song, though I knew what it was.  I did go back and relisten to see how closely it was played to the original (very close).  I get it; I'm not naïve; Bruce is a professional, and it's not physically humanly possible to not have ONE NIGHT that is phoned in, so I imagine some of his stage mannerisms and energy is forced (and the repetitiveness of his stage raps reinforces this point), but it is still energy and it still works.  Contrast with this: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=iron+maiden+live+blaze&view=detail&mid=AFDA8C5170EE5CF71E43AFDA8C5170EE5CF71E43&FORM=VIRE where Blaze doesn't move his feet - he LITERALLY DOES NOT MOVE HIS FEET - until two and a half minutes into the song when the solo starts.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 22, 2017, 09:24:51 AM
You got a foot fetish or something, Stadler?  :rollin
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 22, 2017, 09:51:11 AM
You got a foot fetish or something, Stadler?  :rollin

NO! Just the opposite, actually.  I hate feet.  Foot fetish porn is like a horror movie to me.  TMI! 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 22, 2017, 10:19:26 AM
Just to big up Blaze more. I love his voice in general and think his work on SOTC is fantastic.

All these comments about Blaze's supposed amazing voice... I can say he has an original voice, but there is no range at all. I'm not even sure he covers a full octave. Everything is delivered in the same monotone and he has nowhere to go when the song  needs a change of atmosphere.

I'd take a bored Bruce every time. Even DiAnno could express different moods.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 11:56:10 AM

We're kinda saying the same thing, but in a different way and drawing a different conclusion to it.   

WTf'nF?  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Grappler on August 22, 2017, 12:42:10 PM
So I've listened to X-Factor a few times over the past 2 days and found a lot more to enjoy than just the first 3 songs, which is where my interest usually drops off.  What's weird is that me, Mr. Metalhead, king of dark, evil, music....enjoys the mood and feel of the next album more than this one.   :lol

I think I just like my Maiden to sound happy and upbeat/uptempo.  I had never really put much thought into X Factor being such a dark album before, but it truly is.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 22, 2017, 01:02:51 PM
Stadler -

I made no comparisons to Blaze live, which is obviously inferior. But I think that part of the criticism of his performance can be leveled at Mr Harris, who speeds up the tempo to something I don't think Blaze was comfortable with. As proof of this, Blazes solo live version is slowed way down.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 22, 2017, 02:22:46 PM
I think the solo versions of Blaze-era Maiden tunes are often better. For example, I much prefer the version of "Sign of the Cross" from Blaze's "As Live as it Gets" live solo record to the studio version of him with Maiden. He's not as monotone and lifeless.

I prefer Bruce overall, but I think, maybe, that Blaze's inexperience in the studio environment on those two Maiden records, along with not having a very experienced true producer, may have impacted the quality, no doubt.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 03:04:12 PM
I prefer Bruce overall, but I think, maybe, that Blaze's inexperience in the studio environment on those two Maiden records, along with not having a very experienced true producer, may have impacted the quality, no doubt.

Yes, totally.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: DoctorAction on August 22, 2017, 04:23:32 PM
Just to big up Blaze more. I love his voice in general and think his work on SOTC is fantastic.

All these comments about Blaze's supposed amazing voice... I can say he has an original voice, but there is no range at all. I'm not even sure he covers a full octave. Everything is delivered in the same monotone and he has nowhere to go when the song  needs a change of atmosphere.

I'd take a bored Bruce every time. Even DiAnno could express different moods.

He's no Bruce. Different league. Almost a different art form. But Blaze has a gift too.

I've always just felt so bad for him over the Maiden thing!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: wolfking on August 22, 2017, 04:39:06 PM
I've always just felt so bad for him over the Maiden thing!

Same.  He tried his best and put everything into it, it just didn't work.  Why Steve would make him sing some of these songs live and not alter the tunings is beyond me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 22, 2017, 05:37:37 PM
I've always just felt so bad for him over the Maiden thing!

Same.  He tried his best and put everything into it, it just didn't work.  Why Steve would make him sing some of these songs live and not alter the tunings is beyond me.

I feel sorry for the guy, but he would have gone nowhere with Wolfsbane so at least he has had something of a career even after the awesomeness of being in Iron fucking Maiden! And at least he isn't a nut job like DiAnno 😀
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 06:38:55 PM
Right. I think all in all, Blaze has done alright for himself.

I mean, even the fans that think he wasn't the right guy has to respect his courage and character. And he's developed a pretty strong solo discography. Endure And Survive, the album he released earlier this year, is excellent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 22, 2017, 06:54:13 PM
I've always just felt so bad for him over the Maiden thing!

Same.  He tried his best and put everything into it, it just didn't work.  Why Steve would make him sing some of these songs live and not alter the tunings is beyond me.

I feel sorry for the guy, but he would have gone nowhere with Wolfsbane so at least he has had something of a career even after the awesomeness of being in Iron fucking Maiden! And at least he isn't a nut job like DiAnno 😀

This is a valid point. People show a lot of sympathy toward the guy, which is fine, but he's lucky to even be in the position he is in now thanks to Maiden. He might not draw a huge crowd but he gets to make albums and sing professionally. And yea he's way better off than Di'Anno ever was post-Maiden.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mister Gold on August 22, 2017, 08:45:03 PM
I've always just felt so bad for him over the Maiden thing!

Same.  He tried his best and put everything into it, it just didn't work.  Why Steve would make him sing some of these songs live and not alter the tunings is beyond me.

I feel sorry for the guy, but he would have gone nowhere with Wolfsbane so at least he has had something of a career even after the awesomeness of being in Iron fucking Maiden! And at least he isn't a nut job like DiAnno 😀

This is a valid point. People show a lot of sympathy toward the guy, which is fine, but he's lucky to even be in the position he is in now thanks to Maiden. He might not draw a huge crowd but he gets to make albums and sing professionally. And yea he's way better off than Di'Anno ever was post-Maiden.

Career-wise, yeah. But man, Blaze's life has had some tragedies in his post-Maiden life (i.e. his first solo album being overshadowed by Brave New World being released on the same day, his wife going into a coma and then dying back in 2008).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 08:50:11 PM
But man, Blaze's life has had some tragedies in his post-Maiden life ......his wife going into a coma and then dying back in 2008).

For those who have not heard it, the final four songs from his 2010 album Promise And Terror deal with the loss of his wife.

Surrounded By Sadness
The Trace of Things That Have No Words
Letting Go of the World
Comfortable in Darkness

This "suite" is absolutely mind blowing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 22, 2017, 08:54:11 PM
I saw Dianno live twice, and he was embarassing. Blaze at least put out some great albums - Silicon Messiah is quite unique - and does not live in the shadow of his former band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mister Gold on August 22, 2017, 08:57:02 PM
But man, Blaze's life has had some tragedies in his post-Maiden life ......his wife going into a coma and then dying back in 2008).

For those who have not heard it, the final four songs from his 2010 album Promise And Terror deal with the loss of his wife.

Surrounded By Sadness
The Trace of Things That Have No Words
Letting Go of the World
Comfortable in Darkness

This "suite" is absolutely mind blowing.

Preach.

I'd argue that suite is almost definitely the greatest work Blaze has ever done in his career. Dude poured his heart out on that album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 22, 2017, 09:16:56 PM
Yup Mr. G. Phenomenal. The lyrics to The Trace make my hair stand up. Anyone reading this that hasn't heard these needs to live through these four tracks.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 22, 2017, 09:29:20 PM
We won't cover everything, but we'll briefly touch on some of Blaze's solo work later on.

I saw Dianno live twice, and he was embarassing. Blaze at least put out some great albums - Silicon Messiah is quite unique - and does not live in the shadow of his former band.
Blaze has definitely managed to acknowledge his past in Maiden while also being his own artist. When I listen to his solo work the last thing I'm thinking about is how he used to sing in Maiden. Unlike Paul Di'Anno who makes a living singing screaming the first two Maiden albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 23, 2017, 05:56:53 AM
Dianno's work in the 80's was pretty interesting though. He released a self titled AOR style album, and the two Battlezone albums.
His voice was pretty much clean on these.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Art on August 23, 2017, 06:26:51 AM
At least Maiden done right by Blaze when they fired him, in his own words, he got a nice paycheck in the end. Which he used to start his solo career. The first three Blaze solo albums are produced by Andy Sneap.

I know it's not something everybody would like, but i wish that, in a possible final Maiden show/tour they would ask Dianno and Blaze to sing some songs from their era live once again. Just a special event, a treat to the fans.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 23, 2017, 06:29:34 AM
Dianno's work in the 80's was pretty interesting though. He released a self titled AOR style album, and the two Battlezone albums.
His voice was pretty much clean on these.

I'd say that up until his album Nomad, he's done some cool stuff. But his reliance on his past with Maiden has taken over completely since then, to the point that he sings ONE song off his solo stuff live, and the rest of the setlist is all Maiden...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 23, 2017, 07:15:24 AM
I prefer Bruce overall, but I think, maybe, that Blaze's inexperience in the studio environment on those two Maiden records, along with not having a very experienced true producer, may have impacted the quality, no doubt.

Yes, totally.

Look, no knock on the guy.  Clearly a class act, and though I've never met him, he seems to be a stand up guy all the way.  I watched a live version of Wasted Years (yes, the Maiden song he didn't play on or do when he was in the band) and the intro was just pure class.    Grateful, humble, all the things you like to see.

But we're spending a LOT of time making excuses for this guy, vocally, in Maiden.    The production; the writer(s); Harris; the inexperience; the fans; Trump.     Look, Maiden is one of the three best metal bands IN HISTORY.  It's not as if "anyone can do that!", because they can't.   They wouldn't have been as big with Di'Anno or Bayley, or virtually ANYONE else.  It's not a knock on Blaze, necessarily, to say that it didn't work.   Gary Cherone is probably the best PURE singer in Van Halen, but no one (virtually) is putting "Van Halen III" in the "Classic" pile.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 23, 2017, 07:18:37 AM
At least Maiden done right by Blaze when they fired him, in his own words, he got a nice paycheck in the end. Which he used to start his solo career. The first three Blaze solo albums are produced by Andy Sneap.

I know it's not something everybody would like, but i wish that, in a possible final Maiden show/tour they would ask Dianno and Blaze to sing some songs from their era live once again. Just a special event, a treat to the fans.
I get the sentiment, and it's not a bad one, but based on what I've seen from Di'Anno in recent times, that would not be a treat at all, and honestly?  To have Di'Anno, Bayley, and Dickinson on the same stage, with Bruce singing at his full powers?  That would be embarrassing.   I don't see that happening. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Podaar on August 23, 2017, 07:32:38 AM
I've listened to X Factor a few times and feel the need to channel my inner Tim.

This record's ass sucks it's own underwear! [shudder]

Next record please.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 23, 2017, 07:47:46 AM
Dianno's work in the 80's was pretty interesting though. He released a self titled AOR style album, and the two Battlezone albums.
His voice was pretty much clean on these.

Yeah, was going to back him on these but you beat me to it. Some very good albums there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 23, 2017, 08:17:58 AM
At least Maiden done right by Blaze when they fired him, in his own words, he got a nice paycheck in the end. Which he used to start his solo career. The first three Blaze solo albums are produced by Andy Sneap.

I know it's not something everybody would like, but i wish that, in a possible final Maiden show/tour they would ask Dianno and Blaze to sing some songs from their era live once again. Just a special event, a treat to the fans.
I get the sentiment, and it's not a bad one, but based on what I've seen from Di'Anno in recent times, that would not be a treat at all, and honestly?  To have Di'Anno, Bayley, and Dickinson on the same stage, with Bruce singing at his full powers?  That would be embarrassing.   I don't see that happening.

I'd like that, maybe for their last ever show. And maybe bring Dennis Stratton back for one song too, since he's made amends with Steve now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 23, 2017, 09:12:56 AM
I don't want to see that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 23, 2017, 09:37:30 AM
The main absence of course would be Clive... I guess Paul would find a way to embarrass himself, as he always does.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: cramx3 on August 23, 2017, 09:50:59 AM
At least Maiden done right by Blaze when they fired him, in his own words, he got a nice paycheck in the end. Which he used to start his solo career. The first three Blaze solo albums are produced by Andy Sneap.

I know it's not something everybody would like, but i wish that, in a possible final Maiden show/tour they would ask Dianno and Blaze to sing some songs from their era live once again. Just a special event, a treat to the fans.
I get the sentiment, and it's not a bad one, but based on what I've seen from Di'Anno in recent times, that would not be a treat at all, and honestly?  To have Di'Anno, Bayley, and Dickinson on the same stage, with Bruce singing at his full powers?  That would be embarrassing.   I don't see that happening.

I'd like that, maybe for their last ever show. And maybe bring Dennis Stratton back for one song too, since he's made amends with Steve now.

I think it would be cool to see these guys get to do some songs with IM again, but at the same time, there's not a huge level of interest IMO.  Like people would just rather see Bruce sing those songs than have those guys come back out.  It would be nice for the hardcare fans and for the singers as well, but I don't think the fans overall are really itching for something like this and I doubt Steve would want to (or Bruce).  I'd rather just see Bruce sing Sign of the Cross or even do something different like Bruce singing The Educated Fool.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mister Gold on August 23, 2017, 10:08:33 AM
Yeah, I don't think it'd be all that good of an idea to try and have Paul and Blaze both come on stage to perform with the rest of the band. Even if it were for a special event, such as the band's final live show.

Paul would be insanely out of his league if he shared the stage with Bruce and Blaze. His voice just isn't all that good anymore. And while Blaze has grown as a singer since his time in Maiden and still sounds pretty damn good, I don't think he has that same sort of charisma that Bruce has with commanding the stage and audience (tbf though who does?). Bruce would be jumping back and forth all across the stage as he sings the usuals, while Blaze and Paul would probably just be standing in one place and kinda hunched over as they sing.

And that would almost certainly be the case, because let's be honest- they won't ask Bruce to leave the stage for a few songs so that Paul or Blaze can helm the stage instead.

Dennis Stratton could maybe handle being on the stage with everyone else, but I dunno if that'd be an event that would really interest many people besides the diehard fans.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 23, 2017, 10:11:48 AM
Full set with Bruce

Encore:
Blood on the Worlds Hands w/Blaze
Wrathchild w/Paul
Iron Maiden with everyone including Stratton
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mister Gold on August 23, 2017, 10:17:36 AM
Full set with Bruce

Encore:
Blood on the Worlds Hands w/Blaze
Wrathchild w/Paul
Iron Maiden with everyone including Stratton

I know it's the band's title song and all, but c'mon... if they were gonna ever do a song with everyone, it should at least be Phantom of the Opera.

Actually that makes me wonder... has Blaze ever sung Phantom before? I'd be interested in hearing his take on that song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: cramx3 on August 23, 2017, 10:36:59 AM
Full set with Bruce

Encore:
Blood on the Worlds Hands w/Blaze
Wrathchild w/Paul
Iron Maiden with everyone including Stratton

Honestly, that's a pretty uninteresting encore from a song choice perspective.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 23, 2017, 11:00:18 AM
Full set with Bruce

Encore:
Blood on the Worlds Hands w/Blaze
Wrathchild w/Paul
Iron Maiden with everyone including Stratton

How about Running Free?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 23, 2017, 12:09:12 PM
Dennis Stratton could maybe handle being on the stage with everyone else, but I dunno if that'd be an event that would really interest many people besides the diehard fans.

Stadler=Diehard fan
Stadler=not really interested in seeing Dennis Stratton on stage with Maiden.  It would be a curiosity at best.

Though, having said that; I would love to see a four night run in a theater - ala Metallica - where you have the sets take the form of:

Couple songs
<Themed block>
Couple songs
Encore

The "Themed Block" could be:
- The Di'Anno years
- The Bruce years
- The Blaze years
- The Reunion years

The "Couple songs" could be the standards, or maybe it's a fan-voted thing, and the themed years could be the six-man band, with guests.   

I don't know; I'm spit-balling here.   But I don't want to really hear Dennis/Paul/Blaze circa 2017, unless it's the only way I get to hear songs like "Strange World", "Drifter", "Another Life", "Prodigal Son", etc.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 23, 2017, 03:19:14 PM
But we're spending a LOT of time making excuses for this guy, vocally, in Maiden.    The production; the writer(s); Harris; the inexperience; the fans; Trump.     Look, Maiden is one of the three best metal bands IN HISTORY.  It's not as if "anyone can do that!", because they can't.   They wouldn't have been as big with Di'Anno or Bayley, or virtually ANYONE else.  It's not a knock on Blaze, necessarily, to say that it didn't work.   Gary Cherone is probably the best PURE singer in Van Halen, but no one (virtually) is putting "Van Halen III" in the "Classic" pile.

I don't think anyone is making excuses. I think people are pointing out issues at the time, plus nobody is going to rip Blaze for what he isn't.

Oh, and Gary Cherone has to be the most boring singer ever. Talented? Sure. Exciting? Nope. IMHO of course.







If there was ever an absolute infinite final gig, I could absolutely see Blaze being invited to take part in an encore. Absolutely. Not sure about DiAnno or where he is with Steve.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 23, 2017, 07:33:29 PM

Oh, and Gary Cherone has to be the most boring singer ever. Talented? Sure. Exciting? Nope. IMHO of course.

DUDE!!  Have you heard any Extreme other than the singles??
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 23, 2017, 07:38:49 PM
You mean More Than Words isn't their only song?  ;D

I have tried Extreme many times, and while I'm sure you don't follow my posts, it's not news that I cannot get into Extreme in any way. I've enjoyed some live clips and all, but their studio stuff just does not translate. I've also checked out Tribe Of Judah, and again, I just can't get into what Cherone is selling. Don't forget, I'm also here in Extreme's hometown, so even going back to the mid 80's, I've been more than aware of them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 23, 2017, 07:51:25 PM
But we're spending a LOT of time making excuses for this guy, vocally, in Maiden.    The production; the writer(s); Harris; the inexperience; the fans; Trump.     Look, Maiden is one of the three best metal bands IN HISTORY.  It's not as if "anyone can do that!", because they can't.   They wouldn't have been as big with Di'Anno or Bayley, or virtually ANYONE else.  It's not a knock on Blaze, necessarily, to say that it didn't work.   Gary Cherone is probably the best PURE singer in Van Halen, but no one (virtually) is putting "Van Halen III" in the "Classic" pile.

I don't think anyone is making excuses. I think people are pointing out issues at the time, plus nobody is going to rip Blaze for what he isn't.

Oh, and Gary Cherone has to be the most boring singer ever. Talented? Sure. Exciting? Nope. IMHO of course.
My thoughts on Cherone are actually pretty similar to my thoughts on JLB (although there's obviously a big difference in raw talent): I love both of their main bands but they're not the reason I listen to those bands and I have 0 interest in what they do outside of them. The Van Halen thing is unique because I'm a big Van Halen fan too, but the Extreme connection didn't make me more excited to hear VHIII. Cherone also doesn't hold a candle to Sammy. I will say that there are some good tracks on there though.

Blaze is almost the opposite. I don't really consider him a particularly great singer (again that's not to say he's bad), but he did a good job in Maiden all things considered. I at least had the interest to check out his solo albums, which is more than I can say for Di'Anno. Personality probably plays a big part in that as well, I just can't take anything Di'Anno does seriously.

I stand by not wanting to see a mini-reunion, but I would love to see a side project with Steve and Blaze. The vocals on British Lion are very weak, it actually would've been cool if Blaze was tapped for that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 23, 2017, 07:54:42 PM
BTW there are two Bruce solo albums before the next Maiden and I'm not sure how to approach them. This isn't a Bruce discography thread but there's enough interest in them to at least cover them. Some options:

Skunkworks and Accident of Birth in one post. This makes the most sense, but they're so different that it might be too much to talk about in one entry.

Skunkworks followed by X Factour, then Accident of Birth, then Virtual XI. This would actually be chronological and is my preference, but I don't want people to feel like it's being dragged out.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 23, 2017, 08:03:02 PM
My vote goes to chronological. Bruce solo is a bonus to an already awesome thread.




  The vocals on British Lion are very weak, it actually would've been cool if Blaze was tapped for that.

 :omg:

That's an interesting thought. The BL vocals do suck.


I am more than willing to concede Cherone's talent, just as I am Russ Allen's. But they are two vocalists that just don't connect with me.

But Extreme is a live band. I love watching them, more than I enjoy listening to them, if that make sense.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 23, 2017, 10:45:38 PM
The vocals on British Lion are very weak, it actually would've been cool if Blaze was tapped for that.

Interesting. For me, British Lion's music itself is the main issue and the vocals are just a subset of that. In fact, if you look up 'dull' in the dictionary, it says 'British Lion'.

How on earth Steve Harris could preside over such crushing mediocrity, I've no idea.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 23, 2017, 10:48:57 PM
Yea I wasn't crazy about the album in general either, but the vocals in particular ruined it.

We'll also discuss British Lion later. In fact, for anyone curious, I'm planning on including the first Blaze album and a quick overview of his carer, all Bruce Dickinson albums, Primal Rock Rebellion, and British Lion.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 24, 2017, 03:48:49 AM
The vocals on British Lion are very weak, it actually would've been cool if Blaze was tapped for that.

Interesting. For me, British Lion's music itself is the main issue and the vocals are just a subset of that. In fact, if you look up 'dull' in the dictionary, it says 'British Lion'.

How on earth Steve Harris could preside over such crushing mediocrity, I've no idea.

I only heard a handful of songs, but nothing in them captivated me enough to check out the rest of the album...I also saw some live clips, but it just seemed too weird. Harris seems so out of place there! I thought it would be cool to see him play in a different context, but it seemed very strange. Dunno how you guys felt about it.

Mosh, it´s great that you´re planning to address all the side projects. But please promise you won´t talk about Lauren Harris´ band too!  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 24, 2017, 03:57:57 AM
This would actually be chronological and is my preference, but I don't want people to feel like it's being dragged out.

I don't think too many of us would think it's being dragged out. Loving reading every post in the thread!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 24, 2017, 04:37:03 AM
This would actually be chronological and is my preference, but I don't want people to feel like it's being dragged out.

I don't think too many of us would think it's being dragged out. Loving reading every post in the thread!

Same here. Let's go all the way!

So, being away for vacation I come back and find many interesting posts about The X Factor... this is where I come in! ...sort of.

I had become a Maiden fall around the time the album was released, but I don't consider it properly my "first" new Maiden album. As I explained before, my introduction to Maiden happened thanks to cassette compilations made by a school mate, so I can never answer to the question "Which is the first Maiden record you heard" 'cause it was all songs here and there, took me probably a year or two to listen to the proper albums, and The X Factor was just happening as soon as I was discovering Maiden, so I was not anticipating it.

Still, it was thanks to The X Factor that I got my first and sadly only chance so far to meet the band. I didn't elect to go the concert, I was still very young and shy and at the time I felt that a concert wasn't for me, but they had a meet n' greet session scheduled in my town, and on which day it was? MY BIRTHDAY!!! So me and a couple of other school mates stayed after school, went to the Virgin Megastore in the very centre of Milan where the signing session was held.

I still remember everything vividly: Me printing the lyrics to Revelations (My symbolically "favorite" Maiden song, the one that made me fall in love with them) to have the back signed by them; me walking up to Nicko, the first of the row, and telling him "Today is my birthday, could you write Happy Birthday?" and his big smiled "Of course!!!" as a reply, Blaze signing my school bag, and me shaking hands with everyone. Nothing fancy but it was nice to have them at least once all in front of me!!! To this day, I still keep carefully and with jealousy the signed autographs, I still have it at hand and I keep my incoming ticket concerts in the same slip case.

About the album... I agree with the general consensus that it seems to have arised from the last pages of discussions. Polarizing album, I understand those who love it and at the same time I understand those who hate it. I agree that Blaze is a very nice guy, I applaud his dedication to the music and his fans and I sympathize with the personal tragedies he endured, but he wasn't a good fit, especially since he couldn't sing properly the back catalog.

This album is the embryo of "modern" Maiden, and Sign of the Cross is by far the greatest thing on it. It probably has the last of the big, glorious and insane solo sections, the long and carefully composed sections like Phantom and Seventh Son, in later years they became more standard but the whole progression from when the song "stops" and then builds up to the blistering fast solo, and then winding down for the final chorus, is an absolute and complete masterpiece.

I like also Lord of the Flies, Man on the Edge, Fortunes of War, The Afermath a very great deal, but I didn't seem much love for The Edge of Darkness. That is another minor masterpiece and had Bruce sung it, it would be probably better received. And 2 A.M. as simple as it may be captures well the everyday working man's delusion.

I'm not the biggest fan of the album (yes, the production is kinda meh), but I like it and respect it as something daring and bold. I would never scratch my head at someone declaring it one of his/her favorites, I completely see the appeal of such a dark, brooding and uncompromising album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mladen on August 24, 2017, 06:28:47 AM
I agree that Blaze is a very nice guy, I applaud his dedication to the music and his fans and I sympathize with the personal tragedies he endured, but he wasn't a good fit, especially since he couldn't sing properly the back catalog.
Lets not take these things into account when we evaluate Blaze Bayley as a performer or an Iron Maiden member. Where these factors come into play are his solo albums, since I'd very audible how his personal issues influence his writing and singing style. It's very admirable how a person can be so dedicated to their work, write songs about personal tragedies and getting through them that way instead of giving up music when more important things come up.

To some people, it's a mystery how Steve hired somebody who couldn't perform the older songs expertly. My theory is that Bayley walked into the audition not expecting anything, deciding to give it his best and have fun, which resulted in a certain energy and magic that the guys probably valued more than singing the songs proficiently. It's also possible Blaze sang the songs well enough - you can pull it together and do the songs justice in the audition, but the issues come up once you're on tour and have to perform difficult material night after night.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 24, 2017, 06:47:48 AM
The vocals on British Lion are very weak, it actually would've been cool if Blaze was tapped for that.

Interesting. For me, British Lion's music itself is the main issue and the vocals are just a subset of that. In fact, if you look up 'dull' in the dictionary, it says 'British Lion'.

How on earth Steve Harris could preside over such crushing mediocrity, I've no idea.

I only heard a handful of songs, but nothing in them captivated me enough to check out the rest of the album...I also saw some live clips, but it just seemed too weird. Harris seems so out of place there! I thought it would be cool to see him play in a different context, but it seemed very strange. Dunno how you guys felt about it.

Honestly? I always got the sense from British Lion that he was doing some mates on the football club a solid.  "'ay, Steve, you're in the music, aren't ya?  Can ya help a brother out?"  It did less than nothing for me.  Listened to it once, and on the shelf it went.   I'm not sure I even burned it to my iPod, which is EXTREMELY rare for me to not do.

Quote

Mosh, it´s great that you´re planning to address all the side projects. But please promise you won´t talk about Lauren Harris´ band too!  ;D

Feel free to post picks, though.  Once I get past that she looks a fair amount like her dad, I find her an attractive woman.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 24, 2017, 06:55:59 AM
To some people, it's a mystery how Steve hired somebody who couldn't perform the older songs expertly. My theory is that Bayley walked into the audition not expecting anything, deciding to give it his best and have fun, which resulted in a certain energy and magic that the guys probably valued more than singing the songs proficiently. It's also possible Blaze sang the songs well enough - you can pull it together and do the songs justice in the audition, but the issues come up once you're on tour and have to perform difficult material night after night.

That could probably be an explanation. But if what they say is true, I think back of the Ripper audition for Judas Priest, with the guy singing just a line or two of Victim of Changes and Glenn Tipton saying "ok, you're in", and I wonder whatever may have happened to make everyone agree "yup, this is it, we found a new singer".

I guess that Steve deciding that the new singer had to be british and unknown already did quite a selection, and Blaze was the possible best choice out of those who actually applied. Apples and oranges but it's a tiny bit like DT, let's say they wanted from the get go someone dedicated to the band, Mangini had already a strong headstart on drummers who just wanted to audition because it was a nice thing to put in the resume.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: kaos2900 on August 24, 2017, 07:11:22 AM
I always assumed they went with Blaze because he was so unlike Bruce. For whatever reason I think Steve want to avoid that comparison or maybe he wanted to prove that the music was the important thing, not the voice? Either way, X-Factor is my least favorite Maiden album and Blaze just doesn't work for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: cramx3 on August 24, 2017, 08:08:00 AM
This would actually be chronological and is my preference, but I don't want people to feel like it's being dragged out.

I don't think too many of us would think it's being dragged out. Loving reading every post in the thread!

Agreed  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 24, 2017, 08:53:00 AM
Regarding Steve Harris' criteria for replacing Bruce...I think he was wise to maintain the person had to be British. There's a huge element of British history and style in the songs, and it wouldn't quite be right without it. I mean, personally and selfishly, I would have loved to have seen what Michael Kiske would have done with Maiden. But it wouldn't really sit well in my head, given the British element of Maiden. It is part of their collective charm.

The selection of singers was probably difficult, given the time period. Remember, there was no Internet (well, there was, but not like today), so it was all based on word of mouth, going through cassette tapes, etc. That's SO tedious. In retrospect, perhaps it would have been wiser for Steve to shutter Maiden for a few years, and open up a dialogue privately with Bruce about returning in four or five years (or whatever it was) once they all got to do other things for a bit.

I say that with a huge bias, because I do prefer what I have heard of Bruce singing the songs from the Blaze era. But it may have been the wiser choice back then, given the state of the music industry.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 24, 2017, 09:11:30 AM
I agree that Blaze is a very nice guy, I applaud his dedication to the music and his fans and I sympathize with the personal tragedies he endured, but he wasn't a good fit, especially since he couldn't sing properly the back catalog.
Lets not take these things into account when we evaluate Blaze Bayley as a performer or an Iron Maiden member. Where these factors come into play are his solo albums, since I'd very audible how his personal issues influence his writing and singing style. It's very admirable how a person can be so dedicated to their work, write songs about personal tragedies and getting through them that way instead of giving up music when more important things come up.

To some people, it's a mystery how Steve hired somebody who couldn't perform the older songs expertly. My theory is that Bayley walked into the audition not expecting anything, deciding to give it his best and have fun, which resulted in a certain energy and magic that the guys probably valued more than singing the songs proficiently. It's also possible Blaze sang the songs well enough - you can pull it together and do the songs justice in the audition, but the issues come up once you're on tour and have to perform difficult material night after night.

That last bit doesn't explain how poorly he sang the X Factor material. Unless the songs are meant to sound dull and lifeless.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: bosk1 on August 24, 2017, 09:16:08 AM
I am more than willing to concede Cherone's talent, just as I am Russ Allen's. But they are two vocalists that just don't connect with me.

But Extreme is a live band. I love watching them, more than I enjoy listening to them, if that make sense.

I get that 100%, and that's all perfectly fair.  And to tie it back to the present discussion, I'm kind of the opposite with Blaze.  I've seen a few live clips of him in Maiden, and he does nothing for me as a frontman.  But I don't mind listening to him.  While I don't find his delivery compelling on what I have heard, I don't dislike his vocals.  Anyway...

@Mosh:  In terms of the thread, I kind of DO feel like it is long and drawn-out.  But I am also perfectly okay with that.  Maiden has such a LONG and detailed and dense history that it calls for it.  The Lord of the Rings trilogy is plodding and is sometimes a fatiguing chore to slog through at times in the story.  But that very element is necessary and integral to Tolkien's themes.  And it allows for such a rich, detailed tapestry to make the story feel very real.  Similar thing here. 

tldnr:  You are the J.R.R. Tolkien of DTF, so keep it up.  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 24, 2017, 09:42:38 AM
Another thing that hurts Blaze is how stiff and awkward he looks on stage. I saw a live video of Lightning Strikes Twice the other day, which I'll post here once we get to Virtual XI where his voice is actually not bad, but he's so still!!! It's like his feet were nailed to the ground. And when he does move, he does that awkward "punching down" thing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mladen on August 24, 2017, 10:07:58 AM
That last bit doesn't explain how poorly he sang the X Factor material. Unless the songs are meant to sound dull and lifeless.
I find his performance on the album energetic, passionate and convincing, but to each his own.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 24, 2017, 10:10:38 AM
Fair enough. My issues with the album go further than just the vocals. Blaze was only singing the songs they wrote, and they were on the whole dull, lifeless and plodding too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: kaos2900 on August 25, 2017, 07:04:51 AM
Fair enough. My issues with the album go further than just the vocals. Blaze was only singing the songs they wrote, and they were on the whole dull, lifeless and plodding too.

This is why I much prefer Virtual XI.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 25, 2017, 08:49:22 AM
tldnr:  You are the J.R.R. Tolkien of DTF, so keep it up.  :biggrin:
I'll wear it like a badge of honor.  :lol

Anyway, it's decided. Stay tuned for Skunkworks!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Stadler on August 25, 2017, 08:51:48 AM
Fair enough. My issues with the album go further than just the vocals. Blaze was only singing the songs they wrote, and they were on the whole dull, lifeless and plodding too.

This is why I much prefer Virtual XI.

In prepping for the coming write-up, I relistened to VXI.  I amazed myself at how much more I liked it than TXF. I even replayed it!  (I actually couldn't get "Como Estais Amigos" out of my head).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 25, 2017, 09:18:20 AM
Well, Virtual XI sounds far more like traditional Maiden than The X Factor did. But I guess we'll come to that before too long ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Lowdz on August 25, 2017, 09:44:52 AM
Fair enough. My issues with the album go further than just the vocals. Blaze was only singing the songs they wrote, and they were on the whole dull, lifeless and plodding too.

This is why I much prefer Virtual XI.

In prepping for the coming write-up, I relistened to VXI.  I amazed myself at how much more I liked it than TXF. I even replayed it!  (I actually couldn't get "Como Estais Amigos" out of my head).

I played them both back to back last week. Enjoyed VXI much more.

Should have said earlier, I never bothered listening to the TXF album until a few years ago, and only then because Kade rated it so highly and "suggested" I give it a try. Now Kade and I share a similar taste in some music, but we also differ considerably too. It got the same verdict as his other great push, Priest's Jugulator...  :tdwn
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Podaar on August 25, 2017, 11:50:04 AM
Anyway, it's decided. Stay tuned for Skunkworks!

Cool, but did I already miss Balls to Picasso?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: cramx3 on August 25, 2017, 11:58:36 AM
Anyway, it's decided. Stay tuned for Skunkworks!

Cool, but did I already miss Balls to Picasso?

Yea, a few pages back as well as Alive in Studio A.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 25, 2017, 12:37:17 PM
Fair enough. My issues with the album go further than just the vocals. Blaze was only singing the songs they wrote, and they were on the whole dull, lifeless and plodding too.

This is why I much prefer Virtual XI.

In prepping for the coming write-up, I relistened to VXI.  I amazed myself at how much more I liked it than TXF. I even replayed it!  (I actually couldn't get "Como Estais Amigos" out of my head).

I played them both back to back last week. Enjoyed VXI much more.

Should have said earlier, I never bothered listening to the TXF album until a few years ago, and only then because Kade rated it so highly and "suggested" I give it a try. Now Kade and I share a similar taste in some music, but we also differ considerably too. It got the same verdict as his other great push, Priest's Jugulator...  :tdwn
For appreciating Jugularor I highly recommend 98 Live Meltdown. The songs come to life live and fit in really well with the classics.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 25, 2017, 01:00:06 PM
A little of an off topic, I find that Iron Maiden, Metallica and Judas Priest all made in the mid '90s controversial albums. The first of the two (X Factor, Load, Jugulator) were hated upon release, and later were more appreciated for what they were, while the second of the bunch (Virtual XI, Reload, Demolition) were actually a bit more meh. Apologies to those who prefer those albums  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 25, 2017, 03:43:38 PM
Demolition is garbage, probably the worst of all the albums you named. I'd also take both Blaze albums over anything Metallica has done since And Justice.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Samsara on August 25, 2017, 03:46:44 PM
I'd also take both Blaze albums over anything Metallica has done since And Justice.

AFTER Justice, and I'm with you. Justice, for me, is their pinnacle. But both Blaze Maiden records are much preferred from anything from Metallica that has followed the last 30 years.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 25, 2017, 04:01:06 PM
Oops, that's what I meant. Justice is awesome of course.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: jammindude on August 25, 2017, 05:06:25 PM
VXI is a coaster...

Spinal Tap made a more serious Iron Maiden album than Iron Maiden did on VXI

I would rather listen to Dedicated to Chaos and Frequency Unknown on an endless loop than VXI.

VXI is the musical equivalent of Chinese water torture.

It was so bad that Manowar tried to sue for copyright infringement. 

The Vogon poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in my Armpit One Midsummer's Morning" is a masterpiece by comparison.

On that note, Harris' large intestine *SHOULD* have lept up through his neck and throttled his brain in order to save all the rest of creation from this absolute dreck.   

I'll think of more when we get there.....
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 05:25:07 PM
VXI is a coaster...

 ...........

I'll think of more when we get there.....

 :natalieportman:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 25, 2017, 05:31:58 PM
VXI is a coaster...

Spinal Tap made a more serious Iron Maiden album than Iron Maiden did on VXI

I would rather listen to Dedicated to Chaos and Frequency Unknown on an endless loop than VXI.

VXI is the musical equivalent of Chinese water torture.

It was so bad that Manowar tried to sue for copyright infringement. 

The Vogon poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in my Armpit One Midsummer's Morning" is a masterpiece by comparison.

On that note, Harris' large intestine *SHOULD* have lept up through his neck and throttled his brain in order to save all the rest of creation from this absolute dreck.   

I'll think of more when we get there.....

These are the heavy metal versions of Yo' Mama jokes...  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 25, 2017, 06:18:43 PM
VXI is better than Lulu.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 06:18:54 PM
These are the heavy metal versions of Yo' Mama jokes...  :lol
:lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: Mosh on August 25, 2017, 06:35:08 PM
Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks (1996)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/58/Skunkworks_cover.jpg/220px-Skunkworks_cover.jpg)
Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
Alex Dickson - Guitars
Chris Dale - Bass
Alessandro Elena - Drums

As mentioned earlier, Bruce only “borrowed’ Tribe of Gypsies for the Balls to Picasso album and was forced to find a new band for the tour. Bruce used the opportunity to actually form a real band instead of relying on hired guns or bands with outside commitments. After the tour, the new band immediately got to work on the next album. This wasn’t just going to be another Bruce Dickinson solo album, but a full band effort. The band was to be called Skunkworks. However, Bruce ran into a similar problem that many other big name artists face when they look to form a new band: the record label wanted the artist’s name on the cover. As a result, the album was titled Skunkworks and released as another Bruce Dickinson solo album.  Bruce did most of the press for the album, but continued to insist that it Skunkworks was a band.

Skunkworks is probably the most forgotten solo albums. Part of it is due to timing. The 90s weren’t a great time for classic Metal bands, let alone Metal musicians trying to kickstart a solo career. More importantly, Bruce was trying out yet another new style. At least with Balls to Picasso, the music was a variation of Metal. Skunkworks showcased a more modern, alternative Rock sound. The album was even produced by Jack Endino, who did the first Nirvana album. It was easy to think Bruce was selling out. His former bandmates certainly felt that way, with Steve making the remark that Bruce would make a Country album if it sold. Bruce was alienating Metal fans and was probably not going to gain listeners from Soundgarden’s fan base either. So there wasn’t much of an audience for this album.

The abrupt change in style could be Bruce selling out, or it could also just be a continuation of Bruce using his solo albums to explore other musical styles. After all, Balls to Picasso came very close to being a sort of Electronica album even more far removed from his usual style than Skunkworks. In interviews Bruce talked about how he saw other artists playing a similar style to Maiden and felt that it bordered on cliche or even parody. He claims that he couldn’t take himself seriously playing that style of music and moved away from it. Bruce was also working with younger musicians who were likely more influenced by the modern Rock scene. Every song on the album was written in collaboration with guitarist Alex Dickson (with one song also credited to bassist Chris Dale) which also influenced the direction, as Bruce himself is naturally more focused on the lyrics.

From the lyrical point of view, it’s certainly in Bruce Dickinson’s style. On Skunkworks he finally moves away from his literal style of lyrics and moves back to celestial themes and allegory. The music might be a 180 from Maiden, but songs like Back From the Edge and Solar Confinement have lyrics that would not be out of place in Maiden. Bruce also continues to reestablish his operatic singing style after spending the early 90s with a raspier style. From this perspective, Skunkworks is a necessary transition to Bruce’s return to a classic Maiden style of Metal, even if the result is pretty unexpected.

It’s also worth mentioning that one of the b-sides is titled R 101. Many of you probably recognize this as the name of the aircraft that inspired Empire Of the Clouds about 20 years later. There’s no apparent similarities between the two songs and the lyrics don’t even seem related to the R 101. Still a nice piece of trivia though.

The album was released to pretty much no fanfare. Since Bruce was dumped from Mercury, the album was released on the much smaller Castle Records. Where Balls To Picasso at least had some singles that charted and sold decently as an album, Skunkworks didn’t really do anything. Even with his name on the album, Bruce struggled to sell his new band. Unsurprisingly, there would be no second Skunkworks and by the end of the year, Bruce was back to the drawing board again.

Needless to say, Skunkworks is a controversial album. It’s very much of its time. For most people it comes down to the musical style. If you can tolerate such a shift in a style and appreciate the kind of music found on Skunkworks, you can get something out of it.

Skunkworks Live (1996)
(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/8/4/6/18465.jpg?0450)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ab/Skunkworks_Live.jpg/220px-Skunkworks_Live.jpg)
Skunkworks Live was originally released exclusively in Japan as an EP and a live VHS. It is more widely available now on Bruce’s Anthology DVD set and the songs on the EP are included in the 2CD version of Skunkworks. The performance was recorded in Spain and appropriately features most of the Skunkworks album. There’s a fair amount of other stuff though including a b-side from Skunkworks, two songs from Balls To Picasso,  and Tattooed Millionaire. Of more interest though is The Prisoner. Until this point Bruce was pretty adamant about not playing Maiden at solo concerts. The Prisoner was a nice addition to the setlist especially since it was a song that Maiden didn’t perform often.

There isn’t much else to say about the video. You get a chance to watch the short lived Skunkworks band in action. It’s a decent video with a decent setlist, but probably unessential unless you’re a fan of the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 06:47:31 PM
I had a hard time getting into Skunkworks when it came out. The only track I really connected with was Back From The Edge.
But it has aged really well, and I love its uniqueness. Even though most of the tracks aren't that long, and the fact that IT'S A 90's ALBUM, the tracks have tons of personality.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 25, 2017, 06:50:56 PM
I like Skunkworks quite a lot.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: PowerSlave on August 25, 2017, 06:51:44 PM
I had a hard time getting into Skunkworks when it came out. The only track I really connected with was Back From The Edge.
But it has aged really well, and I love its uniqueness. Even though most of the tracks aren't that long, and the fact that IT'S A 90's ALBUM, the tracks have tons of personality.

My thoughts to a t
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 06:54:22 PM
What makes Bruce's solo career so great is that each album is quite different. Skunkworks is a great example of this. I would say that if there were an album of Bruce's that could be termed "experimental", this would be it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Anguyen92 on August 25, 2017, 07:23:38 PM
Why haven't I listened to this album yet until now?  This seems right up my alley in terms of sound and as a fan of alternative rock/metal and modern rock.  It's a good listen so far.  Dreamstate sounded like a Soundgarden-like song to me.  Fine with me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 07:41:14 PM
Rescue Day sounds very Gillan-ish.

As I am listening to Skunkworks now, I am thinking that Bruce is really a great and interesting singer, both vocally and lyrically. Like I said, the first half of my Bruce Epiphany was Balls To Picasso, a fresh and unexpected album from Bruce. Skunkworks continues Bruce's diversity. I know he would go back to some safer territory on his next album, but Balls and Skunkworks were eye opening releases and made even this long time fan stand up and take notice.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 25, 2017, 08:04:54 PM
Yea I actually like Skunkworks a lot. I didn't want to gush about it in the OP because it was a difficult time for Bruce and his motives for making the album are questionable, but the music came out really solid. There are only a few songs I don't care for and the rest is really, really strong. It does transcend the 90s sound too, like little hints of Rush here and there. Soundgarden is probably the best comparison because they had a similar level of diversity while still sounding very much of their time.

I do have two gripes with the album though. The first is the production. It's very inconsistent and kinda thin sounding. It's especially apparent on Back From the Edge actually. I think it's mostly due to the drum sound. Secondly, I actually don't really care for Bruce's vocals on this. The songs are good, the lyrics are good, and the vocal melodies are fine, but I just don't think Bruce's operatic style fits this music. There are a lot of moments where he employs a more straightforward vocal technique and it just doesn't really work. This music requires a gruff Eddie Vedder type of vocalist. It's like having John Petrucci on a punk album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 08:09:51 PM
  I actually don't really care for Bruce's vocals on this. The songs are good, the lyrics are good, and the vocal melodies are fine, but I just don't think Bruce's operatic style fits this music. There are a lot of moments where he employs a more straightforward vocal technique and it just doesn't really work. This music requires a gruff Eddie Vedder type of vocalist. It's like having John Petrucci on a punk album.

I kinda disagree. I think that is what gives this album its charm, and as you say:

It does transcend the 90s sound too, 

It transcends it on Bruce's back, ..er voice.




But, as you say, the production isn't great, and it initially provided a bit of a roadblock for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 25, 2017, 08:21:55 PM
  This music requires a gruff Eddie Vedder type of vocalist. 

I Will Not Accept The Truth has a total Pearl Jam vibe. I can totally hear Eddie Vedder and his curled lip singing "never get there er er er er, never get there er er er".
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 26, 2017, 03:33:26 AM
In the grand scheme of things, Skunkworks is forgettable, but all in all, I like it. I didn't really mind the change of direction and style, yes it's a product of its time but taken as it is, it's a quite okayish album. It certainly has a proper mood and style, it's focused - I understand people may not like the direction, but THERE IS a clear direction, and the album comes out strongly because of that.

Good job on mentioning that a random b-side, R101, had the title of the zeppelin that would inspire almost 20 years later Maiden's longest song ever. As with Balls to Picasso, there are quite some turds in the b-sides with the occasional gem, in this case it would be Re-Entry.

As for the album, favorites are Innerspace and Solar Confinment among all, and also Back to the Edge, Faith, Inertia, Space Race, Meltdown and Octavia are quite good. Now that I think about it, there isn't really a very bad song on the album - once you accept the style, all the songs are at the very least decent.

This was also the time I was starting to follow Iron Maiden properly, Bruce Dickinson was guest to a local TV show and I still have taped somewhere the interview with him along with the acoustic showcase; he performed Inertia, Re-Entry and Tears of the Dragon, alongside Alex Dickson.

I don't go back to it anymore but I still think it's a good album. Whenever I feel like compiling some Bruce compilation for my mp3 player, to listen to when I go to and back from work, I always make sure all the solo albums are represented and it's never a chore to find some room for a Skunkworks song or two.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Kwyjibo on August 26, 2017, 04:04:25 AM
Skunkworks is such a great record, for me it's the second best of Bruce's solo records, only surpassed by Chemical Wedding, which may be the best metal record ever.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mladen on August 26, 2017, 04:11:25 AM
Such a good record.

There's something incredibly unique in this album. There are elements of 90s grunge and alternative, occassional Rush moments, but overall, I've never heard anything like it. And some of the songs are truly fantastic - Space race, Faith, Inside the machine, Solar confinement, Octavia, Headswitch. Of all Bruce's solo albums, this one is the most experimental and special. I would rank it right behind the big two.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Zantera on August 26, 2017, 07:04:24 AM
I really like Skunkworks
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Art on August 26, 2017, 07:49:05 AM
I love Skunkworks! Great songs, a different style yes, but it works. Been hooked on it since i saw the video for Back From the Edge many years ago. I would've loved to have caught them live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Lowdz on August 26, 2017, 09:04:02 AM
I've never heard the whole thing. I was out of love with all things Maiden/Dickinson by this point. There was awesome stuff appearing in the genre.

I had a quick listen to Skunkworks a couple of weeks ago, just the first few songs, and it sounded pretty good.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 26, 2017, 09:51:44 AM
Couple of additional factoids I forgot to mention:

The Skunkworks tour was actually a sort of prototype for Iron Maiden's Flight 666. Bruce piloted a plane with the entire band and crew which, similar to Somewhere Back In Time, allowed them to visit places they wouldn't be able to otherwise. The tour mostly stuck to Europe, but with Bruce's plane they were able to also visit Japan and the US.

Bruce also cut his hair around this time. Doesn't have any impact on the music, but it seemed to be what most interviewers were interested in when talking to him that year.

The artwork was by Storm Thorgerson.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 26, 2017, 10:02:37 AM
Mosh, now that you mentioned the Skunkworks cover, doesn't it seem like a variation on the theme used for Falling into Infinity? They were released only a handful of months apart, right?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 26, 2017, 10:09:05 AM
They're definitely similar, although I'm pretty sure Storm would just submit a portfolio of his work to the artists that they could choose from. So it's hard to say when the two covers were actually created.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 26, 2017, 07:51:51 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mister Gold on August 26, 2017, 08:13:24 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal

I love the original version and all, but Christ, that has to be the best arrangement I've ever heard for this song. :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 26, 2017, 09:55:32 PM
I was checking out a few other tunes and found Blaze doing Wasted YEars - this one´s quite good, despite the poor audio quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGcD6V_MJ78

Interesting to hear Blaze say that he was never allowed to sing this one while he was in Maiden...this song actually fits his voice quite well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 26, 2017, 11:24:33 PM
Yeah, sounds good. Nice find.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: wolfking on August 27, 2017, 04:01:56 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal

Blaze dominating here!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on August 27, 2017, 04:08:03 AM
Haven't contributed to this thread but I just chime in to say I love Skunkworks, not my favourite Bruce album but it's diffrent and has a nice grunge/metal vibe along with good melodies.  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: wolfking on August 27, 2017, 04:09:31 AM
Skunkworks is my third fav Bruce solo album, obviously behind CW and AOB.  Being a 90's boy this one sparked my interest pretty quickly and grew into a real winner.  It's got the 90's feel, but to be honest, I don't really feel the grunge and especially Pearl Jam references.  It's still a unique and individual record on its own that just came in a time where you can see what was going on had an influence.  I can definitely see where the references come from.

I don't care about Bruce's motivation behind this album because it's still a well written, well thought out and well performed and produced album.  I love the feel Alex Dickson gives with his playing.  His style is one of the big reasons it's so different.

Lots of highlights here and nothing really worth skipping.  BFTE, Inertia, Inside the Machine, STIP,  Innerspace, SC, lots to like here.

A lot of the bonues tracks are just as good also.  Armchair Hero should have been on the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 27, 2017, 04:23:30 AM
Forgot about Armchair Hero. Yes, that song is quite great. I still think Re-Entry is the best of the b-sides, but Armchair Hero comes pretty close.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: wolfking on August 27, 2017, 04:30:06 AM
Haven't contributed to this thread but I just chime in to say I love Skunkworks, not my favourite Bruce album but it's diffrent and has a nice grunge/metal vibe along with good melodies.  :tup

Well said. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 27, 2017, 06:05:26 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal

Blaze dominating here!!!

Yeah.

Reminds me: our holiday starts with a flight to LA on Friday before going up to Santa Barbara for a couple of days, returning to LA on the Tuesday. Blaze is playing at The Whisky on the Monday night :censored I think it's a rock jam on the Tuesday night which we'll go to but arrrgghhh!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: JayOctavarium on August 27, 2017, 07:03:04 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal

Blaze dominating here!!!

Yeah.

Reminds me: our holiday starts with a flight to LA on Friday before going up to Santa Barbara for a couple of days, returning to LA on the Tuesday. Blaze is playing at The Whisky on the Monday night :censored I think it's a rock jam on the Tuesday night which we'll go to but arrrgghhh!

Off topic but the vids I've seen from those Jam Nights are pretty cool. Worth checking out
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factor (1995)
Post by: stargazer18 on August 27, 2017, 07:38:56 AM
The music is another story and even some of the slower, plodding tunes have enough to keep my interest. My favorites include the title track, Fortunes of War, Look for the Truth, The Aftermath, Judgement of Heaven, Blood on the Worlds Hands, The Edge of Darkness and The Unbeliever.  So, most of the disc basically!
This actually isn't the first time I see someone mistakenly refer to Sign of the cross as the title track. Many people do it as well with the follow up album, refering to Futureal as tre title track.  :biggrin:

You are correct! I updated my post accordingly.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 27, 2017, 08:10:10 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal

Blaze dominating here!!!

Yeah.

Reminds me: our holiday starts with a flight to LA on Friday before going up to Santa Barbara for a couple of days, returning to LA on the Tuesday. Blaze is playing at The Whisky on the Monday night :censored I think it's a rock jam on the Tuesday night which we'll go to but arrrgghhh!

Off topic but the vids I've seen from those Jam Nights are pretty cool. Worth checking out

Thanks. We'll definitely go - even if just to say we've finally been to a gig at The Whisky ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 27, 2017, 08:19:39 AM
Take some pics!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Art on August 28, 2017, 08:05:53 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tukA2ZYQzaI

 :metal

This version kicks so much ass!  :metal :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: devieira73 on August 28, 2017, 11:01:59 AM
Great version! And this only highlights one of the greatest problems in Blaze's era: the sound of the rythms guitars were very weak, bad tones, bad mix (and this wasn't Blaze's fault of course).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: cramx3 on August 28, 2017, 11:21:05 AM
My feelings on Skunkworks are similar to that of Balls to Picasso.  In that it's an interesting side of Bruce's discography that's a bit different and the end result is a collection of pretty solid songs.  I've always really liked Solar Confinement, that always felt like a standout song from his entire catalogue.  However, like BtP, I don't overall love the album.  Doesn't really have many/any duds on it, but it also really just doesn't stand out very much.   Consistent music, but maybe that's the problem for me, as I've never been much of an alternative/grunge fan so this style of music doesn't really interest me too much.  It's good, but I can't rate it higher than what was to come from Bruce, but I respect and enjoy the album for what it is. 

Also, cool to know Bruce did his own Bruce Air sort of thing with this band.  Didn't know he already proved this concept before doing it with IM.  Also, the Skunkworks version of The Prisoner is pretty cool because the guitaring is a bit different, definitely gives a more grunge feel to the song, or a Skunkworks feel to it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Stadler on August 28, 2017, 12:53:20 PM
I really like the Skunkworks album.  I thought it was good music, albeit not game changing, but a good record to put on when you just want solid hard rock.   It does suffer in that it is "very good" whereby the comparative stuff is "great", so I don't go to it much.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 29, 2017, 07:15:15 AM
Great version! And this only highlights one of the greatest problems in Blaze's era: the sound of the rythms guitars were very weak, bad tones, bad mix (and this wasn't Blaze's fault of course).

Exactly. There are some great songs, yes, even on VXI.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Dream Team on August 29, 2017, 05:28:32 PM
Skunkworks was kinda meh for me, but oh boy the next one . . .
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: TAC on August 29, 2017, 06:52:14 PM
Skunkworks was kinda meh for me, but oh boy the next one . . .

Yeah, Virtual XI! :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: wolfking on August 29, 2017, 06:54:19 PM
Skunkworks was kinda meh for me, but oh boy the next one . . .

Yeah, Virtual XI! :metal

Haha, indeed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 29, 2017, 09:02:59 PM
The X Factour (1995 - 96)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures10_xfactor/tourbook10_xfactor.jpg)

After being off the road for nearly two years, Maiden were eager to return to the stage. They had a new singer and a new album they were ready to play live. Unfortunately, Maiden’s popularity was declining and they found themselves playing smaller venues in Europe and especially North America. It’s no secret that the two tours with Blaze had problematic moments, but there were some highlights too. Here’s a quick look at how Blaze’s first tour with Maiden panned out.

Of course this tour was higher pressure than usual because they were showing off a new singer. Blaze wasn’t just replacing a singer, he also had to fill Bruce’s role as one of Rock’s greatest frontmen. It’s pretty obvious watching the tour that Blaze was out of his element with Maiden. His stage presence was very stiff compared to Bruce and he didn’t contribute much in the way of stage banter. He was also tasked with singing Bruce’s old vocal parts, which brings us to the show’s setlist.

There was no getting around the material with Bruce and the majority of the setlist was made up of songs that he sang on. Obviously Blaze had a much more limited range and struggled with several of the songs. It didn’t help that the band didn’t adjust the tunings to better accommodate Blaze’s lower voice. However, he did have his good moments. His rendition of Afraid To Shoot Strangers is probably the closest he came to touching one of Bruce’s performances. The song also fit quite well with the darker material from The X Factor. There surprisingly wasn’t much played from the Di’Anno albums. Going back to the early days for songs that better fit Blaze’s voice would’ve made sense, but Maiden didn’t seem very interested in deviating much from the staples of the recent tours. In fact, apart from the new songs, these were all songs that had previously been featured on the Fear Of the Dark and A Real Live tours. They did deviate from the typical ending of Sanctuary/Running Free by closing instead with The Trooper. It was a very interesting choice for set closer and remains a choice unique to the Blaze era.

Probably in acknowledgement of Blaze’s limited vocal abilities, the setlist was very heavy on new material. 7 songs were performed from the X Factor, which is a higher number than usual and much more than the 5 performed from Fear of the Dark. A few of these songs were also on the lengthier side, so they made up a large portion of the set. The X Factour was also the first tour since Beast On the Road where the opening song wasn’t the first song on the album. Ironic since Beast On the Road was Bruce’s first full tour with the band. Unlike Beast On the Road, the album’s opening track was played later in the show. Instead, they opened with Man On the Edge. The other songs played were Lord Of the Flies, Fortunes Of War, Blood On the World’s Hands, and The Aftermath. With the exception of Lord Of the Flies and Man On the Edge, these songs showed the album’s more complex and darker side. Still, the energy of a live performance greatly benefited these songs. Blood On the World’s Hands in particular was a highlight with Steve Harris’ bass intro.

For staging, the band decided it was finally time to begin moving away from the “bare bones” style of the last few tours. The wall of Marshall Amps disappeared and was replaced by a stage setup that was themed after the new album’s cover artwork. The centerpiece was Eddie in an electric chair during Iron Maiden. A big walk on Eddie also appeared earlier in the set. Overall, it was probably the most “classic” stage design of the decade so far, although the production was considerably smaller to accommodate the smaller venus Maiden were playing on this tour.

The X Factour was to continue Maiden’s exploration of new markets and began with a tour of the Middle East and Africa. Maiden kicked off the tour with their very first appearance in Israel, followed by their first performance in Africa. The tour was mostly a success, the band even filmed the video for Man On the Edge in Israel, although unfortunately the last show in South Africa was cancelled due to issues with the local authorities.

The tour hit its low point in the US. By 1996, Maiden’s popularity in the US was at an all time low. They had gone from playing arenas to playing small clubs and theatres. In Colorado, Maiden played Red Rocks on the Fear of the Dark tour and were downgraded to a small theater on The X Factour. A string of dates toward the end of the tour was also cancelled. The official reason is that Blaze had a voice infection, although it’s often speculated that the low ticket sales had a lot to do with it.

It wasn’t all bad, however. Similar to the Fear Of the Dark tour, when Maiden hit South America they once again became superstars. The tour was kicked off with a headlining performance at Rock In Rio Brazil. As usual in South America, the crowd was huge and proved that some parts of the world still supported Maiden. The short South American tour was probably the highlight of the tour and also included their first visit to Chile. It is also here where we find video footage of the tour. Three of the South American performances were broadcasted on TV: Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. The Brazilian show is incomplete but still covers a large portion of the show. The Chile performance is complete and better video quality, but it also features what is probably the most infamous clip from the Blaze years. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it yet, but make sure you stick around for The Trooper. The Argentina show is pretty low quality, but worth checking out anyway since this era is so undocumented by the band. I also included a clip from the Bulgaria show which is very high quality, but unfortunately incomplete.

Brazil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqLW5xZ72hw

Chile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB3QkKfV6E8&t=4003s

Argentina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk14RKCC50A

Bulgaria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKPKjHDPOrI

Overall, like most of the Blaze era, the tour was a mixed bag. The tour had some obvious pitfalls and Blaze’s performances were hit and miss, but there were plenty of memorable moments and aspects of the tour that make it worth revisiting years later. For one thing, this was the third tour in a row where the bulk of the new songs were instantly retired afterwards. Most didn’t even make it to the next tour. There was also no lull in the band’s on stage energy. With Bruce gone, Steve took the opportunity to act as a frontman in a similar way to when Paul was in the band. Bruce or no Bruce, it was still Maiden and Maiden still knew how to put on a fantastic live performance.

Best Of the Beast (1996)

(https://img.discogs.com/0Qa8fl9sfpgepBFiKKeS9RAFEf4=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-398838-1375865911-1316.jpeg.jpg)

Toward the end of The X Factour, Maiden released their first compilation album. Maiden has put out several greatest hits albums since then (there was one every three years from 1996 to 2011), but Best Of the Beast remains the best and probably the only one that is essential unless you’re a hardcore fan or collector. Not only is it a solid retrospective of the band’s history up until this point, it also contains some unreleased material. Two versions of the album were released. The first is a single CD that mostly features the band’s most popular songs, singles, and live favorites. There is also a 2CD version that has the songs resequenced in reverse chronological order with some extras and ending with two cuts from The Soundhouse Tapes, including the previously unreleased Strange World. There is also an LP version that contains the entire Soundhouse Tapes.

What makes this album especially unique is the presence of a new song: Virus. Maiden were never a band with non-album tracks. Aside from b-sides that were never meant for the album anyway, they only recorded enough to fill an album. Every single since Women In Uniform was a cut that appeared on a studio album. Maiden began to buck this tradition with The X Factor when they recorded more music than what would fit on a CD. The tradition was broken again just a year later when Maiden recorded Virus as a one-off, the first time they did such a thing since Women in Uniform. The song was released as a single a few weeks before the album and also became the first Maiden single to never be performed live.

The song itself is a pretty rough recording, even more raw than The X Factor. It has a similar dark tone to The X Factor with a long slow interest before finally kicking off almost 3 minutes in. When the song gets going, it has a high speed feel that’s almost more reminiscent of the next album. Appropriately, Virus seems to be the missing link between the two albums. Lyrically, the song deals with the negative press Maiden were receiving with Blaze and the new album. It's also one of the most unique writing combinations in the band's catalog: Harris/Murray/Gers/Bayley. This is the only time in the band's history that two of the guitarists collaborated directly and the only Maiden song to feature more than 3 songwriters.

For the artwork, the band returned to Derek Riggs for a return to the classic style of Maiden covers. It’s a neat collage of various Eddies over the years with an obvious focus on the 80s. It’s a nice nod to the band’s past and I can’t think of a more appropriate album cover.

Overall, Best Of the Beast is a fun retrospective of the band’s career. It’s a solid selection of songs that naturally focuses on the band’s more accessible side. The 2CD version is best in terms of sequence and song selection, plus the added bonus of the Soundhouse Tapes cuts, but is harder to find. It’s worth picking up for Virus alone if you find it at a used CD store for a good price.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on August 29, 2017, 09:34:30 PM
Another awesome post, Mosh. But let me just correct one thing: they played the Brazilian version of the Monsters of Rock festival, not Rock in Rio. I saw the Rio show, which also had Motorhead and Skid Row.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: jjrock88 on August 29, 2017, 09:51:54 PM
Best of the Beast was the first Maiden cd I bought and that's what got me into the band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 29, 2017, 10:11:49 PM
Another awesome post, Mosh. But let me just correct one thing: they played the Brazilian version of the Monsters of Rock festival, not Rock in Rio. I saw the Rio show, which also had Motorhead and Skid Row.
Oops, you're right. I swear I was thinking Monsters of Rock as I typed Rock In Rio.  :mehlin
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: jammindude on August 29, 2017, 10:25:48 PM
REALLY REALLY wish I would have saw this one. 

You hinted at IM playing clubs and small theaters in NA.  But I have friends who saw them at the Off Ramp (now El Corazon) in Seattle.   This is a *DIVE*.   It's Seattle's most famous dive, and there is a lot of history in that building.  All four of the Seattle "big 4" got their start there, and the bar scene from the movie Singles was filmed there.   But I'd be shocked if that place could hold 500 people....and if it did they would be packed in lips to asses.   

But thats actually what would have made it cool.  Ive always envisioned IM as the WORLD SLAVERY TOUR band.   But this would have been my one and only opportunity to see what it might have been like to see Maiden in a club in London before they were even signed.   Just that atmosphere alone would have been worth it.    That, along with the fact that I love TXF, and BotWH especially, would have made it magical.   But alas, I was just not into Maiden at this point in time, and wouldn't discover the genius of TXF until much later.   But wow....major missed opportunity.   

When I think back on concerts that I could have actually seen, but missed, this comes up as my #1 missed opportunity. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Skunkworks (1996)
Post by: Mladen on August 30, 2017, 01:14:54 AM
Brazil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqLW5xZ72hw
This is the first time I'm seeing this and I really like it. The bootleg starts with Heaven can wait, which is one of the few Bruce era songs Blaze performed fairly well. He nails the "take my hand" section, the way he changed up the second half sounds great. The rest of the band is top notch as always - it's important to know the rest of the band never lost their step.

Also, Virus is one fine song.  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 30, 2017, 01:16:15 AM
As mentioned earlier, I was still too young, shy and inexperienced to go to the show, but at least I attended the free meet n' greet that was held on my birthday and I hold on to the signed autographs with "Happy birthday!" written on it  :metal

Virus is quite a fun song, the video however was kinda meh  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mladen on August 30, 2017, 01:17:31 AM
I'm watching more of the Brazil bootleg - holy shit, the TXF songs sound amazing!  :o
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Lowdz on August 30, 2017, 03:40:32 AM
Those clips just make me feel sorry for Blaze. Hallowed wasalways going to be an insurmountable challenge but even Sanctuary was just awful.
Maybe they'd have been better advised to just let the crowd sing the old songs...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 30, 2017, 04:26:17 AM
Maybe they'd have been better advised to just let the crowd sing the old songs...

They should have downtuned AND picked songs good for Blaze's voice, going back more to the Di'Anno era would have been a ncie treat. But uh well, Steve knows best. (most of the times, that's it)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: wolfking on August 30, 2017, 05:36:03 AM
I've always wanted to get a copy of the 2cd BOTB but never been able to find one. I'm sure it would be easy enough to get online somewhere.

Virus is a fantastic song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: TAC on August 30, 2017, 06:12:39 AM
This was the first tour that I would miss. I haven't gotten into it, but 1995 was also a crazy year for me which carried a little into 1996. I also got divorced during this time period, and it was just a weird time. Maiden's new album, which should have been comforting, just wasn't.

But I had taken some time off and my boss did me a number of favors, but I could NOT get the nights off that they were playing in Boston and Providence. I was so pissed.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Stadler on August 30, 2017, 07:00:01 AM
I've always wanted to get a copy of the 2cd BOTB but never been able to find one. I'm sure it would be easy enough to get online somewhere.

Virus is a fantastic song.

I finally found it - in okay condition - but it's not easy to find at a reasonable price. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: kaos2900 on August 30, 2017, 07:36:35 AM
Man those videos were awful. Blaze was just not the right choice for that music.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: cramx3 on August 30, 2017, 08:28:15 AM
Love Virus.  That's up there with some of the best Blaze songs.  Actually really like the b-sides from TXF as well.  It's a shame those songs didn't make the album because it's pretty good stuff, just didn't fit the album and therefore kind of gets lost in the IM catalogue since b-sides weren't really a thing with IM. 

That Chile performance, that's really unfortunate and kind of shows just how unliked Blaze was overall though.  I liked his music and all, but he just wasn't really good enough to front IM. 

Also, just like the mix of TXF that really didn't help Blaze, the selection of live songs also didn't help him.  It almost seems like Steve just threw him into the fire with some of these decisions. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Stadler on August 30, 2017, 08:31:38 AM
But isn't that why Bruce IS the right guy for the job?   Steve decides, and Bruce delivers.   It's really that simple, more often than not. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: cramx3 on August 30, 2017, 08:46:15 AM
But isn't that why Bruce IS the right guy for the job?   Steve decides, and Bruce delivers.   It's really that simple, more often than not.

Of course
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 30, 2017, 09:42:13 AM
I have to wonder whether Steve Harris refusing (presumably) to tune down (as well as asking Blaze to sing songs that were all but impossible for him) was part of hazing Blaze a la Jason Newsted, tied-in with pent up anger at Bruce's temerity to leave the band. Was Blaze someone Steve could manipulate in a way that Bruce would never have allowed?

It does seem like Blaze was almost set-up to fail.

Disclosure: I love the two Maiden albums with Blaze.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 30, 2017, 09:42:35 AM
It's almost like, subconsciously, they chose an expendable singer to make room for Bruce's eventual return. Finding the most amazing singer on the world that fans would have loved and embraced would have made harder a reunion. (Even though one could argue that Ripper was killer with Priest, and 99% of the fans welcomed back gladly Rob Halford anyway)

I know it's not like that, but the thought crossed my mind.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: TAC on August 30, 2017, 09:46:57 AM
I don't think either of those are true. As great as Steve is, every decision he makes is not necessarily a good one. Steve does not seem the type to undermine anything on purpose, especially Iron Maiden at such a critical time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Stadler on August 30, 2017, 10:00:44 AM
I don't think either of those are true. As great as Steve is, every decision he makes is not necessarily a good one. Steve does not seem the type to undermine anything on purpose, especially Iron Maiden at such a critical time.

Why would he undermine the singer process, out of his anger at Bruce for leaving?  If anything, he'd WANT to show Bruce that he's not the cat's meow and Maiden doesn't need him.  If anything, THAT was what was fueling his decisions; "hey Bruce, you fencing little twat, we got a guy. Nameless, faceless and he stepped right the fuck in, played what I told him, in the original keys, and we're bigger than ever.   Go fly a kite plane."  Alas, it didn't work out that way.

I don't want to quibble, but "good one" is subjective here; Maiden is Steve's band.  By that definition, I think every decision IS good.  Maybe not what I want to see, or maybe doesn't work out as he intended, but I don't know that we KNOW what he intended (though the success of the reunion band certainly has given us insight, hasn't it?)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: nobloodyname on August 30, 2017, 10:17:42 AM
I doubt it's the case but psychology, it's one potential angle that would fit. (Not to get at Bruce, but to get out his internal anger and frustration.)

I think I read somewhere once that Rod Smallwood had a lot to do with the appointment of Blaze. Perhaps in the Mick Wall biography. Just an inkling. Could be a false memory.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: El Barto on August 30, 2017, 12:43:08 PM
Just chiming in to say I'm seeing Blaze tonight. Good setlist (and includes Virus, since it's a hot topic here). Oughtta be a great show. Looking forward to it.

Also worth pointing out that he's got a MP/RJD level of personability with the fans. Probably more-so, in fact. He does meet and greets after every show, "bring whatever you want, I'll sign it." Seems like a helluva guy.

Saw the X-Factor tour here at a smaller but still decent sized venue. Recall that it was pretty good. His material was fantastic. Unlike Tim, that was the first Maiden show I went to after a long absence. The last couple of albums just didn't do much for me and they tended to stick to Fort Worth rather than Dallas.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: cramx3 on August 30, 2017, 12:59:30 PM
Nice, enjoy the concert tonight.  His tour came to Brooklyn but that's really not easy for me to get to, I would have gone if he played closer or on an easier date for me.  I'd like to support him, I know he needs it and he does seem like a really good guy who does make music I enjoy.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Stadler on August 30, 2017, 01:01:52 PM
Just chiming in to say I'm seeing Blayze tonight. Good setlist (and includes Virus, since it's a hot topic here). Oughtta be a great show. Looking forward to it.

Also worth pointing out that he's got a MP/RJD level of personability with the fans. Probably more-so, in fact. He does meet and greets after every show, "bring whatever you want, I'll sign it." Seems like a helluva guy.

Saw the X-Factor tour here at a smaller but still decent sized venue. Recall that it was pretty good. His material was fantastic. Unlike Tim, that was the first Maiden show I went to after a long absence. The last couple of albums just didn't do much for me and they tended to stick to Fort Worth rather than Dallas.

What size venue?   That should be a good small club show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 30, 2017, 01:09:19 PM
I've seen him live with his band supporting Helloween in 2001 and the following year at a festival, and as a guest for Doro at Wacken. That show (with the orchestra) was awesome, they started with Fear of the Dark  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: El Barto on August 30, 2017, 01:39:03 PM
What size venue?   That should be a good small club show.
Never been there, but looking at the pictures I'd reckon about 750. So yea, small club show.

I'd like to support him, I know he needs it and he does seem like a really good guy who does make music I enjoy.
Yeah, tickets were only like $10, so I'll certainly buy a shirt from the dude.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mladen on August 30, 2017, 01:42:52 PM
I was supposed to see Blaze for the fourth time a month ago, but it got cancelled. Blaze is a dear visitor to us, so it's no problem, he'll be back.

The reason why Steve and the guys didn't tune down of pick songs that suite Blaze more could be that Blaze didn't specifically ask for that. He was thrilled enough to be in Maiden and, as a younger fellow who was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, didn't want to be picky about things. "Sir, yes, sir! I'll sing all of those songs, original key. After all, you made me an Iron Maiden singer!" Since Blaze never addressed the issue, the other guys didn't feel the need to neither.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: MirrorMask on August 30, 2017, 01:47:37 PM
Now you got me wondering who first suggested to tune down half a step Images and Words in the current DT tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 30, 2017, 03:07:38 PM

Also worth pointing out that he's got a MP/RJD level of personability with the fans. Probably more-so, in fact. He does meet and greets after every show, "bring whatever you want, I'll sign it." Seems like a helluva guy.

Even a copy of Brave New World?  :corn

Seriously though enjoy the show and let us know it goes. Been hearing a lot of great feedback on Maidenfans. Hopefully he'll stop in Denver next time around.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Herrick on August 30, 2017, 08:39:22 PM
Now you got me wondering who first suggested to tune down half a step Images and Words in the current DT tour.

I've wondered about that too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Grappler on August 30, 2017, 09:38:24 PM
Best of the Beast was the first Maiden cd I bought and that's what got me into the band.

Best of the Beast was my first Maiden CD as well.  Fear of the Dark was my introduction to the band, but I lived off of that one mix tape until I got this greatest hits package.  I have no idea why I bought it - maybe I wanted to get more into the band, maybe I heard a song somehwere.  I don't remember.  But I do remember the live version of Fear of the Dark giving me goosebumps when I heard the crowd sing the melody - I'd never heard something like that before.  Aces High also kicked my ass, and still does to this day.

Never saw the X Factour, but I've seen that clip of the Chile show so many times.  I couldn't imagine spitting on a musician.  I've seen a lot of concerts where I didn't like one of the bands playing, but I never would have considered to do something like that.  It's really sad that fans sink down to that level - the QR split with Tate also elicited a lot of vitriol like that from fans.  It's just music.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: wolfking on August 31, 2017, 07:27:14 PM
I was supposed to see Blaze for the fourth time a month ago, but it got cancelled. Blaze is a dear visitor to us, so it's no problem, he'll be back.

The reason why Steve and the guys didn't tune down of pick songs that suite Blaze more could be that Blaze didn't specifically ask for that. He was thrilled enough to be in Maiden and, as a younger fellow who was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, didn't want to be picky about things. "Sir, yes, sir! I'll sing all of those songs, original key. After all, you made me an Iron Maiden singer!" Since Blaze never addressed the issue, the other guys didn't feel the need to neither.

Fair enough but Steve should have been able to see the issues with Blaze singing the songs and taken more initiative to get the band to tune down.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mosh on August 31, 2017, 11:00:37 PM
I have to wonder whether Steve Harris refusing (presumably) to tune down (as well as asking Blaze to sing songs that were all but impossible for him) was part of hazing Blaze a la Jason Newsted, tied-in with pent up anger at Bruce's temerity to leave the band. Was Blaze someone Steve could manipulate in a way that Bruce would never have allowed?

It does seem like Blaze was almost set-up to fail.

Disclosure: I love the two Maiden albums with Blaze.
It's almost like, subconsciously, they chose an expendable singer to make room for Bruce's eventual return. Finding the most amazing singer on the world that fans would have loved and embraced would have made harder a reunion. (Even though one could argue that Ripper was killer with Priest, and 99% of the fans welcomed back gladly Rob Halford anyway)

I know it's not like that, but the thought crossed my mind.

So I really don't think any of this is true. While Steve comes off as really laid back, you have to remember he's also very driven and somewhat stubborn. Remember when Bruce joined, the two of them would fight over who was really the frontman. Steve also always had the last word at the concerts early on.

Fast forward to Bruce's departure and there was definitely a question of whether Maiden would survive without him. From what we know of Steve, the thought of that was probably ridiculous to him and showed that the next version of Maiden needed to be as good as anything before and certainly better than whatever Bruce would end up doing. There's no question that Steve was dedicated to Blaze and genuinely thought he was the right man for the job.

As for the tunings, I think it's just another example of stubbornness. If there's one thing Maiden don't do, it's drastically alter the song arrangements. With very few exceptions, the way it was recorded is the way it's played live. Maybe tuning down would've been an admission of defeat or something. Maybe it just never occurred to him. And yea Blaze probably wasn't going to come in as a new guy and demand they alter the songs. Maybe in retrospect that would've been a good idea, but Blaze doesn't seem like the type to do that.

Ironically, one of those exceptions was a Blaze song. Maiden tuned down Lord of the Flies on the Death of the Road tour. That had to be a slap in the face to Blaze, if he was aware of them doing that.

Also, and we'll get to this more later, Steve was the last member to agree to bringing Bruce back. He had too much pride for that. I don't think Steve truly realized how vital Bruce was to the band until Brave New World. That understanding is partly what has kept them together so long IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mladen on September 01, 2017, 12:44:01 AM
Maybe tuning down would've been an admission of defeat or something. Maybe it just never occurred to him. And yea Blaze probably wasn't going to come in as a new guy and demand they alter the songs.
It probably comes down to these two reasons.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The X Factour (1995 - 1996)
Post by: Mosh on September 03, 2017, 10:55:24 PM
Before we move on to Accident of Birth, let's catch up on what Adrian was doing throughout the 90s. It’s easy to think that Adrian left Maiden to pursue a solo career but that’s actually not the case at all. Adrian didn’t just leave Maiden, he left the music industry altogether. Instead, he got married and began to start a family. He even put the guitar away during this time.

The beginning of his return to music actually came in 1992 when he joined Maiden on stage at Donington, as previously discussed. Around the same time, he was inspired by hearing a new band: King’s X. Shortly after, Adrian Smith happened to meet Jamie Stewart of The Cult and formed The Untouchables (Another member of the band worth mentioning is Fabio Del Rio, who played on Tattooed Millionaire). The idea was to play in a band similar to King’s X, but neither musician intended to formally return to the music business. They would play clubs around England but no more than that.

Obviously things turned out differently. The lineup went through some changes (Jamie was no longer involved) and eventually The Untouchables became Psycho Motel and the new band made two albums:

State Of Mind (1995)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9d/Psychomotelstate.jpg/220px-Psychomotelstate.jpg)
Hans-Olav Solli - Vocals
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Gary Leideman - Bass
Mike Sturgis - Drums

To complete the lineup, Adrian brought in Norwegian vocalist Solli who had earned a reputation working in a project with Scott Gorham. You can definitely hear the King’s X influence in this album. Lots of traditional Hard Rock with some prog rock twists such as odd time signatures. There are heavy moments but it’s mostly blues based Hendrix styled riffing. The production is very rough, almost demo quality.

The album didn’t really do much, but it did get Maiden’s attention and Psycho Motel were invited to open for Maiden at a gig in England during The X Factour.

Welcome To the World (1997)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Psycho_Motel_WtW.JPG/220px-Psycho_Motel_WtW.JPG)
Andy Makin - Vocals
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Gary Leideman - Bass
Mike Sturgis - Drums

After the tour for State of Mind, Solli departed the band. Adrian decided to go for someone younger who was influenced by the popular rock bands of the time such as Pearl Jam. The result was a heavier and more modern sounding album. The production also improved quite a bit. While neither albums seem to resonate much with Maiden fans, Welcome To the World seems to be the more popular of the two.

The album also featured a guest appearance from Adrian's old bandmate: Dave Murray! Dave performed a guitar solo on the song With You Again. It was the first time the two appeared on a studio recording together since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

Both albums were re-released years later but quickly went out of print and are pretty rare. Both albums seem to achieve what Bruce Dickinson was going for with Skunkworks. They don’t feel like Adrian Smith solo projects at all, just a band he’s involved with. As mentioned earlier, neither albums are considered essential by Maiden fans but they might be of interest to those who like Adrian’s playing/writing or are just curious about what he does outside Maiden.

Adrian did not intend to just make two albums in Psycho Motel. He seemed to have a good time with them and was excited to be making music again. However, his plans were put to a quick halt when he received a call from Bruce Dickinson shortly after finishing Welcome To the World...


Bruce Dickinson - Accident of Birth (1997)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth.jpg/220px-Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth.jpg)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5e/AccidentOfBirth.jpg/220px-AccidentOfBirth.jpg)
(US Cover)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/65/Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth_-_2005.jpg/220px-Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth_-_2005.jpg)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/17/Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth_Extended.jpg/220px-Bruce_Dickinson_-_Accident_of_Birth_Extended.jpg)
(2005 Expanded Edition Covers)

Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Roy Z - Guitar/Keyboards
Eddie Casillas - Bass
David Ingraham - Drums

Bruce intended to make a second album with Skunkworks, but it became evident early on that there were unresolvable musical differences. According to Bruce, Alex Dickson was going for a more Alternative direction in the vein of REM or recent David Bowie, Bruce, on the other hand, wanted something Heavier. The band agreed that to go in any one direction wouldn’t work if there were two conflicting ideas, and with that Skunkworks was disbanded. Since it was a mutual agreement, the split was on good terms. There was even a short reunion, but we’ll get to that later.

Bruce then went through a period of uncertainty with what to do next. His first solo attempts were commercial disappointments and Bruce was beginning to feel defeated. He decided to give Roy Z a call and, after hearing Roy Z play the riff for what would eventually become Accident Of Birth over the phone, all doubts were put to rest. Bruce decided that the next album would be an all out traditional Metal album. It wouldn’t be a different take on Metal the way Balls to Picasso was, it’d be a “balls out Metal record” in the style Bruce was known for. 

Accident Of Birth was exactly the kind of album Bruce tried to avoid making when he left Maiden. As mentioned earlier, he felt that the traits he helped popularize in Maiden had become cliche by the 90s and wanted to avoid creating a parody. Needless to say, Bruce was reluctant to return to Metal, but he was so impressed with what Roy Z presented to him that he knew it was the best direction to go in. The time seemed right and, with Roy Z as a main writer and the producer, things were working in the album’s favor. History seemed to be repeating itself. When Bruce worked with Roy Z the first time, he had just spent almost two years in uncertainty over what to do with his solo career. When Roy got involved, things happened very quickly. The same events took place with Accident of Birth. Once Bruce and Roy Z began working together, the music started coming extremely quick. Before long, there was an entire album’s worth of songs written.

The backing band for the album was naturally going to be Tribe of Gypsies again, however this time they weren’t credited as such. The music was also not in the Tribe’s Latin Metal style. While some elements of Latin music sneak in at various moments, mostly in some of the acoustic work and Roy Z’s guitar solos, it doesn’t have the same feel or groove as Balls to Picasso. Metal “cliches” such as twin guitar harmonies and the Maiden gallop are abundant and unapologetic on Balls to Picasso. Bruce wanted the album to be relentlessly heavy but also very musical.

To complete the album lineup, Bruce felt it was appropriate to call up Adrian and invite him to make a guest appearance. Adrian had a very recognizable guitar sound that would further drive the Maiden-ness of it all, but Bruce thought this was right as he wanted the album to sound as good as Maiden’s best work. Adrian and Bruce also had an effective writing team in Maiden which was put to good use on Accident of Birth. The duo wrote three songs together for the album: Road To Hell, Welcome To the Pit, and Ghost of Cain (a song that was left off the original UK version but included on the US and Japanese releases). Road To Hell especially showed that the two could still deliver the goods. The song had a classic 80’s Maiden feel with a catchy anthemic chorus, twin guitar harmonies, and an instrumental break that was very similar to The Prisoner. The other two songs were still unmistakably Smith/Dickinson, but a bit more modernized. Adrian seemed to be bringing in some influence from what he was doing at the time with Psycho Motel.

Initially, Adrian was only brought on as a guest. He’d write some songs and add some parts where a second guitarist was necessary. However, Adrian ended up playing on most of the album and even joined the band for the following tour. His plans with Psycho Motel were going to be put on hold as he was now a full member of Bruce’s solo band. Adrian’s presence was also great PR for the album and he was heavily involved with the promotion for the album. He would appear in interviews alongside Bruce and was even included in some of the photoshoots while the rest of the band worked more behind the scenes.

While Adrian’s involvement was naturally what drew most fans to the project, Accident Of Birth is very much the vision of Bruce and Roy Z. Roy Z was the producer and wrote most of the songs with Bruce. Roy Z had a much more modern playing and producing style, he also incorporated alternate tunings into his music. Songs such as the title track and Freak were far heavier than anything Bruce had done before, even with Maiden.

While Accident Of Birth isn’t a concept album, several of the songs are thematically related. Since Bruce was making a traditional Metal album, it made sense to go back to familiar topics. One such was a favorite subject of Bruce’s during the 80’s: Aleister Crowley. Man Of Sorrows and The Magician were both based around his character and life. This was a twist on songs like Moonchild and Revelations which were less about the man himself and more inspired by his works. According to Bruce, Toltec 7 Arrival, Starchildren, Omega, and Arc Of Space are all connected and deal with an apocalyptic future. While not technically part of the aforementioned sequence, The Darkside of Aquarius also has an apocalyptic theme and includes the Four Horsemen of Death, as well as Nostradamus and Marvel Comics’ Silver Surfer. The allegory that Bruce spoke not so fondly of a few years later was back in full force on this album.

The title track supposedly has a double meaning. Bruce describes it as being about the family from Hell, with one member of the family accidentally being born. However, I’ve also heard that the title is autobiographical, referring to Bruce’s mother telling him around this time that he was the result of a botched abortion. I’ve never come across this story coming directly from Bruce, although I suppose we’ll probably get confirmation of that in his upcoming book.


Again similar to Balls to Picasso, the only song on the album to be credited solely to Bruce is also the song with the longest history: Man of Sorrows. The song actually dates back to the Tattooed Millionaire sessions. Bruce had been involved with a film called The Chemical Wedding and wrote the song for its soundtrack. As previously mentioned, the song is about Aleister Crowley, although it is also partly autobiographical. Like most film scripts, The Chemical Wedding wasn’t picked up and the project was quickly abandoned (although it was eventually made years later). Bruce held on to the song and finally recorded it for Accident of Birth. As expected, it’s very unlike the rest of the album, but works well as a break between all the heavy songs. The original version of the song with Janick Gers on guitar was eventually released in 2002 on The Best of Bruce Dickinson.

To further push the album’s Maiden connection, Derek Riggs was enlisted to create the artwork. Of course Derek couldn’t use Eddie, so he created a new mascot for Bruce to use. The hand puppet he created was named Edison and the album cover showcased Riggs’ classic comic book style that had been absent from Maiden’s last release. However, similar to Maiden’s latest album, the violent cover had to be altered for some markets. The original cover depicted Edison bursting out of a stomach, but the US version of the album was simply a portrait of the puppet. The 2005 2CD edition also features different artwork: a sleeve with a crucified Edison (originally the single artwork for Man of Sorrows) and the actual booklet cover with the full version of the original artwork.

While the album still wasn’t a commercial hit, it performed better than Bruce’s last couple efforts and brought a lot of Maiden fans back in the fold. The timing was perfect, Maiden had finally released their first album without Bruce and seemed to be taking a different direction. With Accident of Birth, Bruce was returning to the classic Metal style that Maiden fans were craving. The album was a hit with fans and was widely considered to be better than anything Maiden had done during the decade. Many fans, myself included, consider it just as essential as the classic run of Maiden albums.

Unlike Balls to Picasso, Bruce got to take the band on tour this time. Bruce was playing similar markets to Maiden, performing limited tours in small venues in the US but performing to larger audiences in South America. The typical setlist featured 6 songs from Accident of Birth (the old Maiden standard), a small selection of other songs spanning his solo career, and, in a bold move, some Maiden songs. Bruce was easing Maiden material back into the set on the Skunkworks tour, but with Accident of Birth he went all out including 4 Maiden songs. They were good picks too. Powerslave hadn’t been performed since 1985, Flight of Icarus hadn’t been performed since 1986, and Run To the Hills wasn’t being performed by the current incarnation of Maiden. The only song that both artists were performing was 2 Minutes to Midnight, which was a song Bruce and Adrian wrote. The sound of the new album, the presence of Adrian, and the inclusion of Maiden songs in the setlist was sending a clear message to the fanbase. Bruce was back and he was now in direct competition with his former band.

 Unfortunately, Accident Of Birth is the first Dickinson album not to have an official live release associated with it. However there is some great footage out there. Similar to Maiden, Bruce was doing extremely well in South America and many of his gigs there were televised. There are two on YouTube. One recorded in Chile is just an excerpt, however it’s worth watching for the energetic performance. His performance in Brazil is just as good and the broadcast is complete.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLj6i7zq5RM&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeCqSmEjVaU&
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mladen on September 04, 2017, 02:19:31 AM
Now THIS is a great album. Bruce knocked it out of the park and Adrian's contribution is wonderful as well. Darkside of Aquarius, Freak, Road to hell, Omega and Arc of space are my favorites.

I haven't heard all of the Psycho Motel stuff, only several tracks. Interesting to know they opened once for Maiden during the The X Factour, that seems like a sweet show for all that attended.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: devieira73 on September 04, 2017, 07:01:59 AM
I must say, despite I loved Bruce's returning to Maiden and the fact that I like a lot Maiden's outputs since then, I REALLY miss this phase of Bruce's career and the fact that this Tribe of Gypsies + Adrian line-up hasn't continued to make more albums. IMO nothing Maiden released after Chemical Wedding is as good as those records and this only says how much I think those albums are TOTALLY AWESOME!!! :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on September 04, 2017, 08:16:44 AM
I have both Psycho Motel albums, and the second one is really a step up in terms of production and songwriting. It's like a version of Alice in Chains with better musicians.

Bruce's solo albums at this stage were in direct competition with Maiden, and to this day I regret the fact that I couldn't go see the show that would become Scream for Me Brazil - I'd had tonsillitis a few days before the show, and was still too tired to go.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: PowerSlave on September 04, 2017, 09:52:54 AM
Accident is the 2nd best metal album of the decade(90's) in my opinion. Number 1 will be his next release. As big of a fan of this era of Dream Theater that I am, the two Bruce Dickinson albums prior to his rejoining IM are what define this time in my mind. They have the very best qualities that are contrary to what was being pushed by the music industry of the time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Stadler on September 04, 2017, 11:16:18 AM
Love Accident; really like the second Psycho Motel release.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mister Gold on September 04, 2017, 12:11:24 PM
I'll just go ahead and say it; as much as I love Iron Maiden, the band has only made one or two albums that ever topped Accident of Birth imo. Bruce, Roy and Adrian knocked it out of the ballpark with that album. And Maiden has never topped what Bruce and Co. would come up with next...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 04, 2017, 12:27:11 PM
This is a great album and I always get alot of flashbacks from my youth when listening to this. I was 15 when this came out and I was deep into discovering Maiden and metal but this was a side of Bruce i've never heard before. I think the riffing is what I love most about this album that's until, I heard the follow up....  :biggrin:

Btw at 15 that album cover was the most bad-ass thing ever, I used to have a poster of the full album cover.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Grappler on September 04, 2017, 12:28:18 PM
I came across the title track to Accident of Birth on a record company sampler cassete tape - my local stores would have free tapes by the door that record companies would send out to promote upcoming releases.  I remember listening to it all the time.  I loved the chugging riff and vocals, but my Maiden worship wasn't yet there and funds were limited so I didn't get the album until years later when the special edition came out.  I absolutely love it and can't really decide if this one or Bruce's next one is my favorite. 

Uh, and can we also say that Freak is one of the most badass opening songs on any album?   :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: jjrock88 on September 04, 2017, 12:39:54 PM
Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding are both heavy metal home runs!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Lowdz on September 04, 2017, 01:06:41 PM
I didn't bother with this at the time - I'd moved on from Maiden and Bruce. I borrowed it on cd from the library and thought it was excellent. Not played it in a good while but will do so in the next day or so.

The cover, however, is complete shit in whichever variation you choose.

I quite like the Psych Motel stuff but can't stand Kings X.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on September 04, 2017, 08:56:20 PM
I remember seeing Edison in my uncle's room when I was about 5. Pretty creepy...yet intriguing. Later on about 20 years I finally got Accident of Birth because I saw Edison on it. Took me that long to find out Edison was Bruce Dickinson, no one knew what I was talking about when asking.

Its a great album that I may just listen to now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: wolfking on September 05, 2017, 12:03:30 AM
This is an absolutely amazing metal album, really brilliant.  The next one though is where it's at for me.

Those PM albums are solid, the second much better than the first.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mladen on September 05, 2017, 02:29:37 AM
Uh, and can we also say that Freak is one of the most badass opening songs on any album?   :metal
It's one of those songs that people don't mention too often even though it's not disliked either. I personally think it's brilliant and one of the best songs of Bruce's solo career. That chorus is godly.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: wolfking on September 05, 2017, 05:56:03 AM
Uh, and can we also say that Freak is one of the most badass opening songs on any album?   :metal
It's one of those songs that people don't mention too often even though it's not disliked either. I personally think it's brilliant and one of the best songs of Bruce's solo career. That chorus is godly.

Plus it's in drop C which I think is the only Bruce song to feature that tuning.  The 'somersault into the flood' section is one of the clooest moments of Bruce's career too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 05, 2017, 07:38:02 AM
Accident of Birth is a fantastic album. I remember reading interviews with Bruce about the Skunkworks fallout, and how he was unsure that people would even want to hear something from him anymore, and then he goes back to Roy Z, brings back Adrian Smith among all, and delivers an album that is "the best Maiden album since Seventh Son" (so I've seen it defined once), and to think that he had even something better in store just a year later!

I have also fond memories of the album, released in the still "pioneristic" era of the early internet: trying to catch Man of Sorrows on the radio, hearing someone playing it at school one afternoon when there was a concert of school bands, using the technological fair held here in Milan to sneak on the internet to download the lyrics... aah, good times :D

The album, needless to say, is gorgeous from beginning of the end. The lows are very moderate and the highs are beyond excellent. Freak maybe is not the best opener ever, but after that oh my, what a string of songs: the crushing Starchildren, the enchanting Taking the Queen, the massive Darkside of Aquarius, hell, as I'm writing I'm realizing I'd have to mention the whole tracklist: Road to Hell, a wonderful anthem, the big power ballad of Man of Sorrows, and the wickedly heavy title track.

Magician and the sleazy Welcome to the Pit are maybe the lesser tracks of the disc, but they're still good. And what a way to close the album: Omega and the acoustic / orchestral Arc of Space, what an emotional way to end up such a fantastic album. And since I've talked about all the tracks, let's just round it up and mention that Ghost of Cain, the bonus track, is quite good as well.

After finding his way through a couple of experimental albums, Bruce returned to do what he did best... and he returned with a bloody and triumphant vengeance. Looking back to this time it's glorious, also because we know can grin knowing, as I said earlier, that this was not even the peak for Bruce.

One of the best metal albums of the '90s, no doubt.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mindflux on September 05, 2017, 08:06:32 AM
Listening to this now, it's excellent.

I never became much of a Maiden fan. In the early/mid 90s during HS for me I felt that Maiden was 80s metal cheese.  I was into Megadeth, Metallica, Pink Floyd and of course Nirvana, RHCP and some of the other big names from the early 90s.  By the later half of the 90s I had moved into my punk/ska phase where all I listened to was third wave ska and bands like NOFX/Lagwagon/etc for the punk side.    Sad to say I missed this gem when it came out.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Stadler on September 05, 2017, 09:02:01 AM
As I said, I love it, and it holds up over time.

BUT... as a Maiden fan, and someone who was there at the (relative) beginning, I couldn't shake the thought that "if Bruce is back to this kind of metal, his most Maiden-like of any of his solo albums up to that point, and Maiden is struggling with a guy that can't sing half the back catalogue, WTF?  Why don't they just sit in a room, bury the hatchet, and be done with it?  I generally don't say that, but I always thought - with the change in vocal stylings - that Bruce was out because he wasn't into that kind of music anymore.  But he clearly was, so... again, WTF?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: TAC on September 05, 2017, 12:18:28 PM
Great writeup Mosh.


I did not check out the Psycho Motel albums when they were current, but I checked them out years later, and honestly, they do nothing for me.



Accident Of Birth! :metal


So, even though I wasn't in love with Skunkworks at the time, a new Bruce album was a no brainer. I was shocked to see Adrian in the booklet. What a fantastic album. So full of greatness all the way through.

I was lucky enough to see him on this tour when he came to Providence, in September of 1997. What a fantastic show. It was great to see Adrian again, and Bruce was as active as ever. he really let it hang out and totally worked the stage. What a great band too.
The setlist was:
Accident At Birth
Toltec #7
Starchildren
Two Minutes To Midnight
Darkside Of Aquarius
The Magician
Road To Hell
Tattooed Millionaire
Tears Of the Dragon
Powerslave
Taking The Queen
Flight Of Icarus
Laughing In The Hiding Bush
The Prisoner
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Samsara on September 05, 2017, 12:47:12 PM
Ah, Accident of Birth. The first album by any member of Maiden (including Maiden) that I bought. And it started my worship of Bruce as a frontman. I still consider Accident of Birth/Chemical Wedding/Tyranny of Souls to be among my favorite metal records from anyone. Just great stuff.

Thanks for another great write-up, Mosh. Mine for QR are coming to a rapid end, so I am looking forward to just reading your stuff. Can't wait for the entries for my favorite two post-reunion records - BNW and of course, AMOLAD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on September 05, 2017, 02:00:55 PM
Who else thinks that Road to Hell is quite similar to Helloween's I Want Out?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: DT89 on September 05, 2017, 02:11:35 PM
AOB is a great album, but The Chemical Wedding is untouchable.  Still haven't gotten around to listening to the Psycho Motel albums.

Here are some guitar tabs I did a couple weeks ago for a few songs on Accident Of Birth:

Freak: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/bruce_dickinson/freak_guitar_pro_2105977id_11082017date.htm
Toltec 7 Arrival: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/bruce_dickinson/toltec_7_arrival_guitar_pro_2105677id_10082017date.htm
Starchildren: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/bruce_dickinson/starchildren_guitar_pro_2106049id_11082017date.htm
Welcome To The Pit: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/bruce_dickinson/welcome_to_the_pit_guitar_pro_2111233id_15082017date.htm
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mosh on September 05, 2017, 02:25:58 PM
Hey I just downloaded those yesterday! Good work
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Grappler on September 05, 2017, 02:27:22 PM
Who else thinks that Road to Hell is quite similar to Helloween's I Want Out?

Not really.  The intro riff reminds me of I Want Out, but Road to Hell is so much beefier.  The riff after the first chorus ends (1:14 - 1:24) is amazing though.  Such a neck-snapper of a riff.

Favorites are Dark Side of Aquarius (GOTTA MOVE!), Freak, Road to Hell, Accident of Birth and Ghost of Cain (how was this left off of the album?).  I love how this album is so Maidenesque, but still super heavy.  Maiden has never really had those crunchy riffs. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Art on September 05, 2017, 02:49:48 PM
AoB is awesome!  :metal :metal :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: DT89 on September 05, 2017, 03:08:06 PM
Hey I just downloaded those yesterday! Good work
Thanks!  Please rate/comment on them if you have a second, I'd really appreciate it.  I've also done songs from every other Bruce album except Tattooed Millionaire.  Here's a link to all of my transcriptions: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/contribution/1320839-DT89/tabs?sort=artist
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: cramx3 on September 05, 2017, 03:18:24 PM
Another great write up as always Mosh,

I never listened to Psycho Motel, just what I've read about it always gave me the impression I wouldn't be into it and therefore never really gave it a try.  After today's read, I'm not sure I'm convinced to give it a try anymore. 

But AoB, oh man what an album.  Granted, my discovery was way later, but I couldn't believe they Bruce went from his previous solo efforts to this.  Just Astonishing to think he had this metal still in him.  I like his next release better, but that's not a shot at AoB, this album is great and is up there with the best of IM. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 05, 2017, 03:19:58 PM
Speaking of real setlists, here's an imaginary one: AOB is by now 20 years old, so I figured it was time to create a setlist-like compilation to celebrate that album, to listen to when I go to and back from work. I won't "play" it in full and in order, but I came pretty close, and for the first time ever in creating Bruce solo setlists, I decided to try and have some Maiden stuff. That combined with going full with AOB songs left little room for anything else, but I honored all his 6 solo albums.

Here's how it'd go if the world in my mind would be a reality:

Freak
Toltec 7 Arrival
Starchildren
If Eternity Should Fail
Return of the King
Taking the Queen
Darskide of Aquarius
Road to Hell
Tears of the Dragon
Kill Devil Hill
Man of Sorrows
Accident of Birth
Soul Intruders
Innerspace
A Tyranny of Souls
Omega
Powerslave
===============
Arc of Space
Tattoed Millionaire
Bring your Daughter... to the Slaughter


Any wild guess on why, bonus track aside (Return of the King), I didn't include anything off Chemical Wedding?  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: wolfking on September 05, 2017, 03:28:05 PM
Any wild guess on why, bonus track aside (Return of the King), I didn't include anything off Chemical Wedding?  :D

Because you've completely lost your mind?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mister Gold on September 05, 2017, 03:51:44 PM
Any wild guess on why, bonus track aside (Return of the King), I didn't include anything off Chemical Wedding?  :D

Because either a) you've gone completely insane or b) there's a secret second show that's the entirety of Chemical Wedding from start-to-finish that you just chose not to mention to keep it a surprise.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mosh on September 05, 2017, 10:54:46 PM
I heard AOB for the first time a few weeks before The Final Frontier came out. It was actually the same exact time I heard Virtual XI for the first time, as I saw them both in a record store one day. It didn't really occur to me at the time that they were released just a year apart and I didn't really compare the two, I enjoyed both. But Accident Of Birth was a huge revelation because I was previously only familiar with Bruce's first two albums. I liked both a lot, but Accident was just taking it to a whole new level. I knew these albums were popular among fans, but I definitely wasn't prepared for it to be that incredible.

Accident of Birth is also the start of what I consider to be Bruce's peak as a vocalist. This period through Brave New World represents the best vocals he's ever put on record and his most consistent live performances. Hearing Accident Of Birth, all the growing pains his voice had gone through over the past 7 years suddenly made sense. His voice was now fuller and more powerful. It was operatic but with the grit he had spent most of the decade working on. The change in style has also allowed him to continue at a high level today. I couldn't believe how incredible he sounded on The Book of Souls and at the shows I saw on that tour. His style in the 80s was great but just not sustainable. Many singers don't recognize this until it's too late, Bruce managed to overhaul his technique and style at the perfect time.

As far as where it stacks up with Maiden, I don't know if I'd say it's better than anything Maiden did but it's certainly top 5. I think one of the things that makes it stand out is the fact that for being so closely related to Maiden, you can't mistake it for a Maiden album. On one hand, it says a lot about the importance of Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain, Steve as a writer and the pair as a rhythm section. On the other hand, AoB and Chemical Wedding are able to break some of Maiden's confines, so there's a freshness to those albums that Maiden doesn't have. In some ways it's like Maiden+.


BUT... as a Maiden fan, and someone who was there at the (relative) beginning, I couldn't shake the thought that "if Bruce is back to this kind of metal, his most Maiden-like of any of his solo albums up to that point, and Maiden is struggling with a guy that can't sing half the back catalogue, WTF?  Why don't they just sit in a room, bury the hatchet, and be done with it?  I generally don't say that, but I always thought - with the change in vocal stylings - that Bruce was out because he wasn't into that kind of music anymore.  But he clearly was, so... again, WTF?
I see Accident of Birth, Chemical Wedding, The X Factor, and Virtual XI as necessary stepping stones for everyone involved. None of those albums (with the possible exception to Virtual XI) could've been made with the current Maiden lineup. Maiden had to do their thing without Bruce and Bruce had to do his thing outside Maiden. Even if Accident of Birth is in the style of Maiden, like I said earlier it's still a significant enough step away from Maiden. When I listen to Brave New World, I hear the influence of those four albums. Bruce himself says that he had to make The Chemical Wedding to be able to make Brave New World. Steve might not say the same thing about his own albums, but it definitely applies to him too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: NoseofNicko on September 05, 2017, 11:06:29 PM
Who else thinks that Road to Hell is quite similar to Helloween's I Want Out?

Yes the main riff/chorus of Road to Hell really sounds like the melody at 3:12 of I Want Out.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mladen on September 06, 2017, 12:10:41 AM
I've never connected the dots, even though I love both songs to death. Interesting comparison.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: wolfking on September 06, 2017, 05:44:51 AM
I've never connected the dots, even though I love both songs to death. Interesting comparison.

Yeah, I never noticed before either, but having a listen to both, yeah I can hear it.  Wouldn't call it similar enough to be a rip off or anything.  Kai has ripped off that section more in his Gamma Ray career.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mladen on September 06, 2017, 06:19:27 AM
That's true. New world order comes to mind.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on September 06, 2017, 06:40:16 AM
Not a ripoff, just a similar idea for a fast metal riff. I like both songs anyway!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 06, 2017, 02:48:21 PM
Any wild guess on why, bonus track aside (Return of the King), I didn't include anything off Chemical Wedding?  :D

Because you've completely lost your mind?

Any wild guess on why, bonus track aside (Return of the King), I didn't include anything off Chemical Wedding?  :D

Because either a) you've gone completely insane or b) there's a secret second show that's the entirety of Chemical Wedding from start-to-finish that you just chose not to mention to keep it a surprise.

Because this year is the 20th anniversary of Accident of Birth, but next year it will be the 20th anniversary of Chemical Wedding so I'll be playing the whole album in full in my compilation of next year!  :metal

(Yes, I create imaginary setlists / compilations and save songs / albums based on future compilations, maybe I'm insane after all. Stll, Mike Portnoy would be proud of me, he'd get my line of reasoning  :lol)

On a more pertinent note - I'm happy to see everyone having great memories of this album, I would have hardly expected otherwise!!! I also agree with Mosh that Bruce's voice here was entering a phase of absolute wonder.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: PowerSlave on September 06, 2017, 06:19:03 PM
(Yes, I create imaginary setlists / compilations and save songs / albums based on future compilations, maybe I'm insane after all. Stll, Mike Portnoy would be proud of me, he'd get my line of reasoning  :lol)

You're posting this on a prog fan site. An obsession bordering on being unhealthy, and a willingness to admit to it are basically the admission fee to the site itself.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: wolfking on September 07, 2017, 05:41:47 AM
That's true. New world order comes to mind.

That's the most blatant one.  I'm sure there's at least another one, I'd have to search.  But NWO is so obvious it's not funny.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: TAC on September 14, 2017, 07:48:43 PM
Wow, Mosh. That Virtual XI writeup must really be painful! :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mister Gold on September 14, 2017, 09:00:12 PM
Wow, Mosh. That Virtual XI writeup must really be painful! :lol

I mean, it's the album with Maiden's worst song ever, soooooooo...... :biggrin: :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mosh on September 14, 2017, 09:41:30 PM
Sorry guys, got a packed schedule. I'm going to try to get Virtual up tomorrow, saturday at the latest. Can't really make any more promises although I don't intend on having any more delays as long as this one.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on September 15, 2017, 05:12:39 AM
Looking forward to it, Mosh! Virtual XI was the pnly tour I had the chance of seeing TWICE, and passed both times. The show in Rio was a horrible experience for the band: someone in the audience threw something on Jannick, and they decided not to come back for the encore. This was one of the last shows with Blaze.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: jammindude on September 15, 2017, 12:20:02 PM
In honor of VXI's stamp on history, I think we should triple post every comment.

In honor of VXI's stamp on history, I think we should triple post every comment.

In honor of VXI's stamp on history, I think we should triple post every comment.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 15, 2017, 12:21:36 PM
Not knowing how fast would these updates be, I've already prepared before my week of holiday my comments on the album. Looking forward to read the discussion on the first album Maiden released since I was a fan.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Accident of Birth (1997)
Post by: Mosh on September 16, 2017, 05:49:07 PM
Virtual XI (1998)

(https://www.metal-archives.com/images/3/9/5/395.jpg)
Maiden were reenergized after finally returning to the stage from their longest break in touring. Blaze was beginning to settle into the band and some of the pressure that comes with a new lineup was beginning to fade. After taking part of 1997 off, the band returned to the studio to record the next album.

The X Factor was very much a studio effort and reflected the band being away from the live stage for an extended period of time. Virtual XI was to be the opposite: the band were fresh off a tour and the new material would be an attempt at capturing the live energy of a Maiden show on record in both songs and production. As a result, the songs on Virtual XI are heavier, more energetic, and much less dreary than the songs on The X Factor. There was also a sense of optimism that replaced the feeling of uncertainty just a few years earlier. The production itself didn’t differ much from the previous album. The band once again recorded at Steve Harris’ Barnyard studio with Steve and Nigel Green co-producing. The production contained very little frills or effects. Some of Blaze’s vocal tracks even came from the rough demo tracks that were never intended for the final product.

In addition to its more upbeat feel, one of the most noticeable things about Virtual XI is its length. At just 53 minutes and 8 songs, it’s the shortest album since No Prayer For the Dying and a stark contrast from The X Factor’s 70 minutes and 11 songs. Even Fear of the Dark was slightly longer. Part of The X Factor’s length could be attributed to the amount of time the band spent working on the album, where Virtual XI wasn’t quite as long a process (although it still took longer than what was typical for the band at the time). Despite being shorter and with less songs, several of the songs on Virtual XI are on the longer side. Three songs exceed the 8 minute mark compared to only two on The X Factor. However that’s not to say they’re all long. One of Maiden’s shortest songs appears on the album: Futureal.

Once again, Steve’s songwriting dominated the album. Seven out of the eight songs are credited to Harris, including four solo compositions. As usual, Steve really flexes his Prog muscles on his solo tracks, which happen to be the four longest songs on the album. The longest song is also one of the band’s most controversial: The Angel and the Gambler. Steve conceived the song while driving which influenced its uptempo energy. With this song, he wanted to capture the 70s Hard Rock vibe of bands like UFO and The Who. The song definitely captures that vibe and even includes an organ part that adds a 70s flare. Unfortunately, the song is also one of Maiden’s most repetitive and is probably best remembered for its seemingly endless chorus. Another one of Steve’s songs, Don’t Look To the Eyes of a Stranger, faces similar criticisms. According to Steve, the idea for this song existed for some time before it fully germinated in time for Virtual XI. Here the organ is replaced with string synths to give the song a darker more orchestral feel.

Steve’s other two solo contributions are generally better received. The Educated Fool is a lyrical precursor to Blood Brothers, being inspired by the death of Steve’s father. Musically there’s a lot more going on in this song than in Angel and the Gambler or Don’t Look To the Eyes of a Stranger, despite being significantly shorter. Structurally it wouldn’t be out of place on one of the Reunion era albums. It’s also unique for having a chorus with vocal overdubs, something that The X Factor mostly avoided. While it’s not the only song on the album to feature vocal harmonies, they are at their most prominent here. The last Harris piece is another that utilizes vocal harmonies and is also widely considered the best song on the album as well as the highlight of the Blaze era: The Clansman. This song was the result of two separate ideas Steve had that he merged into one. The lyrics were based on the Mel Gibson film Braveheart, which was released a few years earlier. The Edge Of Darkness from The X Factor was also based on a film, but was more of a literal retelling of the plot. The Clansman goes back to Steve’s traditional lyrical style found in songs such as Where Eagles Dare or The Trooper. Musically the song is also not too far removed from the classic 80’s Maiden sound with its huge anthemic chorus and dueling guitar solos.

Despite having a song rejected from The X Factor, Dave Murray was a very active writer in the 90’s through the early 00’s. He had two writing credits on No Prayer and Fear and also contributed to The X Factor with Justice of the Peace (which was unfortunately rejected). Of course there was also Virus on Best of the Beast. On Virtual XI, Dave returned with two more tracks. The first, Lightning Strikes Twice, was a classic collaboration with Steve. Dave brought in some disorganized musical ideas and Steve arranged them into a song. The title came first, which Dave Murray really liked, so Steve wrote lyrics around the title. The other song Murray contributed was When Two Worlds Collide, this time a collaboration with Blaze and Steve. This song was written in a similar manner as Can I Play WIth Madness, but with different writers. It began as a collaboration between Blaze and Dave, with Steve adding additional parts and working on the arrangement. It was one of three lyrical contributions to the album from Blaze and is about exactly what the title says.

The sci-fi element found in When Two Worlds Collide is also present in one of Blaze’s other songs: the opening Futureal. The bulk of this song was written by Steve and was another tune that Steve had spent a lot of time working on, despite being a pretty simple rocker. Steve wrote the music and even the vocal melodies, but he asked Blaze to handle the lyrics. This song is probably most aligned with the album’s title and art direction (which is why it is often mistakenly referred to as the title track). It deals with virtual realities and the rapidly growing technology. It’s a song very much of its time, being written as the internet was beginning to really take shape. However, its themes are still relevant today.

The one song on Virtual XI that Steve Harris did not contribute to is also the only song written by Janick: Como Estais Amigos. It’s not clear why Janick was less present on this album after becoming an increasingly creative force in the band. Regardless, Como Estais Amigos stands as one of the more unique tracks on the album. It’s one of the few Maiden songs that can be considered a ballad. It has a soft start of just guitar and vocals, but even when the full band comes in it maintains a slow and steady pace. The lyrics, written by Blaze, are about the 1982 Falklands war between Britain and Argentina. It is meant as a tribute to the people of Argentina and the soldiers who died.

Another factor that is unique to Virtual XI is the fact that its title and cover were influenced by outside sources instead of a musical/lyrical concept or song title. Virtual XI has multiple meanings. The first, and most obvious, is that this is the band’s 11th album. However the title originated when Steve Harris began noticing fans of West Ham and other soccer teams in the audiences at Maiden shows. Steve has often said that soccer (or association football) was his second passion with music. In fact, he wanted to be a professional player before For those unfamiliar with the sport, the starting lineup in a soccer game is often referred to as the Starting XI. The FIFA World Cup was also being held that year, an event that has only coincided with a few Maiden albums. Part of the promotion for Virtual XI also involved Maiden forming their own soccer team featuring all 5 members of the band in addition to some professionals. Iron Maiden’s own Starting XI could be pictured in the booklet for the CD. 

Around this time, there was also a video game based on Iron Maiden in development by Synthetic Dimensions. We’ll discuss the game, titled Ed Hunter, in a later entry. Both the band and management were very enthusiastic about Ed Hunter and decided to use some of the character designs in the artwork for Virtual XI. None of this appeared on the cover, thankfully, but the booklet was filled with the 3D models from the game and featured a small advertisement for Ed Hunter at the end. The two singles also had artwork taken from the game.

The cover itself featured all these influences but with a more traditional looking image. After a major departure from the usual Maiden art style on The X Factor, the band went with something more traditional for Virtual XI. They reenlisted Melvyn (spelled Melvin in the liner notes) Grant, the artist who made Fear of the Dark. The cover included the main themes that influenced the title through a boy with a virtual reality machine and a game of soccer. While the cover was a return to Maiden’s traditional look, it still received mixed reviews from fans and remains one of their less popular covers.

Another interesting feature of the cover was a new Maiden logo. It’s hard to say why Maiden changed their logo after almost 20 years, especially since it was such a subtle change. My guess is that it was related to graphic design and being easier to cut and paste, but there’s never been an official comment on that. The new logo would feature on all Maiden singles and studio albums, while compilations, archival releases, and anything related specifically to the 80s usually featured the classic logo.

As usual, two singles were released for Virtual XI. The first, The Angel and the Gambler, was released at the insistence of Steve. The band’s manager, Rod Smallwood, wanted Futureal as the first single, but Steve refused. At 10 minutes in length, The Angel and the Gambler was a highly unorthodox choice and became their longest single ever (until 2016). In a compromise, a few edits of the song were made. A 6 minute edit was made for the 7” single and a 4 minute edit was made for the music video (although an extended version of the video was also made to accompany the full song). Futureal eventually was released as a single as well a few months later. The CD single came with a poster featuring brand new artwork from Derek Riggs. The stunning image was a futuristic redesign of the Powerslave cover. How this wasn’t used as the single artwork or even the album artwork is one of the most bizarre mysteries of Maiden’s history.

Despite all the promotion and high budget videos, neither the album or single made much of a commercial splash. The Angel and the Gambler charted in a few countries, performing best in Finland at #3. It also made top 20 in the UK. It is worth mentioning, however, that most of Maiden’s singles in the 90s were released in multiple versions and formats which certainly helped with sales from hardcore fans. The album itself charted decently in Europe, making #6 in Finland and top 20 UK. It barely charted in the US, peaking somewhere in the 100’s. Despite the decent chart positions in the UK, it didn’t sell as well as their previous albums. To this day it has only been certified silver. I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but it’s very likely that Virtual XI was the poorest selling Maiden album.

Virtual XI is a strange album. It represents the end to many parts of the band’s history: it’s the last album of a fairly turbulent decade and it’s the last album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. However, it’s also in some ways a precursor to 2000’s Maiden. There’s more emphasis on longer songs, it features an attempt at a “live” sounding production, and some of the album’s leftovers even ended up on Brave New World (we’ll cover that when we get there). It is also a controversial album. The subpar production continues in addition to songs that are often criticized for their repetitive choruses and a surprising lack of energy in the performances (especially the drums). However, once you get past those things, there’s a lot to enjoy especially if you like modern Maiden. In retrospect, it is best seen as a bridge between the dark brooding X Factor and the triumphant Brave New World. It is not a bad album at all and features more than a couple forgotten gems.

For those interested in learning more about the album, Virtual XI became the first album to have studio footage something resembling a documentary. The 40 minute EPK features interviews with all the band majors about the making of the album, the promo tour, the artwork and title, and more. Maiden rarely put out this sort of thing, so it's very cool to have one for this album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k93Wb9pyLrY

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2d/The_Angel_and_the_Gambler.jpg/220px-The_Angel_and_the_Gambler.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/Futureal_%28Iron_Maiden_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg/220px-Futureal_%28Iron_Maiden_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg)
(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/88/c2/97/88c29728cc274394ca17efb91d3cc123--kitchen-cabinet-design-kitchen-cabinets.jpg)
(Derek Riggs Futureal)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: NoseofNicko on September 16, 2017, 05:55:41 PM
The only Iron Maiden album I don't like. It sounds like an amateur Maiden cover band attempt at making a Maiden album to me. Futureal and The Clansman are good, but the rest is pretty bad. The Angel and the Gambler is probably their worst song or atleast bottom 5.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Anguyen92 on September 16, 2017, 07:49:31 PM
So I decided to attempt to listen to The Angel and the Gambler and while it does not sound like a bad song, having Blaze sing in a three minute span only the words "Don't you think I'm a saviour. Don't you think I could save you. Don't you think I could save your life." and did it again in a two minute span seems like a terrible artistic choice to make.  This is quite agonizing to listen to in a 10 minute song.  Skipping ahead in the song to see when he stops saying that and ended up hear those lyrics is quite hair pulling to me.

I think I finally understand jammindude's gripe about Maiden's decision to repeat phrases in a song over and over again, but I think it wasn't as hair-pulling in the main songs in Brave New World, but there will be plenty of time to talk about Brave New World when it comes up.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mister Gold on September 16, 2017, 10:06:30 PM
I'm listening to The Angel and the Gambler for the first time in several years right now to see if my mind's cha- and nope. Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. It's still far and away the band's worst song.

Just... God, Steve, did you really think this song was so necessary to add to the band's discography?

To be fair, I get that he wanted to make a tribute to the rock bands that influenced him during the 70's. But the style isn't what Iron Maiden is really about. It all feels at odds with itself throughout. The production of the album also makes the song sound thin as hell too. And good lord, everyone knows about those damn lyrics.

Steve would later do some songs in the reunion era that I think work far better as (light) homages to older bands that influenced him while still keeping in spirit of what Iron Maiden is about musically, most notably the opening track off of AMOLAD. But we'll get to those songs later.

For now, there's... the monstrosity. :facepalm:

Oh and there's the rest of Virtual XI too, I guess. There's a few good numbers on the album, imo. Overall though it's a big drop off in quality from The X Factor and an utter embarrassment when staked up to the likes of both Bruce's Accident of Birth and the crown jewel that's coming up....
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 17, 2017, 03:32:26 AM
Virtual XI is my first "true" Iron Maiden album after I became a fan - The X Factor was just coming out at the moment I was discovering Maiden, and so there was no anticipation for it, Virtual XI is the first album that I was actually waiting for. Well, actually I wasn't even properly "waiting" for it, since I still had scarce internet access and therefore (remember those times? :D ) I essentially found out there was an album coming out, without prior knowledge of announcements, interviews about when the new album could be expected etc...

I have to say I liked it, back in the day. I had to live with it in a sense, it was the first new album I was witnessing from my favorite band, I thought Blaze was here to stay, so I had no particular regrets about it. Now, in the grand scheme of things, I realize it's one of their lesser albums, but still it's worthy of the Maiden label - I mean, when other bands fail, they do St. Anger or Risk. When Maiden "fail", they still write The Clansman :metal:

The Clansman is the clear highlight of the album, followed by Futureal, one of their best openers, and I'd daresay Lightning Strikes Twice. It's a fairly prototype of the classic Harris reunion era song, it's moody and interesting, and I said about it the same thing I said for The Edge of Darkness - had Bruce sung it live, it would have been more regarded.

Now, the elephant in the room... The Angel and the Gambler. I like it. The keyboard hits at the beginning are addictive, and live it worked very well. It should have been kept down to 5 minutes, skipping the whole slow section, and it would have been a fairly decent 5-6 minutes rocker, but still I'm not in the camp of those who'd rather be tortured to hear it again. Same as the other repetitive song, Don't look to the eyes of a stranger, I love the chorus, it's just that the middle section drags on and on and on and the ending is kinda abrupt.

The rest goes from decent to good, When Two Words Collide for example is very nice. This album for me ranks quite low in their discography all things considered, but still it's decent enough to have its moment here and there, and at least an absolute masterpiece (The Clansman) than No Prayer didn't have, for example.

I still have the CD singles for Angel and Futureal, they came with little posters, so I still have the photo of Maiden and other football players dressed for a game, and of course the brilliant Futureal artwork by Derek Riggs, I agree it would have made an awesome cover.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on September 17, 2017, 04:04:01 AM
My take on the album: two great songs, worthy of Maiden's legacy and which would not sound out of place in today's setlists: The Clansman and Futureal. All other songs have their cool moments, but needed some trimming and/or changes. The Angel and the Gambler, like others said, needed significant editing. Two Worlds Collide and Lighting Strikes Twice could work much better, but fall short. Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger suffer from the same issue of Angel and the Gambler, with a repetitive and annoying chorus. And Como Estais Amigos is a joke gone too far. Cool idea, poorly executed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: wolfking on September 17, 2017, 04:59:32 AM
The Educated Fool is one of Maiden's most underrated.  That's a brilliant song.  Stranger is a great moody rocker too.  The speedier section after the verses is excellent.

I really like this album.  Angel could have used the edited version which would have been fine, bu Futureal, Lightning, Worlds a lot of good stuff here, not to mention The Clansman.  The closer I really like too. 

Don't get all teh hate for this album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mladen on September 17, 2017, 05:19:13 AM
I always regret ranking this album as their third worst - it's still a very good release, filled with some extremely underrated songs.

We all know The Clansman and Futureal are masterpieces, but one needs to single out The Educated fool as another lost gem. Everything about that song is spectacular and it's also a classic. Como estais amigos is also one of my absolute favorites and wins the award for the saddest Iron Maiden song of all time. By far. No contest.

The Angel and the gambler is a catchy tune and, even though it does go on for too long, it's still fun to rock out to. It's also perfect for driving, me and my buddies play this album a lot in the car and this one comes across as a nice driving song every time. Don't look to the eyes of the stranger and When two worlds collide are the two weaker spots and two of their worst songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: devieira73 on September 17, 2017, 08:39:47 AM
The clip version of the angel and the glamber is a lot better! The album is not very good, mostly because the terrible production and the weak sound of the rhythm guitars, but I do like angel edited, futureal, clansman and Murray's songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Lowdz on September 17, 2017, 11:54:39 AM
Having not bought two of the last three Maiden albums, I bought this for the cover alone. And because the music I listened to was dying at this point, yet I still had a cd buying addiction.
I liked the cover with the moving effect (not sure what it's called) so bought it.
I didn't hate it and quite liked some songs, but it's just not up to the standards of the glory days.
Blaze sounded better, not great but better.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mister Gold on September 17, 2017, 03:21:26 PM
I will say, while the production is bad on both The X Factor and Virtual XI, I think it has a much more negative effect on this album than its predecessor. On Virtual XI, it really feels like I'm listening to a CD full of demo tracks, rather than the finished product of a full-fledged album from one of metal's biggest bands. It all sounds incredibly thin.

Further complicating matters is that, as others have mentioned before, Nicko really seemed like he was on auto-pilot during this period in Iron Maiden's history. So not only does the production come off as rather thin and weak-sounding, but Nicko's drumming feels pretty lifeless during a lot of this album. There's none of that signature energy that Nicko's drumming usually injects into the music.

That all plays a huge factor into why a song like The Angel and the Gambler doesn't work. It's already a song that doesn't really "fit" what makes Iron Maiden the band it is, but when you add that together with it also being roughly six minutes too long, the laziness of the lyrics' repetitions, the production being bone thin and Nicko sounding totally lifeless on the drums here, it all culminates in a disaster of a song.

The song drags on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on a- You probably already skipped most of those "on and on"s just to get to this point in the writing, didn't you? Because it's all pointless and you hate feeling like something's wasting your time, right?

That's what it's like to listen to The Angel and the Gambler. That's why it's so easily the worst song Iron Maiden ever made. There's nothing wrong whatsoever with a long song that challenges you to put in some effort yourself to listen to it. But on that rare occasion when a song comes off as being lazy as hell on practically every conceivable level and is also almost ten minutes long, it drives you bananas.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Phoenix87x on September 17, 2017, 06:21:11 PM
The only thing worse than the song Angel and the gambler, is its cheesy as hell video. The dated ass CGI is hilarious.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mister Gold on September 17, 2017, 07:26:38 PM
The only thing worse than the song Angel and the gambler, is its cheesy as hell video. The dated ass CGI is hilarious.

At least the music video is shorter and can be seen as "So Bad It's Good" comedy material.

The song itself is just a pain to listen to. :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mladen on September 17, 2017, 11:38:48 PM
I've been listening to VXI for almost 11 years now and it's only now that I notice Nicko's unenthusiastic performance. There's hardly any drum fills on the entire album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Grappler on September 18, 2017, 07:00:04 AM
In the late 90's, I thought this album sucked.  But over the years, I've decided that I like my Maiden to be happy and uptempo, not sad and plodding (X-Factor).  So I actually prefer Virtual XI to The X Factor now.  It doesn't feel like a chore to listen past the first few songs.

Futureal is a killer opening track, Angel and the Gamber, sure - it's repetitive, but fun.  You can feel that the band seemed happier on this album.  The real highlight is THE CLANSMAN.  What a badass song, and again - Bruce's version is even more amazing than the studio version.  I'm glad that I got to see them play this song twice (Ed Hunter & Give Me Ed till I'm Dead tours).  Any song about William Wallace is going to kick ass. 

Great writeup - I'd still put the two Blaze albums at the bottom of my Maiden rankings, but they're nowhere near as awful as I used to think they are.  It's fun to go back and re-listen to these albums as the thread progresses.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 18, 2017, 07:02:33 AM
Any song about William Wallace is going to kick ass. 

Grave Digger has a namesake song about him. It's on their concept album about Scotland Tunes of War, the famous Rebellion is on it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Grappler on September 18, 2017, 07:17:39 AM
Any song about William Wallace is going to kick ass. 

Grave Digger has a namesake song about him. It's on their concept album about Scotland Tunes of War, the famous Rebellion is on it.

Love that song - I only like a handful of their tunes.  Saw them open for Blind Guardian last year and went apeshit when they started that tune.

THE CLANS ARE MARCHING 'GAINST THE LAW!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: kaos2900 on September 18, 2017, 07:30:52 AM
I actually really like this album. Still towards the bottom but much better than X Factor.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on September 18, 2017, 12:57:56 PM
First Maiden album I bought on release day, I even got the 3D cover edition or maybe they all had that? Can't remember. Either way, I discovered Maiden about a year after Bruce left by my friend. I remember asking him one day if I could borrow all his Maiden cds when his family was going on vacation, which I could so I then proceeded to copy all his cds on cassette.  :lol






Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 18, 2017, 01:08:24 PM
First Maiden album I bought on release day, I even got the 3D cover edition or maybe they all had that? Can't remember. Either way, I discovered Maiden about a year after Bruce left by my friend. I remember asking him one day if I could borrow all his Maiden cds when his family was going on vacation, which I could so I then proceeded to copy all his cds on cassette.  :lol

Our timelines more or less add up. I discovered Maiden a bit later, in 1995, but Virtual XI was my first new album as well and I got it on cassette too 'cause I hadn't a cd player yet  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mosh on September 18, 2017, 07:53:11 PM
I don't think Virtual XI is too bad. It's probably second weakest, but it's still miles ahead of Fear of the Dark. Angel and the Gambler doesn't help it, being right at the beginning of the album. I can definitely see that being a major turnoff for most people, even though I don't think it's as bad as most people say. There are some cool parts (and a really fantastic guitar solo from Dave). Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger is far worse. It's guilty of all of Angel's flaws but it's even worse. Easily my least favorite Maiden song.

Everything else is mostly good though. When Two Worlds Collide is the lost gem of the album. Great song that Blaze had in his setlist after leaving Maiden and he does a great job with it solo. Lightning Strikes is also pretty good. The Clansman is obviously a masterpiece.

I like Futureal and Como Estais but they're not among my favorites.

There's a lot of questionable creative choices on the album, mostly from Steve. The repetitive chorus problem is really all over the album, but Angel and Don't Look To the Eyes of a Stranger get hit especially hard with it. The lyrics are also lazily written. A lot of the lines range from awkward to just plain dumb. Nicko's drumming is pedestrian at best, although he was clearly invested in The Clansman. I think his only fills on the album are in that song. It's weird how positive they are in the EPK because the music sounds very uncertain and somewhat defeated to me. A little editing, more heartfelt performances, and a better production would've gone an insanely long way.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Stadler on September 19, 2017, 02:05:00 PM
This album has grown on me over the years, and it's not even in the bottom three for me (or maybe tied for third worst).   I like this a WHOLE lot more than TXF.  It is a shade repetitive at times, but I like Angel... and I like the album closer.  I would not at all call Futureal a Maiden "classic".   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: cramx3 on September 19, 2017, 09:11:17 PM
My least favorite IM album, but the thing is, if you took out TAATG, I'd rate it maybe 4 spots higher.  That song is just that bad, it ruins the album for me.  It makes me never want to listen to the album.  The rest of the songs on the album are good to really good, I really like The Educated Fool.  Maybe my favorite next to The Clansman.  Como Estai Amigos is a fantastic different style maiden song.  Also, the production is poor on this and once again doesn't help Blaze here.  There was definitely a lot of potential with these songs and the songs that didn't make this album, it's just weighed down so heavily by one track and poor production.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: TAC on September 20, 2017, 10:55:36 AM
Having not gotten into TXF, when VXI came out, I remember being much happier with it than TXF. It seemed to have a more familiar "Maiden" feel to it. Blaze seemed more comfortable and more in command. Even then, I still felt like I had to work a little hard to really like it, but being it was all there was, I accepted it.

Obviously TAaTG is horrific. And I never really cared for Como Estias Amigos. But other than that, songwise, I think the rest of it is pretty solid.

Yes, the production is terrible. It freezes some great tunes in time as never really reaching their potential.




when other bands fail, they do St. Anger or Risk. When Maiden "fail", they still write The Clansman :metal:

So true. An amazing track.


The Educated Fool is one of Maiden's most underrated.  That's a brilliant song.

It sure is. It is the number one song on my "Blaze Track That Needs The Reunion Era Treatment" list. I would love to hear Bruce do this. He would absolutely slay that chorus.

  Stranger is a great moody rocker too.  The speedier section after the verses is excellent.

I like this song a lot too. Even though it feels like the Lite beer version of Fear Of The Dark. I had my son edit out the "Don't Look To" repeating part. It is TWO MINUTES LONG!! Two minutes! And that ending is fantastic, and honest to God, it's one of my favorite passages in the entire Maiden catalog. They've never done anything like it, before or after.


Futureal is a killer opening track,
:metal
It sure is.



Further complicating matters is that, as others have mentioned before, Nicko really seemed like he was on auto-pilot during this period in Iron Maiden's history. So not only does the production come off as rather thin and weak-sounding, but Nicko's drumming feels pretty lifeless during a lot of this album. There's none of that signature energy that Nicko's drumming usually injects into the music.

Leading credence to the "Paul Is Dead" style rumor that it was actually Steve on some of the tracks.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: jammindude on September 21, 2017, 10:09:46 AM
If Steve Harris had written "Rock n Roll All Night" during this phase of his career, he would never got as far as "...and party every day."

AC/DC has infinitely more interesting and well rounded and less monotonous choruses than VXI.

In short: Shark Sandwich
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: ProfessorPeart on September 21, 2017, 01:51:33 PM
This album helped me learn how to edit tracks digitally. I liked Angel and the Gambler but couldn't take Blaze repeating the chorus ad nauseum.

I listened to the song several times and made some notes. Then I edited it removing only what I considered to be unnecessary chorus sections. I got the song down to just over 6 minutes long if I remember correctly. Found it much more enjoyable that way.

The album suffered in that it followed The X Factor which was just an excellent album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 21, 2017, 01:56:16 PM
I too have an edit version of the song somewhere, skipping completely the slow middle section.

It should have been an instrumental section - just imagine the slow buildup of Sign of the Cross' solo section being marred by "The sign of the cross, the name of the rose" repeated over and over.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: The Curious Orange on September 22, 2017, 02:35:41 AM
While I do feel this is Maiden's weakest album, it's not all horrible, and improves no end with TAATG removed. It's the keyboards trying to make a "parp parp" horn section sound all the way through it - horrible. The 7" single is at least short, and actually listenable.

The rest of the album is actually OK, but the whole thing feels like Maiden-by-Numbers, as if they're simply going through the motions. The flat production doesn't help either.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Zantera on September 22, 2017, 04:55:43 AM
Probably their weakest album for me. The Clansman stands out as an incredible track on an otherwise mostly OK album, I don't hate TAatG as much as a lot of people here, but it's definitely dragged out and repeated way too much.

Sure, Maiden had a weak 90s overall, but in the context of where the album came out with Brave New World being the next Maiden album, and the solo albums Bruce was putting out at the time, Virtual XI just isn't that good.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Stadler on September 22, 2017, 08:12:36 AM
While I do feel this is Maiden's weakest album, it's not all horrible, and improves no end with TAATG removed. It's the keyboards trying to make a "parp parp" horn section sound all the way through it - horrible.

That's actually the part I love the most!   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: Mosh on September 25, 2017, 09:46:45 PM
Virtual XI Tour (1998)

(https://images.eil.com/large_image/IRON_MAIDEN_VIRTUAL%2BXI%2BWORLD%2BTOUR-574984.jpg)
A month after the release of Virtual XI, Maiden hit the road again. Maiden’s second tour with Blaze Bayley was very similar to the first. They continued to play smaller venues in Europe and, especially, America. They continued to do well in South America though. The setlist also relied heavily on most of the same songs, with the addition of new material. The tour was also cut short in the USA again.

The band’s stage show continued to evolve. Where The X Factour brought back some of Maiden’s more theatrical elements, the Virtual XI Tour took things to another level. This time, the stage was a recreation of the apocalyptic city depicted in the album artwork. The centerpiece, of course, was the giant inflatable Eddie during the band’s title track. Those familiar with the Somewhere On Tour Eddie will recognize it as a similar design. The main difference between the two Eddie’s (other than obviously different designs) was the placement of the hands and head. In 1986, Eddie’s hands were platforms for the band members to stand on and the head came from underneath the drum kit. In 1998, things were simplified quite a bit. Eddie’s head came up from behind the drums and his hands rested vertically at the sides of the stage. Still, it was a bombastic effect and one of the biggest Eddies they’d had in a long time. Of course there was also a walk on Eddie which was based off Ed Hunter and decorated in Iron Maiden football/soccer regalia. That particular Eddie proved to be one of their most enduring, being used three tours in a row.

Prior to the release of the album, the band really talked up how “live ready” it was. Clearly they meant it because seven out of the eight songs were played live. Virtual XI is just one of four albums to have less than 2 songs never played live (the other three being Killers, the debut, and A Matter of Life and Death). The one song not played live, Como Estais Amigo, was probably the only song on the album that didn’t have the typical Maiden live energy. Although it’s a bit of a surprise that they never played it in Argentina. Unfortunately, not all Virtual XI songs survived the tour. Don’t Look To the Eyes of a Stranger was dropped very early on and The Educated Fool was not played at every gig, although it appeared at most shows. Regardless, it was great that Maiden were continuing to fully embrace their new music 20 years into their career. Even if it was perhaps partly due to Blaze’s limitations as a vocalist. Unfortunately, Maiden weren’t quite as daring with their back catalog. The majority of the rest of the setlist was made up of songs played on the previous tour (which were also songs that were features on Bruce’s last tours with the band). Only two new songs from the back catalog were added on the tour: Sanctuary and Murders In the Rue Morgue. The latter was a very cool surprise, having not been played since 1986, however it was unfortunately dropped very early in the tour. While it was a relatively safe setlist, it was pretty long for Maiden standards, Most Maiden shows tend to be 15-16 songs, but the band were playing 19-21 songs on this tour, depending on the gig.

The tour kicked off with an old 90’s Maiden favorite: a secret gig. This time it was in the UK and under the band name The Angel and the Gamblers. This show was historic for the band because it also happened to be their longest ever. The band performed a whopping 26 songs featuring both the regular Virtual XI setlist and 6 of the 7 songs played live from The X Factor (only The Edge of Darkness was left out). The show was basically a combination of the Virtual XI tour and X Factour setlists. It ended up featuring nearly every single song Blaze performed with the band (notice Run To the Hills was never performed with Blaze). According to Blaze, the concert was over 3 hours long and there was even an intermission. Michael Kenney, Steve’s bass tech and live keyboardist, even appeared on stage with the band. Unfortunately, no bootlegs have surfaced of this gig, although there are some pictures to document it.

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2189-jpg.6091/)

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2187-jpg.6089/)

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2185-jpg.6087/)

(https://forum.maidenfans.com/attachments/img_2184-jpg.6086/)

The tour proper began, as usual, in Europe. The European tour was actually split into two. They spent a month in Europe before heading to the USA and then returned to Europe for more shows. A lot of time during the European tours was spent in Germany, France and Italy. They also had what was probably their biggest tour of the UK since 1990, although it was still a fraction of what they used to do out there.

Unfortunately, the US tour was not much of an improvement from the X Factour. The band, with Dio as an opening act, were once again relegated to smaller venues than they were used to. Although some of the venues were actually a little bigger than before, possibly because of a strong opening act or the beginning of Metal making a resurgence. In fact, some of the venues on the tour dates will be familiar to Dream Theater fans. For example, the band played Roseland Ballroom on this tour. Regardless, it was still a pretty large step down from Radio City Music Hall or Madison Square Garden. Ticket sales were also low. To make matters worse, a large string of dates was once again cancelled. The official reason was Blaze having an allergic reaction to pollen. Two of the dates were rescheduled and the North American leg wrapped up in Mexico.

In another similarity to the previous tour, the band found the most success yet again in South America. However, there were some complications on this part of the tour as well. Two shows were cancelled, the first due to security issues and the second due to political tensions between Chile and Britain. The first show of the tour was also one of the few Maiden shows without an encore. Otherwise, these shows were once again the highlight of the tour. Maiden were playing in stadiums in front of large crowds and most shows were again broadcast around the country.

The performances varied through the tour. Blaze clearly struggled with the two hour shows and the typical grueling schedule of a band at Maiden’s level. It was true that Virtual XI was live ready and the live renditions proved it. The band’s live performances still maintained the energy that much of the album lacked. Still, the tour is probably best remembered for the cancelled dates and Blaze’s eventual dismissal from the band. The inflatables also weren’t the only similarity between the Virtual XI and Somewhere On Time tours. This was also another tour where most of the songs were never played live again.

Two bootlegs from this tour. The first is a soundboard recording from Madrid. It’s early in the tour and features the typical setlist, including The Educated Fool. It’s pretty good quality and the band is in good shape. The second is a TV broadcast of Blaze’s last performance with Maiden. The setlist had been trimmed down quite a bit by then, but you get to see the stage show in a venue that gives justice to its magnitude. Also in typical Maiden style, the tempos have begun to reach a breakneck pace.

Madrid: https://www.dropbox.com/s/00r275mjoxnfk7e/1998-05-19%20-%20Madrid%2C%20Spain%20-%20V1%20%2863.17%2C%2067.30%29.zip?dl=0

Argentina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA8tFD5UurA&


Next week: The Chemical Wedding, followed by Blaze’s departure and solo career + Ed Hunter


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI Tour (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 26, 2017, 01:31:45 AM
With Virtual XI's tour, begins the story of my Maiden concerts.

Their May 1998 concert in Milan was my first concert EVER - well, technically my father had brought me in the deposit of the milan tramways to see a folk / pop italian band, but I really didn't care for it and didn't pay attention (actually the band has a huge following and they're around since the '60s, they mix pop with the occasional folk and rock, they're a good band in the end, I just didn't care as a young teen for them), so Maiden's was my first "real" concert.

From that moment on, I would see EVERY Maiden tour in Italy, with only 2 exceptions: the Gimme the Ed 2003 summer tour (at the very least, I saw a live streaming of the Nurbugring gig, it's not the same thing of course, but better than nothing), and the 2010 Final Frontier early leg where it was reunion songs galore (which to this day remains sadly the only tour since 1998 that I hadn't seen a full performance of - be it live or, as mentioned before, through a live streaming as it was happening).

All things considered, it was my "worst" Maiden gig, if only for being the only one I saw without Bruce. But of course I liked it back then, and I got the additional bonus of seeing Helloween opening for them. My first time with Helloween as well, another band I would never miss again with every tour.

All setlists reports indicate that the Virtual XI songs were scattered through the set, but to this day I could swear that they played them in pairs: opening with Futureal and Angel, and then after Man on the Edge and Heaven Can Wait, another pair of Lightning and Clansman and eventually the final pair of Collide / Educated fool.

I was a young and shy teen back then, so I still remember asking way back in February, for a May gig, "Can I go to the Iron Maiden concert?", right before leaving with my schoolmates for a school trip to Paris  :D eventually the matter of going to concerts would become "Oh, tomorrow I have a concert I'll go to, bye"  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI Tour (1998)
Post by: Mosh on September 30, 2017, 03:13:13 PM
Well the interest in this probably accurately reflects the interest in the band at the time.  :lol

Thanks for the contribution MirrorMask. Virtual XI tour would be a cool place to start, especially since you got to see their return to popularity.

Still working on Chemical Wedding, going to post something on Blaze's solo career to fill the gap.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI Tour (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on September 30, 2017, 03:20:02 PM
Well the interest in this probably accurately reflects the interest in the band at the time.  :lol

That's what I was thinking, I wanted to post "Hey, am I the only one who even bothered back then to see them?"  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI Tour (1998)
Post by: Mosh on September 30, 2017, 03:42:13 PM
I was 2 during the Virtual XI tour, but looking at the tour dates they were scheduled to play the same venue here in Denver that Dream Theater always plays. It's a great theater and a Maiden show there would've been incredible.

Unfortunately, that was among the cancelled NA shows.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI Tour (1998)
Post by: Mosh on September 30, 2017, 04:07:15 PM
Blaze Solo Albums
In the interest of moving forward with the discussion, we aren’t going to talk in depth about any of the Blaze albums, but I thought I’d open some discussion on his solo career. Here’s some brief comments on his first three solo albums:

Silicon Messiah (2000)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/60/Smartwork.jpg/220px-Smartwork.jpg)
Widely regarded as Blaze’s best solo album and considered by many to be better than anything he did with Maiden. The music is heavier than Maiden and far better suited to his voice. Blaze had also improved as a singer a ton since leaving Maiden and it shows on the album. There are some songs that seem like they could’ve been on a third Blaze Maiden album, but there’s also a lot of un-Maiden stuff and a pretty large Power Metal influence. The album also features a loose theme that deals with technology and singularity. Lyrically it’s a definite progression from Virtual XI.

Upon leaving Maiden, Blaze was allowed to stay on their label to release solo music. This backfired on him in a way when Sanctuary decided to release the album around the same time as Maiden’s Brave New World. I don’t think the management were intentionally trying to sink Blaze’s album, as some have suggested, but it definitely wasn’t a helpful move in retrospect. Silicon Messiah was largely overshadowed by Brave New World. Still, as I mentioned earlier, it’s a fantastic album that is worthy of being in Brave New World’s shadow.

Recommended songs: Ghost In the Machine, Stare at the Sun, Silicon Messiah, Born As a Stranger

Tenth Dimension (2002)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/23/Tenthdimension.jpg/220px-Tenthdimension.jpg)
Very similar to Silicon Messiah, although not quite at the same level of quality. The science fiction element remains, although this time it’s more based around quantum physics and space. Tenth Dimension was originally meant to be an all out concept album but the rest of the band were against the idea (despite being marketed as a solo album, they functioned as a normal band).

Despite not being a completed vision, it’s another great album. Blaze continues to improve as a vocalist and a lyricist and you start to realize that he never reached his full potential in Maiden. You also realize that the kind of music Maiden make doesn’t fit him quite as well.

Recommended songs: Kill and Destroy, Speed of Light, Tenth Dimension, End Dream

As Live As It Gets (2003)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/08/B_L_A_Z_E_-_As_Live_As_It_Gets_cover.jpg/220px-B_L_A_Z_E_-_As_Live_As_It_Gets_cover.jpg)
A live album. This is actually what I recommend first to anyone looking to get into Blaze’s solo work. It features the best material from his first two albums, some Wolfsbane, and a healthy dose of Maiden. Among the Maiden selections is Virus, a song the band never performed live. Blaze sounds really good and the album is full of energy. Exactly what a live album should be. It was this album more than anything else that made me appreciate Blaze as a vocalist and performer.

Following As Live As It Gets, the original Blaze band experienced some lineup changes. Eventually, the albums started to be released under the Blaze Bayley name. I’m not too familiar with the work he did after Blood and Belief, but some of it is really popular among fans. Hopefully some people here have followed his later career who would be willing to chime in. Otherwise, maybe this is a good start for those who have never listened to his solo work.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: Mladen on October 01, 2017, 05:07:54 AM
Ooh, nice. Silicon messiah is fantastic and most people think of it as Blaze's best solo album, although I slightly prefer the Blaze Bayley band era (2008 - 2010). However, despite the amazingness of songs like Ghost in the machine, Born as a stranger, Stare at the sun, The Brave and many others, the album wasn't too successful mostly because it was released on the exact same date as Brave new world. So unfortunate.

Tenth dimension is good but I don't like it as much as other people do. The live album that came after it, however, is fantastic. Blaze's vocals on it are mindblowing, as well as on the studio releases. I love his performance on The X Factor, but this is even more impressive.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: TAC on October 01, 2017, 07:01:33 AM
Virtual XI Tour (1998)



Somehow, I missed this entry.


Anyway, after missing TXF tour, I was quite bummed that Maiden didn't even have a VXI date scheduled for Providence/Boston. I think there was a date in Connecticut, that may have gotten cancelled anyway.
We planned a trip to Arizona in July of 1998. We spent a few nights in Sedona, and then three nights in Scottsdale. Just so happened that Maiden was in Phoenix while we were in Scottsdale. In one of life's great miracles, I talked my wife into going to the Maiden/Dio show at the Celebrity Theater. (We also hit a Diamondbacks game!)

A very small place. Also cool was that Alice Cooper was standing by the side of the stage, not far from us, and even went up for the Heaven Can Wait crowd part. Every miracle though is met with a  :facepalm: and for some reason I didn't bring my camera.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: Mladen on October 01, 2017, 01:10:52 PM
Talk about one time not to bring the camera.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: TAC on October 01, 2017, 01:16:33 PM
Yeah, we left it at the hotel. The Celebrity was in kind of a shitty area. And of course, this was long before cell phone cameras.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: MirrorMask on October 01, 2017, 01:31:36 PM
Blaze's two solo albums are excellent, and more fitting for his voice than his two Maiden albums. The first has monster songs: Ghost in the Machine, The Lunch, Silicon Messiah, The Hunger, and Stare at the Sun which is better than anything on Virtual XI minus The Clansman.

Tenth Dimension is also crammed with great songs, as the title track (nice reprise at the end of the album!) and basically everything up until Meant to Be, once again a great melanchonic ballad like The Hunger. Pity the line-up changes would beign shortly after and also a shift in style happened, this band really had potential.

Saw Blaze opening for Helloween in 2001, great energetic show. Opening with The Launch and then going straight into Futureal was a badass move, at one time the lights in the venue suddenly went out but they managed to keep playing. I have a flashback of Blaze concentrated near to the drums to hear better the rhytm because the crowd was so loud. In retrospect, a brilliant opening act.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: wolfking on October 02, 2017, 04:36:53 AM
Most of Blaze's solo career is a win.  The first two are just perfect metal and Blood and Belief isn't far behind.  The Man Who Would Not Die would be my fav as it's raw, heavy and has so much energy.  I'm loving Promise and Terror more and more too.  The last two he did was solid and The King of Metal was the only real misstep in his catalog.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: The Silent Cody on October 02, 2017, 06:49:44 AM
Never heard it, Blaze's and also Paul Di Anno solo albums were never in cd player, I will have to change it straight away after reading Your comments about Silicon Messiah.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: Grappler on October 02, 2017, 06:51:28 AM
Silicon Messiah is amazing.  I can't remember when I got it, just that I was in college, so sometime in the late 90's - probably around when I got The Chemical Wedding and got into Bruce's solo career as well. 

I've always loved this album and felt that it represented Blaze much better than the two Maiden albums did.  It's dark, heavy and just a killer straight-up metal record with some Maiden-esque feel (BORN AS A STRANGER!).  The live album is awesome, though I sold it a handful of years ago when I decided to get rid of about 1/4 to 1/3 of my collection.  I kept digital copies though, so I still listen to it often.  This thread gave me the reason to re-engage my enjoyment of Blaze's music, and I ended up buy The Man That Did Not Die a few weeks ago.

Kudos!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: MirrorMask on October 02, 2017, 07:25:39 AM
Silicon Messiah is amazing.  I can't remember when I got it, just that I was in college, so sometime in the late 90's - probably around when I got The Chemical Wedding and got into Bruce's solo career as well. 

Well, so late '90s that it was already the 00's - Silicon Messiah came out in 2000  :D

I've always loved this album and felt that it represented Blaze much better than the two Maiden albums did.  It's dark, heavy and just a killer straight-up metal record with some Maiden-esque feel (BORN AS A STRANGER!). 

For me the most Maidensque song is Stare at the Sun. Awesome track. And I agree that this album is a better representation of Blaze than his Maiden albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: Grappler on October 02, 2017, 07:36:12 AM
Well I didn't feel like looking it up, so I got the years wrong - but I knew it was around that time frame, since I was in college from 1998-2002.    :)

So I bought Silicon Messiah about two years after I got Chemical Wedding.  Doesn't change my enjoyment of the album!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: nobloodyname on October 02, 2017, 07:49:56 AM
Agree with everyone else. Silicon Messiah is a wonderful album with The Tenth Dimension only behind by a hair. Blood and Belief isn't as good as either of those but is still listenable. The quality drops off a cliff face for me from that point, though, with each album becoming more monotonous in pacing and feel than the last. However, the last two albums have picked up again despite some over the top cheesy faux-operatic vocals. Really must work out the story.

As for the Virtual XI tour, I saw Maiden twice: in Brixton (I lived in Bournemouth at the time and missed the last bus home. Had to spend the entire night in the freezing cold on the streets of London. Sends shivers down my spine even now!), and in Portsmouth later in the tour. I was right down the front in Portsmouth and succeeded in getting my hand caught in Nicko's hairband when I ruffled his hair during the thanks at the end of the show. (I managed to stroke Blaze Bayley's chin once while he was singing during a Wolfsbane show back in the early 90s. Strange but true!) Just looking at the setlist for those two shows, they were identical with the exception of Lord of the Flies and The Clairvoyant being absent from the later show.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: Art on October 02, 2017, 10:00:36 AM
As for Blaze's career, i am a big supporter and Sillicon messiah is an incredible album. Top notch heavy metal.

About the Virtual XI tour, i saw them in Sao Paulo with Helloween opening,and i was also at the cancelled show in Campinas (a city near Sao Paulo)that should've happened a day earlier. I actually remember more about the cancelled gig than the Sao Paulo one. People were in line in front the stadium since the day before waiting for the show (i got there around noon, i think). They let everybody in around 2/3pm and just by looking at the tiny, poor looking stage i thought to myself: "no way iron Maiden is playing this show". It rained all day, and suddenly around 7/8 pm (i think) the PA system announces that the show is cancelled. All hell started to break loose, people started fighting, ripping off the floor (some plastic stuff that was covering the grass of the soccer field), throwing chairs, etc.

Me and my friends managed to sneak off, but outside the police were already launching tear gas and mace at everybody. I went back to Sao Paulo by bus in the same day (it's just one hour away) and the next day i caught the show here. My original plan was to see them 2 times.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: MirrorMask on October 02, 2017, 11:31:38 AM
Wow. Good that you managed to stay out of trouble! Pity it had to come down to that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: TAC on October 02, 2017, 04:09:47 PM
I didn't jump on Blaze solo right away. But I eventually caught up, and most if it is excellent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: wolfking on October 02, 2017, 05:35:11 PM
Never heard it, Blaze's and also Paul Di Anno solo albums were never in cd player, I will have to change it straight away after reading Your comments about Silicon Messiah.

Silicon Messiah is metal perfection.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: cramx3 on October 02, 2017, 06:47:03 PM
I got turned onto Blaze's solo music from his live album.  It's really good and it was because of The Virus, my friend really likes that song and found that Blaze had a live album where he performed it so we had to get the album and we found his original stuff was really good.  Which lead to me getting his first three solo albums and all three are great.  I haven't listened to them in awhile and can't say for sure which one I like the most, they are all very strong.  And Blaze does sound so much better on these, it makes those IM albums sound like shit in comparison. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: jcmoorehead on October 03, 2017, 07:04:15 AM
Been following this thread pretty much since it started, fantastic write ups for each one and actually got me to dig out and rediscover my love for Maiden. I do still need to check out the Blaze material just to see for myself how it is but I did give Silicon Messiah a listen after reading the write up and discussion here and was stunned by how good it was. Definitely going to give the rest of his stuff a listen now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: MirrorMask on October 03, 2017, 07:06:28 AM
I did give Silicon Messiah a listen after reading the write up and discussion here and was stunned by how good it was. Definitely going to give the rest of his stuff a listen now.

Yay! expect many more great songs, especially on The Tenth Dimension  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: stargazer18 on October 04, 2017, 05:55:15 PM
Falling way behind in keeping up with this thread so I'll keep it to the highlights.

In the summer of 1997 I changed jobs and during the week I was off prior to starting my new job I picked up most of Rush's 80's stuff including Signals, Grace Under Pressure and Moving Pictures. I already owned Hold Your Fire (Love It!) and Moving Pictures. Needless to say my listening time was mostly filled with Rush.

Around this time I also heard Darkside of Aquarius off of Bruce's solo album and was blown away! It was clearly the best thing to come out of him or Maiden at the time. I picked up Accident of Birth at the used CD store for $3 (I was cautious about throwing my money away  :lol) It was a wise purchase.

So when VI was released I picked it up the first day it came out, mostly out of respect for the band that I still highly regarded even if more for what they had done in their 80's glory days than what they had done during the decade of the 90's. But after my first listen I really liked this album. It seemed as though they were making an attempt to capture the kind of sound that made them famous - soaring guitar melodies and catchy choruses.Yeah, The Angel and the Gambler could have been cut back a bit but to be honest I like the first six songs on the disc. Futureal is okay but probably my least favorite of the first six songs. The last two don't do a lot for me. I agree with others that The Clansman is a top shelf song - easily in my top 10 Maiden songs. In hindsight I think the direction that this album went in regards to the soaring choruses really pointed out the short comings of Blaze.

I think my opinion of VI at the time was less critical than others because I had so much other "new to me" music to listen to that my enjoyment was not dependent on the latest CD from them.

What follows is not related to Maiden but is about one of their fellow NWOBHM bands, Saxon. It fits this period in my life so I thought I would share.

I was browsing the local record store and picked up Saxon's latest live release at the time, The Eagle Has Landed – Part II. I was a pretty big Saxon fan and even enjoyed their late 80's stuff that ventured a little into the pop/glam metal area before they too fell out of popularity, even more so than Maiden it seemed. I was really blown away by the songs on this live album especially the ones that they made after 1990. Of course the record store had very few Saxon CD's and none of the stuff made during the 90's.

It was about this time that e-commerce was beginning to become a viable means to purchase stuff via a computer on the Internet. I found an online CD store that had ALL of the Saxon albums in stock so I added Solid Ball of Rock, Forever Free, Dog's of War and Unleash the Beast to my collection. I have to say that while Maiden were plugging along with some hit and miss albums during this time I was mightily impressed with Saxon's output. Like Maiden they too cultivated a sound and took it as far as they could. Not everything is top shelf but I would say 90 percent of the music on the 4 albums listed above is good to great. Needless to say I purchased Metalhead when it came out in 1999 and even though about half is just okay the other half is excellent as well.

I lost interest with Killing Ground but have read (but not heard) that some of the albums released in the 2000's are pretty good to great.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Blaze Bayley's Solo Career
Post by: Mosh on October 08, 2017, 08:41:51 PM
Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding (1998)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/03/The_Chemical_Wedding.jpg/220px-The_Chemical_Wedding.jpg)
Released just 4 months after Virtual XI, The Chemical Wedding marked the first time Maiden and Bruce Dickinson were in direct competition. Maiden were going back to a more traditional sound with Virtual XI and Bruce was finally embracing his Metal side again. There was no question that the two camps were running a parallel course.

Accident Of Birth was a critical and commercial success for Bruce, outselling Skunkworks by a pretty large margin and receiving universal acclaim. As such, it only made sense for Bruce to use the same musicians and further develop the sound of Accident of Birth for the follow-up. The Chemical Wedding was however not to be a retread. This time the music was heavier, darker, and more progressive.

The Chemical Wedding is also unique for being the closest Bruce has come to making a concept album. The initial inspiration came from the paintings and poems of 19th Century artist William Blake. Bruce has stated that he frequently visits bookstores for art books and his inspiration for music often comes from images. His first exposure to Blake’s work came in the form of album artwork for Death Walks Behind You by 70’s progressive rock band Atomic Rooster. The album’s cover, which was Blake’s painting Nebuchadnezzar, also found its way inside the packaging for The Chemical Wedding. William Blake’s estate was so impressed with Bruce’s lyrics that they allowed him to use the work, along with all other Blake paintings, including “Ghost Of a Flea” which was used as the album cover. Other pieces used include “Satan Smiting Job With Sore Boils” and “The Good and Evil Angels”. Eddison, the puppet from Accident Of Birth was left out of this album, as Bruce felt that the album was “too heavy” for him.

However, the real inspiration was not from Blake’s paintings. Bruce was also enamored with Blake’s poetry, adapting it for spoken word interludes between songs on the album, performed by prog rock legend Arthur Brown (another one of Bruce’s childhood heroes). He also used Blake’s poem “And Did Those Feet” in the bulk of the lyrics for Jerusalem and based Book of Thel on the poem of the same name.

That being said, The Chemical Wedding is still not purely a concept album. It is heavily based on Blake’s work and alchemy, but there is no story or central theme that binds the songs together. Instead, it would be more accurate to compare its lyrical content to Dark Side of the Moon. Each song is centered around a theme that can be tied with other themes on the album. In this case, the theme is alchemy. According to Bruce, “This one is about alchemy and specifically the poetry of William Blake which is very much based on the philosophy of alchemy.” The alchemy themes are most apparent in the title track, The Tower, and The Alchemist. Gates of Urizen is about two brothers separated at birth and Trumpets of Jericho explores the idea of the Biblical Battle of Jericho failing.

The music on The Chemical Wedding is appropriately heavier, given the darker subject matter. Roy Z and Adrian Smith began to use bass strings on their guitars (similar to Petrucci’s baritone guitars) to give them a heavier tone and allow for low tunings. King In Crimson and Trumpets of Jericho in particular are tuned all the way down to A (the same A as on a bass). Just like the previous album, most of the songs were written by Bruce and Roy Z; however, Adrian also contributed a few tunes. This time he was a full member of the band from the start and his influence is felt a bit more. He also gets more solos (the solos are conveniently credited in the booklet, something that Maiden never did). His writing contributions include Killing Floor, Machine Men, and The Alchemist. Bassist Eddie Casillas also earned a writing credit on Book Of Thel.

The Chemical Wedding was even better received than Accident of Birth. It is widely considered not just Bruce’s best album, but one of the best Metal albums of all time. It had all the great qualities of Accident Of Birth but with an added sense of unity and a more adventurous take on the traditional Metal style. There was clearly a modern influence, Bruce often talked about bands like Fear Factory and Dimmu Borgir in interviews. Comparisons to Maiden were naturally abundant with many fans preferring The Chemical Wedding to Virtual XI. Still, Bruce handled the comparisons with total class. Two interview quotes about Maiden from promoting The Chemical Wedding:
Quote
Oh, I’m not going to go anywhere and start making comments on Maiden and stuff. There's too much respect between the guys in Maiden and me and me and the guys in Maiden. I don't go there.
Quote
And one of the reasons why we both get along with eachother is that we both kept this respectful distance about commenting on each other's past and things like that. We all have to live in the same universe and we share the same management. So it's a bit like being divorced and still sharing the same bathroom.

(source: https://mariseb0.tripod.com/interviews/bd_seriahazkath_98.htm )

Maiden weren’t asked about Bruce quite as much, but they were more complimentary to each other than earlier in the decade. Overall, both bands were completely respectful to each other which made the reunion more feasible and successful.

To this day, Bruce considers The Chemical Wedding to be his greatest solo effort and one of his crowning achievements. When speaking about his solo career in retrospect, he often states that it was necessary for him to do less successful projects like Skunkworks in order to get to The Chemical Wedding (and to an extent Brave New World). Years of creative confusion and doubt had finally paid off.

Scream For Me Brazil (1999)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a0/Scream_for_me_brazil.jpg)
Bruce hit the road to support The Chemical Wedding and this time there was an official album to document it. Recording in South America was an obvious choice as Bruce’s popularity was continuing to grow there. The fans are totally into it, check out how they sing along with Tears of a Dragon.

The setlist naturally had heavy focus on the latest album, with seven out of the ten cuts from The Chemical Wedding being performed (Jerusalem was also performed at a few shows but not on this recording). The show opened with six of the songs performed in a sequence with Bruce reciting Blake’s poetry in between. Like most of Bruce’s solo tours, the opening track was not the album opener, this time it was Trumpets of Jericho. The rest of his catalog was decently represented, with three songs from Accident of Birth and two songs from Balls to Picasso. Tattooed Millionaire was also played but not included on the CD for unknown reasons. There were also a few Maiden songs (nothing that wasn’t played on the previous tour) but those also weren’t included on the CD. Skunkworks was completely ignored again.

A video containing most of the show was also included on Bruce’s Anthology DVD (essential for fans of his solo work). The footage is just from the screen feeds that were shown during the concert, so it’s not particularly great quality, but still worth seeing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: jjrock88 on October 08, 2017, 08:57:17 PM
heavy metal perfection!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: wolfking on October 08, 2017, 10:01:44 PM
Best album ever!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: wolfking on October 08, 2017, 10:04:33 PM
Speaking of Bruce being so respectful of Maiden during this time, I always wondered if he was having a but of a stab at them in Machine Men with the line 'Iron bites the dust.' Doesnt seem like him though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 09, 2017, 01:33:53 AM
Speaking of Bruce being so respectful of Maiden during this time, I always wondered if he was having a but of a stab at them in Machine Men with the line 'Iron bites the dust.' Doesnt seem like him though.

Funny thing - in the english language we all shorten Iron Maiden to Maiden, but the way the italian language is structured, it comes easier to shorten it to Iron. We italian people often casually talk about the band as "Iron", so in the italian language that line stands out even more.

But of course, in the same song he says "Iron in the soul" so it was a sign of the reunion to come  :D

About the album - of course it's a damn masterpiece, his best solo album, that eclipses even some of the Maiden albums, and one of the best heavy metal albums in general.

I remember hearing it, I wasn't even prepared for it! at first maybe I almost didn't love it 'cause I just wasn't ready for such an heavy, dark and uncompromising effort.

All the songs are wonderful and memorable, the heavy tracks are, well, heavy (detuning done right and not for the sake of being heavy and noisy) and the mellower pieces are otherwordly in their beauty. To have on the same album stuff like King in Crimson and Jerusalem and make them feel part of a cohesive piece of work is gorgeous. Everything works on this album, if I really have to choose a lesser track, it might be Killing Floor, but even that is good. And the lyrics are top notch.

Allow me to quote, about the magnificent closer, The Alchemist, this interview from back in the day:

Quote
Terrorizer: The lyrics on your past two albums seem less personal than those on 'Balls to Picasso' and 'Skunkworks'. More like stories.

Bruce: I don't think that when you make lytrics into stories you necessarily make them less personal. In many ways the lyrics on 'Chemical Wedding', while they're not obviously personal, still have a very personal element to them. 'The Alchemist', for example, is about the physical process of alchemy, but where I associated with it was when I started thinking about Blake in the chorus and put words into the mouth of the alchemist. I tried to think of him more as an artist than some miserable old chemist. This idea that he had this single-minded devotion to something and that he actually didn't care about the rotten world that he lived in. The whole point of the songs is that he's throwing everything back in the face of the world. He's got his experiments, he's got his quest, he's got this devotion to light and the truth, and whenever people try and do shitty things to him, he's just like, 'Oh, you're so small and what I'm trying to do is so big. You don't even know it and I don't even care!' I just love that attitude because it's so strong.

Awesome attitude from Bruce, I didn't quote further but he agreed with the interviewer that this kind of attitude is also his own.

Speaking about The Alchemist - the climax of the song was meant to be a standalone piece, but Bruce felt it was too good to be just a closing piece to a song, and so he turned it into the title track.

A personal, sad story about the record - 1998 was a time in which the internet was not so spread yet, and therefore I didn't have a proper and full internet access. So, sadly, I missed news of both the concert, and of a signing session at a store - I went there the day later and the owner gave this sad boy that missed his hero a leftover posted signed by Bruce, it was the album cover and I still have it in my room to this day. I don't consider however to really have Bruce's autograph - sure, his sign is on the poster, but I wasn't there when he was signing it so it's not the complete experience. Still, it's a memento of how it's good to have the internet  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Mladen on October 09, 2017, 02:11:48 AM
This is such a remarkable album. Bruce not only justified his decision to pursue solo career, but also recorded one of the best metal albums of all time. It's just as excellent as the classic Maiden records. The Tower, Book of Thel, Gates of Urizen, King in Crimson, Chemical wedding, The Alchemist... Just fantastic songs all around.

It's also smart that he decided to reunite with Maiden after this release - this would be a hard album to surpass.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Art on October 09, 2017, 06:28:18 AM
TCW is simply a top 3 metal album of all times, IMHO. Perfect.

And i was present at the Sao Paulo Show recorded for SCFMB.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Zantera on October 09, 2017, 06:37:24 AM
Revisited this album recently and it's really great. I think Jerusalem and Book of Thel stand on their own level, but then you add songs like The Tower, Killing Floor, Trumpets of Jericho & The Alchemist and you get a damn fine album. I have a hard time picking a favorite Bruce album, but Chemical Wedding is a strong contender and one of the 3 albums of his I would consider just slightly above the rest. (The other 2 being Skunkworks and Tyranny of Souls, but Accident of Birth is great too ofc)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: kaos2900 on October 09, 2017, 07:22:36 AM
Great album and probably my favorite solo record.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Grappler on October 09, 2017, 08:01:32 AM
I still remember getting this record in 1998, maybe early 1999?  I was in college and went to the small record shop on campus.  I was just at the beginning stage of my Maiden worship - just getting into them and starting to buy all of their records.  So I see this album at the store and realize that it's THE Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden.  I had never heard one note of his solo albums, but the cover art looked cool and thought I'd give it a try.

I was completely blown away by how heavy the album was, especially compared to Maiden.  I've actually never cared to go back to Bruce's pre-AOB records because the following albums have been so awesome and so heavy.  I go back and forth between AOB and this album as my favorite.  TCW is definitely the better album, but I love the light-hearted feel of AOB at times compared to the dark feel of this one.

Sadly, the record store where I bought this album closed a number of years ago, directly as a result of music piracy.  College kids have no interest in buying physical albums and the store's prices were rather high ($15+ per cd, if I remember right), so they had no choice but to close as a result of slower and slower sales through the late 2000's.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: ozzy554 on October 09, 2017, 08:27:16 AM
I love this album.

Book of Thel used to be my ringtone.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 09, 2017, 09:07:37 AM
Sadly, the record store where I bought this album closed a number of years ago, directly as a result of music piracy.  College kids have no interest in buying physical albums and the store's prices were rather high ($15+ per cd, if I remember right), so they had no choice but to close as a result of slower and slower sales through the late 2000's.

That's a pity.

Earlier I talked about me going to the music store a day too late to find Bruce's signing session - that store too has closed, by now there's a bar inside, and that store is tied to my biggest musical surprise ever.

The lack of internet was a downside when I didn't learn in time of Bruce coming, but a year later prevented me from learning any kind of information whatsoever about the then new Dream Theater album, so I went to the store knowing only that a new DT album was to be released on that day, and nothing  else at all.

A year later since 1998 it was 1999 - I'll let you figure out the rest, and my reaction in the shop  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Big Hath on October 09, 2017, 01:54:43 PM
that fucking Book of Thel riff!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Stadler on October 09, 2017, 02:28:23 PM
I gravitate to Accident of Birth, myself, but the differences are minimal.  These are two AMAZING records, and I revisted both in the last week, and both blew me away like they did when I first heard them.  It was around this time that I began calling Bruce the "Greatest Heavy Metal Frontman Ever" and these albums are a part of that.   Creative, cohesive, yet timeless and energetic.   Amazing stuff. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Art on October 09, 2017, 02:31:15 PM
Vocally, i think this is Bruce's best performance. Outstanding.

And he absolutely NAILED it live  :metal :metal :metal

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: TAC on October 09, 2017, 03:34:30 PM
I gravitate to Accident of Birth, myself, but the differences are minimal.  These are two AMAZING records, and I revisted both in the last week, and both blew me away like they did when I first heard them.   

Same here. But back to back, these are legendary achievements.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: PowerSlave on October 09, 2017, 05:45:57 PM
heavy metal perfection!

Best album ever!!

This is The Greatest Pure Metal album of all time, my friends!

The Book of Thel has one of the greatest riffs of all time, as well!

There are simply zero flaws on this record. The band is hitting on all cylinders, and this is Bruce's most perfect performance in a mostly incredible career. In fact, as much of an Iron Maiden fan that I am, I would go so far as to say that this album eclipses anything that they ever put out (as an entire album). It's so unfortunate that there isn't proper live footage to go along with Scream for me Brazil. That's the only thing lacking in an otherwise incredible time for this band.

I have to admit, since this discography thread began I've been waiting for this entry more than any other.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: cramx3 on October 09, 2017, 05:50:53 PM
This is a top 5 all time album for me.  While I love Iron Maiden more, IM don't have a whole album that is as good as this IMO.  Just a masterpiece.  Also, the b-sides, Return of the King maybe one of my favorite Bruce songs.  Real World is also awesome.  I'd put Killing Floor as my least favorite track.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: jjrock88 on October 09, 2017, 05:54:42 PM
When this album was reissued a few years back, it definitely got even better with the bonus tracks. Real World is awesome!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 10, 2017, 01:10:18 AM
When this album was reissued a few years back, it definitely got even better with the bonus tracks. Real World is awesome!

True, but my preference goes to Return of the King, the song itself wouldn't have been out of place on the album.

Confeos is just silly instead  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: DoctorAction on October 10, 2017, 01:36:18 AM
This is a top 5 all time album for me.  While I love Iron Maiden more, IM don't have a whole album that is as good as this IMO.  Just a masterpiece.

I also lean toward AOB but they really are both exceptional records. Steve Harris must have done some very serious thinking on the back of these two...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: wolfking on October 10, 2017, 05:02:32 AM
When this album was reissued a few years back, it definitely got even better with the bonus tracks. Real World is awesome!

True, but my preference goes to Return of the King, the song itself wouldn't have been out of place on the album.

Confeos is just silly instead  :lol

Return of the King is definitely as good as anything else on the album, and for me, I feel it's pretty much part of the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Kwyjibo on October 10, 2017, 07:53:37 AM
This is probably the best metal album out there, imo. It's just perfection.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Samsara on October 10, 2017, 08:21:59 AM
Just piling on with the compliments for The Chemical Wedding. One of the best metal records of all time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Mister Gold on October 10, 2017, 06:15:46 PM
The Chemical Wedding is far and away the greatest thing anyone involved in Iron Maiden ever released, even over the classic Maiden albums themselves. It's a masterpiece in the heavy metal genre. :hefdaddy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: cramx3 on October 10, 2017, 07:10:55 PM
It's kind of amazing how much everyone here agrees on this album.  There isn't usually so much positive agreement on this forum.

When this album was reissued a few years back, it definitely got even better with the bonus tracks. Real World is awesome!

True, but my preference goes to Return of the King, the song itself wouldn't have been out of place on the album.

Confeos is just silly instead  :lol

Return of the King is definitely as good as anything else on the album, and for me, I feel it's pretty much part of the album.

Yea, it's part of my album on my phone so I always consider the three bonus songs part of the album since I never heard the album without them and they are just solid tracks.  Return of the King makes the album so much better IMO, it's just a really strong song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 11, 2017, 02:18:33 AM
I love this album and it's definitely a highlight of his career as a solo artist.

I can only echo the universal praise for this album, the only "negative" thing I can think of and this might surprise some but I actually feel that the music is sometimes too heavy to suite his voice. King Crimson for example is a great song but I do feel during the verse that a more raspy voice would have suited better, the chorus works better though. However it's such a small complaint and overall his vocals are awesome on the album.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: wolfking on October 11, 2017, 05:09:47 AM
It's kind of amazing how much everyone here agrees on this album.  There isn't usually so much positive agreement on this forum.

I was pretty much going to post the exact same thing.

I love this album and it's definitely a highlight of his career as a solo artist.

I can only echo the universal praise for this album, the only "negative" thing I can think of and this might surprise some but I actually feel that the music is sometimes too heavy to suite his voice. King Crimson for example is a great song but I do feel during the verse that a more raspy voice would have suited better, the chorus works better though. However it's such a small complaint and overall his vocals are awesome on the album.



I have kind of thought this before too, so I can understand where you are coming from.  Although, I would really only think this might be more of a problem if it were anyone else but Bruce.  The guy could sing the nutritional information from a can of cat food and I'd buy it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Stadler on October 11, 2017, 08:40:18 AM
I love this album and it's definitely a highlight of his career as a solo artist.

I can only echo the universal praise for this album, the only "negative" thing I can think of and this might surprise some but I actually feel that the music is sometimes too heavy to suite his voice. King Crimson for example is a great song but I do feel during the verse that a more raspy voice would have suited better, the chorus works better though. However it's such a small complaint and overall his vocals are awesome on the album.

And why I give the slightest of edges to the Accident of Birth record.  I'm not really into the "seventh string as bass string, make it as sludge-y as is humanly possible" school of metal.    Jimmy Fucking Page and Ritchie Goddamn Blackmore didn't need a seventh string, and neither do you. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Stadler on October 11, 2017, 08:43:42 AM
As an aside, I got a text last night from my daughter - she's 16 and at school - that said something to the effect of "Hey, I'm listening to Iron Maiden.  I want to listen to "Number of the Beast" but I think it will scare my roommate".

I wept.   My work here is complete.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: DTA on October 11, 2017, 08:52:24 AM
My friend let me pillage his music collection many years ago and it turns out he gave me The Chemical Wedding and I've never listened to it. I put it on my phone and listened through once at the gym and I'm pretty damn impressed. It's a really solid album with some great melodies and I like the songwriting quite a bit. I'm really anxious to listen to it more! I also have Tyranny of Souls and Accident of Birth so I'm going to dig into them once I burn out on TCW.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: PowerSlave on October 12, 2017, 06:46:52 PM
I love this album and it's definitely a highlight of his career as a solo artist.

I can only echo the universal praise for this album, the only "negative" thing I can think of and this might surprise some but I actually feel that the music is sometimes too heavy to suite his voice. King Crimson for example is a great song but I do feel during the verse that a more raspy voice would have suited better, the chorus works better though. However it's such a small complaint and overall his vocals are awesome on the album.

And why I give the slightest of edges to the Accident of Birth record.  I'm not really into the "seventh string as bass string, make it as sludge-y as is humanly possible" school of metal.    Jimmy Fucking Page and Ritchie Goddamn Blackmore didn't need a seventh string, and neither do you.

I'm almost certain (but not entirely) that they still used 6 strings with alternate tunings. And that's something that Mr. Page certainly did do a few times. In fact, Celebration Day is tuned down so far that the string sounds like it's ready to flop out of it's slot in the nut in the studio version.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Mosh on October 12, 2017, 07:26:21 PM
Yea I’m not really seeing your point Stadler. No seven strings on the album and Chemical Wedding has about the same amount of downtuned songs as Accident of Birth.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Big Hath on October 12, 2017, 10:41:28 PM
flop out of it's slot in the nut

not sure why, just felt the urge to quote this
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: PowerSlave on October 13, 2017, 09:32:15 AM
flop out of it's slot in the nut

not sure why, just felt the urge to quote this

Sounds paiful, doesn't it?    :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Big Hath on October 13, 2017, 11:02:44 AM
sounds like it's describing a birth control technique
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: TAC on October 13, 2017, 11:13:05 AM
Sounds like he's got a short one.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Stadler on October 13, 2017, 12:18:23 PM
Yea I’m not really seeing your point Stadler. No seven strings on the album and Chemical Wedding has about the same amount of downtuned songs as Accident of Birth.

It was more euphemism/hyperbole than anything else.   I get it, I really do.  I'm a massive Jimmy Page fan, and while it's exasperating to try to figure out a song and find that Jimmy tuned one string up a step and a half (or down), it adds a nice color (and Keith Richards is worse).   What I meant was to poke fun on the idea of "heavier", by using bass strings on the guitar and adding a seventh string.   I read in the write that they "began to use bass strings on their guitars (similar to Petrucci’s baritone guitars)" and made the wrong assumption that they used seven strings.  I know they used bass strings (it's in the CW booklet), and I know what a baritone guitar is; I mistakenly saw "Petrucci guitar" and jumped to seven strings.   I was just trying to say that for me, a good song is a good song, and that "heavier" isn't, in and of itself, necessarily "better".  I think the "seven strings" is a little Spinal Tap for me.     
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Lethean on October 13, 2017, 12:28:45 PM
I think The Chemical Wedding and Accident of Birth are both incredible. I give the edge to Chemical Wedding, not because it's heavier, but there's just something about it. It has this vibe that's there throughout the whole album and just makes it feel like this really cohesive piece of work.

I don't at all think that the music is too heavy for his voice - I think his vocals are perfect for it. But that's down to personal preference.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Stadler on October 13, 2017, 12:35:15 PM
I think The Chemical Wedding and Accident of Birth are both incredible. I give the edge to Chemical Wedding, not because it's heavier, but there's just something about it. It has this vibe that's there throughout the whole album and just makes it feel like this really cohesive piece of work.

I don't at all think that the music is too heavy for his voice - I think his vocals are perfect for it. But that's down to personal preference.

I do agree that it is the more cohesive work.  It sounds all of a piece, which I like.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Kwyjibo on October 13, 2017, 01:35:01 PM
Accident Of Birth is a collection of great songs while Chemical Wedding is a complete album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Mosh on October 13, 2017, 05:44:43 PM
One thing that sets AOB apart (and this could be a positive or negative depending on who you ask) is it wasn’t as much of a band effort. Adrian was brought in late, some songs were leftovers from other projects, and it was uncertain whether this would be yet another Bruce project that ends after one album. With Chemical Wedding, the entire band is pictured in the booklet, Adrian was involved from the start, and they had a whole tour to settle in and craft their sound.

Everything about TCW is more unified and focused. People talk about how the album feels complete, but even taking just about any song out of context shows a lot of thought and creativity. Some songs on AOB sound more rushed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 14, 2017, 05:00:19 AM
I consider Accident perfect the way it is, but I totally see your point, and the reasons behind it. Turning things around, it's almost a miracle that an album that came out of a new band and under a major sign of uncertainty, almost a carrer crisis so to speak, was already that good.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: cramx3 on October 14, 2017, 08:51:47 AM
Has Steve or anyone said or hinted that the success of those two Bruce albums were a reason, or part of a reason, to try and get him back in the band?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 14, 2017, 09:36:12 AM
Has Steve or anyone said or hinted that the success of those two Bruce albums were a reason, or part of a reason, to try and get him back in the band?

I think it was more their lack of success, than the one Bruce was experiencing. Surely it must have not gone unnoticed in the Maiden camp how Chemical Wedding slayed Virtual XI, but even if the reunion had happened with Bruce at his Skunkorks phase, it would have been a success anyway.

It's a parallel however with the Priest reunion - Rob Halford too had a successful metal album, Resurrection, that was considered better than the current Priest offering, Demolition (even though Halford made a more controversial record, Crucible, in 2002 before going back to Priest the year later).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Chemical Wedding (1998)
Post by: Mosh on October 15, 2017, 03:12:03 PM
Blaze’s Departure and Reunion

By the end of 1998 it really seemed like Maiden and Bruce were on parallel paths. Bruce was not only making Metal again, but delivering modern classics. Maiden weren’t quite as acclaimed at the time, but Virtual XI had been arguably the most “classic” sounding Maiden album of the 90’s. To some fans it seemed like a reunion was a no brainer. Why continue with Blaze when Maiden could be the ones releasing The Chemical Wedding? Obviously things are never that simple, but it was (and still is) a common sentiment.

The circumstances around Blaze’s departure are still not entirely clear. There’s a lot of rumours and speculation but, in typical Maiden fashion, a detailed account has never really come from the band themselves. It is widely believed that Blaze was dismissed before the reunion was negotiated, which seems likely given his inability to handle Maiden’s rigorous touring schedule. There are also reports that Nicko didn’t like Blaze and convinced Steve to fire him by showing him the soundboard recordings of the previous tour. One thing that seems to be certain: Steve was the last one on board with both Blaze leaving and Bruce returning. As mentioned before, Steve has a lot of pride and bringing Bruce back would’ve been an admission of defeat. Eventually, Steve came around and asked Rod to find out if Bruce would be interested in a reunion. Blaze was let go but with no bad blood between him and Maiden. As mentioned earlier, Maiden’s management assisted Blaze with his early solo career.

From Bruce’s end, a reunion made commercial and artistic sense. Despite having released two great albums that were almost universally acclaimed, he was still performing to smaller audiences than he had with Maiden and the albums were far from big sellers. It was obvious that Bruce could put out the next Number of the Beast (many would say he did) and it still wouldn’t make much of a splash without the clout of the Iron Maiden name behind it. Still, it was a difficult decision. Bruce had a new band with fantastic musical chemistry and full creative control. He also came back with conditions for his return. The first was that when it’s time to make an album, a producer would be involved. To that end, it was also agreed that the goal of a reunion would not be to tour as a nostalgia act the way other reunion tours were often marketed, but to make new music.

The second condition for Bruce’s return was that Adrian would come with him. However, Adrian refused to rejoin if it meant Janick was to be forced out of the band. This led to an interesting prospect: a three guitar lineup. There was actually some uncertainty around this decision, and Steve has stated that Janick would remain in the band if it didn’t work out. Maiden were always a two guitar lineup (save for a brief period in the 70s). There was the possibility that the three guitarists would get in each other’s way or there would be a personality clash. As we all now know, this wasn’t a problem at all.

There was also the question of whether Bruce would be fully invested. As Nicko McBrain once put it, they had been burned by Bruce before. Not only had he left on his own accord, but he phoned in many performances by the end and had taken shots at them in the past. There was every possibility that he would jump ship again given the right opportunity.

Despite these concerns, the band was able to put aside their differences and a reunion was set in motion. As mentioned earlier, it was important for this new lineup to make new music together. This was not to be a nostalgia act. That being said, this reunion had the potential to be huge and passing up the opportunity to at least do a short tour to get people excited about the band again would have been a mistake. So, in the summer of 1999, Maiden hit the road for a short tour. But before we get there, let’s talk about the video game that the tour was in promotion of:

Ed Hunter (1999)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/da/Ironmaidenedhunter.jpg/220px-Ironmaidenedhunter.jpg)
The development phase of Ed Hunter was almost as long as Blaze Bayley’s tenure in the band. The original idea was a game based around Maiden’s music and Eddie called Melt. It was also going to be released for the Sony Playstation, according to a promotional image. The project was announced with the release of Best Of the Beast in the form of a sticker on the CD’s packaging. Eventually, the Melt project was scrapped because, as Blaze put it, the game was “crap.” However, the band were still interested in the concept of releasing a computer game and teamed up with Synthetic Dimensions to begin what would become Ed Hunter. The game’s release was originally going to coincide with Virtual XI, although it faced several delays that ended up pushing the release back to 1999. In retrospect, the most memorable thing about Ed Hunter, other than the tour, was probably how hard the band pushed it in 1998. As mentioned during the album’s entry, Virtual XI was filled with promotional artwork for the new game. The CD booklet was made up of character models, the single artwork came from the game, and even the Eddie used on the tour was modeled after the game. The band also remastered their albums around this time with bonus enhanced CDs that, among other things, included advertisements for Ed Hunter.

Despite the hype, the game itself wasn’t anything particularly special. It’s an “on rails” shooter that takes the player through various Maiden landmarks and album artwork scenes. Like most 3D video games from that time, the game hasn’t aged well at all, although it wasn’t that impressive to begin with. The game didn’t make an impression outside the Maiden fanbase and even the fans didn’t seem too interested. The overabundance in marketing throughout 1998 also probably decreased a lot of interest before the game was even out.

Of course Ed Hunter also doubled as the band’s second compilation album. This time around, the fans were able to vote online for which songs to include on the CD (and by extension which songs would be played on the tour, as the band were only going to play songs from the compilation). This was an idea that was pretty ahead of its time, the internet was still new and bands at Maiden’s level of popularity hadn’t yet figured out how to use it for fan interaction. That being said, there’s always the question of how much say the fans actually had in the album’s final tracklisting. It mostly consisted of the usual setlist staples and didn’t differ all that much from Best Of the Beast. Although many fans also argue that the mass audience really do only want to hear the “hits” over and over again, so the song selection on Ed Hunter helps their point. There were a couple rare tunes though, namely Stranger In a Strange Land.

Today, the only thing that makes this compilation worth seeking out is the bonus track on the US version: Wrathchild ‘99. This version was later released as a b-side but isn’t available anywhere else. While it’s advertised as a new recording with Bruce on vocals, it’s actually just the original Killers recording with re-recorded vocals by Bruce. This is not the first time Maiden have done something like this, ironically the last time was when Bruce first joined the band and they released a “live” recording of Remember Tomorrow with Bruce on vocals. Of course Bruce’s vocals were recorded in the studio over a live recording from when Paul was in the band. In the case of Wrathchild, that song has been played live so many times that yet another recording of it is pretty pointless at this point. The fact that it’s the most interesting thing about this release should tell you how essential Ed Hunter is.

(https://www.unseen64.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/meltpsx.jpg)

Ed Huntour (1999)

(https://www.metaltraveller.com/images/iron_maiden/ed_hunter_tour_poster.jpg)

The tour for Ed Hunter actually began shortly before the release of the game, although it didn’t matter because the obvious focus of this tour was the return of Bruce and Adrian. The tour was very brief, lasting just over 2 months and only covering North America and some of Europe (no shows in the band’s home country). It was clearly just a way to introduce fans to the new lineup before the band came back full force with a new album and tour. Some of the venues were the same as on the Virtual XI tour, but the band were already beginning to win back their old audiences and play larger amphitheaters in the States. Unlike previous tours, however, almost all shows sold out or were close to selling out. In New York, the gig at the Hammerstein ballroom sold out in just hours prompting management to add a second night (which also sold out). There was definitely more buzz around the band compared to the last few years.

The staging was about the same size as the Virtual XI tour, since the band were still playing similar sized venues in a lot of markets. Being based around the Ed Hunter game, a lot of the drapes featured the 3D modeled Eddie. The intro tape for the show also consisted of footage from the game with Transylvania being played in the background. The walk on Eddie was the same as on the previous tour but without the soccer paraphernalia. A larger Eddie was also used but with the same Ed Hunter design.

As mentioned earlier, the setlist was selected entirely from the Ed Hunter compilation and supposedly picked by the fans. Just like the compilation, it mostly features the usual suspects but with some nice surprises, namely Stranger In a Strange Land and Powerslave (both songs that hadn’t been played since their original tours). The opener was Aces High, another song that hadn’t been played since 1985, which made sense since it’s probably the best known Maiden opener for being on Live After Death. Songs that were staples in the 80s but hadn’t been played in the 90s, such as Phantom Of the Opera, also made a comeback. The band also gave the Blaze years a fair amount of set time, which was a nice surprise. Most other reunited lineups tend to avoid material that the returning members weren’t part of. Three songs from the Blaze era were played: Man On the Edge, Futureal, and The Clansman. Unfortunately, the former two were played for the last time on this tour. Unsurprisingly, Bruce handled these songs very well, especially The Clansman.

Unfortunately, the tour didn’t exactly go off without a hitch. Just a few dates into the tour, Adrian Smith received news that his father passed away and had to leave the tour to attend the funeral. Since Maiden were used to being a two guitar band, they were able to continue without cancelling any gigs. The result was a brief return of the Dickinson/Gers/Murray/Harris/McBrain lineup of the early 90s. With Adrian temporarily out, Stranger In a Strange Land was dropped from the setlist and was never brought back. Bad luck hit the band again toward the end of the North American leg when Dave Murray broke a finger. This time shows had to be cancelled, marking the third tour in a row where a string of dates in the US were cancelled.

Despite these incidents, the tour was largely a success. The new lineup had a ton of energy and on stage chemistry. The three guitarists were able to coexist without getting in each other’s way. Janick got to continue performing some of Adrian’s old solos and Adrian was able to add new rhythm parts to songs he wasn’t part of. His experimentation with alternate tunings with Roy Z was put to use in songs where he used Drop D to cover the lower end of the guitar frequency range. Dave and Janick covered the mid and high parts of the guitar. The result was a wide guitar sound. There were also parts on the original recordings that featured three guitars and could now be recreated live for the first time. Bruce also settled into his old role immediately and worked the crowd just as fans remembered in the 80s. This time around, however, his singing was more consistent and arguably better than ever. Any doubts about this new lineup were immediately put to rest. Maiden were back and Ed Huntour marked the calm before the storm that was Brave New World. But more on that next week.

This tour is unfortunately pretty light on bootlegs, no soundboards or proshot footage that I’m aware of. The band did record some gigs as they released songs from the tour as b-sides to Brave New World singles, but no full gig has been officially released. It’s especially unfortunate because several songs have not been played since that tour, so it’s the only time this lineup has performed those songs. There is some decent youtube footage though, the best is probably the Gothenburg show (linked below). There’s also footage of the very first show which is pretty low quality, but it includes Stranger In a Strange Land and you can really feel the sense of excitement in the crowd.

Gothenburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8ghJguBdK0
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: Mladen on October 15, 2017, 11:50:10 PM
As far as Blaze's departure goes, I think Bruce was brought back in before Blaze even knew what's going on. I believe he confirmed it in interviews that he was already working on the stuff for his third album with Maiden when he got the news Bruce was back. It makes sense. It wouldn't be smart to let Blaze go before knowing if Bruce was willing to return.

I never got the compilation or the video game. I still see it on sale here and there but I'm not too interesting to purchase it. The tour was fantastic, I'm sure. The set list is great and this is the first time I'm seeing footage of Aces high from the tour. Bruce's performance is loads better than on Live after death.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 16, 2017, 02:34:45 AM
As far as Blaze's departure goes, I think Bruce was brought back in before Blaze even knew what's going on. I believe he confirmed it in interviews that he was already working on the stuff for his third album with Maiden when he got the news Bruce was back. It makes sense. It wouldn't be smart to let Blaze go before knowing if Bruce was willing to return.

On the other hand, I seem to recall from various interviews and bits here and there, that Blaze was first let go, and then Bruce was brought back. Sure, the whole endgame was that, a reunion with Bruce and nothing else, but I believe they decided Blaze wasn't working and Plan B would have been yet another singer, not sticking with Blaze only if Bruce had said no.

Also, check out the extract from Bruce's biography published on Maiden's site - even when he was replacing Paul Di Anno he asked what was going to happen with him, he seems concerned to let someone else lose his job, he wants to come in only when the other person's already gone. And this is totally from memory, I admit, I remember reading an interview with Blaze that he was informed that "the band wanted to try to reunite with Bruce", so when he was let go, Bruce was not already back, at least formally.

What I didn't know, and that I read twice in a short period of time - here and some days ago on another Maiden forum - is that Adrian's presence was "at risk", and that he would have been sacked if things would have not worked out. Steve evidently values loyalty and reliability, and by then Janick was the stable second guitarist, I guess in Steve's eyes Adrian will always be the third.

About the reunion itself - it happened when I still hadn't full time access to the web so I learnt it from a short article in a paper, I remember commenting with my cousin "Buuhuu, they sacked Janick Gers, poor guy", 'cause the short news of Bruce and Adrian returning could have only meant the classic line-up, it was only later that I found out that the band was not a three guitarists, six piece new monster.

Of course I could not miss for the world the reunion show. I won't make a review of it all, but just let me recall the magnificent awesomeness of the beginning. The venue, where DT themselves always play, was packed, filled to the brink; I still think that they oversold it 'cause I never saw it so full on every space of the floor and every seat in the whole building. Megadeth were opening and already with them the air was on fire, but when we were waiting for Maiden to begin, the anticipation was sky high.

Transylvania as an intro already sent everyone crazy, then Churchill's Speech came, the intro to Aces High... and them boom! a red burst of flame kicked off the song, to this day I am still absolutely convinced that I've seen and it was not my imagination that Steve Harris made a big jump to enter the stage, entering first, maybe galvanized by the roar of the crowd. The others follow closely, in the confusion of the beginning I fear I may have missed Bruce coming on stage, but then he arrives last, grabs the mic stand, belts out like a motherfucker the verses to Aces High, and then when the chorus arrive, the whole damn place wins the award for "tearing down the roof" metaphor making a gigantic and bombastic, unison scream:

RUN, LIVE TO FLY
FLY TO LIVE, DO OR DIE
WANT TO RUN, LIVE TO FLY
FLY TO LIVE, ACES HIGH

 :metal

It was MASSIVE, to this day I still remember what a huge roar it was. And then after the chorus, Bruce went to the two sides of the stage, he did not say "Scream for me", he didn't wave his hands, he just went there - on the other side, and then on my side - and just stood there, like in a tranquil "'sup guys?" mode, and he was welcomed by yet another huge and bombastic roar. The whole enthusiasm to finally have him back was simply sending everyone crazy by just seeing him.

And the rest of the concert, well, it was basically like that. A more than packed venue sang along with wild joy to every song and every note, it was a triumph, and to  this day, one of the best concerts - both in absolute terms, and by Iron Maiden - that I have attended.

Iron Maiden were back, and they were ready to conquer the world once again :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 16, 2017, 04:11:54 AM
I remember being in school when I heard about the reunion, during lunch I went straight to the computers in the library and read about it, I even saved the headline from the article and framed it. :blob:

The Ed Hunter tour was my first time seeing Maiden live, such an awesome show and setlist and actually the only time i've seen them indoors which was special.

Btw I didn't realise that the clip was from the venue I saw them at, that's awesome!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: nobloodyname on October 16, 2017, 05:07:47 AM
The reunion was actually announced on their website, with a counter installed a few days prior hinting that big news was on the way.

I was lucky enough to attend the Paris show on 9/9/99. Met Rod Smallwood under the Eiffel Tower, oddly enough. Wrote a review of the show for the Iron Maiden newsgroup ("what's a newsgroup?") at the time. Will have to dig it out if anyone's interested.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 16, 2017, 05:27:58 AM
The reunion was actually announced on their website, with a counter installed a few days prior hinting that big news was on the way.

I still remember the headline: "Bruce and Adrian... they're back!!!"

No mention of Blaze Bayley - at his own request.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: cramx3 on October 16, 2017, 08:39:27 AM
Wasn't there another stipulation for Bruce's return in the favor of a large sum of money (I recall reading $1 million).  Not sure if any of that is true, but sounds plausible.

Anyway, still before I became a fan, but getting close to my discovery of them and the fact they were playing the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC makes me so jealous, I really like that venue and would love to see them there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: Mosh on October 16, 2017, 08:44:38 AM
Wasn't there another stipulation for Bruce's return in the favor of a large sum of money (I recall reading $1 million).  Not sure if any of that is true, but sounds plausible.

Don't know but I'm sure that was part of it.

The problem with Blaze's account is that, while there's no reason to think he's been anything but honest about the whole thing, he himself probably doesn't have the whole story. He didn't seem to know what was going on until they knew they were bringing Bruce back, but my interpretation of the whole thing is that they were going to let him go regardless. It's also worth noting that the tour happened very quickly. I wonder if there was already an Ed Hunter tour being booked before reunion talks, in which case Blaze was going to need to stay on for another year (sort of like A Real Live Tour). But that's all speculation. Either way, I don't see an outcome where Blaze gets to make a third album with Maiden.

As for Janick: Not only does Steve value loyalty, but Janick was also in the band just as long as Adrian. Janick had his detractors, but lets face it, Adrian's presence wasn't going to make or break the reunion. It also took a few years for Adrian to settle back in IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 16, 2017, 09:26:34 AM
With the reunion Janick was also at the start of his peak as a songwriter in the band.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on October 16, 2017, 09:35:01 AM
Yeah, regarding Adrian, I saw the BNW tour, and he still felt a bit out of place then, even with one of his songs being the first single off the new album (Wicker Man).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: ProfessorPeart on October 16, 2017, 12:03:05 PM
Ed Hunter tour was my first time seeing the band. It was actually my second time seeing Bruce and Adrian as I was lucky enough to catch the Accident of Birth tour at the House of Blues.

The Ed Hunter show was at the Aragon in Chicago. It was in July, I believe, in the midst of a brutal heatwave. People were passing out left and right all night. The whole back wall and hallway of the venue was lined with people who had collapsed from heat exhaustion as there was no air conditioning and it remained into the 90's well after dark and the humidity was atrocious. They get to my favorite track, Wasted Years, and as Adrian is playing the intro I notice something strange to my left. I look over and my wife is on the ground. She had collapsed from the heat. Thankfully, the dude on her other side helped me get her back on her feet and I held her up for the remainder of the show.

I remember getting to my car after the show and taking off my shirt. I had to wring it out because it was like a soaked sponge. Just filled with sweat.

Still a great night. I have never been back to the Aragon because I hate it. I've missed a few shows that I would love to see but I just can't stand that place. So many other great venues in this city.

I do have the PC version of the game and the release. I never bust it out. No need to.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 16, 2017, 12:29:59 PM
Wow, what a horrible experience! Pity that the conditions ruined the wonderful event of seeing Maiden reunited.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: cramx3 on October 16, 2017, 12:32:34 PM
Wow that venue sounds like a health hazard
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: wolfking on October 16, 2017, 03:40:28 PM
I still have the 2CD video game release.  The game was pretty shit but a good novelty.  The 2cd tracklist of course is fantastic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: Mister Gold on October 16, 2017, 03:45:04 PM
With the reunion Janick was also at the start of his peak as a songwriter in the band.

Yeah, expect a lot of shoutouts to how great Janick's contributions as a songwriter are from here on it. Dude has contributed a large number of the band's greatest songs in the reunion era.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: TAC on October 16, 2017, 04:23:51 PM
To echo what Professor Peart said, I saw this tour at the Orpheum in Boston on 7/18/99.
Same thing. No AC. Isn't this a Bruce thing??

Anyway, this was literally the hottest I have ever been at a show. I'm not a take my shirt off kind of guy, but I had to. I would run to he bathroom and literally soak my shirt to cool down. My wife actually stood out by the front door talking to this lady ticket taker. It was fucking hot.

Unfortunately, it was one of the shows Adrian missed, but that said, it was one of my all time favorite tours. Seeing them in a theater was beyond awesome. And the setlist was fantastic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: Samsara on October 18, 2017, 12:00:05 PM
Sadly, I just wasn't into Maiden quite yet. However, that would change, however, with the next entry. I knew absolutely nothing about Ed Hunter, so thanks Mosh. Bring on BRAVE NEW WORLD!  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: Grappler on October 18, 2017, 09:43:45 PM
Ed Hunter tour was my first time seeing the band. It was actually my second time seeing Bruce and Adrian as I was lucky enough to catch the Accident of Birth tour at the House of Blues.

The Ed Hunter show was at the Aragon in Chicago. It was in July, I believe, in the midst of a brutal heatwave. People were passing out left and right all night. The whole back wall and hallway of the venue was lined with people who had collapsed from heat exhaustion as there was no air conditioning and it remained into the 90's well after dark and the humidity was atrocious. They get to my favorite track, Wasted Years, and as Adrian is playing the intro I notice something strange to my left. I look over and my wife is on the ground. She had collapsed from the heat. Thankfully, the dude on her other side helped me get her back on her feet and I held her up for the remainder of the show.

I remember getting to my car after the show and taking off my shirt. I had to wring it out because it was like a soaked sponge. Just filled with sweat.

Still a great night. I have never been back to the Aragon because I hate it. I've missed a few shows that I would love to see but I just can't stand that place. So many other great venues in this city.

Holy fuck was that a hot show.  I remember getting lost from my friends, so I just hung out in one spot.  It was my first time seeing Maiden and I was blown away and madly in love.   :heart   :biggrin:  Seeing them open with Aces High after having listened to Live After Death so many times was incredible, and I loved Bruce's quip that "this next song is not about men in pointy white hats," when they started The Clansman.   :lol

I know a lot of singers prefer to have the air conditioning turned off - the hot, humid air helps the vocal cords (where cool, dry air would make it tougher to sing), but it could be possible that the Aragon just didn't have AC as well. 

I still have my Ed Hunter tour shirt, with the sleeves cut off.  I usually wear it when it's blazing hot outside and I need to wash the car.  The shirt is now 18 years old. 

I obtained a copy of this bootleg from Hamburg and watched it over and over again.  Recently converted it to DVD a few years ago and watched it for the first time in ages then.  Brings back so many memories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TguoHe72n80
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: TAC on October 20, 2017, 03:23:48 PM
I was in my basement, and I totally forgot I even had this.

At the show I bought this:

(https://i.imgur.com/DpszM2B.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ejcBfBu.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: cramx3 on October 20, 2017, 03:29:58 PM
Nice, mixed in with DT boots  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: Mosh on October 22, 2017, 06:00:22 PM
Brave New World (2000)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/03/Iron_Maiden_-_Brave_New_World.jpg)
After breaking in the new lineup on the road, it was time for Iron Maiden to get to work on what was sure to be the year’s most anticipated Metal album. It was important for the reunion to not just be a nostalgia trip but a valid continuation of the band with new music. Brave New World needed to be a powerful musical statement that could stand with the band’s classic 80s albums. However, it was also important that the album wouldn’t erase the last 10 years of the band’s musical evolution. For fans who had fallen out of favor with the band during the previous decade, this would be a return to former glories. However, the band had experimented and evolved considerably since then.

To that end, Brave New World was a culmination of that recent experimentation. It was a modern and more progressive Maiden, but with more influence from their early days. Virtual XI had already started the band back on the direction of a more classic Maiden sound and the next album would take it further. In fact, several songs originated from the Virtual XI sessions. The Nomad, The Mercenary, and Dream Of Mirrors were written for Virtual XI but were left off for unknown reasons. Additionally, Dream of Mirrors had lyric contributions from Blaze that were uncredited. Steve Harris had also began writing Blood Brothers during this time but it wasn’t yet finished. As a result, Brave New World sounds very much like a followup to Virtual XI, even more so than a followup to Powerslave or Seventh Son Of a Seventh Son. Still, the “leftovers” even showed considerable development from the material on the previous album.

The formal writing sessions for Brave New World were actually completed before the Ed Huntour. With five songwriters now in the band  and leftovers from the previous album’s sessions, the album came together very quickly. It was also one of the band’s most collaborative efforts. Only song was written by a single member: Blood Brothers by Steve. This was a stark contrast to previous albums where several songs were credited solely to Steve. That is not to say he wasn’t involved in the writing as much, quite the opposite in fact. Steve Harris actually receives a writing credit on every single song for the first time since Killers.

The most prolific writers on the album after Steve were Janick and Bruce who both contributed four songs (two in collaboration with each other). Janick in particular had been contributing more and more since joining the band. Ger’s contributions included Ghost Of the Navigator,  Out of the Silent Planet, Dream of Mirrors, and The Mercenary. As mentioned earlier, the latter two were from the Virtual XI sessions. The Mercenary is definitely a similarly riff driven high energy rocker. Dream Of Mirrors, one of the album’s several epics, is the first of several Gers/Harris tracks to feature prominent acoustic guitar driven sections mixed with the heavier moments. This format has featured on every album since. The lyrics are classic Steve: introverted, dark, with a strong existential bent. The other two songs were written in collaboration with Steve and Bruce. While Bruce and Janick had played on two Maiden albums together before, the Dickinson/Gers/Harris writing combination was a first for this album. The combination was very reminiscent of the classic Smith/Harris/Dickinson combo. In fact, the creation of Ghost Of the Navigator in particular is pretty similar to Can I Play With Madness 12 years earlier. The song began as a collaboration between Bruce and Janick, with the two writing the verses and chorus together before Steve Harris came in and contributed a middle section as well as some of the arrangement. The song gave Bruce a great seafaring vibe so he wrote the lyrics using sailing as a metaphor for life. Finally, Out of the Silent Planet was to be the ultimate combination of old and new Maiden. Bruce conceived the song as Run To the Hills 2.0 and intended it to include Maiden’s old gallop rhythm (something that was mostly absent from recent Maiden). It also had a huge stadium ready chorus with vocal harmonies and a catchy melody. However, always being a fan of long proggy songs, Steve wanted it to start out soft and slowly build to the gallop. Lyrically, the song is based on the film Forbidden Planet and fits in well with the Brave New World theme telling the story of a futuristic battle between human beings and alien invaders (sound familiar?).

Another Bruce contribution was the title track, which was a collaboration with Steve and Dave. The title of the album was actually conceived first by Bruce and the band then he decided to write a song with that title based on the novel of the same name. The writing combination was another first for the band. While Dave had collaborated with both Steve and Bruce separately in the past, this was the first time the three of them wrote a song together. It does seem like a true collaboration too, as it features hallmarks of all three musicians writing styles. The lyrics are filled with Bruce’s vivid imagery, there’s a powerful (if repetitive) singalong chorus from Steve, and the typical soulful guitar driven intro from Dave.

This was an especially big album for Dave Murray, as he had contributed to it more than any Maiden album prior. In the 80s, getting just one song from Dave was a treat. In the 90s, he stepped it up a bit by contributing up to two songs per album (with the exception of X Factor where his sole contribution was cut). On Brave New World, Dave got three writing credits. In addition to Brave New World, he wrote two more songs with Steve. Incidentally, both songs are among the band’s more unique. The album closer, The Thin Line Between Love and Hate features many unconventional moments such as vocal harmonies during the verses. There are soulful guitar solos and melodies throughout from Dave with some heavy riffing tastefully mixed in.  The Nomad is another epic that features Eastern sounding riffs and a mysterious lyric. It has also been the source of controversy as the middle instrumental section was, to put it lightly, “lifted” from Life’s Shadow by Beckett. Attentive Maiden fans will recognize the band name as the original performers of A Rainbow’s Gold, the song Maiden covered for the b-side to Two Minutes To Midnight back in 1984. Lyrics from that particular song were also borrowed for Hallowed Be Thy Name, although in that case it was just a couple lives. In the case of Nomad, an entire section of music was inserted into the song. The whole Beckett issue has become a source of controversy recently when a lawsuit was filed against the band for plagiarism. I won’t get into all that for two reasons: The first is that it’s not really relevant to The Nomad, the focus is more on Hallowed. The second is that it’s an ongoing issue that has yet to be resolved.

Of course the last songwriter on Brave New World was the returning Adrian Smith. Compared to Bruce, it seemed to take him more time to settle back into the group. By the end of his stint with the group, Adrian was a primary songwriter and was also a huge influence in the band’s creative direction. In many ways, Janick had filled this role since then and Steve had also increased his influence after giving Bruce and Adrian more room toward the end of the 80’s. As a result, Adrian takes a bit of a backseat on the album. He doesn’t perform as many guitar solos and only contributed two songs (the only other albums to feature less than two Smith songs are Killers and Powerslave). That being said, his two contributions did not go unnoticed. The Wicker Man is a triumphant album opener the harkens back to the band’s most memorable 80’s rockers and is one of the only post-Fear Of the Dark songs to receive classic status. This song also featured the Smith/Harris/Dickinson combination which had last produced Can I Play With Madness and The Evil That Men Do, so there is a sense of the album being a continuation of where 80’s Maiden left off. A perfect way to kick off the album and another decade of Maiden. Adrian’s second contribution was a collaboration with Steve Harris. This was an interesting partnership as the only song Steve and Adrian wrote together without Bruce was 22 Acacia Avenue (Bruce doesn’t receive credit on The Prisoner but he did contribute to the song). This is another classic sounding track with a heavy Thin Lizzy influence, although it never got the same amount of attention as The Wicker Man.

Upon completing the writing for the album, the band recorded demos and then shifted their focus to the upcoming tour. They intentionally avoided working on the songs during the tour so that they could be fresh again when the band went into the studio. Also being fresh off a successful tour, the band hoped to channel the energy into the album to give it a live feel. This was also the intention of Virtual XI, although Brave New World would be better executed in many ways. One reason for its success is the presence of an outside producer. One of the conditions for Bruce’s return was that Maiden would work with a producer again instead of being produced by Steve. Each member was then asked to give five recommendations for a producer and the group eventually decided on Kevin Shirley. It was also decided that the album would not be recorded in Steve’s barn, the way the previous albums were, but rather a professional studio in France. The addition of Kevin Shirley also brought a new recording method. Since they wanted to capture their live sound, the band would be recorded live in the studio rather than the traditional way of recording track-by-track. The album also used a basic recording setup. Where it previously took the band multiple days just to set up the guitars and drum sounds, everything was set up to the point where recording began on day one. Despite the minimalist approach, Brave New World was still more polished sounding than the recent Maiden albums but with the live energy that was not present in their 80s output.

The live setup really enhanced the band’s performances, as it helped them recreate their natural environments. There was a liveliness to the album’s sound that hadn’t been present in years. Bruce turned in one of his greatest performances with the band, something he largely credits to Kevin Shirley as well as the fact that he was able to develop his singing outside of Maiden. Despite the fact that Maiden tended to record more than 2 guitar parts in a track anyway, the presence of three guitarists was still felt. There were three part harmonies, heavier rhythm parts that filled a larger frequency spectrum, and an overall larger guitar sound. Nicko also turned in a great performance on the album after a slew of phoned in performances during the Blaze years.

For the album artwork, Maiden again took inspiration from their past and enlisted Derek Riggs. Derek had done work for the band throughout the 90s, although this would be his first time since No Prayer For the Dying that his artwork made the cover. However, the cover is only half Derek. The Eddie in the sky design is Riggs, but the futuristic city design was created by Steve Stone. Since Derek usually doesn’t work with computer graphics, this design is really unlike anything else he’s done.

Finally, after months of hype the band released the first single: The Wicker Man. This was the perfect introduction to the album as it was probably the closest thing on the album to classic Maiden, although it still sounded fresh too. It’s also unique in that the radio promo featured additional vocal parts in the chorus, the only time Maiden has recorded  a “single version” of a song. A few weeks later, the album was released. Maiden celebrated the release by doing a radio special on Eddie Trunk. I usually don’t include bootlegs in the album write ups, but this one is pretty cool. It features interviews with Bruce and Steve and in studio performances of The Wicker Man, Wrathchild, and The Trooper. You can tell there’s a lot of excitement both from the band and the fans. The album was unsurprisingly a huge success. It was a top 10 entry in the UK and top 40 in the US (the previous two albums barely made the top 200). It was also a #1 album in Sweden. It also received a great fan response, being praised as a return to form for the band that didn’t rely too heavily on recreating the past. Doubts of the reunion could finally be put to rest. This was modern Maiden, a new lineup with a new, but still familiar, sound. The past few years of artistic and commercial turbulence were finally starting to pay off. The biggest reason for the album’s success is that they didn’t try to create Powerslave 2 but instead continued on their natural musical evolution. 17 years later, Brave New World is widely regarded as a classic album with the band still performing several songs from it to this day. It’s hard to think of a more triumphant musical statement. 

Radio special: https://www.dropbox.com/s/64siyyyhmbtb6um/Iron%20Maiden%20-%202000-06-01%20-%20Brave%20New%20World%20Radio%20Special%2C%20SFX%20Radio%20Network%2C%20Eddie%20Trunk%20%26%20Stash%2C%20London%2C%20England%20-%20Brave%20New%20Rehearsals%20%28official%20tracks%20removed%29%20%2835.02%29.zip?dl=0

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3b/Single33a_wickerman1_a_small.jpg/220px-Single33a_wickerman1_a_small.jpg)


(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/89/14/88/89148891118ddb7bf9c39cfcae5fc72b.jpg)
The Wicker Man

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmgC3AM2Bao/V3d4T3AQkMI/AAAAAAAAT00/_4SzP4KYryUMgutllbD1jqw8kb-F2QBJQCLcB/s1600/Front%2B2.JPG)

(https://img.discogs.com/auJZKumTDie_ypXNTSfgNh705pA=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-2035301-1259920053.jpeg.jpg)
Out Of the Silent Planet

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 22, 2017, 06:18:02 PM
A great read, Mosh.

Obviously I got this as soon as it came out. Here's what I personally felt about it. I was really apprehensive. I wish I could foresee what was to truly become of the Reunion Era, but in a way, I was untrustful of the longevity and success of what would come. Bruce had just put out two monster albums, and I felt like this was a personal step back. I thought, if Bruce leaves to go back to his solo career, then BNW is really an outlier. I know he said during the Ed Hunter show that this would not be a one off, but really, how could you know? I think..I know this really stood in the way of my enjoyment of BNW.

I remember really liking The Nomad and loving The Thin Line. I guess the best I could say was that I enjoyed the rest. But I was just way too apprehensive.

I am still not sure how they got the bass drum on Dream Of Mirrors. I know Nicko is famous for his fast right foot, but c'mon. I know repeated choruses are a thing with the Reunion Era, but I hate the whole "I only dream in black and white" part. It is way too repeated. Otherwise DoM should be a monster track, and for some reason I never see it mentioned with the other Reunion Era epics.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on October 22, 2017, 06:24:14 PM
Great album. Although, nowadays I only play The Thin Lines Between Love and Hate, and The Wicker Man.

The added verses in The Wicker Man make the chorus that much more better. Oh how I was disappointed when I bought the album and those vocals never appeared. Also, The Wicker Man is one of the few Maiden songs I first liked when I was 10-11. My uncle's band did a fantastic cover of it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 23, 2017, 01:04:50 AM
Otherwise DoM should be a monster track, and for some reason I never see it mentioned with the other Reunion Era epics.
I, however, see it WAY too often. Don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but there are several better reunion era epics.

The first several songs have always been my favorites on the album. I go back and forth with the rest of it - some of the moments are great, some are either dragged or underwhelming. As a result, Brave new world is my least favorite album of the reunion era, but it's still pretty great.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Polarbear on October 23, 2017, 01:26:26 AM
I love Brave New World so much, still one of my favorite metal albums all these years later!

BNW was pretty much my introduction to Maiden. I was visiting my friend, maybe a year after BNW had come out. I don't remember all that well.. But he had a copy of Rock in Rio, which had quite a few songs from BNW in the setlist. We had that cd on repeat the entire afternoon, and i remember thinking that this is the best rock band i have ever listened to! :biggrin:

I was quite young, and had never heard of Maiden before..

So, about a year later i was visiting a record store in my hometown. I bought a Toto album since i had listened to that band all my life. But i also went to the metal section and found all these different Maiden albums. I ended up buying Seventh Son and Somewhere in Time, because i loved the cover arts. But i also bought BNW, since i recognized a lot of the songs from listening to Rock in Rio.

Still to this day, my top three Maiden albums are Seventh Son, Somewhere in Time and BNW!

So that's my little story, but i really think it's one of their best albums. And that's not just nostalgia talking!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 23, 2017, 01:53:06 AM
Excellent write up, to which I have nothing to add if only my personal tastes about the album.

In indsight it was the best reunion album that they could possibily do. They had to relearn to walk before flying again, so to speak, looking back this feels almost like a "new" debut album for the six pieces line-up: all the trademarks of the following albums are there, but they would eventually go on to even more progressive and unusual lenghts.

All the songs are great, I was very satisfied with the album when I got it. Some repettive choruses here and there but that was to be expected. The Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, Blood Brothers, Dream of  Mirrors and The Nomad are all fantastic tracks. Love also the slow intro to Brave New World and the oddball that is Out of the Silent Planet. Pity they rarely played it live, and never played at all The Nomad, it's a fantastic and unusual song for Maiden (but not for Beckett fans I guess).

I still also have the CD singles, The Wicker Man came with a toaster and Out of the Silent Planet in a digipack with a poster.

Not my favorite of the reunion era all things considered, but I like it a lot and I don't find anything wrong with people loving it even more than me. The only real complaint? that absolute generic Arial font on the back cover, what were they thinking in the graphics department?  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 23, 2017, 02:04:28 AM
I still also have the CD singles, The Wicker Man came with a toaster and Out of the Silent Planet in a digipack with a poster.

Was this supposed to be a poster or a coaster?  :lol

I agree about the font on the back cover, such a lazy choice to make.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: The Curious Orange on October 23, 2017, 02:07:35 AM
Lyrically, the song is based on the film Forbidden Planet and fits in well with the Brave New World theme telling the story of a futuristic battle between human beings and alien invaders (sound familiar?).

I always assumed it was based on the Sci-Fi book "Out of the Silent Planet" by CS Lewis...

A great album, and a stunning return to form. The Nomad and Thin Line are two of Maiden's most under-rated songs IMO.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 23, 2017, 02:12:35 AM
I still also have the CD singles, The Wicker Man came with a toaster and Out of the Silent Planet in a digipack with a poster.

Was this supposed to be a poster or a coaster?  :lol


Looool! too much confidence in knowing a word, that in reality I didn't know. I meant a coaster. The round thingie to use beneath a glass.  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Zantera on October 23, 2017, 03:26:57 AM
Suffers a bit from the Angel and the Gambler syndrome with some songs having choruses repeated way too much, but overall a great album in the Maiden discography and one of the better ones.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 23, 2017, 04:20:43 AM
Looool! too much confidence in knowing a word, that in reality I didn't know. I meant a coaster. The round thingie to use beneath a glass.  ;D
Wouldn't it be great if it did come with a toaster, though?  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 23, 2017, 04:27:45 AM
Looool! too much confidence in knowing a word, that in reality I didn't know. I meant a coaster. The round thingie to use beneath a glass.  ;D
Wouldn't it be great if it did come with a toaster, though?  :lol

With Eddie painted on the side and a sound alarm going "Your bread will come"  :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 23, 2017, 04:28:44 AM
I'd buy that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: devieira73 on October 23, 2017, 04:38:19 AM
Interesting about Nomad is that I've always thought that the middle section was out of place for that song😄, like killing the vibe for a great metal/hard rock tune.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Reunion/Ed Hunter/Ed Huntour (1999)
Post by: nobloodyname on October 23, 2017, 06:52:46 AM
Adrian’s second contribution was a collaboration with Steve Harris. This was an interesting partnership as the only song Steve and Adrian wrote together without Bruce was 22 Acacia Avenue (Bruce doesn’t receive credit on The Prisoner but he did contribute to the song). This is another classic sounding track with a heavy Thin Lizzy influence, although it never got the same amount of attention as The Wicker Man.


Great write-up - as usual!

Struggling to work out which song you're referring to here? Wikipedia doesn't help since it only lists Adrian against The Wicker Man.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Podaar on October 23, 2017, 06:54:33 AM
I believe he was talking about Fallen Angel.

I've never liked this album. After the stellar The Chemical Wedding, this sounded like an assembly line production from The Department of Redundancy Department. I was sorely disappointed in Kevin Shirley for not bullying them into shortening or varying the choruses and galloping rhythms.

I'll try and listen to it again today to see if the years have improved the songs or my ears.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: kaos2900 on October 23, 2017, 07:12:19 AM
LOVE Brave New World. So many good songs. Also, probably my favorite Maiden album cover.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: cramx3 on October 23, 2017, 07:18:12 AM
 :lol

BNW was pretty much my introduction to Maiden. I was visiting my friend, maybe a year after BNW had come out. I don't remember all that well.. But he had a copy of Rock in Rio, which had quite a few songs from BNW in the setlist. We had that cd on repeat the entire afternoon, and i remember thinking that this is the best rock band i have ever listened to! :biggrin:

Somewhat similar to me.  My first IM CD was Edward the Great, a greatist hits compilation where the last two tracks were The Wickerman and Fear of the Dark live at RiR.  So knowing those two last songs, I ended up getting the RiR album and that was really the first true IM experience.  I had known the hit songs from Edward the Great, but most of the other tracks were from BNW which was all new to me.  Songs like Dream of Mirrors just blew me.  Compared to the rest of the songs I had known (80s classics), this seemed like a totally different band than I had just started to learn.  The title track, Blood Brothers, Ghost of the Navigator.  I was sold immediately.  I usually point to Fear of the Dark from RiR as what really made me a fan of the band, but when I think about it, I could say that it was the BNW songs in that RiR set that really made me notice how amazing the band really was.  I didn't know about the history, I had no idea this was a reunion album.  I just knew they had these older tunes that were awesome and catchy, yet also had these newer songs that were heavy and progressive and still awesome and catchy. 

BNW may not be my favorite IM album, but I do think it sounds the best.  I really love the production of the album.  It sounds so crisp and clear and feels perfect for the songs.  I have a flag of the album cover hanging in my basement.  I've always loved the look of Brave New London with Eddie in the clouds looking down.   :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on October 23, 2017, 11:24:16 AM
Looool! too much confidence in knowing a word, that in reality I didn't know. I meant a coaster. The round thingie to use beneath a glass.  ;D
Wouldn't it be great if it did come with a toaster, though?  :lol

With Eddie painted on the side and a sound alarm going "Your bread will come"  :biggrin:

"Thy toast is done"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Art on October 23, 2017, 11:32:25 AM
I bought BNW the day it came out. I loved it then, and i love it now. Sometimes i think AMOLAD is superior, but BNM is my favorite reunion-era album. Favorite tracks: Out of The Silent Planet, Dream of Mirrors and The Thin Line.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 23, 2017, 11:47:32 AM
Looool! too much confidence in knowing a word, that in reality I didn't know. I meant a coaster. The round thingie to use beneath a glass.  ;D
Wouldn't it be great if it did come with a toaster, though?  :lol

With Eddie painted on the side and a sound alarm going "Your bread will come"  :biggrin:

"Thy toast is done"
Or an oven.
"Thy roast is done".
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: ProfessorPeart on October 23, 2017, 04:36:38 PM
Absolutely love this album. The best 'reunion' album, musically and sonically. Somehow, Caveman completely forgot how to engineer after this record.

Not a bad track on this album and my respect really starts growing for Janick as some of the best songs of this era have his name attached. Dream Of Mirrors is just an epic song and easily my favorite from it.

Love, love, love this album. I usually rate it as my second favorite behind Somewhere In Time.

And for those that saw my review of my first ever Maiden show during the Ed Hunter tour, my second show was much more enjoyable. UIC Pavilion with Halford and Queensryche opening. Can't go wrong there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Phoenix87x on October 23, 2017, 05:22:15 PM
BNW was the first IM album that I bought, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Its an album I love.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: wolfking on October 23, 2017, 05:29:13 PM
This album was released on my birthday and I remember my Mother taking me to the city where I brought it from HMV at the time.  It's one of the best birthday presents I've ever got.  Such a perfect, amazing album.  Nothing here not to like, strong from start to finish.  One actually one of the Shirley production jobs I like.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 23, 2017, 06:26:19 PM
This album was released on my birthday and I remember my Mother taking me to the city where I brought it from HMV at the time.  It's one of the best birthday presents I've ever got.

Great story Kade. Love hearing that. I remember being so young and wide eyed about music.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: wolfking on October 23, 2017, 06:30:01 PM
This album was released on my birthday and I remember my Mother taking me to the city where I brought it from HMV at the time.  It's one of the best birthday presents I've ever got.

Great story Kade. Love hearing that. I remember being so young and wide eyed about music.

Turned 16 and it was the first Maiden album that I was a fan for and bought on release.  I became a fan a couple of years earlier.  Maybe around VXI but didn't know it and after becoming a Maiden fanatic after a couple of years, being able to go out and buy a new Maiden album on its release date was a true celebration and an experience that was a big part of my metal development.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 23, 2017, 06:31:09 PM
Metal Development. Right up there with language and mathematics. :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: wolfking on October 23, 2017, 06:39:37 PM
Metal Development. Right up there with language and mathematics. :metal

It should be a subject in all schools.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Grappler on October 23, 2017, 07:47:00 PM
Brave New World is amazing.  The best and my favorite of the reunion era recrods.  I was away at college, so I missed the tour, but I spent so much time listening to this record that it's just ingrained in my mind - maybe even more than the classic albums.  There's only one or two songs that I'm not crazy about, which is rare.  I usually find a handful of clunkers on each album.  But this one is so fucking solid.  Nomad is probably the one song that I tend to skip, but every other one is awesome.  Incredible songs, incredible vocals, and one of the most badass Eddies, ever.  I love the eerie, looming Eddie in the clouds. 

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: jammindude on October 23, 2017, 09:24:06 PM
I was disappointed with it for a long time.   I was EXTREMELY excited when I heard the reunion was happening, and was even more excited when I first heard The Wicker Man (in fact, I believe I may have been one of the first ones to see the video.  I was the head of a department store Music Market and every year we went to a private convention when music companies and electronic reps would show off "the latest thing", and the Columbia Records rep had the new "sneak peak" video of The Wicker Man and showed it to the whole crowd.  I was the only one who was yelling and banging my head, but I didn't care)

I thought Wicker Man was a nice lead off song, but to this day, I can't shake the feeling that that riff was "lifted" from something else.  It sounds hauntingly familiar.   

But when I heard the rest of the album, I was bummed.   I had been hoping that the return of Bruce would mean someone would keep 'Arry's lazy repetitive choruses in check.   But Blood Brothers and a few others proved me wrong.    I think the choruses got better on later albums (especially AMOLAD with the exception of maybe one track)....but there were too many leftovers from VXI to make this one a home run.   This is my least favorite of the reunion albums that I've heard so far.  (I've still never picked up DoD)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mosh on October 23, 2017, 09:30:07 PM
I thought Wicker Man was a nice lead off song, but to this day, I can't shake the feeling that that riff was "lifted" from something else.  It sounds hauntingly familiar.   
Judas Priest - Running Wild
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: jammindude on October 23, 2017, 09:41:11 PM
I thought Wicker Man was a nice lead off song, but to this day, I can't shake the feeling that that riff was "lifted" from something else.  It sounds hauntingly familiar.   
Judas Priest - Running Wild

That's probably it.  Pretty darn close.   The first part is identical....but maybe they mashed up the 2nd part from somewhere else?  Because its that chord progression that sounded the most familiar to me.   

In any event, it was just "retro NWOBHM-throwback" to let everyone know they were back.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Cyclopssss on October 24, 2017, 12:42:25 AM
Wicker Man was a Bruce solo song that got reworked when he brought it to Maiden. He talks about it in his book.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 24, 2017, 01:41:27 AM
Wicker Man was a Bruce solo song that got reworked when he brought it to Maiden. He talks about it in his book.

Really? 'cause his solo version is out there, finished with lyrics and all, and it's nothing alike to the Maiden song. They just share the title (to be very precise, Bruce's version is just called "Wicker man"), but they're completely different songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 24, 2017, 01:42:28 AM
Wicker Man was a Bruce solo song that got reworked when he brought it to Maiden. He talks about it in his book.
Yea the original version of Wicker Man can be heard on his Best of album along with Bring your Daughter.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Zydar on October 24, 2017, 02:38:18 AM
My first new Maiden album after becoming a fan in 1999. Probably my favourite of the reunion albums. Blood Brothers is the big one for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 24, 2017, 03:06:51 AM
I've always loved Blood Brothers, but I consider it an absolute classic after the band featured it heavily as the encore song over the last two years. It's a hymn.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 24, 2017, 03:19:51 AM
I've always loved Blood Brothers, but I consider it an absolute classic after the band featured it heavily as the encore song over the last two years. It's a hymn.

Bruce also comes up with pretty badass ways to introduce it. "We don't care if you're black, white, brown, green, violet, or if you're christian, muslim, you can be a jedi for all I care. If you're here you're part of our family, because we are BLOOD BROTHERS!"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MrBoom_shack-a-lack on October 24, 2017, 03:57:43 AM
Honestly not a song I cared that much about on the album however it worked really well live and I can see why it became a good encore.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: wolfking on October 24, 2017, 04:58:07 AM
I never really rated Blood Brothers that high, but on TBOS tour is was a highlight and possibly my fav song on the night, it was brilliant.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Zydar on October 24, 2017, 05:07:08 AM
I guess it's one of those tracks that are pretty good in the studio - but really comes alive in a live setting. I've never seen them in concert but I can bet it's a monster live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 24, 2017, 05:55:48 AM
It's touching. Beautiful. Magical.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: cramx3 on October 24, 2017, 07:50:37 AM
I've always loved it, but it's definitely a song better live when you are surrounded by all the IM fans singing along.  Just feels right, including being placed in the encore.

Wicker Man was a Bruce solo song that got reworked when he brought it to Maiden. He talks about it in his book.

Really? 'cause his solo version is out there, finished with lyrics and all, and it's nothing alike to the Maiden song. They just share the title (to be very precise, Bruce's version is just called "Wicker man"), but they're completely different songs.

If it's in the book then I guess it's true but I always thought the same, that they were separate since they sound that way.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Logain Ablar on October 24, 2017, 08:58:56 AM
Interesting about Nomad is that I've always thought that the middle section was out of place for that song😄, like killing the vibe for a great metal/hard rock tune.

I have mixed feelings about The Nomad. I absolutely love this middle section, probably one of my favourite bits of the whole album, but there's other bits of the song I really don't like at all. Such as the melody for the verses - "Like a mirage riding on the desert sand..". I find this kinda awful.

Lots of good stuff on this album. The part in The Thin Line where Bruce sings the high chorus:

Quote
I will hope, my soul will fly, so I will live forever
Heart will die, my soul will fly, and I will live forever

gets me every time. Very emotional.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 24, 2017, 09:00:34 AM
The Nomad has always been one of my favorite songs on the album. My only gripe is that I have never really liked the transition from the middle part back to the vocals.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 24, 2017, 09:20:13 AM
Lots of good stuff on this album. The part in The Thin Line where Bruce sings the high chorus:

Quote
I will hope, my soul will fly, so I will live forever
Heart will die, my soul will fly, and I will live forever

gets me every time. Very emotional.

That is for me the only highlight of the song. The rest doesn't grab me as much.

After so many praise for the album, there had to be a lukewarm comment for a song  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: devieira73 on October 24, 2017, 10:13:56 AM
The instrumental part of TTLBLaH is my favorite and always reminded me a lot of fates warning (Band), with the 3 guitars working very well together.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Stadler on October 24, 2017, 01:08:32 PM
I never really rated Blood Brothers that high, but on TBOS tour is was a highlight and possibly my fav song on the night, it was brilliant.

This.  Blew me away in fact.    I was like Jammindude:  really looking forward to the reunion and the album, and very disappointed in what I got.  It's grown on me to be sure, but it's still in the bottom half of reunion albums, for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: DoctorAction on October 26, 2017, 01:26:52 PM
Wicker Man, GoTN, OOTSP, TTLBLAH are great. Rest of it never gets played anymore. Was a solid comeback though.

Saw them in London on this this tour supported by Entombed and Slayer. They ran out of beer so I got plastered on white wine and kissed my mate during Blood Brothers. So metal.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: cramx3 on October 26, 2017, 01:31:48 PM
 :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Cyclopssss on October 27, 2017, 02:41:58 AM
I guess it's one of those tracks that are pretty good in the studio - but really comes alive in a live setting. I've never seen them in concert but I can bet it's a monster live.

Listen to Rock in Rio. Blood Brothers, Sign of the Cross, all stellar versions.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Logain Ablar on October 27, 2017, 02:45:39 AM
I guess it's one of those tracks that are pretty good in the studio - but really comes alive in a live setting. I've never seen them in concert but I can bet it's a monster live.

Listen to Rock in Rio. Blood Brothers, Sign of the Cross, all stellar versions.

I love that version on RiR.  :tup
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: wolfking on October 27, 2017, 06:10:21 AM
The Nomad has always been one of my favorite songs on the album. My only gripe is that I have never really liked the transition from the middle part back to the vocals.

I agree with all of this.  I always thought when it went back into the vocals it just falls a bit flat, like something else was suppose to be there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: cramx3 on October 27, 2017, 07:08:20 AM
The Nomad has always been one of my favorite songs on the album. My only gripe is that I have never really liked the transition from the middle part back to the vocals.

I agree with all of this.  I always thought when it went back into the vocals it just falls a bit flat, like something else was suppose to be there.

Like Blaze?  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 27, 2017, 07:11:07 AM
The Nomad has always been one of my favorite songs on the album. My only gripe is that I have never really liked the transition from the middle part back to the vocals.

I agree with all of this.  I always thought when it went back into the vocals it just falls a bit flat, like something else was suppose to be there.

Like Blaze?  :lol

 :rollin
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mosh on October 28, 2017, 10:08:46 AM
Brave New World is a great album but far from the best thing the reunion era has to offer. I think of it more as a great starting point for the band to reestablish themselves. A culmination of the previous ten years of experimentation and (often) misdirection. That being said, there's an energy and sense of triumph that makes it a special album to this day. The classic status is deserved but, like Number of the Beast, it's just the beginning of what they would go on to achieve.

If we're talking vinyl, the first side (Wicker Man/Ghost Of the Navigator/Brave New World) is just as good an album side as anything they did in the 80s. It's an awesome live sequence too (stay tuned for the tour writeup). In fact, I'd say the first 7 songs are top tier Maiden. It's just one killer track after another. The Mercenary and The Fallen Angel have been sort of forgotten compared to the big epics (a trend for modern Maiden) but they're up there with the classic short rockers, especially The Fallen Angel. The album kind of drops off at that point. I can see what they were going for with The Nomad but it doesn't really work for me. The best part is the middle section and learning that they plagiarized it has further ruined the song for me. Out of the Silent Planet is pretty good but a notch below the rest of the album. Thin Line has some interesting moments but, like The Nomad, seems like an unsuccessful experiment. Great vocals from Bruce during the choruses though.

The fact that this album is only my 3rd or 4th favorite reunion album says more about the quality of their recent output than anything else.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 28, 2017, 10:32:21 AM
The nitpicks I'd have to make are so minor, that I'll basically say that, give or take, I agree with you on most anything you wrote.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Lowdz on October 28, 2017, 02:20:24 PM
It’s an ok album but I never feel drawn to playing it. The repetitive choruses drag it down, but it’s competing against too much in the back catalogue I’m going to play instead.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: PowerSlave on October 28, 2017, 02:37:02 PM
I've always enjoyed the last two songs on the album. It's true that those songs sound a bit like they were experimenting, but when this band steps out of their comfort zone and executes that experiment well then I always like those songs. That being said, other than the intro, Dream of Mirrors is by far the best song on the album.

As far as the rest of the album goes, Wicker Man (despite it being a JP ripoff) is an awesome opener, and there are no complete clunkers. There's a few that I haven't heard in many years, and don't feel the need to return to very often, but everything is performed very well.

On a side note, this is the best guitar sound since PowerSlave. The guitars are very raw, up front and have the perfect level of distortion. That's something that the band lost touch with beginning with Somewhere in Time, and failed to recapture until this point. I have to imagine that it was a point of focus for them when entering the studio.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mosh on October 28, 2017, 03:40:12 PM
I've always enjoyed the last two songs on the album. It's true that those songs sound a bit like they were experimenting, but when this band steps out of their comfort zone and executes that experiment well then I always like those songs. That being said, other than the intro, Dream of Mirrors is by far the best song on the album.

As far as the rest of the album goes, Wicker Man (despite it being a JP ripoff) is an awesome opener, and there are no complete clunkers. There's a few that I haven't heard in many years, and don't feel the need to return to very often, but everything is performed very well.

On a side note, this is the best guitar sound since PowerSlave. The guitars are very raw, up front and have the perfect level of distortion. That's something that the band lost touch with beginning with Somewhere in Time, and failed to recapture until this point. I have to imagine that it was a point of focus for them when entering the studio.

I definitely appreciate them stepping out of their comfort zone both here and on the next album. My opinion on those last two songs has improved over time.

I like the guitar sound on The Final Frontier, especially from Adrian. It's a saving grace of an otherwise bland production.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 28, 2017, 03:41:20 PM
I think his guitar sound on A Matter of life and death is loads better. Compare the Lord of light riff to Starblind riff and it will be clear.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 28, 2017, 08:01:33 PM
The ending to TTLBLAH is magnificent.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mosh on October 28, 2017, 11:16:31 PM
Yea the song picks up big time toward the end. Honestly it's mostly those annoying vocal harmonies in the verses that put me off from the song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: DoctorAction on October 29, 2017, 03:59:28 AM
I just read Bruce's autobiography. Anyone else?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mladen on October 29, 2017, 04:15:12 AM
Yea the song picks up big time toward the end. Honestly it's mostly those annoying vocal harmonies in the verses that put me off from the song.
I think the verses are the best thing about it, although I like the soaring vocals on the chorus. The second half drags too much and hardly anything interesting happens.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: wolfking on October 29, 2017, 04:35:29 AM
Thin Line is definitely one of Maiden's most underrated tunes.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: TAC on October 29, 2017, 06:24:17 AM
I just read Bruce's autobiography. Anyone else?
Amazon says my copy is arriving 10/31.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: stargazer18 on October 29, 2017, 09:05:39 AM
I was pretty excited to hear what Maiden would do with Dickinson and Smith back in the band, especially after releasing The Chemical Wedding. I read somewhere, maybe even in this forum, that many considered Brave New World as the "Perfect Strangers" of come back albums. Even though I think there is some truth to this I think it was a result of this album being an evolutionary step in their sound more than it being planned. To me this was the best release the band had done since Seventh Son. The only song that repeats the lyrics enough to annoy me is Out of the Silent Planet. In other songs, like Blood Brothers, I find myself following the rhythm section and listening to the music more than the vocals.

I love the sound of this album more so than most others of the reunion era.

When this album came out and the response was positive there was still some question about how successful the band would be and could they do a follow up to match.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Cyclopssss on October 29, 2017, 12:54:57 PM
I just read Bruce's autobiography. Anyone else?

Yeah, I just finished it. Great read.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: DoctorAction on October 29, 2017, 01:33:20 PM
I just read Bruce's autobiography. Anyone else?

Yeah, I just finished it. Great read.

He's certainly done plenty of cool things!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Cyclopssss on October 30, 2017, 12:46:19 AM
I expected a bit more piss taking on Rod Smallwood though, the chapter about his bout with cancer is almost hilarious.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Zydar on October 30, 2017, 05:49:38 AM
I just read Bruce's autobiography. Anyone else?

I just picked mine up, will start reading tonight.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: cramx3 on October 30, 2017, 08:45:28 AM
I didn't purchase because I had been debating about trying to get to one of his in store appearances but that seems very unlikely as it's happening soon so I am going to just order the book online.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: MirrorMask on October 30, 2017, 09:00:47 AM
It's not even distributed in Italy so far so I'll just wait.

It's not that I'm not skilled enough in english to read it, I could, but I never really read english books so if I start I'm afraid I'll go down a rabbit hole and want to re-read all my books in original language  ;D like it happened with movies and TV series, once I started to watch them in the original language, there was no turning back.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: nobloodyname on October 30, 2017, 10:10:36 AM
You could always go for the audio book. Quite enjoying that version myself. (It's read by Bruce.)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mosh on November 01, 2017, 12:51:47 PM
Sorry for the delay folks. Life has become unbelievably busy and these updates are going to slow a bit. Hopefully this next one will be worth the wait as it covers quite a bit (BNW tour, Bruce solo tour, Eddies Archive, Clive Burr MS)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: PowerSlave on November 01, 2017, 05:50:07 PM
Sorry for the delay folks. Life has become unbelievably busy and these updates are going to slow a bit. Hopefully this next one will be worth the wait as it covers quite a bit (BNW tour, Bruce solo tour, Eddies Archive, Clive Burr MS)

No need to apologize. Each and every post has been a pleasure to read. Take all the time you need!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World (2000)
Post by: Mosh on November 04, 2017, 11:13:06 PM
Metal 2000/Brave New World Tour (2000)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures12_bnw/tourbook12_bnw.jpg)
If there was anything more heavily anticipated than Brave New World, it was the massive tour to follow. Unusually, the band were hyping up the Brave New World tour before the Ed Huntour had even ended. In interviews they made it clear that Ed Huntour was just a test run and that the next tour would be far more extensive with their biggest stage production ever. Just a couple weeks after the release of Brave New World, Maiden delivered with what was probably their biggest tour since the 80’s. In Europe, it was advertised as the Metal 2000 tour, hence the two names in the title.

The stage featured Maiden’s largest production since the 80’s. There was a large stage show with backdrops for a majority of the songs, pyro, stage props for Sign Of the Cross, and of course, Eddie. For the third time in a row, the Ed Hunter themed Eddie was used as a walk on. The big Eddie was a stunning Wicker Man design that housed Bruce and a variety of “maidens.” One aspect of this and other Maiden stages was that it looked immense in any venue, but they were able to fit it in stadiums and smaller amphitheaters.

As usual, the setlist put heavy emphasis on the latest album. However, this time it was fairly controversial. For hardcore fans who had followed Maiden their entire career, it was expected to hear a lot of new songs. For casual fans who were hoping for a nostalgia act, the amount of new material was a surprise. However, the band were very explicit in interviews that this would not be a nostalgia act and they intended to move forward. It was tradition to include 5 or more new songs and this was not going to change, especially considering how proud the band was of Brave New World. To prove how proud they were, the show opened with the first three songs off the album. Also included were Blood Brothers and Dream of Mirrors, the latter acting as the show’s epic centerpiece. Early on in the tour, they switched back and forth between The Fallen Angel and The Mercenary before eventually settling on The Mercenary. Later on in the tour, the label released Out of the Silent Planet as a single apparently in spite of resistance from the band. Since the song was going to be a single, they decided to add it to the setlist on the South American leg as part of the encore. The Fallen Angel was also brought back, resulting in 8 out of 10 songs from Brave New World being played at these gigs, more songs played than any album since Killers.

That’s not to say the show was without classics. In fact, the Brave New World tour probably had more variety than any tour since. Every studio album was represented except Somewhere In Time and No Prayer For the Dying. Most of the “classics” played were songs that were already played on the Ed Hunter tour. The one addition was actually, surprisingly, a track from the Blaze era: Sign Of the Cross. This was a great addition though and was a treat to hear with Bruce singing. In another controversial move, Maiden opted not to play Run To the Hills on most of the tour, although it was added for the South American leg. Regardless, it was hard to complain about such an expansive varied setlist. To this day, it is probably one of the band’s most well balanced setlists and the new songs are tastefully sprinkled in. 

The tour saw Maiden returning to the large venues after a decade of decline. They kicked off with a run of mostly festivals in Europe with some stadium gigs in between. The band was already fulfilling their promise of returning in full force with this tour by playing to huge crowds in their home continent. Some of these gigs were also broadcast on TV, most notably an excerpt of their performance at the Dynamo Open Air festival in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the European contained what was probably the largest roadblock of the tour in Germany. At the end of the gig, Janick fell off stage 10ft into the photographer pit.  He was immediately knocked unconscious and received multiple injuries to his head and spine. Janick was told to take a week off which resulted in several shows being cancelled. Fortunately, Janick quickly recovered and the band were able to finish the European run.

After finishing Europe, Maiden returned to North America where they were slowly gaining back their popularity. This was meant to be a grand return to North America, which required an immense touring package. The support on this tour consisted of Queensryche and Halford. The latter is particular interesting because Rob Halford was following a path parallel to Bruce’s. He too had left his main band and had spent a few years floundering in fairly unsuccessful experimental projects before making a return to Metal with Resurrection, probably the 2nd most popular Metal album of 2000. The album was even produced by Roy Z and featured a duet with Bruce Dickinson: The One You Love To Hate. Around this time there was also talk of a project between Bruce, Rob, and Geoff Tate of Queensryche. Unfortunately, it never took off. Still, seeing the three groups sharing the stage (especially Maiden and Halford) helped cement the message that Metal was making a huge comeback.

The tour then made its way to Japan before a second trip to Europe (including a short UK run) to close out the year. After taking a month off for Christmas, the band quickly reconvened for a couple more UK shows and then the South American leg of the tour to coincide with a headline performance at Rock In Rio. As usual, several of these shows were broadcast live. The broadcasts of the Argentina and Chile shows are worth checking out for the extended setlists, unfortunately only Run To the Hills was added to the setlist in Rio.

Argentina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob6yO5kMlOM

Chile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If1TbLXN4uE

Which brings us to:

Rock In Rio (2001)

(https://ironmaidencommentary.com/pictures/pictures12b_rir/album12b_rir_a_small.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b5/Iron_Maiden_-_Rock_in_Rio.jpg)
The last show of the Brave New World Tour was also the one that the band chose to immortalize the tour on film. This was the band’s second time headlining the legendary Rock In Rio festival, the first time being the largest crowd they ever played to. Since then, new limits were put in place to prevent the venue from overflowing again, so this time the crowd wasn’t quite as large. Despite that, it was still the band’s second largest performance ever and was the perfect way of documenting Maiden’s return.

The performance itself featured a highly energized band that was celebrating the end of a successful tour and were feeding off the large crowd. There were some technical glitches, a P.A. monitor broke down during the set and the cameras sometimes got in the way of the band (mostly Bruce) but none of that comes through in the recording. As expected from a South American crowd, the audience were with the band through every moment.
Rock In Rio was to be the band’s first live video since Raising Hell and their first live album since Live At Donington. Steve Harris was once again the producer and video editor, although that actually wasn’t the original intention. An outside company was hired to edit the video but Steve was unhappy with the early cuts and decided to do it himself anyway. For this reason, the release ended up being delayed until 2002. Steve’s editing choices are fairly controversial, with fast cuts that are sometimes hard to watch. Steve also altered the audio quite a bit. Some vocal sections were added in, most notably parts where Bruce prompts the audience to sing, because the crowd was out of time and out of tune. Because the show was officially broadcast on TV and heavily bootlegged, these edits were obvious to a lot of fans.

In the video, a lot of Bruce’s rants were also edited out, although most of them were left on the CD. Bruce’s rants were also a point of controversy in the early 00s, usually being filled with vulgarities and lacking the substance of his introductions in the 80’s. For that reason, many fans were grateful that Steve cut them from the DVD, while other fans were disappointed that the video was not a complete concert experience.

Rock In Rio was also the band’s first DVD, which meant there would be bonus features. With the format still being pretty new, the special features weren’t quite as expansive as what we’d get later. Still, there’s some interesting stuff. There’s the documentary “A Day In the Life” which follows the band’s activities on the day of the Rio concert, some short clips of what the band members do on their days off, and a photo gallery. It’s no Flight 666, but it’s fun footage, especially getting to see Bruce fence.

Controversy aside, Rock In Rio is highly regarded as one of their greatest live albums and videos and is usually mentioned in the same breath as Live After Death. If Brave New World is a modern classic, Rock In Rio is the modern classic live album. It’s a great entry point for the band and really lays to rest any doubt of the band’s relevance in the 21st century. It’s hard to think of a recording that better captures the band’s spirit.


Best of Bruce Dickinson (2001)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6c/Bruce_Dickinson_-_The_Best_of_Bruce_Dickinson.jpg)
While the rest of the band took the rest of the year off, Bruce went back to focusing on his solo career as his label prepared to release a new compilation to ride the Maiden hype. Bruce went into the studio with Roy Z to record two brand new songs for the compilation: Broken and Silver Wings. These two songs only feature Bruce, Roy Z, and Dickie Fliszar on drums (from the Tattooed Millionaire touring band and Tears of a Dragon).These songs are somewhat demo quality, although Silver Wings in particular is highly regarded among fans.

To those who are unaware of this compilation, it may come as a surprise to learn that I definitely consider this required extra curricular listening. For those who are unfamiliar with Bruce’s solo work, this is a pretty good introduction to a fairly eclectic discography. Accident of Birth is probably still the best place to start, but if you’re into compilations this one is very well done. For those who have already heard all the albums, there are more than a few rarities that make this set worth it. Of course there are the songs that were written specifically for the compilation, but there are some other songs that are also available on the expanded editions of the solo albums. The original Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter, which is on the 2CD version of Tattooed Millionaire but not the other remaster, the Man Of Sorrows demo with Janick on guitar, and the first song Bruce recorded: an odd tune called Dracula (Bruce talks about it in his book too). There are also some Accident of Birth outtakes: Wicker Man (great song that is completely unrelated to the Maiden song), Midnight Jam, and Acoustic Song. There’s also one of the few live performances of Jerusalem which was left off Scream For Me Brazil. Other songs are available on the remastered editions of the albums, but may be of interest to anyone who doesn’t have those. Finally, there’s a 13 minute track of Bruce giving the backstory to everything on CD 2. Some really interesting insights on there.

Clive Burr MS Trust Fund (2002)

Toward the end of 2001, Maiden learned that their former drummer Clive Burr was suffering from multiple sclerosis. The band responded by helping him set up the Clive Aid MS Trust Fund, releasing two singles for charity (two different renditions of Run To the Hills), and performing some UK charity gigs in early 2002. The band were technically still on hiatus at this point, so these were the only concerts performed that year and are pretty much an extension of the Brave New World tour. The stage show was the same and the setlist was mostly the same, except for one surprise. For the first time since 1986, the band performed Children of the Damned. At the end of each show, Clive was brought on stage in a mini reunion with the other members.

As if anyone needed more footage of Brave New World era Maiden, one of the shows was filmed for a live webcast (Maiden could be pretty forward thinking with this stuff). It’s worth watching for a rare rendition of Children of the Damned and the tribute to Clive at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWLqZODdyL4

Maiden continued to help Clive and run the charity over the next few years. He also made an appearance at one of their gigs in 2005. Sadly, he passed away in 2013 at age 56 after continuing to suffer from the disease.

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d4/66/94/d46694e59b9795a5ddebe72a74356697.jpg)

Going to save Eddie’s Archive for later cause there’s a lot here already.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on November 05, 2017, 03:23:47 AM
As always, a great read!!! I was there to see Maiden on the show released under the name of Rock in Rio, and to this day it's one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Halford opened for them, and Sepultura played just before him. One curiosity was that Queens of the Stone Age played early in the evening, their bass player came for the encore completely naked and was arrested because of that. One of the things that Bruce said which was cut off from the final release was that "our shows are 100% live, we're not fcuking Britney Spears" - she "played" on the festival on another date, and it was clear she used playback.

Another thing worth mentioning is that during Sign of the Cross there was a stage prop that failed, and therefore it's not shown on the DVD. I think Bruce was supposed to be nailed to a cross which was set on fire, or something like that...did anyone see this work on that tour?

Other artists on the same festival (who played on other nights) were: Sting, Foo Fighters, REM, Beck, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Oasis, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Britney Spears, N'Sync and Guns n Roses, who were also making a sort of comeback at the time.

One correction: Maiden didn't headline the first Rock in Rio, they actually opened for Queen.

Bruce's "best of" is indeed amazing... Wicker Man is a nice surprise, and should have made the cut to one of his official releases.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Zydar on November 05, 2017, 03:30:44 AM
Bruce's compilation was my introduction to his solo stuff. I bought it the same year. I like the two new tracks on it, Broken is the best of those.

And Rock In Rio is just epic all around.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Mladen on November 05, 2017, 03:39:52 AM
Once again, tremendous write up.

I love the Rock in Rio DVD. I'll go out on a limb and say Steve's editing is awesome. The chaotic nature makes it especially exciting and very rock and roll. I'm happy Bruce's speech was cut out, not because of its vulgarity, but because it wasn't one of his better ones. His rants throughout this particular tour are extremely angry, yet make a fantastic point. I've always thought THIS was his best rant EVER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u23zzyggOzQ

 :hefdaddy :hefdaddy  :hefdaddy
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 05, 2017, 04:11:30 AM
Another thing worth mentioning is that during Sign of the Cross there was a stage prop that failed, and therefore it's not shown on the DVD. I think Bruce was supposed to be nailed to a cross which was set on fire, or something like that...did anyone see this work on that tour?

I did. I remember all too well the "Metal 2000" tour, Maiden headlined the Gods of Metal festival in a stadium near Milan and second on the bill were Demons & Wizards (side project of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian's masterminds), there were also Dark Tranquillity, Sentenced and Edguy.

it was not so dramatic as you said - for all the tour, Bruce simply pretended to be nailed to a prop cross that was slowly rising during the intro to Sign of the Cross, and then he would just jump back on the platform right above Nicko to sing the song. He was not "nailed" (he just had the handles) nor the cross was ever set on fire - he simply pretended to be hung on the cross while it was slowly rising.

Indeed on Rock in Rio there was an accident and I still have somewhere the bootleg where you can actually hear the poor guy hurt from whatever happened screaming  :o

The concert I've seen was great of course, I was surprised to see Brave New World, the title track, played so early in the set, and was pleasantly surprised to see both Sign of the Cross and The Clansman in the set.

This is a recording of the show I've seen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEXhWNcu3Jk

And I think it's in this tour that Bruce started developing the habit of jumping the monitors in front of him, he was doing that quite a lot in the early years of the reunion, by now he kinda slowed down and does it only once or twice  :D

About his greatest hits, I don't think the two new songs are bad sounding, and they're both kickass. Silver Wings is an awesome opener, and Broken is gorgeous too. The compilation is indeed a nice collection of good songs from his albums, and rarities.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: TAC on November 05, 2017, 06:08:20 AM
I saw this tour as well, and it was a great show. I thought the setlist was fantastic. Sign Of The Cross, The Clansman, and Dream Of Mirrors all in one set? Great!

I don't listen to the live album nearly as much as I should. That version of The Clansman is epic. I also rarely watch the video. It's not my favorite. The editing, though not as bad as Death On The Road, is still putrid.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: PowerSlave on November 05, 2017, 09:12:10 AM
I had been a fan of the band since the mid 80's, but this is the first tour that I seen them live. It was at the Blossom Music Center in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Halford and Queensryche were the openers with Halford playing first. Which is really a shame, because they played a far superior set than QR. In fact, I remember there being some pleasant surprises in Halford's set at the time, but I can't remember exactly what they were. I think that he played a song or two from Sad Wings of Destiny, though. (Maybe Tyrant?)

I remember Maiden being absolutely brilliant that night. Nicko was very impressive. There was a slight hickup in the middle of Hallowed Be Thy Name, and he really held the band together through the mistake, and got them back on track. I also remember Bruce bitching about the state of music in his rant. If I remember right, he made fun of Nirvana which went over really well with the crowd.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 05, 2017, 09:26:53 AM
Setlist.fm doesn't have your show but from the other setlists of Halford's tour yes, Tyrant was played. Badass song!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Mosh on November 05, 2017, 09:32:38 AM
I have a bootleg with Running Wild, Jawbreaker, and Stained Class.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Cyclopssss on November 05, 2017, 09:47:43 AM
Bruce talks about the 'Three Tenors of Metal' project in his book. He wanted Ronnie James Dio and Halford,  Management wanted Geoff Tate because he would be more recognisable to 'the kids'. Bruce had one meeting with Tate. They didn't get along and couldn't agree to, well NOTHING. Scratch that project. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 05, 2017, 09:55:02 AM
Bruce talks about the 'Three Tenors of Metal' project in his book. He wanted Ronnie James Dio and Halford,  Management wanted Geoff Tate because he would be more recognisable to 'the kids'. Bruce had one meeting with Tate. They didn't get along and couldn't agree to, well NOTHING. Scratch that project.

So THAT's the reason why nothing came of it? DAMN!!!

And to think that now Geoff Tate did that, with the two replacements of Bruce and Rob... geez.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on November 05, 2017, 09:58:27 AM
Oh man...Bruce, Halford and Dio on the same tour???? How awesome would that be?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: PowerSlave on November 05, 2017, 10:22:05 AM
I have a bootleg with Running Wild, Jawbreaker, and Stained Class.

The more that I think about it all those songs seem like they were part of the set. That band was absolutely fantastic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: wolfking on November 05, 2017, 06:13:50 PM
Bruce talks about the 'Three Tenors of Metal' project in his book. He wanted Ronnie James Dio and Halford,  Management wanted Geoff Tate because he would be more recognisable to 'the kids'. Bruce had one meeting with Tate. They didn't get along and couldn't agree to, well NOTHING. Scratch that project.

Ugh....bloody Tate.  Dio, Halford and Dickinson together would have been just incredible.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Grappler on November 06, 2017, 07:33:28 AM
Rock in Rio is incredible.  My only gripe was that they copy and pasted Bruce's vocals onto the crowd participation parts.  Other than that, I think it's a perfect live album, with an incredible setlist.  Bruce's vocals are at their best here, as well. 

Before the album and DVD were released, I had traded for a couple of bootlegs from the tour, which I missed because I was away at college and I believe it was a weeknight show at home in Chicago.  It's the one of the two concerts that I really kick myself for missing based on the lineup.  Halford, Queensryche, and then Maiden?   :metal   So I used to watch the bootlegs and I at least got to see the cross being used during the show.  After I got the DVD, it's one of the only things I watched for years.  Hence my love for this period of the band - I was so obsessed with Brave New World and Rock in Rio. 

It's awesome that this tour spawned two amazing live albums - Rock in Rio and Halford's Live Insurrection. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Mister Gold on November 06, 2017, 07:50:34 AM
Bruce talks about the 'Three Tenors of Metal' project in his book. He wanted Ronnie James Dio and Halford,  Management wanted Geoff Tate because he would be more recognisable to 'the kids'. Bruce had one meeting with Tate. They didn't get along and couldn't agree to, well NOTHING. Scratch that project.

Man, I feel awful for Bruce on that. If memory serves me right, he originally wrote the title track off of "Tyranny of Souls" to be a song where he'd be singing along with Halford and Dio all together, with each of them effectively being one of the Three Witches from MacBeth (which is what the song is about). For whatever reason, it didn't work out and he sang the whole song by himself.

Goddamnit, Tate.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: cramx3 on November 06, 2017, 08:05:36 AM
RiR had a huge impact of the beginning of my IM fanboyism.  Fear of the Dark was just an unbelievable track with the crowd and energy.  I used to really enjoy watching the DVD as well, the fast cuts didn't bother me much in my college years, but as I got older I found it harder and harder to watch and enjoy.  However, that makes no impact on my enjoyment of the album.  Just amazing performances of the Blaze songs as well.  I would say I enjoy this moreso than LAD, but maybe it has to do with this being my intro live album to the band.

As for the Bruce and Dio stuff, I just started reading his book and was picking up on these tidbits as well especially his love of performing including mentioning a few times early that he would perform Macbeth.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Mosh on November 06, 2017, 08:22:28 AM
Blaming Tate is the popular thing to do but I don’t think it was really his fault. First of all, Rod was the one who didn’t want to work with Dio. Secondly, from what I’ve heard in interviews (haven’t got that far in the book), Bruce kind of scrapped the project before it really got anywhere. He wrote Tyranny of Souls, realized he’d need to write 10-12 more songs in that style for it to be a project that could be recorded/toured on, and then shelved it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 06, 2017, 08:23:37 AM
Bruce talks about the 'Three Tenors of Metal' project in his book. He wanted Ronnie James Dio and Halford,  Management wanted Geoff Tate because he would be more recognisable to 'the kids'. Bruce had one meeting with Tate. They didn't get along and couldn't agree to, well NOTHING. Scratch that project.

Man, I feel awful for Bruce on that. If memory serves me right, he originally wrote the title track off of "Tyranny of Souls" to be a song where he'd be singing along with Halford and Dio all together, with each of them effectively being one of the Three Witches from MacBeth (which is what the song is about). For whatever reason, it didn't work out and he sang the whole song by himself.

Goddamnit, Tate.

Now you got me thinkling how awesome Ronnie would sound on the song.

Bruce: When shall we three meet again?
Halford: In thunder, lightning, or in rain
Dio: When the hurly burly's done...

Damn, I can almost hear it in my head.

And speaking of Bruce and his passion for MacBeth: he actually agreed to do an album about it, with none other than Arjen Lucassen. However Arjen was too excited about it, shared the news too soon, and Bruce was annoyed by it and pulled out (at least this is how I remember it went down). Another pity.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Cyclopssss on November 06, 2017, 01:33:03 PM
No as far as memory serves, Rod nixed that as well.  At least we got the Ayreon track Into the black hole out of it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 06, 2017, 01:59:48 PM
Which pissed off Tobias Sammet 'cause Arjen could get Bruce. And Arjen is pissed off at Tobias anyway 'cause he got Alice Cooper for Avantasia, they're each other's dream  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: wolfking on November 06, 2017, 02:38:53 PM
RIR is awesome.  I love the DVD and the setlist, and I never had an issue with Steve's editing.  The only negative is Bruce vox cut in over the singalong parts.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: cramx3 on November 06, 2017, 02:42:51 PM
Also want to add that the two Bruce solo songs, Broken and Silver Wings are among his best songs IMO. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: wolfking on November 06, 2017, 02:45:43 PM
Also want to add that the two Bruce solo songs, Broken and Silver Wings are among his best songs IMO.

Yeah, Silver Wings is Aces High 2.0 IMO.  Both great songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: Mosh on November 12, 2017, 11:05:11 PM
Air Raid Tour (2002)

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With the exception of the Clive Burr one offs, 2002 was to be a year of no Maiden activity. Bruce Dickinson stated that Maiden would transform into a more off and on affair, as opposed to the constant stream of activity throughout the 80s and much of the 90s. With Maiden on hiatus, Bruce decided to play the European festival circuit. In a bit of a surprise move, the backing band was not going to include the Accident of Birth/Chemical Wedding lineup that brought Bruce’s solo career so much recognition in the late 90s. Instead, Bruce went with Alex Dickson and Chris Dale from the old Skunkworks band plus a second guitarist and new drummer. The tour would give Bruce a chance to send a message that even though he was back in Maiden, he still had a solo career and material that he was dedicated to.

The setlist was probably among his more well rounded since the Accident era. Where The Chemical Wedding and Accident of Birth tours heavily focused on his latest material, the Air Raid tour was more of a career retrospective. Both Broken and Silver Wings were played from the Greatest Hits album as well as a couple songs from Skunkworks (after being ignored since the tour for the album). Of course there were some Maiden covers, mostly material that hadn’t been played by Maiden in years, such as Revelations, The Prisoner, and Flight of Icarus. Bruce also performed Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter, a song that began life as the catalyst for Bruce’s solo career. There was even a cover of Tom Jones’ Delilah (Bruce sang the song on a British TV show in the late 90s).

The tour was very short at a mere six gigs, so unfortunately there isn’t much in the way of bootlegs or pro shot footage. As far as I know, there are no soundboards or pro shot footage of the tour. The fan shot videos are pretty spotty, although they can be found easily on YouTube. Normally I’d include a bootleg, but honestly I have a bootleg of every show on this tour and none of them sound that good. PM me if you really want something, but you might as well go on youtube and check out what’s there.

Eddie’s Archive (2002)

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In the early 00’s, collectible box sets were pretty popular. The rare content and memorabilia was an effective way of persuading people to buy a physical product when it was becoming increasingly easy to pirate music. Some of these boxsets were ripoffs, not being much more than an overpriced best of album. Some contained rare material, some had a bit of both. Eddie’s Archive was Maiden’s box set and contains material that, to this day, can’t be found anywhere else. Housed in the metal tin was a shot glass, a scroll depicting the Maiden family tree, and three double albums. I will go over each album individually.

Beast Over Hammersmith

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This CD was actually already discussed as part of the Beast On the Road tour, but it’s worth mentioning again as it is really one of their best live albums. An uncut concert from 1982, features most of the Number of the Beast album, Total Eclipse, and several songs from the Di’Anno era that aren’t on any other live album. It’s worth mentioning that this was released before the Early Days DVD which included a video excerpt of the same performance. Until the release of Eddie’s Archive, it could only be found on low quality bootlegs.

Best Of the B-Sides

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As the title makes clear, this is a collection of some of the band’s most memorable b-sides from over the years complete with liner notes from Rod Smallwood discussing every track. The songs are presented in chronological order so it serves as a nice history of the band up until 1999. You hear how the band’s sound has evolved even though most of the content is made up of covers. The only time the b-sides were released in CD format was on The First Ten Years collection and the Castle reissues of the discography that are now very rare. So this is a good way to get most of them in one shot.

I intentionally talking much about the band’s b-sides so that there would be stuff to discuss when we got to this compilation, but Maiden were one of those bands who really gave the fans their money’s worth with singles. Very rarely would a b-side be simply another track from the album or an alternative version of the a-side. That being said, the band also never wrote more than they needed for an album. If a song wasn’t good enough for the album, the band typically didn’t record it. For that reason, most of the b-sides are covers which also provides insight on the band’s influences.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff on here. Covers of Cross Eyed Mary and King of Twilight that turn the originals on their head, a cover of A Rainbow’s Gold (which contains lyrics that were used on Hallowed Be Thy Name), and some early recordings that were never on a studio album. For me, the most interesting b-sides are the ones from Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. As mentioned earlier, the band rarely wrote songs for b-side use, but 1986-1988 was an especially creative period. Sheriff of Huddersfield and Black Bart Blues are both original tunes which, despite not being serious at all, are pretty strong for b-sides. The former is a tribute to the manager, Rod Smallwood, and the latter is a tale of life on the road. For the Somewhere In Time b-sides, they also recorded some songs from Adrian and Nicko’s The Entire Population of Hackney project. Among them is Reach Out, which features Adrian on lead vocals. Also from the Seventh Son era are two re-recordings of songs from the debut: Prowler and Charlotte the Harlot. These two were unexpected due to the band not typically redoing old songs and the ultra polished sound of Seventh Son is a stark contrast to the sound of the debut. Charlotte the Harlot is also a song that was never performed live with Bruce (and remained that way until 2005), so this was the first recording of him singing it.

In the 90’s, the covers were lighter on the prog rock side and more along the lines of traditional hard rock of bands such as Led Zeppelin and Free, which fit the more stripped down sound of those albums. They covered Montrose for the second time with Space Station No. 5 and, with Blaze in the band, finally did their own take of UFO’s Doctor Doctor. There are a few more originals in the 90s. Two of the three songs that were left off of X Factor are included here (Justice of the Peace and Judgement Day). Going back a couple years, there’s also Nodding Donkey Blues which is (to my knowledge) the first recording that is credited to the whole band. It’s also Nicko McBrain’s second writing credit (the first was also a b-side: Mission From ‘Arry). They also recorded a parody of Roll Over Beethoven called Roll Over Vic Vella, a tribute to Steve’s personal friend and assistant.

The remainder of the album consists of live recordings. There’s a recording of Drifter with Paul on vocals and Remember Tomorrow with Bruce on vocals (which is actually Bruce singing over the Maiden Japan track. There are also two rare live recordings with Blaze, Blood On the World’s Hands and The Aftermath, both recorded in Gothenburg. Finally, there are two recordings from the Ed Huntour: Futureal (which was only played with the current lineup on that tour) and Wasted Years.

As mentioned earlier, this is just a selection of the best b-sides, although they did a pretty good job getting most of the essential ones. The only glaring omissions for me are their cover of Massacre and Mission From ‘Arry. After 2003 Maiden pretty much stopped doing b-sides and any b-sides that were released were just live tracks. That being said, there is probably enough for another double album and, with that in mind, here is my “Rest of the B’Sides playlist for a reference of the other essentials (there’s still stuff missing but it’s mostly live songs that have been released on several live albums):

Disc 1:
1: Sanctuary (1979 Metal For Muthas)
2: Wrathchild (1979 Metal For Muthas)
3: I’ve Got the Fire (live recording with Paul on vocals)
4: Phantom Of the Opera (live 1980)
5: Women In Uniform (not a b-side, but also not widely available on CD)
6: Total Eclipse (included on the most recent release of The Number of the Beast, but should be here for completion sake)
7: Mission From ‘Arry (legendary recording of an argument between Steve, Nicko, and Bruce)
8: Murders In the Rue Morgue (Live at Hammersmith 1984)
9: Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra) (Live At Hammersmith 1984, also the only officially released live recording of this song)
10: Massacre (Thin Lizzy cover)
11: Bayswater Ain’t a Bad Place To Be (8 minutes of Blues and the band screwing around in the studio with acoustic guitars)
12: No Prayer For the Dying (Wembley 1990, the only officially released live recording of this song)
13: Public Enema No. 1 (Wembley 1990, the only officially released live recording of this song)
14: Holy Smoke (Wembley 1990, the only officially released live recording of this song)
15: The Assassin (Wembley 1990, the only officially released live recording of this song)
16: Hooks In You (Wembley 1990, the only officially released live recording of this song)

Disc 2:
1: Wasted Years (Germany 1993)
2: I Live My Way (the third X Factor reject)
3: Virus (again not a b-side but is only available on the out of print Best Of the Beast)
4: The Wicker Man (Radio edit)
5: The Nomad (Alternate mix)
6: Blood Brothers (orchestral mix)
7: Pass the Jam (2003 studio jam)
8: More Tea Vicar (2003 studio jam)
9: Dance of Death (orchestral mix)
10: Paschendale (orchestral mix)
11: Journeyman (electric version)
12: Hocus Pocus (Focus cover from 2006)
13: Space Truckin’ (Deep Purple cover from 2006)
14: Tush (Unreleased ZZ Top cover from 2006)

The BBC Archives

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Thebbcarchives.JPG/220px-Thebbcarchives.JPG)
This is a compilation of various recordings that were broadcast on the BBC. This CD captures four different performances, two with Paul on vocals and two with Bruce on vocals. Of the three albums included on Eddie’s Archive, this is the least essential and is probably for hardcore fans only. The two Bruce recordings are from tours that already have full length live releases with arguably better setlists and performances (Beast Over Hammersmith and Maiden England). That being said, it’s a nice treat especially for those who are fond of those particular eras. For fans of the Di’Anno era, this just adds to the small amount that’s already out there. The best part of this album is actually the expansive liner notes, written by Radio 1 producer Tony Wilson. They go into great detail on the significance and history of each gig.

The first set of recordings is a studio performance from 1979. This is perhaps the most historically interesting recording on the album because it features the lineup of Paul Di’Anno, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Doug Sampson (drums) and Tony Parsons (guitar). These are the only officially released recordings with Parsons on guitar and are worth checking out for that alone. The song selection isn’t anything too exciting, but the unique lineup gives these familiar songs a different vibe.

The rest of Disc 1 is made up of Maiden’s legendary performance at Reading 1982. Where Beast Over Hammersmith was recorded very early in the Beast On the Road tour (the album hadn’t even been released yet), Reading took place at the end of the tour after the band had made runs through Europe and North America. The album had proven to be a hit, the new lineup was successful, and Reading served as a sort of homecoming or victory lap for the band. With Beast On the Road already part of this collection, it might seem redundant, but it is one of the band’s most memorable performances. That being said, it is not a complete performance and is more like a highlight reel. Although it is missing the encore where they were joined by members of Blackfoot to perform a cover of Tush.

Disc 2 turns the clock back a couple years to 1980 where the band performed at Reading for the first time. This predates Live At the Rainbow by a few months and is from when Dennis Stratton was still in the band. The only other live recording with Stratton is Live At the Ruskin Arms on The Early Days, which was from earlier in the year. Not much else to say about this one, it does have a rare performance of Killers with the alternate lyrics and Stratton on guitar.

The final recording is an excerpt of the band’s legendary headline performance at Donington 1988. It’s good to finally have some of it, although it’s not much compared to the far superior Maiden England. Of course it’s also incomplete, although 3 additional songs (The Prisoner, Heaven Can Wait, and The Clairvoyant) were released on The Clairvoyant single, so a good chunk of this performance has been released in different forms. Like Reading 1982, it’s somewhat redundant if you already have Maiden England and is mostly appealing for its historic significance.

Overall the BBC Archives is a decent release that manages to catch several live recordings that were heavily bootlegged and requested by fans. I would’ve preferred the complete Donington, Reading, or even something else entirely such as Hammersmith 1984 or Wembley 1990. BBC Archives is interesting, but it’s one of those albums that you only really need to listen to once.

Visions Of the Beast (2003)

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While we’re on the subject of archival releases, released in early 2003 was a DVD that collected all of Maiden’s music videos up until that point. They had released several video compilations on VHS, the last one covering everything up to Fear of the Dark. This DVD includes all of those videos plus the ones that came after and some alternate/unreleased cuts such as the “Football” version of Futureal and an alternate version of Man On the Edge. It also has a video for Afraid To Shoot Strangers with Blaze Bayley on vocals, which was one of his better renditions of the Bruce era material. As extras, there are also animated videos for six songs. Of course all these videos are now on YouTube (most, if not all, uploaded by the band themselves) so this release is fairly obsolete. But we can use it as an excuse to discuss the band’s videos in general.

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Maiden might not have been actively touring or recording from 2001 to early 2003, but the Maiden PR machine was certainly moving at full speed with all the archival releases (there was also another greatest hits release, Edward the Great, but there’s nothing on there worth mentioning). There was certainly an element of the band taking advantage of their new status as a “legacy” act in a way that they consciously avoided during the Brave New World cycle. They had proven that their priority was the future, but now there was a chance to look back and give fans some rare goodies from the 80’s. But that too was now over with and soon it would be time for Maiden to look forward again with what is the most divisive album of the reunion era. Stay tuned for Dance of Death!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 13, 2017, 01:35:31 AM
Excellent recollection, as usual!  :tup

Eddie's Archive was indeed a nice treat. This boxset serves as a next generation version to the collection of singles, the ones with the Listen with Nicko sessions. I agree that Maiden (pity they stopped) have a collection of B-sides probably more interesting than the actual original output of many bands out there.

And let me express my regret for not having seen Bruce live, I had a friend at Wacken calling me to let me hear snippets of Back from the Edge and Revelations (symbolically my favorite Maiden song, since it's the one that made me fall in love with Bruce's voice and therefore Maiden and therefore heavy metal in general) but that was just a consolation. Would have loved to be there!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: wolfking on November 13, 2017, 04:33:38 AM
I remember getting Eddie's Archive when it came out for XMas.  It's glorious, worth every cent.  Still have it in perfect condition.  Beast Over Hammersmith is worth the price alone.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: nobloodyname on November 13, 2017, 06:15:00 AM
In case there are any collectors out there interested in acquiring Eddie's Archive, there are two versions: the original release comes with a blue insert, the re-release with a red insert. Additionally, the family tree in the re-release is unnumbered.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: Grappler on November 13, 2017, 06:26:16 AM
Since I converted my cd collection to digital in 2010, I sold my original copy of Eddie's Archive a few years ago on ebay.  I think it went for $80-90, which was fine for me.  I don't remember what I paid for it originally.  It just sat around in a closet, so while the collector part of me really misses having it, I have the cd's archived ( :biggrin:) on my computer.  I love Beast Over Hammersmith, and the b-side compilation is fun at times. 

I used to watch Visions of the Beast all the time when I got that...until Youtube popped up and I can find almost anything I want on demand.  I prefer watching live videos over official music videos, so I really don't watch much of the classic Maiden videos anymore, and I believe I sold this around the same time that I purged some of my collection a few years ago as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: jjrock88 on November 13, 2017, 09:18:26 AM
Excellent write up as usual Mosh.

Eddies Archive is a beautiful set, but I only got it a few years ago.  I'll admit the price I paid for it was ridiculous, but it was totally worth it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: cramx3 on November 13, 2017, 03:04:59 PM
I love the story of how I bought Eddies Archive.  There are two versions of this by the way, the original limited edition with a numbered family tree and blue inside of the box, and the re-release with the red inside and no numbering.  I didn't know this, but was happy to find out I own the original numbered box.  I was in college at Penn State and obsessed with IM with my roommate.  We bought all the albums together and would listen after classes together.  Experiencing new albums at the same time often and just growing into IM together.  My father came up to visit me one weekend and there was a record store near campus that he would always want to go to when he visited to pick up a random vinyl to add to his collection.  I thought to myself, if any store would have Eddies Archive, it would be this one.  So when I went to the store with my family, I searched the entire store for Eddies Archive.  The store was not organized very well, maybe one of the last mom and pop music stores when I think about it (it's not there anymore  :( ).  Well I couldn't find it, I was upset.  My dad found what he wanted and as he was paying at the register, I look to the left and behind the register, ontop of stacks of various CDs, sat an Eddies Archive set.  I was sooo happy.  I asked how much, I forget the exact amount but I think it was $110 or $120.  I didn't have that much money on me, but I called my roommate said go to the bank and get this immediately since I had to leave with my father to do something else I forget.  Later that night I got home and we took shots from the goblet  :yarr  When we left college I won a game of war to keep all the IM stuff we had collected, including the CDs, Eddies Archive, and a couple flag posters we hung in our living room (which now hang in my basement). 

As for my feelings of the CDs in the box set.  I think the b-sides are mostly terrible.  I don't listen to it at all.  I find the Blaze era b-sides the best and most interesting.  The Live at Hammersmith CDs are amazing though.  The uniqueness of the box set and that live concert made the set worth the purchase.

Also, totally wish I got to see one of those Bruce solo shows from that small tour.  That set list was awesome.

Edit: to add, when my roommate went back to the store to buy Eddies Archive, I was told (and still get told this story form my roommate) that the cashier yelled to someone in the back "Hey, we finally sold Eddies Archive!"  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: TAC on November 13, 2017, 07:15:49 PM
Eddie's Archive is a great collection. Beast Over Hammersmith is fantastic, and having all of the B sides in one spot is convenient.

As Mosh said, I hate half show compilations. The full Donnington or Reading would've been much better.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on November 13, 2017, 07:36:48 PM
I´m not sure those songs are on the "Best of the B Sides", but they´re definitely worth a mention:

Juanita
Communication Breakdown (Zeppelin cover)
I´m a Mover (Free cover)
Kill me Ce Soir (Golden Earring cover)
All in Your Mind (Stray cover)

I´m pretty sure that on Juanita, That Girl and Reach Out, Adrian plays bass too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: Mladen on November 14, 2017, 08:01:47 AM
Beast over Hammersmith is pretty cool. And some of those B-Sides truly are great.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: Stadler on November 14, 2017, 10:11:36 AM
I agree with el Barto; full sets or nothing.   It's a festival; we know it's warts and all.

I am a huge fan of the Maiden b-sides, though, and I am sort of bummed that the two-disk set is incomplete.   I have a complete set of the Castle Remasters (which have the bonus disks with the b-sides).   "Total Eclipse" is one of if not THE favorite song in the Maiden catalogue, and while I wouldn't put "covers" in my list of "favorite Maiden songs", but All In Your Mind is up there, as is the Nektar song(s) (it's a medley), and Cross-Eyed Mary.  I have them all on my iPod, grouped as "Studio" and "Live" and I do listen to them often.   

"We're gonna put it on a CD!"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: TAC on November 14, 2017, 11:06:12 AM
I never cared for Cross Eyed Mary...very clunky.

I've Got The Fire is where it's at!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: Mosh on November 27, 2017, 09:04:36 PM
First of all, thanks everyone for your patience. This has turned out to be one of the busiest semesters I've had and generally the past few months have been the busiest I've been in my life. Not to make excuses, but this has had to take a back seat lately. The good news is that things should be winding down within the next couple weeks so expect a couple more delays and then maybe back to weekly updates. No promises though. Anyway, on with the show:


Dance of Death (2003)

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Maiden kicked off 2003 by announcing some tour dates and entering the studio for work on their next album. Pleased with his work on Brave New World, the band reenlisted Kevin Shirley, although this time the album would be recorded at home in England. They booked a studio in London, their first time recording in the city since The Number of the Beast.  In usual Maiden fashion, the group opted not to take the safe route of retreading the accessible straightforward material on Dance of Death but to instead further pursue that album’s more experimental and progressive side. As a result, Dance of Death is one of the band’s more adventurous albums and features many firsts for the band.

Among these firsts was Nicko McBrain’s first writing credit on a Maiden album, after being in the band for 20 years. Nicko came up with the lyrics, vocal melodies, and a bass line which he presented to the entire band. When Nicko presented the song, he used the classic Steve Harris method of playing the riffs on acoustic bass while humming the tune. The band remarked that he sounded strangely like Steve and Steve even jokingly suggested that Nicko play bass on the recording. Nicko also received help from Adrian who helped with the bridge and chorus. Additionally, Bruce is credited on the song but his exact involvement has never been explained. The song, which is about the moral dilemma over cloning humans, drew some small controversy among fans for being too preachy. Other than that though, New Frontier is a typical Maiden rocker and not bad for a first song. It was never played live though and today only seems to be remembered because Nicko wrote it.

Another major first on the album was the band’s first all acoustic song. Journeyman, the album’s closer, is one of two songs by the Smith/Harris/Dickinson partnership. It was originally written with acoustic guitars but, as was the case with all their songs, it was rearranged for electric guitars and recorded that way. Ultimately the band was unsatisfied with the result and the suggestion was made to record the original acoustic version. The new recording came out much better and is what made it onto the album. They had songs that featured prominent acoustic guitars before, namely Prodigal Son and Como Estais Amigos, but both songs featured some heavy sections with electric guitars. Journeyman was 100% acoustic. The electric version was released later on the No More Lies EP. Journeyman was a nice surprise after 10 pretty heavy songs and is probably the closest Maiden have come to writing a ballad. Ballads can be risky business in Metal bands, but this particular ballad came with surprisingly little controversy. Most fans seemed to embrace the experimentation and the song remains as one of the album’s most memorable moments.

The other Smith/Harris/Dickinson track marked yet another first: Nicko McBrain’s first use of double bass pedal. For those unfamiliar with Nicko’s drum technique, he was always strongly opposed to using the double bass and gained a reputation for having ridiculously fast single pedal technique. His first major obstacle actually came the moment he joined the band when Steve presented him with Where Eagles Dare. It was uncertain whether Nicko would be able to handle the song’s tempo using a single pedal bass drum but, after hours of careful practice, he was not only able to do it, but he was able to start the show with it on the Piece of Mind tour. Nicko was presented with another tricky bass drum part 20 years later with Face In the Sand, but this time he ended up having to record it with a double bass pedal. Nicko voiced discomfort with playing the song and, consequently, it was never played live. It is a strong effort though with lyrics from Bruce that reflect on the media coverage of various events, specifically the Iraq War which had started while the band were working on the album.

If it is not already apparent, Adrian Smith had a much greater hand in this album compared to Brave New World, where he intentionally took a backseat. Where he only contributed two songs to the previous album, Adrian has a writing credit on 5 of the 11 songs on Dance of Death, including the lead single: Wildest Dreams. Much like The Wicker Man, which was also penned by Adrian (with the help of Bruce and Steve) and was also a lead single, the song is a musical callback to the hits of the 80s such as Flight of Icarus and Can I Play With Madness. It’s upbeat, energetic, and features a live-ready singalong chorus. Wildest Dreams is very similar in style to The Wicker Man, although it was written by Smith and Harris rather than Smith/Harris/Dickinson.

The last Smith contribution, Paschendale, is a stark contrast to the accessible Wildest Dreams with its epic length, sudden stops, and extended instrumental section. Prior to Paschendale, Adrian was mostly known for the more commercial side of Maiden, but in the spirit of the album’s experimentation, he decided to attempt an epic. The song began with the haunting intro and developed from there. Adrian then found a book on the battle of Passchendaele and presented it to Steve for lyrical inspiration. The result was one of the band’s proggiest and most dramatic songs ever. It is a song that is still held in high regard among fans and the band members themselves. In his new book, Bruce claims it’s the only thing on Dance of Death that is at the same level of quality as Brave New World.

Paschendale is not the only epic or dramatic piece on the album though. Also included is the epic title track, written by Steve and Janick. At 9 minutes, it’s the longest song on the album and was conceived around an acoustic idea by Gers. Janick came up with the bulk of the song and, in a similar story to Paschendale, presented Steve with inspiration for the lyrics from the classic film The Seventh Seal. However, unlike Paschendale, the source material only provided the initial spark of inspiration. The song itself is entirely from Steve’s imagination, possible a story from his dreams. Together, both Paschendale and Dance of Death mark a return to the storytelling epic that was more common in the 80s with songs such as Rime of the Ancient Mariner and To Tame a Land. Musically, the song seems to be a progression of what Janick was doing on Dream of Mirrors, but this time the acoustic guitar plays an even more prominent role. Not only is Dance of Death one of Maiden’s most dramatic songs, it’s also one of their most melodic and is another highlight of the album. If there was still any doubt about Janick’s place in the band, Dance of Death shatters it.

While he didn’t contribute quite as much as on Brave New World, Dance of Death continues to show Janick’s prominence as a songwriter. Not only did he contribute the title track and album centerpiece, but he also contributed a couple classic sounding Maiden rockers. Both songs are collaborations with Bruce and Steve and they each represent the more accessible side of the album. One of these two songs, Gates of Tomorrow, is widely considered to be among the weaker points of the album. It’s a generic fast paced rock song in the vein of Wildest Dreams or The Mercenary, but not quite as memorable. The lyrics, penned by Bruce, can take on multiple meanings, although it is most likely about the uncertain future that awaited with the advent of the Internet. Maiden were pretty on top of the technology at the time, being one of the first bands to have an official website and also embracing music downloads early on (more on that later). For a more successful collaboration by the trio, there’s Montsegur. This is another short rocker that came primarily from Janick with some rearrangements by Steve and a lyric by Bruce. It’s a song filled with catchy riffs and melodies, including a recycled guitar harmony from Bruce Dickinson’s solo track, Born In ‘58.

Dave Murray also contributed two tracks which had become normal for him at the time, although he contributed three songs to Brave New World. The first song, Rainmaker, was a collaboration with Bruce and Steve although the song was primarily written by Dave. Dave came up with the main riffs, melodies and chord progressions with Steve adding some melodies before Bruce wrote the lyrics. Bruce heard the opening melody that Dave came up with and stated that it reminded him of raindrops, hence the concept of Rainmaker. The second Dave song was Age of Innocence, which was just a collaboration with Steve. Once again, Dave came up with most of the music while Steve helped piece things together and also added the lyrics. Age of Innocence is one of the more controversial songs on the album for a number of reasons. The first is the lyrics, which, similar to New Frontier, were criticized for being overly preachy and even showing Steve’s age. Steve wrote the song about his feelings in England at the time, that he felt like the judicial system was failing and his kids weren’t safe growing up there. The song was also criticized for its bridge which featured Bruce almost rapping. That being said, the song is also praised for its highly melodic guitar parts and chorus. Overall, Age of Innocence is a good example of Dance of Death’s more experimental side: it works in some areas and not so much in other areas.

As usual, Steve remained very prolific on this album contributing to all but one track (New Frontier). Like Brave New World, his solo contributions weren’t quite as numerous since there were so many other writers in the band that he wanted to make room for. Only one song is credited entirely to Steve and that is No More Lies. No More Lies is the typical reunion era Maiden track: long soft intro followed by a heavy buildup with a huge climactic (if not repetitive) chorus. The lyrics are also classic Steve, dealing with a person who knows he is close to death. Steve has said that the person in the song could be Jesus and that there are references to the Last Supper, but it is meant to be relatable for anyone.

The album was recorded in the same style and fashion as Brave New World, although this time they captured some video footage of the recording so fans were able to get better insight into the modern Maiden recording method. The documentary, which was included on the DVD release for the tour (Death On the Road), was the first time fans got a significant look at the band in the studio. Maiden were known to be very secretive about those things, so the Dance of Death documentary was a real treat. It only really covers the recording of Montsegur and Paschendale, but it’s better than nothing. As seen in the documentary, the band worked very quickly. An entire day would be spent on one song and they would go from rough rhythm tracks all the way to a rough mix of the final song by the end of the day. The band was recorded live, with Dave and Janick sharing a recording booth, Adrian in his own booth, Bruce in his own booth, and Nicko and Steve in the center room. Kevin Shirley used a minimalist approach to instrument set up, contrary to most producers and audio engineers. Rather than spend days on end crafting the drum sound or messing with microphones, he opted for a more “plug in and play” approach which very much pleased the band.

Using Kevin Shirley’s quick style of recording, the sessions were finished in a month. The album was mixed and ready to go by May, although it wouldn’t be released until September. It’s not entirely clear why the release was delayed. Whether there was an unintentional delay or the band decided to hold off so that they could do a “classics” setlist for the festivals and North America. Regardless, the shows were booked even before the band started recording, and, in Summer 2003, Maiden hit the road again for their first full scale tour in 2 years.

Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead Tour (2003)

(https://tshirtslayer.com/files-tshirt/styles/shirtviewbottom/public/user-718/3f22692c542a4032dec00bd3c99882aa.jpg?itok=HQnBN93I)
As previously mentioned, the summer 2003 tour was actually announced before the band had even entered the studio. In late 2002, Maiden began announcing some European summer dates and before long a full scale tour was planned, including a run in North America. The European shows were also going to be largely in the festival circuit. Later on it was revealed that the tour would be a “greatest hits” setlist and was going to be about having fun. This marked the beginning of a pattern that still exists to this day: album tours are to be alternated with “greatest hits” tours. They started as being simple and brief but continued to grow as the were unsurprisingly extremely popular. The tour also served as a way to build hype for the new album. The band performed Wildest Dreams as part of the setlist and at every concert Bruce encouraged fans to record the song and post it on the internet on the condition that they buy the album when it comes out. Maiden’s attitude toward this was a stark contrast to the general industry opinion at the time, as Metallica were currently in the middle of a high profile lawsuit against Napster and most artists were on Metallica’s side. Maiden realized that it was a losing battle for the music industry and that the best course of action was to use it to their own advantage, which is exactly what they did for Dance of Death.

The rest of the setlist was a career retrospective that featured a healthy amount of material from each era. This time, every album was represented with the exception of Killers and The X Factor. The usual suspects were included, but there were also some songs that hadn’t been played in years. The big comeback was Revelations, which hadn’t been played since the World Slavery tour in 1985. Also included were 22 Acacia Avenue and Die With Your Boots On, two songs that were staples in the 80s but hadn’t been played since the early 90s. The Wicker Man and Brave New World were each played from the previous album and The Clansman was on the menu for the third tour in a row. The encore was one of the band’s more exciting, kicking off with Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter, which hadn’t been played since Bruce left the band. This was followed by Two Minutes to Midnight which wasn’t typically used as an encore tune. The closer was Run to the Hills, which was welcomed back especially in North America where it was not included on the Brave New World tour setlist. The setlist order was also very interesting. For the first time ever, The Number of the Beast opened the show. Hallowed Be Thy Name was also included very early on, even though both songs were traditionally saved for the end. This made the setlist more exciting and unpredictable.

The stage set was also a celebration of the band’s history, featuring a collage of various Eddie’s that even extended to the background (which shrunk the space normally used for drapes). The Ed Hunter walk on Eddie was finally retired and replaced with a regal Eddie in the style of Edward the Great, the compilation which was released a year earlier. The big Eddie (as well as the Eddie on the poster) was designed after the Visions of the Beast DVD and there was some brain action that brought back memories of the World Piece Tour 20 years earlier. It wasn’t an extremely elaborate stage set, especially compared to what followed, but it fit the theme of the tour perfectly.

As mentioned earlier, the tour started in Europe with the band hitting most of the major festivals including the very first Download festival at Castle Donington. It was the band’s third time headlining Donington after headlining Monsters of Rock there in 1988 and 1992. They also performed again at Rockslide and Graspop, both festivals that they hit on the Brave New World tour. Finally, they performed at Rock Am Ring, which was broadcast on TV and represents the best bootleg of the tour.

Rock Am Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHZcwBD6j6U

After finishing in Europe, the band headed across the Atlantic for a month of touring North America. They once again performed at amphitheaters of similar size to what they played on the Brave New World tour, although their popularity was beginning to grow already. Also similar to the Brave New World tour was that North America got a very impressive touring package. This time it was Motorhead and Dio, two legendary groups. On the other hand, North America also got a shorter set. 22 Acacia Avenue was left off the set entirely and several of the shows had three songs dropped due to venue curfews (Heaven Can Wait, Brave New World, and Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter). Regardless, it was a successful tour that was especially appealing to the nostalgic fans who were mostly interested in hearing the classics.


Also, as a side note, the Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead tour happened to be my first time seeing Iron Maiden. I was a month away from turning 7 and this show made me a Maiden fan for life. I still remember quite a bit of it very vividly, although I’m also lucky that the show was immortalized in one of the better bootlegs from the tour. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh8aqVDABHg


The tour wrapped up at the end of August and, a week later, Dance of Death was released.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: Mosh on November 27, 2017, 09:08:37 PM
First of all, thanks everyone for your patience. This has turned out to be one of the busiest semesters I've had and generally the past few months have been the busiest I've been in my life. Not to make excuses, but this has had to take a back seat lately. The good news is that things should be winding down within the next couple weeks so expect a couple more delays and then maybe back to weekly updates. No promises though. Anyway, on with the show:


Dance of Death (2003)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Iron_Maiden-Dance_of_Death.jpg)
Maiden kicked off 2003 by announcing some tour dates and entering the studio for work on their next album. Pleased with his work on Brave New World, the band reenlisted Kevin Shirley, although this time the album would be recorded at home in England. They booked a studio in London, their first time recording in the city since The Number of the Beast.  In usual Maiden fashion, the group opted not to take the safe route of retreading the accessible straightforward material on Dance of Death but to instead further pursue that album’s more experimental and progressive side. As a result, Dance of Death is one of the band’s more adventurous albums and features many firsts for the band.

Among these firsts was Nicko McBrain’s first writing credit on a Maiden album, after being in the band for 20 years. Nicko came up with the lyrics, vocal melodies, and a bass line which he presented to the entire band. When Nicko presented the song, he used the classic Steve Harris method of playing the riffs on acoustic bass while humming the tune. The band remarked that he sounded strangely like Steve and Steve even jokingly suggested that Nicko play bass on the recording. Nicko also received help from Adrian who helped with the bridge and chorus. Additionally, Bruce is credited on the song but his exact involvement has never been explained. The song, which is about the moral dilemma over cloning humans, drew some small controversy among fans for being too preachy. Other than that though, New Frontier is a typical Maiden rocker and not bad for a first song. It was never played live though and today only seems to be remembered because Nicko wrote it.

Another major first on the album was the band’s first all acoustic song. Journeyman, the album’s closer, is one of two songs by the Smith/Harris/Dickinson partnership. It was originally written with acoustic guitars but, as was the case with all their songs, it was rearranged for electric guitars and recorded that way. Ultimately the band was unsatisfied with the result and the suggestion was made to record the original acoustic version. The new recording came out much better and is what made it onto the album. They had songs that featured prominent acoustic guitars before, namely Prodigal Son and Como Estais Amigos, but both songs featured some heavy sections with electric guitars. Journeyman was 100% acoustic. The electric version was released later on the No More Lies EP. Journeyman was a nice surprise after 10 pretty heavy songs and is probably the closest Maiden have come to writing a ballad. Ballads can be risky business in Metal bands, but this particular ballad came with surprisingly little controversy. Most fans seemed to embrace the experimentation and the song remains as one of the album’s most memorable moments.

The other Smith/Harris/Dickinson track marked yet another first: Nicko McBrain’s first use of double bass pedal. For those unfamiliar with Nicko’s drum technique, he was always strongly opposed to using the double bass and gained a reputation for having ridiculously fast single pedal technique. His first major obstacle actually came the moment he joined the band when Steve presented him with Where Eagles Dare. It was uncertain whether Nicko would be able to handle the song’s tempo using a single pedal bass drum but, after hours of careful practice, he was not only able to do it, but he was able to start the show with it on the Piece of Mind tour. Nicko was presented with another tricky bass drum part 20 years later with Face In the Sand, but this time he ended up having to record it with a double bass pedal. Nicko voiced discomfort with playing the song and, consequently, it was never played live. It is a strong effort though with lyrics from Bruce that reflect on the media coverage of various events, specifically the Iraq War which had started while the band were working on the album.

If it is not already apparent, Adrian Smith had a much greater hand in this album compared to Brave New World, where he intentionally took a backseat. Where he only contributed two songs to the previous album, Adrian has a writing credit on 5 of the 11 songs on Dance of Death, including the lead single: Wildest Dreams. Much like The Wicker Man, which was also penned by Adrian (with the help of Bruce and Steve) and was also a lead single, the song is a musical callback to the hits of the 80s such as Flight of Icarus and Can I Play With Madness. It’s upbeat, energetic, and features a live-ready singalong chorus. Wildest Dreams is very similar in style to The Wicker Man, although it was written by Smith and Harris rather than Smith/Harris/Dickinson.

The last Smith contribution, Paschendale, is a stark contrast to the accessible Wildest Dreams with its epic length, sudden stops, and extended instrumental section. Prior to Paschendale, Adrian was mostly known for the more commercial side of Maiden, but in the spirit of the album’s experimentation, he decided to attempt an epic. The song began with the haunting intro and developed from there. Adrian then found a book on the battle of Passchendaele and presented it to Steve for lyrical inspiration. The result was one of the band’s proggiest and most dramatic songs ever. It is a song that is still held in high regard among fans and the band members themselves. In his new book, Bruce claims it’s the only thing on Dance of Death that is at the same level of quality as Brave New World.

Paschendale is not the only epic or dramatic piece on the album though. Also included is the epic title track, written by Steve and Janick. At 9 minutes, it’s the longest song on the album and was conceived around an acoustic idea by Gers. Janick came up with the bulk of the song and, in a similar story to Paschendale, presented Steve with inspiration for the lyrics from the classic film The Seventh Seal. However, unlike Paschendale, the source material only provided the initial spark of inspiration. The song itself is entirely from Steve’s imagination, possible a story from his dreams. Together, both Paschendale and Dance of Death mark a return to the storytelling epic that was more common in the 80s with songs such as Rime of the Ancient Mariner and To Tame a Land. Musically, the song seems to be a progression of what Janick was doing on Dream of Mirrors, but this time the acoustic guitar plays an even more prominent role. Not only is Dance of Death one of Maiden’s most dramatic songs, it’s also one of their most melodic and is another highlight of the album. If there was still any doubt about Janick’s place in the band, Dance of Death shatters it.

While he didn’t contribute quite as much as on Brave New World, Dance of Death continues to show Janick’s prominence as a songwriter. Not only did he contribute the title track and album centerpiece, but he also contributed a couple classic sounding Maiden rockers. Both songs are collaborations with Bruce and Steve and they each represent the more accessible side of the album. One of these two songs, Gates of Tomorrow, is widely considered to be among the weaker points of the album. It’s a generic fast paced rock song in the vein of Wildest Dreams or The Mercenary, but not quite as memorable. The lyrics, penned by Bruce, can take on multiple meanings, although it is most likely about the uncertain future that awaited with the advent of the Internet. Maiden were pretty on top of the technology at the time, being one of the first bands to have an official website and also embracing music downloads early on (more on that later). For a more successful collaboration by the trio, there’s Montsegur. This is another short rocker that came primarily from Janick with some rearrangements by Steve and a lyric by Bruce. It’s a song filled with catchy riffs and melodies, including a recycled guitar harmony from Bruce Dickinson’s solo track, Born In ‘58.

Dave Murray also contributed two tracks which had become normal for him at the time, although he contributed three songs to Brave New World. The first song, Rainmaker, was a collaboration with Bruce and Steve although the song was primarily written by Dave. Dave came up with the main riffs, melodies and chord progressions with Steve adding some melodies before Bruce wrote the lyrics. Bruce heard the opening melody that Dave came up with and stated that it reminded him of raindrops, hence the concept of Rainmaker. The second Dave song was Age of Innocence, which was just a collaboration with Steve. Once again, Dave came up with most of the music while Steve helped piece things together and also added the lyrics. Age of Innocence is one of the more controversial songs on the album for a number of reasons. The first is the lyrics, which, similar to New Frontier, were criticized for being overly preachy and even showing Steve’s age. Steve wrote the song about his feelings in England at the time, that he felt like the judicial system was failing and his kids weren’t safe growing up there. The song was also criticized for its bridge which featured Bruce almost rapping. That being said, the song is also praised for its highly melodic guitar parts and chorus. Overall, Age of Innocence is a good example of Dance of Death’s more experimental side: it works in some areas and not so much in other areas.

As usual, Steve remained very prolific on this album contributing to all but one track (New Frontier). Like Brave New World, his solo contributions weren’t quite as numerous since there were so many other writers in the band that he wanted to make room for. Only one song is credited entirely to Steve and that is No More Lies. No More Lies is the typical reunion era Maiden track: long soft intro followed by a heavy buildup with a huge climactic (if not repetitive) chorus. The lyrics are also classic Steve, dealing with a person who knows he is close to death. Steve has said that the person in the song could be Jesus and that there are references to the Last Supper, but it is meant to be relatable for anyone.

The album was recorded in the same style and fashion as Brave New World, although this time they captured some video footage of the recording so fans were able to get better insight into the modern Maiden recording method. The documentary, which was included on the DVD release for the tour (Death On the Road), was the first time fans got a significant look at the band in the studio. Maiden were known to be very secretive about those things, so the Dance of Death documentary was a real treat. It only really covers the recording of Montsegur and Paschendale, but it’s better than nothing. As seen in the documentary, the band worked very quickly. An entire day would be spent on one song and they would go from rough rhythm tracks all the way to a rough mix of the final song by the end of the day. The band was recorded live, with Dave and Janick sharing a recording booth, Adrian in his own booth, Bruce in his own booth, and Nicko and Steve in the center room. Kevin Shirley used a minimalist approach to instrument set up, contrary to most producers and audio engineers. Rather than spend days on end crafting the drum sound or messing with microphones, he opted for a more “plug in and play” approach which very much pleased the band.

Using Kevin Shirley’s quick style of recording, the sessions were finished in a month. The album was mixed and ready to go by May, although it wouldn’t be released until September. It’s not entirely clear why the release was delayed. Whether there was an unintentional delay or the band decided to hold off so that they could do a “classics” setlist for the festivals and North America. Regardless, the shows were booked even before the band started recording, and, in Summer 2003, Maiden hit the road again for their first full scale tour in 2 years.

Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead Tour (2003)

(https://tshirtslayer.com/files-tshirt/styles/shirtviewbottom/public/user-718/3f22692c542a4032dec00bd3c99882aa.jpg?itok=HQnBN93I)
As previously mentioned, the summer 2003 tour was actually announced before the band had even entered the studio. In late 2002, Maiden began announcing some European summer dates and before long a full scale tour was planned, including a run in North America. The European shows were also going to be largely in the festival circuit. Later on it was revealed that the tour would be a “greatest hits” setlist and was going to be about having fun. This marked the beginning of a pattern that still exists to this day: album tours are to be alternated with “greatest hits” tours. They started as being simple and brief but continued to grow as the were unsurprisingly extremely popular. The tour also served as a way to build hype for the new album. The band performed Wildest Dreams as part of the setlist and at every concert Bruce encouraged fans to record the song and post it on the internet on the condition that they buy the album when it comes out. Maiden’s attitude toward this was a stark contrast to the general industry opinion at the time, as Metallica were currently in the middle of a high profile lawsuit against Napster and most artists were on Metallica’s side. Maiden realized that it was a losing battle for the music industry and that the best course of action was to use it to their own advantage, which is exactly what they did for Dance of Death.

The rest of the setlist was a career retrospective that featured a healthy amount of material from each era. This time, every album was represented with the exception of Killers and The X Factor. The usual suspects were included, but there were also some songs that hadn’t been played in years. The big comeback was Revelations, which hadn’t been played since the World Slavery tour in 1985. Also included were 22 Acacia Avenue and Die With Your Boots On, two songs that were staples in the 80s but hadn’t been played since the early 90s. The Wicker Man and Brave New World were each played from the previous album and The Clansman was on the menu for the third tour in a row. The encore was one of the band’s more exciting, kicking off with Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter, which hadn’t been played since Bruce left the band. This was followed by Two Minutes to Midnight which wasn’t typically used as an encore tune. The closer was Run to the Hills, which was welcomed back especially in North America where it was not included on the Brave New World tour setlist. The setlist order was also very interesting. For the first time ever, The Number of the Beast opened the show. Hallowed Be Thy Name was also included very early on, even though both songs were traditionally saved for the end. This made the setlist more exciting and unpredictable.

The stage set was also a celebration of the band’s history, featuring a collage of various Eddie’s that even extended to the background (which shrunk the space normally used for drapes). The Ed Hunter walk on Eddie was finally retired and replaced with a regal Eddie in the style of Edward the Great, the compilation which was released a year earlier. The big Eddie (as well as the Eddie on the poster) was designed after the Visions of the Beast DVD and there was some brain action that brought back memories of the World Piece Tour 20 years earlier. It wasn’t an extremely elaborate stage set, especially compared to what followed, but it fit the theme of the tour perfectly.

As mentioned earlier, the tour started in Europe with the band hitting most of the major festivals including the very first Download festival at Castle Donington. It was the band’s third time headlining Donington after headlining Monsters of Rock there in 1988 and 1992. They also performed again at Rockslide and Graspop, both festivals that they hit on the Brave New World tour. Finally, they performed at Rock Am Ring, which was broadcast on TV and represents the best bootleg of the tour.

Rock Am Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHZcwBD6j6U

After finishing in Europe, the band headed across the Atlantic for a month of touring North America. They once again performed at amphitheaters of similar size to what they played on the Brave New World tour, although their popularity was beginning to grow already. Also similar to the Brave New World tour was that North America got a very impressive touring package. This time it was Motorhead and Dio, two legendary groups. On the other hand, North America also got a shorter set. 22 Acacia Avenue was left off the set entirely and several of the shows had three songs dropped due to venue curfews (Heaven Can Wait, Brave New World, and Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter). Regardless, it was a successful tour that was especially appealing to the nostalgic fans who were mostly interested in hearing the classics.


Also, as a side note, the Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead tour happened to be my first time seeing Iron Maiden. I was a month away from turning 7 and this show made me a Maiden fan for life. I still remember quite a bit of it very vividly, although I’m also lucky that the show was immortalized in one of the better bootlegs from the tour. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh8aqVDABHg


The tour wrapped up at the end of August and, a week later, Dance of Death was released.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Eddie's Archive + More (2002 - 03)
Post by: Mosh on November 27, 2017, 09:09:10 PM
Dance of Death Release (2003)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/MaidenWildest.jpeg)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Rainmaker_Single_Cover_I_%28UK%29.jpg)

Whether there was an unexpected delay or the band intentionally waited to release the album until after the tour, it seemed to work in their favor. Dance of Death was even more commercially successful than its predecessor, managing to hit top 20 in the US and #2 in their native England. The album was well received, although for the most part it wasn’t as highly regarded as Brave New World. 15 years and 3 albums later, it has earned a sort of “black sheep” status in the reunion era and is generally regarded as the weakest. Still, very few consider it a bad album and Paschendale and the title track in particular are commonly praised as some of this lineup’s finest works. It was clearly a more daring album than Brave New World and in retrospect serves as more of a transition to the proggier modern Maiden.

Two singles were released for the album, the first being Wildest Dreams which officially came out in September a couple weeks ahead of the album. The single is notable for having a DVD version in addition to the CD and 7 inch single formats. The DVD version featured the music video which was also another first for the band in that they weren’t in it! The video was completely done with computer graphics and includes CGI versions of the band members and, of course, Eddie. As a bonus, the DVD version included “rock mixes” of Blood Brothers and The Nomad (essentially the songs without the synths or orchestrations). The CD version of the single featured an “orchestral” version of Blood Brothers that basically beefed up the orchestration and one of their more unusual b-sides: Pass the Jam. Maiden were never known as a jam band, but somehow decided to record two jams for b-sides, the first of which appears here. Maiden had recorded noodly songs as jokes before, but never a full on jam like this.

The second jam was called More Tea Vicar (a jab at MTV) and was included on the next single: Rainmaker. The Rainmaker single came midway through the Dance of Death tour and also featured a DVD version with the music video. This time the music video was in a more traditional style with the band playing alongside female dancers and, of course, rain. The bonus tracks are pretty cool, being live clips from the Clive Burr MS Trust livestream at Brixton. In addition to More Tea Vicar, the CD version includes an “orchestral” version of Dance of Death, again with beefed up orchestrations. The covers to both the Wildest Dreams and Rainmaker singles are still images from the music videos, making them some of the more unimaginative Maiden covers.

Being such an experimental album, Dance of Death is not without its controversies. The most immediate of which was the infamous artwork that is not only commonly regarded as the worst Iron Maiden album cover, but among the worst Metal album covers ever. The story behind the artwork is that the artist, David Patchett, submitted the artwork as a rough draft with the CGI figures meant to give Maiden an idea of the direction he was taking. The band, namely Steve, thought it looked great the way it was and insisted that the draft be the final version of the cover. When the artwork was posted online ahead of the Give Me Ed tour, it was immediately panned. Many fans even thought it was a joke. There were many rumours about how the artwork came to be, such as the artist having submitted a more plain image with Eddie surrounded by monks (essentially the tour poster) and Rod adding the CGI figures himself. Even Pratchett was horrified and asked that his name be removed from the album credits. In his book, Bruce even calls the cover an embarrassment.

Another controversy was the mastering, which was incredibly brickwalled and distorted. The story of how the master came to be is remarkably similar to the way the cover came about. Kevin Shirley put together a very loud distorted master for Steve to play in his car which, after hearing it, Steve insisted on submitting as the final master of the album. While the sound of the album isn’t nearly as infamous as the cover, it’s another aspect that is heavily criticized by fans. Songs that rely heavily on dynamics, such as Journeyman and Paschendale, were heavily compressed to the point where the dynamics were almost nonexistent. A 5.1 mix was released on DVD audio that corrected these issues, but unfortunately it is long out of print and rare. It was also reissued on vinyl, along with all the albums from 1990 onwards, last year and that is also a significant improvement on the original.

Regardless of these controversies, the album was a success and the band were quite happy with it at the time. Maiden always releases a new album with remarkable confidence and this was no exception. One month after the release of the album, Maiden were on the road again with a new album, a new setlist, and their most elaborate stage show ever.

Dance of Death World Tour (2003 - 04)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fi/6/66/DanceofDeathWorldTour.jpg)
Taking place in the winter, the Dance of Death World Tour gave the band a chance to play indoor arenas and concert halls as opposed to the outdoor festivals that they had become used to playing in recent years. With this also came the ability to bring in a larger and more elaborate stage set. Dance of Death was one of Maiden’s more dramatic albums with several songs containing narratives and intense visuals, so the stage show would be appropriately theatrical. The inspiration for the set design came from the photoshoot for the Dance of Death album, which featured medieval images and girls in Venetian masks. Appropriately, the stage design was based around a medieval castle. Like the pyramids in 1985, Maiden were bordering on Heavy Metal cliche with this direction. This time it would be even worse considering they were not a young band anymore. However, they managed to pull it off in a way that was more impressive than cheesy. In addition to the castle design, there were two large grim reapers on both sides of the stage and the floor featured the same design as the floor of the album cover. Of course everything was punctuated by the obligatory appearances of Eddie, both the walk on and big Eddies were in the Reaper design of the Dance of Death artwork.

The show also featured its fair share of costumes and props. During Paschendale, the road crew would come out in military regalia to decorate the set with barbed wire and army barracks. Bruce was also in military costume for the song, complete with helmet. Bruce also donned costumes for Dance of Death. The opening was a “Phantom of the Opera” esque mask and cape combination and, after the instrumental section, Bruce returned as a mysterious hooded figure. Once again, it was the sort of thing that could’ve easily bordered on cheesy but Maiden managed to pull it off with grace. To add to the theatricality and drama of the show, there was also an unusually small amount of banter from Bruce. This was a stark contrast to the last few tours especially, where his rants had become increasingly vicious and braggadocious. Even in the 80s, the Bruce rants were a hallmark of any Maiden show. But on the Dance of Death tour, all that was put aside to create a more immersive experience. The rants were instead replaced with newly recorded intro tapes and dark dramatic lighting. Dance of Death was preceded by a recording of a line from Hamlet and before Paschendale was a recording of war sound effects and Bruce Dickinson reciting the Wilfred Owen poem Anthem For Doomed Youth. The lack of stage banter was a surprising move, but it was also a welcome one for many who were unhappy with Bruce’s rants on the Brave New World tour.

Despite all the attempts at making such a theatrical performance, the setlist was actually not that much different than a typical Maiden set, in fact it really stands as one of their more generic setlists with less surprises than the previous three tours. None of the rarities from Give Me Ed carried over and many of the songs that had been played on two or even all three of the previous tours remained in the set. That’s not to say it was a bad set, though. As usual, the new album dominated with the standard 6 songs. It was a smaller percentage of the album played compared to Brave New World and Virtual XI (with 7 out of 8 and 8 out of 10 respectively) but considering the lengths of the songs it took up a decent amount of setlist time. As previously mentioned, Dance of Death and Paschendale were highlights of the show and provided the most theatrical portions. Predictably, the concert opened with Wildest Dreams which had already received a test run during the Give Me Ed tour. Rainmaker and No More Lies were also expected choices, with the former being the second track on the album as well as the second single and the latter being the big Harris track. The real surprise from the album and perhaps the most memorable part of the show was Journeyman. In another daring move, the band decided to begin the encore with it instead of the more typical choice of a fan favorite like Number of the Beast or a crowd pleaser like Bring Your Daughter To the Slaughter.  They also performed it entirely unplugged and the three guitarists were sitting down. It was one of the most unique moments in the band’s history and a great way to start off the encore. The live version of Journeyman also featured a guitar solo from Adrian.

The rest of the setlist brought attention to every era with heavy emphasis on the hits. The usual suspects were all present: Wrathchild, The Trooper, The Number of the Beast, Fear of the Dark, and so on. The only two songs that hadn’t yet been performed by this lineup, other than the new songs, were Can I Play With Madness and Lord of the Flies. The former hadn’t been played since the Fear of the Dark tour, although it eventually became a bit of a staple in the reunion era. The latter seemed to indicate that the band were still interested in promoting the Blaze years, although of course it actually ended up being the last song from the Blaze era to ever be played live (of course this may change but at this point it’s unlikely).

The tour itself wasn’t nearly as extensive as the Brave New World tour and lasted less than 4 months (although to be fair they did tour through the summer). Most of the time was spent touring arenas in Europe and there was even a short UK tour. The band then made their usual South America run although this time it was not part of any festivals. As usual, some of it was broadcast on TV and their performance in Argentina serves as the only professional recording that exists outside of the official release.

Argentina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R_nPRSjZKw

After South America, the band did what is still their shortest North America run ever. There were two dates in Quebec, a four night run in New York (but night four was cancelled), and two nights in Los Angeles. The band probably decided that it would be economically risky to make another run in the US in such a short time frame and since it was still Winter they wouldn’t be able to perform at their usual amphitheaters anyway. After the US, the band wrapped up at the beginning of February with a short run of shows in Japan. It was by far one of their most unusual touring schedules, although it was also one of their more unusual albums and stage shows.

Following the end of the tour, the band released an EP as a thank you to the fans:

No More Lies (2004)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/Nomorlies.jpg)
Served in a cardboard box with a booklet and wristband, No More Lies is technically an EP but there isn’t much more content than a typical CD single. The booklet contains a brief thank you note and some pictures from the recently completed Dance of Death tour. Among the bonus tracks is another orchestral version, this time of Paschendale, and a pretty funny take of Age of Innocence with Nicko McBrain on vocals. I’ll leave it at that and let you all hear for yourself. The most interesting bonus track though is the original electric version of Journeyman. The version that the band originally recorded before deciding it didn’t fit. The CD also had an enhanced portion that, after being inserted into a computer, included a video for No More Lies. The video is a live rendition of the song and served as a preview for their upcoming live release which was unfortunately delayed for 2 years...

Death On the Road (Recorded 2004, released 2006)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Death_on_the_Road.jpg)
Like Rock in Rio, the official live release for the tour went through many delays, although Death on the Road suffered a much longer delay. It’s not clear why the DVD took so long, but they made up for it this time by packing it with so many bonus features. The video was once again directed by Steve Harris and recorded in Dortmund, Germany. Unfortunately, like Rock in Rio, it suffers from the same fast paced editing problems that are a signature of Steve’s. This time they’re even worse though and the black and white shots that are mixed in don’t help. Not only is it distracting to watch, but it takes away from the theatrical vibe of the show, although I’m sure there are fans who disagree.

The bonus disc comes with a lot of special goodies, including the previously mentioned documentary that covers both the recording of Dance of Death and the tour. It is a fascinating watch as it’s really the first time the fans get a glimpse at the band’s creative process and the behind the scenes of their touring crew. There was the Behind the Iron Curtain documentary, but that never went into how the stage set comes together. The Death on the Road documentary really focuses on that more technical side. Also included on the bonus disc are interviews with the fans and road crew, videos for Wildest Dreams and Rainmaker, and the Dance of Death press video.

The artwork shows a return to the more cartoony style of Maiden covers and is arguably better than the Dance of Death cover. It was painted by Melvyn Grant, who by that time was quickly becoming the second most prolific Maiden artist since Derek Riggs. Death on the Road definitely serves as one of his better works for Maiden too, in my opinion.

I would say this DVD is actually mostly essential for the bonus features. The live performance itself is not one of Maiden’s essential recordings, which is too bad because the stage show is pretty spectacular. The performance itself is a bit lackluster (Bruce also supposedly caught a cold around the time of filming), the setlist is not that exciting apart from the Dance of Death songs, and the editing can make it hard to watch. I’d recommend it only if you really like the Dance of Death album and want to check out the live clips of the songs, otherwise it is one of the least essential live releases.

By Summer 2004, just over a year after entering the studio, Maiden were on another break. The Dance of Death cycle was not nearly as long or hyped up as the Brave New World cycle, and it kind of stands as one of the less significant parts of the band’s history. That being said, it is actually one of the most important. Dance of Death saw the band really flexing their creative muscles that helped to lead to one of their most acclaimed albums. The credibility of the lineup also continued to grow with yet another album and a tour dedicated to new material. By the next tour, the new lineup would really be solidified and the momentum would continue to build as more fans come to consider it as the definitive Maiden lineup.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: PowerSlave on November 28, 2017, 01:03:37 AM
Amazing write-up as usual! My only point of contention would be not mentioning Prodigal Son as the band's first ballad.

I also had never heard the story about how the album got brick walled. I had been told that it was a record company decision, but after reading the explanation in your write-up, I think yours makes more sense.

And no need to apologise for the delay. Your write-ups are always well worth the wait!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 28, 2017, 02:34:47 AM
Welcome back Mosh, with yet another excellent and comprensive writeup :tup

But forgive me to point out a very forgiveable mixup: "In usual Maiden fashion, the group opted not to take the safe route of retreading the accessible straightforward material on Dance of Death"... you clearly meant Brave New World.

Now, some thoughts about it all:

- DANCE OF DEATH

I like it. Actually, I love it. No, I'm not gonna pretend that Gates of Tomorrow and New Frontier are better than half the '80s discography, but as a whole piece of work, I immensely enjoyed the whole album. As Mosh said, they flexed their creative muscles and went into unexpected territories - I view it as Brave New World being them learnng to walk again, and Dance of Death them learning to fly again.

Maybe it's just nostalgia of that time, 2003 was a nice summer for me, I was young and traveling often abroad and while Metallica made their most atrocious album ever, Maiden proved themselves worth of the throne they reclaimed with Brave New World. For all the complaints about Maiden's repetitive chorus, can you name me another album where, out of the two longest songs, one has a chorus repeated only twice and the other doesn't even have a chorus?

Those are the clearly standout of the album, which has many other "inusual" songs: the acoustic Journeyman, the uncommonly heavy Montsegur (my, what a badass song), the concise Rainmaker (no slow intros, no prolonged choruses, just a fast and short kickass song like they used to do in the '80s), all marvellous songs that are enough to save the album. And I still like the rest, there's not a truly bad song on here, just songs that just don't match up to the insanely highs the band achieved.

And the cover, yes, it's bad. By now it no longer bothers me, but back in the day what a mess it was. I still remember on the Maiden forum someone having as user title "Worst. Cover. Ever." and then changing it after the release of the album to "Best. Album. Ever"  :lol

- GIMME THE 'ED TOUR

Probably their most creative, fun and careless tour ever. Sadly, it's one of the only two Maiden tours I haven't seen since I started following them in 1998. I don't regret the motivation - going to Germany instead to attend the Blind Guardian Open Air, at the time I basically cyber-lived on the Blind Guardian forum so that was a wonderful experience to meet everyone.

At the very, very least, I saw a live stream as it was happening of the Rock Am Ring show. This tour is also worth of mentioning as starting a by now classic and well known tradition: using Doctor Doctor as the "buffer song" between the house music and the actual start of the show. From now on, every tour would open with Doctor Doctor, becoming quickly a moment of fun anticipation among fans in preparation for the imminent start of the show.

I like to think that the setlist was thrown together as they were writing it, putting in whatever they wanted to play. Starting with 666, playing Hallowed so early, finally bringing back my dearly beloved Revelations (missed Bruce singing it solo, missed Maiden doing it this time, damn!), doing so many rare songs... even the encore really feels like made up on the spot, like "What if we play Bring your daughter? Cool! and then? well, with so many rare songs played, I guess we can do 23:58... yeah, right. And to finish off? Let's go for Run to the Hills and be done with it"  :biggrin:

The show was fun to watch from my computer, I can only imagine what it was like to be there. Well, I know, I've been to 12 Maiden shows, but to live it in full would have been glorious.

- DANCE OF DEATH "PROPER" TOUR

This one I've seen it, and I quite enjoyed it. All in all I think the setlist was fine, sure the staples were there but bringing back Can I Play with Madness and Lord of the Flies and rotating between the summer set was cool, and also Journeyman was an epic encore opener.

I get the "Welcome to the dance of death" thing, but I always found anticlimatic to play the title track and centerpiece of the album, it should have swapped places with No More Lies.

One minor trivia about Paschendale - I remember reading how on the first date (or first dates?) of the tour the roadie were placing the props on top of Nicko in their normal work gear, and Rod Smallwood thought it was an eyesore, and deciding to get uniforms for everyone.



To sum op on the whole thing: while I get that not all songs on Dance of Death are a 10/10, I always loved the album and always will, Bruce himself is too harsh on the album - but at least he acknowledges what a massive masterpiece Paschendale is. This album is full of daring songs with the highs far outweighing the lows, and I will always hail is as one of my favorite Maiden albums. Dancing with death was never so awesome :metal

(oh, and I totally encourage to listen the Nicko version of Age of Innocence  :lol nothing more to add to the b-sides, I've heard them all, some were wacky and some unnecessary but it's the last time we got from Maiden truly leftover and additional material)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: The Curious Orange on November 28, 2017, 03:35:02 AM
There's no getting away from that cover. It's the first thing you see about the album, before you've heard any music from it, and it's the thing that creates the lasting impression of the album. I cannot to this day see how anyone, even 'Arry, approved that in that state. One of the worst album covers ever.

To me, the music is a mixed bag. Wildest Dreams is solid, Rainmaker is one of my favourite Maiden tunes, and Montsigur is a blast. Paschendale is amazing, and Dance of Death pretty good. Journeyman is interesting, and No More Lies is a typical Harris plodder. Sure, the sound is a little "closed", but I've never had a problem with brickwalling - there are worst albums out there.

But the other tracks are second-rate filler. And New Frontier is horrible, easily the worst track Maiden has done.

So to me, it's an album of 2 halves, there's good and bad here. Which is why, to me, it's the weakest of the reunion era albums.

Death on the Road is actually one of their better live releases, I love it. Great setlist and great performances.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Polarbear on November 28, 2017, 03:39:06 AM
Dance of Death took a while to click with me, but I love it now!

Out of the reunion era albums, I prefer it over The Book of Souls and Final Frontier.

But yeah, the cover "artwork" is ridiculous! :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Grappler on November 28, 2017, 06:20:42 AM
Awesome write ups!   I go back and forth on Dance of Death - sometimes I love it, sometimes, I don't.  It's my least favorite of the reunion albums for a few reasons, but then I love some of the songs on it. 

I saw Maiden for the second time on the Give Me Ed American tour.  My car had broken down the night before on the highway, so I got a ride to the show with my neighbors, who were partying hard that night.  Seeing Motorhead and Dio for the first times were cool, though my all-out love for Dio didn't happen until a few years later after discovering his era of Black Sabbath.  At least I got to hear him sing his classics that we all know.

Maiden were amazing.  I loved that the show started with Number of the Beast, with the hugh light-up 6's.  It was a really fun setlist and they kept Die With Your Boots On and Revelations, so I got to see a few rarer songs played.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Mladen on November 28, 2017, 10:43:17 AM
Mosh strikes again! Welcome back, by the way.  :tup

This album is marvelous. Sure, there are some clear highlights like Paschendale, Journeyman and the title track, but the reason I love this album so much is that some of my favorites are actually the lesser popular, often ignored tracks. Wildest dreams is their best happy song and never fails to put me in the right mood. Gates of tomorrow features a gorgeous chorus and some of the most innovative singing on the verses. Age of innocence is brilliant - there's an another great major key chorus, some of Dave's most beautiful guitar playing and a bad-ass bridge that follows the solos. And yeah, the version with Nico is hilarious.  :lol

A friend of mine I lost touch with borrowed my Death on the road DVD many years ago and I haven't seen it since. I'm thinking of picking it up again if I find it for a decent price. The concert is fine, but what's especially worth the money are the documentaries, particularly the one with the fans.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Stadler on November 28, 2017, 11:41:33 AM
To me, Dance of Death is LIGHT YEARS ahead of Brave New World, and is now my second favorite reunion era release.

Book of Souls
Dance of Death
The Final Frontier
A Matter of Life And Death
Brave New World
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on November 28, 2017, 12:10:58 PM
Another great write up Mosh! Keep 'em coming!

Honestly, there's not a whole lot I remember from this album, other than that Paschendale is killer, and No More Lies is one of the most awful songs ever - that chorus. UGH! I wanna slap 'Arry six ways to Sunday to learn how to write a proper chorus without all the annoying repetition.

Not only that, but that absolutely horrendous cover. Still blows my mind that anyone could've actually said "That's IT! I want the cover exactly like this - no more 'fixing' it!" Would love to see what the cover art would have looked like had it been properly finished. Mosh, have any of the guys other than Bruce ever commented on the artwork, either back then (when it was released) or more recently?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Stadler on November 28, 2017, 12:24:29 PM
I'm indifferent on the cover (if cover art affected my love of the music, I'd never have listened to half the bands I like) but I do like the interior art.  I like the blurred images, like ghosts, around the band, and I like the last picture, almost porcelain doll-like or Mardi Gras like.   
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 28, 2017, 12:34:11 PM
Glad to see some more appreciation for Dance of Death! and yes, the booklet was kinda nice.

The cover mess up is a shame because as a basic concept "Grim Reaper Eddie at a dance of death" is awesome. The execution was baffling. And I don't remember from back in the day any comments from the band members, they probably hid themselves behind a PR "We liked the weird and eerie feel of the cover as it was".

Back in the previous discussion, someone mentioned how a Bruce rant was his best ever. I respectfully disagree. The one he used at Rock Am Ring to introduce The Clansman was his best for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhc-7uXR78M

 :metal :metal :metal

And also the shoutouts to the crowd to pump them up during the song were great!

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Architeuthis on November 28, 2017, 12:34:39 PM
Mosh, that was a fantastic write-up!  Dance of Death was the album that got me hooked on Maiden and is still my favorite of theirs to this day. I'll have to disagree with Bruce Dickinson when he said Paschendale was the only song that is in the same league as Brave New World. While I really like the BNW album, I think Dance of Death slays it in every way! 
 I actually really enjoy Death on the Road concert dvd, more than most of their other releases. The only flaw is the way Bruce sang the Chorus to Rainmaker, not near as good as the studio version.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: devieira73 on November 28, 2017, 12:55:16 PM
The write-ups are always so good (as a lot of the commentaries here), that it's so difficult to add something... but, the first time I listened to Montsegur, I was like: HOLY SHIT, THIS BAND HAD NEVER SOUNDED SO HEAVY LIKE THIS SINCE POWERSLAVE!!!:metal :metal :metal
I LOVE this song! (Thanks Janick, again :tup)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: PowerSlave on November 28, 2017, 01:00:07 PM
I'm someone that likes the songs that most others don't like on this album. This is my second favorite album of the reunion era.

However, I've never really cared for the title track. I don't skip it when I listen to the album, but I don't look forward to hearing it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: TAC on November 28, 2017, 01:04:42 PM
First, on the Give Me 'Ed Tour, I did not see it, because believe it or not, I wasn't even aware they were touring. I had long stopped listening to the radio, and I wasn't really active on the internet. With two very small kids, I just wasn't paying attention, apparently.


My favorite thing about Dance Of Death was simply the fact that they actually recorded a follow up to Brave New World. When BNW was released, I guess I was a little apprehensive about it, because I was not interested in a one off reunion album.

When I first saw the cover, I liked it. I guess I never rally examined it for all that's there. Those days are long gone for me, but I loved the concept and the color scheme. And as Stadler said, the pictures with the band members are spectacular. I was very impressed. I actually think it's the best photo shoot the band has ever done.
As far as the music goes, to me, it felt much more of a classic style Maiden. This album reminds me a lot of Fear Of the dark where 2/3 to 3/4 of the album is excellent, but the album is truly 3 or so songs too long.

So many great tunes. I love the title track. The three guitars in the instrumental sections are fantastic. And Monteseguer is one of my all time favorite "short" Maiden tracks.

Also, it seems that Adrian lifted the pre chorus in New Frontier from Mchael Kiske's New Horizons.




Death On the Road is my favorite Maiden live album. The live version of Dance Of Death and Paschendale are amazing. It also has my favorite version of Brave New World. I just feel like the crowd is mixed in perfectly, and their energy feels genuine. It also had my favorite version of Fear Of The Dark. I just love the feel of it. A lot was made of Bruce's performance on it, and frankly, I have no idea what anyone was talking about. It's a live album. If people thought this was rough, wait till they hear The Book Of Souls: Live Chapter.
The DVD has the best footage of the band that I have ever seen. EVER. The editing basically renders it unwatcheable. I usually put it on when I have a day off and I'm doing stuff around the house. that way, I can listen to it, while poking my head in to catch a couple of minutes at a time.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: kaos2900 on November 28, 2017, 01:53:18 PM
Every time I listen to Dance of Death I like it way more than I'm expecting. The production is a shame but most of the songs are solid. I'd rank the reunion albums as follows

A Matter of Life and Death
Brave New World
Book of Souls
Dance of Death
The Final Frontier
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Polarbear on November 28, 2017, 02:20:32 PM
All of the reunion albums are fantastic, great or at the very least good! But here's how I'd rank them..

1. Brave New World
2. A Matter of Life and Death
3. Dance of Death
4. Book of Souls
5. The Final frontier
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: devieira73 on November 28, 2017, 03:21:29 PM
I would recommend the hdtracks version of this album. The remastering makes a lot of difference for better.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: nobloodyname on November 29, 2017, 08:12:21 AM
Okay, okay. Another ranking!

1 Brave New World
2 The Book of Souls
3 Dance of Death
4 The Final Frontier
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
∞ A Matter of Life and Death
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: MirrorMask on November 29, 2017, 08:30:30 AM
I can't honestly rank the reunion albums, they're all so consistent.  Maybe all things considered I had enjoyed the least The Final Frontier, and I was very positively impressed by and attached to Dance of Death and The Book of Souls, but this doesn't mean the remaining two are average.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: cramx3 on November 29, 2017, 01:39:34 PM
And we've finally come to the point when I became a fan, which was after DoD's release but before DotR.  I was simply blown away by songs Rainmaker and Dance of Death when I first heard this album, which my college roommate had bought and we listened together for the first time driving back to college after spring break.  We kept going back to those two songs and had one hell of a fun drive back to school. 

Kind of bummed I missed seeing IM at those few NYC shows, they played at Hammerstein Ballroom which is sooo much smaller than any other venue I've seen them before.  Would have been so cool and I've seen so many other concerts there before.  And speaking of missed opportunities, I was actually REALLY REALLY close to seeing the Give Me Ed Till Im Dead tour.  They played at the local Amphitheater in my town and I had bought a ticket pack which included 6 (I think?) lawn seats to any of like 10 different shows that summer.  It was the summer before I left for college.  I ended up going to Sammy Hagar/Lynyrd Skynyrd and Def Leppard instead, but was strongly considering that show, not because I was into IM (I didn't really know their music much besides RttH and TNotB at that point), but because it was such a cool line up of bands. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Mosh on November 30, 2017, 11:43:49 PM
Amazing write-up as usual! My only point of contention would be not mentioning Prodigal Son as the band's first ballad.
I did mention it earlier as a song with prominent acoustic guitars, as well as Wasting Love. Both songs could be considered ballads but they still sorta went through the "Maiden filter". Journeyman went through the Maiden filter (see the electric version) and then they ultimately decided to take a more unexpected approach.

Not only that, but that absolutely horrendous cover. Still blows my mind that anyone could've actually said "That's IT! I want the cover exactly like this - no more 'fixing' it!" Would love to see what the cover art would have looked like had it been properly finished. Mosh, have any of the guys other than Bruce ever commented on the artwork, either back then (when it was released) or more recently?

Bruce actually defended the cover back when they were doing initial promotion. The thing with Maiden though is that they're all pretty passive. Adrian is opinionated about the music but doesn't seem to care much about the visual side of things. Nicko will only say positive things about the band and Steve will stand by any band decision. Janick and Dave don't really say anything.  Bruce is the only one who will give a critical account of the past. It's when he's talking about the current state of the band that you're going to want to be skeptical.

To that end, it seems like Bruce is the only one other than Steve and Rod who takes an active interest in things like album covers. It makes sense, being a lyricist he is a visual guy. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the band just goes with whatever Steve approves of.

When I first saw the cover, I liked it. I guess I never rally examined it for all that's there. Those days are long gone for me, but I loved the concept and the color scheme. And as Stadler said, the pictures with the band members are spectacular. I was very impressed. I actually think it's the best photo shoot the band has ever done.

The booklet and back cover are awesome. I would definitely agree it's their best photo shoot and I would take it further by saying that the back cover is possibly the best picture of the band. It's definitely the best reunion era photo. Rush tends to be the band that most people point to for having a nice matured image (and deservedly so) but Maiden are definitely up there too.

I do like the whole vibe and concept of Dance of Death. It is one of their more unique and interesting concepts for an album. Even the cover concept isn't bad, it's just a totally failed execution. Just Eddie with the monks would've been fine. I will say it's a more interesting theme than Brave New World though.

Kind of bummed I missed seeing IM at those few NYC shows, they played at Hammerstein Ballroom which is sooo much smaller than any other venue I've seen them before.  Would have been so cool and I've seen so many other concerts there before. 

I remember being bummed that they didn't come to Denver on the Dance of Death tour (it wasn't until much later that I learned that they pretty much skipped over the US completely). They posted pictures of the stage and the No More Lies video on the website and I thought the stage was so cool.
---------

I tend to agree with the general consensus on Dance of Death, although my opinion on it has also evolved from somewhat indifferent to gushing love to somewhere in the middle. As I mentioned earlier, Give Me Ed was my introduction to Maiden. My dad actually showed me Number of the Beast a few weeks earlier and that in addition to the concert had me instantly hooked. I loved the imagery in their album artwork, it was like something out of a comic book or computer game (I actually thought Number of the Beast was a computer game like Doom or Diablo).

Anyway, the concert was a magical experience. There are moments that I still remember vividly even though it was almost 15 years ago. First is the fact that they opened with Number of the Beast, as I knew that song pretty well by the time the concert happened. I also remember thinking the light up sixes were very cool, although they look a little cheap in retrospect. I also remember both Eddie appearances. I can't remember if I was expecting Eddie to make a live appearance, but I thought it was awesome. That was all I talked about in the days following the concert. I also remember how they closed with Run To the Hills, probably the only other song I really recognized. The drapes were also cool, it was fun seeing what would come up next. The Run to the Hills one stuck out to me in particular, what's cooler than Eddie fighting the devil? If it's not already obvious, the visual element of Maiden was probably the most important aspect for 7 year old Mosh.

The album came out a few weeks later. I remember my dad picking me up from school one day and he had it in the car with him, although it was still in the shrink wrap. I liked the cover, I didn't think anything of the CGI figures, it was just exciting that there was a new Iron Maiden album cover. We got home and listened to it on his computer. I remember enjoying it but it was also way too long, much more than I could handle at that time. As a result, growing up I was mostly only really familiar with the first half of the album. I tended to tune out or turn it off altogether after Dance of Death. Even back then I didn't like Gates of Tomorrow and I still don't. I enjoyed both Brave New World and Dance of Death but they were long, a little heavier and more raw than what I usually liked, and, believe it or not, I wasn't really a fan of the older sounding Bruce. I thought he lacked the grit and character of his 80s performances. I still feel that way to a certain degree, although I tend to think he improved in other areas that made the late 90s and early 00s his peak as a vocalist.

As I got older, I discovered fan message boards (specifically the official Iron Maiden forum) and it was obvious that not only was their recent work very popular, many fans considered even then to be among their best work. I also remember the general consensus seemed to be that each reunion album was better than the rest (AMOLAD had been out by then but I hadn't heard it yet, that's another story). So Dance of Death wasn't quite as unpopular as it is now, I also think the fact that their reunion output has been so consistently good that it makes Dance of Death look a little weaker in retrospect. Anyway, the high popularity of the recent stuff made me revisit those albums and, between Dance of Death and Brave New World, Dance of Death actually stuck out the most. The back half of the album was pretty much all new to me and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I really liked the acoustic Journeyman and how unique in the Maiden catalog it was (by now I could appreciate more than the surface level stuff), I thought Face In the Sand and Age of Innocence were both great rockers that had a little more bite than the 80s material. I also liked (and still like to this day) New Frontier. But then there was Paschendale. That song totally blew me away and was my favorite Maiden song for a few years. It's still great although I think I overplayed it to the point where I can't really enjoy it as much as I used to.

Nowadays I've scaled back my love for Dance of Death. It's still a very good album and since I don't listen to  it much, it can be fun to go back to and revisit some of the more obscure songs, but there's also a lot of stuff that doesn't work. The problem with the album to me is that a lot of the more experimental stuff hasn't been fully developed yet and the more straightforward stuff (Wildest Dreams and Gates of Tomorrow especially) feel uninspired and unexciting compared to the rockers on Brave New World. I still appreciate how different Journeyman is but I think when the novelty of an all acoustic song wears off it becomes apparent that it's not a very strong song. Maiden don't do acoustic for a reason. They also made better use of acoustic guitars on later ballads (Out of the Shadows and Coming Home). No More Lies is guilty of all the things people typically complain about with modern Maiden: overly long, repetitive chorus, uninspired riffing in the verses. There's a good song in there somewhere but it's also severely lacking.

That being said, when the album is good it's fantastic. Rainmaker and Montsegur are still some of their best short rockers. I love the leads and solo in Rainmaker, it's some of Dave's best work. Montsegur is also one of Janick's best contributions and to this day one of the best short rockers of the reunion era. Total crime that it was never played live and it would be on my shortlist of songs that haven't been played live that should be played live. I still really like Face in the Sand, great chorus and some devastating riffs. Then there's Paschendale and Dance of Death, not much left to be said about those two.

TAC makes a good point about it being impressive that they even made a followup to Brave New World. If nothing else, Dance of Death validated the lineup. This was not going to be a one shot deal and the reunion really didn't stop any of the creative momentum they had been quietly building through the 90s.






Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 01, 2017, 03:51:23 AM
I agree on the higlights (Really, why Montsegur wasn't played live, damn) and the relative lows - Wildest Dreams pales in comparison to The Wicker Man, and also the lyrics were kinda thrown together, on this album Steve Harris really abused the use of the word "just" (look at Wildest Dreams and No More Lies' lyrics).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: DTA on December 01, 2017, 04:09:37 AM
This is probably the one reunion album I’ve listened to the least so I’ve been playing it at work a bit lately. I think aside from Gates of Tomorrow and Wikdest Dreams that it is an incredibly solid album with two of their strongest choruses ever in Age Of Innocence and Montsegur. AoE is to me one of their most underrated songs along with Run Silent Run Deep.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Stadler on December 01, 2017, 07:22:27 AM
To that end, it seems like Bruce is the only one other than Steve and Rod who takes an active interest in things like album covers. It makes sense, being a lyricist he is a visual guy. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the band just goes with whatever Steve approves of.

"Theater of the mind".    He must've said that 50 times if he said it once in his book. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: cramx3 on December 01, 2017, 07:40:58 AM
I really wasn't a huge fan of Wildest Dreams either until I saw it live, I thought it worked really well in the live setting in a future tour when IM brought it back. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: devieira73 on December 01, 2017, 07:45:13 AM
I agree on the higlights (Really, why Montsegur wasn't played live, damn)
I guess it’s because it seems extremely difficult to Bruce to sing it live. Apart the instrumental section, Bruce don’t catch a breath on the rest of the song, like almost non stop singing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Virtual XI (1998)
Post by: El Barto on December 01, 2017, 08:21:44 AM
This album has grown on me over the years, and it's not even in the bottom three for me (or maybe tied for third worst).   I like this a WHOLE lot more than TXF.  It is a shade repetitive at times, but I like Angel... and I like the album closer.  I would not at all call Futureal a Maiden "classic".   
Perhaps the first time those words have ever been used in that order.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: nobloodyname on December 01, 2017, 08:50:04 AM
To that end, it seems like Bruce is the only one other than Steve and Rod who takes an active interest in things like album covers. It makes sense, being a lyricist he is a visual guy. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the band just goes with whatever Steve approves of.

"Theater of the mind".    He must've said that 50 times if he said it once in his book.

"Go figure."
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Mosh on December 01, 2017, 08:54:16 AM
I wasn’t impressed with Wildest Dreams live. It wasn’t a great opener and it was kinda boring on TFF 2011. Again, Monstegur would’ve been a much better opener.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: cramx3 on December 01, 2017, 08:54:56 AM
To that end, it seems like Bruce is the only one other than Steve and Rod who takes an active interest in things like album covers. It makes sense, being a lyricist he is a visual guy. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the band just goes with whatever Steve approves of.

"Theater of the mind".    He must've said that 50 times if he said it once in his book.

"Go figure."

 :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: stargazer18 on December 02, 2017, 06:06:51 AM
This is the weakest of the reunion era albums for me in terms of total minutes of music I enjoy. I love the first side up to the title track which is hit and miss for me. I like some parts but not the song as a whole. The songs on the second side, with the exception of Paschendale and Journeyman come across as uninspired. I find the whole disc listenable but tend to loose focus on the second half.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Brave New World Tour/Rock In Rio (2000-01)
Post by: stargazer18 on December 02, 2017, 06:19:42 AM
I had been a fan of the band since the mid 80's, but this is the first tour that I seen them live. It was at the Blossom Music Center in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Halford and Queensryche were the openers with Halford playing first. Which is really a shame, because they played a far superior set than QR. In fact, I remember there being some pleasant surprises in Halford's set at the time, but I can't remember exactly what they were. I think that he played a song or two from Sad Wings of Destiny, though. (Maybe Tyrant?)

I remember Maiden being absolutely brilliant that night. Nicko was very impressive. There was a slight hickup in the middle of Hallowed Be Thy Name, and he really held the band together through the mistake, and got them back on track. I also remember Bruce bitching about the state of music in his rant. If I remember right, he made fun of Nirvana which went over really well with the crowd.

This was my first show since last seeing them on the tour for No Prayer for the Dying. I was really looking forward to it as I had not seen either QR or JP/Halford in concert. I already had the new Halford album and loved it (still do). The traffic was horrendous on the way out and I remember seeing license plates from states all around Ohio and thought man, it's great to see Maiden gaining back their popularity with so many people willing to travel out of state to see them. Later I learned that Blossom was the only place they played in this part of the Midwest - the nearest other shows being Chicago or Philadelphia or some other place way far away. So much for that theory!

Maiden were on fire this night and since I love Brave New World I thought it was a great show.

Set List:
Arthur's Farewell
The Wicker Man
Ghost of the Navigator
Brave New World
Wrathchild
2 Minutes to Midnight
Blood Brothers
Sign of the Cross
The Mercenary
The Trooper
Dream of Mirrors
The Clansman
The Evil That Men Do
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden

Encore:
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Sanctuary
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Mosh on December 03, 2017, 09:56:41 AM
Watched Death on the Road last night, I still have to say it's the worst of the reunion era videos (I've yet to watch The Book of Souls Live Chapter but I doubt it's much worse). The editing makes it unwatchable and the performance isn't great. Bruce sounds tired, bungles a lot of lyrics, and there are some iffy moments from the band too (the end of Paschendale).

It's a shame though because it's probably their best stage show ever and probably the best source material for a live DVD. The fast editing makes it hard to appreciate the stage unfortunately.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: TAC on December 03, 2017, 01:19:23 PM
It's a shame though because it's probably their best stage show ever and probably the best source material for a live DVD. 

I totally agree.

I have zero issue with the performances.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: cramx3 on December 04, 2017, 08:44:13 AM
It's a tough comparison going against the Reunion era DVDs.  They are all so good IMO or special in their own ways.  DotR definitely suffers from the editting, but the performance and theatrics of that show really help make it still a solid DVD IMO.  It is the worst of the era, but I still enjoy it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Architeuthis on December 04, 2017, 11:05:18 AM
The DVD editing on En Vivo is all over the place, camera angles changing all to quickly. It takes away from the concert feel from what was a fantastic show!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Mosh on December 04, 2017, 12:10:51 PM
I never spent much time with En Vivo. I thought the TFF 2011 setlist was kinda disappointing compared to 2010 and I already experienced the stage show in person so I only really checked it out for the new songs. I think to this day I’ve watched the video once and listened to the album on the new vinyl release this year. But I remember thinking it was among the better live releases from this era, although there’s a disappointingly small number of them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: cramx3 on December 04, 2017, 12:15:37 PM
En Vivo is probably their best video in terms of quality.  TFF is my least favorite reunion era album so to me, the setlist is a bit lacking, but it's visually probably the best.  The large stadium and crazy crowd, enjoyable camera views (IMO), and just great clarity on blu-ray.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: ProfessorPeart on December 04, 2017, 02:12:51 PM
I've realized that I never really gave Death On The Road a real chance from an audio perspective. I recall the video causing a migraine and my eyes to bleed out from the frenetic editing. I suppose that I should revisit it as I do have the CD's. I sort of wrote the whole thing off due to the video.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: El Barto on December 04, 2017, 02:20:09 PM
Yeah, it's a shame about the editing because DotR should be their best effort. Great setlist and great stage production. I also like the darkness of the venue they played, as opposed to the stadiums we normally get. Arry's videos are just too hard to watch.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Dance of Death (2003 - 04)
Post by: Mosh on December 15, 2017, 10:09:39 PM
The Early Days (2004)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Iron_Maiden_-_The_Early_Days.jpg)
While I’ve already discussed various portions of this DVD in earlier relevant entries, I’ll mention it again for continuity’s sake and because it truly is one of the essential (perhaps the most essential) video releases by the band.

The Early Days was released during the second half of 2004 while the band were on a break and followed the same principle of an archival release between studio albums. However, being a standard priced DVD and not an expensive mail order box set, it was much more accessible to a wider audience. As the title and cover imply, this set covers the band’s history up to the end of the World Piece Tour in 1983. There’s a wide range of material, from concert footage to TV performances, interviews, and photos.

The first disc is the main event and contains excerpts from three concerts. The first is Live At the Rainbow, which was the band’s very first video release. It is pretty much a direct transfer of the VHS, although it’s a very good video quality. The second is a video excerpt of Beast Over Hammersmith, the same concert that was released as a part of Eddie’s Archive. The original intention was to release the entire concert as a live video back in 1982, but the footage came out too dark and was deemed unusable. After fixing up the footage and restoring it, they finally partially released it on this DVD. Personally I don’t think the darkness was a problem, in fact it kind of adds to the mood of the show. The final clip is the band’s final performance on the World Piece Tour at the Dortmund Rock Pop festival. This performance was broadcast on German TV and, once again, it’s pretty much a direct transfer of that broadcast although the video quality is much better than the bootlegs of the broadcast that have circulated.

All three videos are essential viewings for Maiden fans and are special in their own way. Live At the Rainbow is the definitive footage of the Di’Anno era and Beast Over Hammersmith has all of the songs from The Number of the Beast that were performed live (including Total Eclipse) as well as the only officially released footage of Murders in the Rue Morgue. Dortmund doesn’t really have anything that unique, although it shows the golden era lineup in peak performance. The only real downside is that none of these are complete performances. While it was exciting to finally have all this footage on DVD, complete performances would’ve been amazing. Especially for Live At the Rainbow and Dortmund, since no video bootlegs of the entire sets have surfaced. Beast Over Hammersmith, on the other hand, has been heavily bootlegged and can be found fairly easily. Although the video quality isn’t nearly as good. It’s especially strange because footage from both Beast Over Hammersmith and Live At Dortmund appeared on 12 Wasted Years but wasn’t used on the Early Days DVD. Either way, it’s a small complaint and does not take away from the fact that these performances are all worth checking out.

If three pieces of footage from the vault wasn’t enough, disc 2 also contains a lot of interesting material. The main event is the documentary, which tells the band’s early history in great detail. You get to hear about all the different lineup changes with interviews from many of the former members. There’s also some additional footage, including the band playing live on Top of the Pops (they refused to lip sync and were the first band to do so since The Who), a British TV special on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal that focuses mainly on Maiden and shows some early footage, and all the music videos from the era. The real gem of the disc (and the entire set really) is Live At the Ruskin Arms, which is a grainy VHS tape of the band performing in one of the East End clubs on the day of the first album’s release. It’s pretty low quality but it’s a very energetic performance and contains a couple rarities (namely Charlotte the Harlot and Another Life).

Unsurprisingly, the DVD was released to a great response from fans and is still a favorite. The timing of the release was also perfect. Not only had the band regained a large chunk of fans who wrote them off in the 90s, but they were beginning to bring a lot of younger fans on board too. Older fans could watch this and enjoy archival footage that was previously only available on bootlegs or VHS in the 80’s, while younger fans got to experience footage of 80’s Maiden for the very first time. I remember when the DVD came out, I had never seen live video of Maiden in the 80’s before. I had seen pictures and thought about how cool it would have been to witness it in person. Suddenly seeing a DVD with three classic concerts as well as the promise of more similar releases in the future was very exciting. It’s truly one of their most special releases. 

Tyranny of Souls (2005)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Bruce_cover.jpg)
Seven years after the release of The Chemical Wedding, Bruce Dickinson finally got a chance to release a followup. Bruce originally intended to switch between Maiden and his solo work with Roy Z, but there were several reasons why things didn’t quite turn out that way. The first (and most important) was logistics. Since Bruce rejoined Maiden, Roy Z had started to really make a name for himself as a producer and session guitarist. He helped Rob Halford with his return to Metal and later landed a gig producing Judas Priest’s Angel of Retribution, which was probably his most high profile job to date. The consequence of this was that he was busier than before. Bruce and Roy were able to work on a couple new demos for the Best of Bruce Dickinson set, but between Roy’s production and session work and Bruce’s commitments to Maiden, finding a way to lineup schedules would be a challenge. The other issue was a more personal one: Chemical Wedding was a highly regarded album and one Bruce was very proud of, so there was a lot of pressure to come up with a worthy successor. Eventually the stars aligned and inspiration started to hit.

The beginnings of the album are very similar to that of Accident of Birth. It began with Roy Z calling Bruce and playing him some music over the phone. However this time instead of soul crushing riffs, it was strummed chords on an acoustic guitar. Bruce came up with the line “so we go and we’ll not return/to navigate the seas of the sun” and that was enough to get the gears turning. It was the first song to be written specifically for the album and helped inspire much of the album’s main themes. Following this, Roy Z sent Bruce recordings of various riffs in demo form which Bruce then selected and worked into songs. This process was not too unlike the way Accident of Birth was made, although this time Bruce was doing all of this in between gigs with Maiden. One song, Power of the Sun, was written while Bruce watched the sunrise in Japan

I say Navigate The Seas of the Sun was the first song to be written specifically for the album because, also like Accident of Birth, there was one song that predated it: A Tyranny of Souls, the title track. This song was originally written for the ill fated collaboration between Bruce, Rob Halford, and Geoff Tate. Bruce wrote the song based on the three witches in Macbeth and intended on each singer representing one of the witches. Of course the project never happened and part of the reason was that Bruce struggled to come up with more than the one song to properly utilize the three singers. The song eventually made it onto this album but with Bruce as the only singer.

While Tyranny of Souls is not a concept album the way Chemical Wedding was, it does feature many recurring themes in a way similar to Accident of Birth. The album heavily deals with science fiction with songs like Abduction, Navigate the Seas of the Sun, and Soul Intruders dealing with cosmic travel and solar entities. Bruce described the album as the marriage of art and science, which isn’t too far off from what Chemical Wedding was but with less alchemy and more sci-fi. To that end, the space themes are very reminiscent of much of Accident of Birth. The album was originally going to be called Half Lives, taken from a line in Soul Intruders, but Bruce felt the message wasn’t clear.

As with most Bruce Dickinson projects, several songs stray away from the main themes. In addition to Tyranny of Souls, there’s the obligatory aviation inspired tune in Kill Devil Hill, which deals with the Wright Brothers. Other songs, such as Devil On a Hog, are somewhat unrelated but still fit the overall lyrical vibe.

Musically, Tyranny of Souls follows a similar style to the previous two solo albums but in a more direct manner. The more intricate instrumental work has been shaved off in favor of more riff driven simple structured songs, likely a consequence of the album essentially being written as a collection of riffs. The proggier side of Bruce’s solo work does appear periodically, particularly in Kill Devil Hill. The album is also heavier and more aggressive than The Chemical Wedding, especially the first half. This was all done intentionally as Bruce wanted the album to be distinguishable from his previous works.

The remote nature of the writing process also carried into the recording, with Bruce working with Roy Z and Roy Z then working with the rest of the band. The lineup is significantly different than the previous two albums. What most fans immediately noticed was the absence of Adrian Smith on guitar. No official reason was ever given for Adrian not being part of the album, despite Bruce having said several times in interviews that he would still use Adrian on his solo work if Adrian was willing and able. On the other hand, having Roy as the guitarist may have fit the album’s scattered production process better. Adrian is not the only musician missing from the previous solo albums, however. In fact, only Roy Z remains from the Accident of Birth/Chemical Wedding era. Again, it’s not clear why the lineup on this album is so different, but the musicians were all selected by Roy Z. Bruce mentioned in an interview that he never even met some of the players.

The album was released in May 2005, shortly before Maiden hit the road again. While it was well received by fans, it did not have the same impact as Accident of BIrth and The Chemical Wedding. Bruce intended to tour on it at some point with the new cast of musicians, but an increasingly busy schedule with Maiden (not to mention a side career as a commercial pilot) and Roy Z’s lack of availability presented such a tour from ever taking place. Before long, Bruce was busy with Maiden again and the prospects of a solo career coexisting with Maiden faded like an old dream. It would be another ten years before any indication of new solo work came about, but we’ll get to that later.

Expect Eddie Rips Up the World and Bruce Dickinson Anthology later this weekend.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: PowerSlave on December 15, 2017, 10:54:05 PM
This is completely personal taste, and not in any way a criticism of the write-up. I feel like CW is a heavier record, but I can definitely understand your viewpoint on this album being heavier. They do come out with some heavy riffs on this one.

I enjoy this record as much as AoB, but I'm not sure how any people feel about it. River of no Return, and Devil on a Hog are my favorite tracks.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: Mladen on December 15, 2017, 11:27:21 PM
The Early Days DVD is one of my favorites as well, particularly because of the documentary. I must have watched it a hundred times, it's truly spectacular.

A Tyranny of souls isn't one of my favorite solo albums by Bruce (I think the only one I like less is Tattooed millionaire), but it has its share of fantastic songs. Navigate the seas of the sun is a masterpiece and his best ballad, his high pitched backing vocals during the ending almost bring me to tears every time I hear that section. Abduction, Power of the sun and Devil on a hog are also great rockers.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: Anguyen92 on December 16, 2017, 12:00:09 AM
Going back related to Dance of Death, I actually took the time listening to Paschendale for the first times this week.  With Iron Maiden's very lofty standards in creating quality lengthy songs and people really liking this particular song, I was thinking there was no way that this song can live up to these expectations I set in my mind, but somehow it did.  It's just a very great song and for 8:30 minutes, it never was boring to me at all.  Bruce's vocals came in at the right moments and the instrumentals sections and solos never felt long and boring at all.

It was just great that Iron Maiden can create this kind of song of great quality around 15-20 years after their "classic" line-up and they just keep creating these kinds of songs in later albums as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 16, 2017, 06:23:09 AM
THE EARLY DAYS

Fantastic DVD. Nothing to add to Mosh's excellent recap - the performances are historical gems (Eddie getting his head bashed in by Dave Murray's guitar  :lol he had a spare one to destroy but he was caught in the moment and actually destroyed his "real" one), even if they are not complete. And the documentary is top notch, definitively essential for anyone interested in how the band came to be.

TYRANNY OF SOULS

Great album! It does not top Chemical Wedding but then again, what does? it's the perfect follow up to that historical record and a nice and concise collection of great songs. All I knew about the album was that the title track was born for the Trinity project, didn't know the specific details of how it came to be!

All the songs on here are great. Believil maybe is the only expendable tune, but the rest rules. Devil on a Hog should win the "Best song that doesn't fit the rest of the album" award, it's so catchy and addictive, and Kill Devil Hill shows that you don't need 10 minutes and an endless line of repeated choruses to make an epic. The title track is up there with his very best material, Soul Intruders is possibly even better than Starchildren (as far as sci-fi-ish songs following the opener), and Mars Within is an excellent opener.

Also, one word for the japanese bonus track, Eternal - very trippy and Floyd-ish tune, '70s vibe, with a stellar and melanchonic performance by Bruce. Not to be missed!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: Mladen on December 16, 2017, 06:27:37 AM
Devil on a Hog should win the "Best song that doesn't fit the rest of the album" award, it's so catchy and addictive.00
I was always bothered by that song in the context of the album, it really doesn't belong there. However, it's still a fun song, I enjoy it quite abit when I play it on its own.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: TAC on December 17, 2017, 10:22:20 AM
The Early Days is essential. Such a great look back.




It's not that I don't like Tyranny Of Souls.  It just doesn't seem to have the same pull on me that AOB and TCW have. I do think that Navigate The Seas Of The Sun is the standout track and would easily make my Bruce Compilation CD, which come to think of it, I may make today!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: Mosh on December 17, 2017, 02:00:46 PM
My problem with Tyranny of Souls is that it's quite clearly a side project. The songs sound like they were pulled together pretty quickly and while none of it is bad, most of it also feels like Chemical Wedding rejects. It's all pretty good, but nothing overly spectacular. Although I will say it's more consistent than most of his albums. The only subpar song is Believil, whereas the other albums have at least 2 clunkers. Unfortunately, the only song that comes close to his previous standard of greatness is Kill Devil Hill.

When he makes the next solo album, I hope he dedicates more time and focus on it. It probably means we have to wait until Maiden call it quits, but I think it's worth the wait if we get something at the level of Chemical Wedding/Accident of Birth. If Eternity Should Fail really sets the bar high though. That song alone is better than anything on Tyranny of Souls.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: TAC on December 17, 2017, 02:29:58 PM
  If Eternity Should Fail really sets the bar high though. That song alone is better than anything on Tyranny of Souls.

Personally, I don't think Eternity is that great. Has a great opening and a great solo section, but that's it. The song seems pretty chopped together and has a weak chorus.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and A Tyranny of Souls (2005)
Post by: Mosh on December 17, 2017, 07:37:23 PM
Eddie Rips Up the World Tour/The Early Days Tour (2005)

(https://images.eil.com/large_image/IRON_MAIDEN_THE%2BEARLY%2BDAYS%2BTOUR%2BSUMMER%2B05-369242.jpg)
Following the newly established pattern of a “greatest hits” tour before a new album, Maiden returned to the road to promote the newly released Early Days DVD. The tour had two names: sometimes it was advertised as The Early Days tour and sometimes it was advertised as Eddie Rips Up the World tour (usually accompanied by Piece of Mind era imagery). Naming aside, the tour promotion made it obvious that Maiden would be focusing on their history again. To that end, The Early Days Tour marked the first of three “history” tours, a term used by both fans and the band. The “history” tours focused on a specific era of the band’s history and coincided with the release of a vintage DVD, which in this case was The Early Days. Where the other two history tours were focused on specific eras from the 80s, The Early Days Tour was focused more on the general period of 1980 to 1983. The stage set was very similar to Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead, with a collage of different Eddies and symbolism from the band in the early 80’s. The on stage Eddies were both based on Piece of Mind, with a walk on Eddie in a straight jacket and a second big Eddie. The second Eddie featured a slightly different design to the Give Me Ed Eddie, but it was essentially the same concept and had similar movements.

The most vital aspect of the early 80s theme was, of course, the setlist. Where the Ed Huntour and Give Me Ed Til I’m Dead tours were career spanning setlists, The Early Days setlist focused exclusively on the band’s first four albums. This allowed for both the usual hits to be played in addition to some serious deep cuts. Other frequently played songs from after the period could also be replaced with lesser played tunes. The most notable omittance was without a doubt Fear of the Dark, which had been played on every Maiden tour since its release and was probably the closest thing to a setlist staple since Hallowed Be Thy Name. It’s hard to say that the song was missed, however, as the setlist featured a nice mix of the usual classics, fan favorites, and unexpected rarities. It was also a well balanced setlist, with near equal representation from every album. While there were some deviations in the setlist that I’ll get to later, the typical setlist contained 17 songs with 6 from the debut, 4 from Killers, 3 from Number of the Beast, and 4 from Piece of Mind.

Among the usual classics were Iron Maiden, The Trooper, and the three songs from Number of the Beast. Other songs which had previously been played on recent Greatest Hits tours but were not exactly common either included Revelations, Die With Your Boots On, and Phantom of the Opera. Most of the deep cuts actually came from the Di’Anno era, which also heavily dominated the setlist. Bruce mentioned at most of the shows that many of these songs would probably never be played live again, which has turned out to be true 12 years later. Unlike the typical Maiden style of opening with something familiar before going obscure, the deep cuts and surprises actually came immediately, which was refreshing. The band opened with a smattering of Di’Anno era deep cuts. The opener, Murders in the Rue Morgue was a perfect opener that was also unexpected. The last time it had been played was with Blaze in the band on the Virtual XI tour, although it was only played at a few shows. Before that, it had been played on the World Slavery tour where, again, it was only played at select shows. Its last appearance as a regular song was, ironically, when it opened shows on the Beast Over Hammersmith tour. Its return on the Early Days tour was a welcome one. Following this was Another Life, a track that also hadn’t been played since 1982. Finally, Prowler, which was a common closer in the early 80’s and was last played on the Real Live tour in 1993. Two other rarities that were last played on that particular tour were Where Eagles Dare and Remember Tomorrow. The last deep cut was Drifter, which returned to its usual slot as an encore tune after a 20 year absence. Charlotte the Harlot was also played at a few gigs, which was actually the first time the song had ever been played with Bruce in the band, but was unfortunately dropped for Wrathchild after a few shows. None of these songs have been played since. 

With a setlist that had enough hits and rarities to make casuals and hardcore fans gush, Maiden spent a lot of time on the festival circuit. The tour was not extensive, lasting just over 3 months and taking place exclusively in Europe and North America. The European leg of the tour was a mix of festival appearances and standalone headline gigs. The standard for Maiden summer tours at this point. Once again, their appearance at Rock Am Ring was broadcast live and now exists as some of the only professionally shot footage of the tour. Their performance in Gothenburg, Sweden, was also filmed and is probably the most popular bootleg of the tour. Unfortunately, it’s best way to experience the tour as the band has never released any live videos from it officially. Some audio was released in the form of b-sides, however.

Rock Am Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km9sVEgG55s

Gothenburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR0nodWBaIo

Following the European run, the band hit North America. This time, however, they would not be headlining the majority of the tour. Most of the North American leg was as a special guest on Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest tour, opening for (or co headlining with) Black Sabbath. At these shows, the band played a slightly abbreviated set, although only three songs had to be dropped (a more unintentional nod to the 80s when Maiden always played abbreviated sets in North America). The band did play some headlining shows outside of Ozzfest with a full setlist, however. Unfortunately, the Ozzfest tour became very infamous due to the feud between Bruce and Sharon Osbourne. Sharon accused Bruce of taking cheap shots at Ozzy on stage and in interviews (Bruce’s rants made a grand return on this tour and one of the main topics was reality TV) while Maiden claimed that Sharon had messed with their P.A. at several shows. There was also a t shirt being sold that seemed to be a jab at Maiden. The conflict came to a head at the final stop of the tour when Sharon sent members of Ozzy’s family and crew out into the audience to throw eggs at the band while they played. Later on, the PA was tampered with and there were several long moments where the band had no sound at all. After the performance, Sharon Osbourne came on stage and called Bruce a prick. She was met with booes. The controversial episode, nicknamed “Eggfest” was captured on film and marked an unfortunate end to an otherwise great tour.

Eggfest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqbfTgFzUf8

Luckily, the tour didn’t end with the Eggfest incident. After the Ozzfest tour ended, the band returned to their native UK for a few festivals, including Reading, an early 80s favorite. Appropriately, the tour ended with a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon (now renamed to the Hammersmith Apollo) that also served as another charity event for Clive Burr. As usual with Clive Aid events, Burr joined the band on stage at the end. It was the perfect way and perfect location to end the tour that primarily focused on the time when Clive was still in the band.

The tour overall was a great success and continued to prove that Maiden would be sticking around for a long time. The setlist was very well received among fans and is still arguably one of the best sets they’ve played since the reunion. It would also be the last time that a “greatest hits” tour would be on such a small scale, as they were clearly quite popular and successful. However, while most bands at this stage in their career would choose to continue the nostalgia tours, the next step for Maiden was naturally a new album. But more on that later.

Anthology (2006)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Brucedickinsonanthology.JPG)
The last Bruce Dickinson solo release that will be covered in this series, as well as the last item related to his solo career released until this year with the vinyl reissues, Anthology is a collection of archival footage similar to The Early Days. Also like The Early Days, much of the content in the DVD has been discussed already but is worth going over again. The collection, spread across three discs, is a catch-all of the videos recorded and released during Bruce’s solo career, with some unreleased footage for good measure.

The first concert is from Bruce’s short Tattooed Millionaire club tour, which was released on VHS as Dive! Dive! Live! The second comes from the Skunkworks tour, originally released in Japan only as Skunkworks Live. The final concert is screen feed footage from Scream For Me Brazil. It’s an incomplete performance, but the best chance at hearing Bruce’s solo career at its peak. All three performances show Bruce at very different stages in his career and, consequently, feature entirely different setlists, musicians, and moods.

The bonus features are also of interest. There’s a Tyranny of Souls EPK, which is a 45 minute interview with Bruce Dickinson. The focus is on Tyranny of Souls, but there’s also information about other aspects of his solo career and his history with Roy Z. Then there’s Biceps of Steel, which was a short film that was meant to show in front of a film called Breaking Glass in theaters. The film is essentially two music videos for the songs Hard Times and Vice Versa. The live footage is taken from the Rainbow Theater, where Maiden (with Paul Di’Anno) would record a live video the same year. Finally, the collection contains all of Bruce’s music videos, complete with a short explanation on how each video was made from Bruce himself.

Unlike The Early Days, Anthology pretty much covers everything from Bruce’s solo career. While it would’ve been nice to have footage from the Balls to Picasso and Accident of Birth eras, in addition to something from the Air Raid tour, there likely isn’t much available and it’s hard to complain when there’s already so much material here. It’s a must for any fan of Bruce’s solo work.

And with that, Bruce’s solo career comes to a close, at least as of 2017. While Bruce intended to continue doing solo work in tandem with Maiden, this clearly became less feasible as Maiden began to tour more actively. Anthology punctuates his solo career nicely. Additionally, his solo albums were re-released around this time complete with bonus CDs containing leftover tracks, demos, and alternate versions. In October of this year, the albums were also reissued on vinyl as part of the Soloworks collection. The collection included Tyranny of Souls, which had never been released on vinyl before. The release of this collection, as well as Bruce’s autobiography, seems to have sparked some new interest in his solo work. It’s also known that Bruce has been working on a solo album called If Eternity Should Fail. It sounds like he intends on finishing it in the future, although it’s hard to say when.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: TAC on December 17, 2017, 07:48:25 PM
I totally missed this tour. They did come with Ozzfest, but for whatever reason I didn't bother. I would've just gone for Maiden and I didn't want to spend the $$ for an abbreviated set. Plus my kids were quite young (4 & 2) at the time, and I guess I was a bit too distracted.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: sneakyblueberry on December 17, 2017, 08:32:52 PM
I remember being quite disappointed at the quality of the Brazil shows on Anthology - haven't watched it in ages since.  Good to have some record of it - I wish they'd had the foresight to put more effort into documenting it (like Maiden with SIT, I suppose).  Great DVD though. 

The Ullevi boot of the Early Days tour is fantastic, such a great setlist.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 18, 2017, 01:48:33 AM
I couldn't miss The Early Days tour for the world, so I traveled to a festival in the north-middle of Italy to see it, I remember there were Slayer and Lacuna Coil among others as supporters.

The show was fantastic, and after two missed opportunities (Bruce solo in Wacken 2002 and Maiden in Italy 2003 - but I was in Germany for the Blind Guardian Open Air), I finally got to hear Revelations live, the song that back in 1995, as a compilation cassette closer made by a friend, had the honour of starting the avalanche effect that would have made me love Bruce's voice, and therefore Maiden, and therefore heavy metal in general.

The setlist was great - as pointed out, so many gems (Another Life is by far the deepest cut they've ever played this side of the reunion), maybe The Number of the Beast got the short end of the stick since they played the three classics and nothing else, but we could debate forever about which songs should have made the set - in the grand scheme of things, it was a fantastic setlist and the best, material > time period wise, of the history tours.

And screw Sharon Osbourne. Whatever right she had in criticize a guest that was taking shot at their host, she completely threw it away acting like a childish and petty scorned person. Rod Smallwood's comments about the situations spoke volumes about the integrity of the band, and let's not forget how they soldiered through the whole set without ever faltering, and with Bruce standing front stage with the english flag during The Trooper, screaming "This is a fucking english flag and these colors don't fucking run from you, asswipes"  :metal (hence the song on AMOLAD, but of course with an historical theme - I'm sure the inspiration came from this).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Mladen on December 18, 2017, 03:23:50 AM
I was never that well informed about the whole Eggfest thing. I'm aware that Bruce apparently took cheap shots at Ozzy during the tour, but I never saw footage of it or heard any of the bashing on bootlegs. I'm not surprised if that is the case, though - Bruce has always been a bit of a loudmouth. Not that that justifies Sharon's behaviour, she was just as childish in her response. I've always admired people who show class instead of reacting to bashing with just as shameful acting.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: wolfking on December 18, 2017, 04:19:07 AM
TOS is no CW or AOB but it's a very worthy follow up if you ask me.  Shame H isn't involved and it does sound a bit thrown together, but a very enjoyable album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Cyclopssss on December 18, 2017, 04:34:13 AM
Early days is brilliant. The documentary alone is worth the price of purchase. All the stories of auditioning guitarplayers and singers and the early footage of Ruskin Arms. You can smell the sweat and adrenaline through the tv screen. Also, the Marquee bits are fantastic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 18, 2017, 04:41:27 AM
All the stories of auditioning guitarplayers and singers and the early footage of Ruskin Arms. You can smell the sweat and adrenaline through the tv screen.

Was it there at the Ruskin Arms gig that Andy Taylor went to see them to check them out, and deciding to sign them anyway without even actually seeing them, being content with the sight of the packed venue fill of headbanging people? :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Grappler on December 18, 2017, 09:12:20 AM
Early Days - loved the DVD when it came out, but I haven't really watched it in a long time.  I think I skimmed through it over the summer, but prior to that, it had been years since I put it on.  My favorite was the Piece of Mind era show, and have to laugh at Bruce waving around a tiny flag during The Trooper after having seen him with full-size flags in current times.

Early Days Tour - missed this one, and I'm not sure why.  Probably because it was the Ozzfest tour and other than Maiden, the main stage lineup was pretty dull.  I saw BLS on the 2004 Ozzfest tour, and those early slots only got 30 minute sets.  The second stage had a good lineup with The Haunted and Arch Enemy, and I think that was the year that Rob Zombie headlined it with a no-frills, no visual stage show set.  But the idea of doing a historical tour was fantastic, and kudos to the band and their management for putting such long-term planning together.

Tyranny of Souls & Anthology - I love the album, but like everyone else, it just can't compete with Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding.  But any Bruce solo album in this vein is better than so many other albums.  I bought the Anthology set in 2008, the day after seeing Maiden on the SBIT tour, but was completely unimpressed.  The older shows didn't have my interest, since I didn't own any of his pre-AOB records.  The Scream for Me show is awesome, but the video was only from the internal venue monitors, so it was severely lacking.  Fun to watch once, but not really interesting. Same goes for the studio videos.  With the proliferation of Youtube, there's no point in putting on a DVD to watch music videos anymore.  I sold the Anthology dvd when I purged some of my collection about 3-4 years ago.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: cramx3 on December 18, 2017, 12:24:23 PM
Some thoughts since I didn't share from the previous post:

Early Years DVD - I need to watch this again.  I had been a new fan when this came out and I think the documentary was a bit long and depth from years that I was too unfamiliar with as a fan (being I had just become a fan, mostly based off the love of Rock in Rio).  I found the documentary pretty boring, but since then I've become a die hard fan and learned more about the band and that time.  I think I'd enjoy it much more and have been telling myself to rewatch it, but haven't done so.  The live footage is awesome though.

Tyranny of Souls - I was still loving and discovering Iron Maiden when my roommate yells to me from his bedroom, have you ever heard Bruce's solo stuff?  Which I didn't know existed. I come to his room cause he has to show me a song, which was Adbuction, and I was instantly sold as a fun of Bruce's solo music.  We rocked out so hard in his bedroom.  Now, I'd rate it his third best album behind CW and AoB, but this is a very solid album.  Navigate the Seas of the Sun is maybe his most beautiful song. 

Early Years Tour - This was my first time seeing Iron Maiden, at an Ozzfest in NJ.  My buddy couldn't go so I was kind of hesitant to go to this big show by myself, but the night before my other friend called saying his friend, who worked as some sort of promoter for the show, needed people to work the Ozzfest and would get free tickets for doing so.  So sure, I did this with two other friends.  We handed out promotional flyers before the concert started in the parking lots that had all the set times for the band.  I really enjoyed doing this.  Since Ozzfest starts early, we were roaming the lots at like 8 am giving these out to people already drinking, but everyone was so friendly and happy because everyone wants the set times during a festival.  People were just giving me beer they were so happy to get these flyers.  I was only 20 at the time  :lol   The best part was I had in/out privelages for the day.  So after seeing some of the opening bands, including seeing Will Smith who was there supporting his wife's metal band (Yes Jada Pinkett Smith sang in a metal band called Wicked Wisdom) I took a nap at home and came back in time for Mudvane, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath.  I was bummed for got a shorter setlist without some of the gems from the full show, but I had such a blast and was totally sold on the Iron Maiden live show. 

Anthology - Got to say, I was and am kind of bummed by this release.  It's actually exactly what I expected it to be, I had known the Brazil show was really just a bootleg, but while this is great for having so much in one package, it really comes down to quantity vs. quality.  Nothing on this is quality IMO.  I haven't touched this since I bought it and watched it all once.  I found the Dive Dive Dive show to be the best in terms of quality but featured some of my least favorite of Bruce's solo music.  I would still say to check it out of you are a die hard fan like myself, but this release really just does nothing for me in terms of enjoying watching it on any regular basis.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on December 18, 2017, 12:51:56 PM
About Eggfest...that wasn't the last show of the tour. Because I remember it and was pissed off. That incident happened the date before Ozzfest came to Albuquerque, I was excited to see Maiden and Ozzy, plus Mudvayne in one show. Then heard what happened and Maiden was dropped for....Velvet Revolver. I got sad but still went, glad I did cause its the only time I got to see Scott Weiland.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 18, 2017, 01:15:04 PM
Are you sure? I wasn't there obviously but it only makes sense that they planned the attack for the last gig Maiden was with Ozzfest, since there would have been no other concerts after that - so that they could not "retaliate" and at the same time avoid some very awkward business discussions between respective managements.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Mosh on December 18, 2017, 01:25:28 PM
About Eggfest...that wasn't the last show of the tour. Because I remember it and was pissed off. That incident happened the date before Ozzfest came to Albuquerque, I was excited to see Maiden and Ozzy, plus Mudvayne in one show. Then heard what happened and Maiden was dropped for....Velvet Revolver. I got sad but still went, glad I did cause its the only time I got to see Scott Weiland.
Here’s a news post that says Maiden wouldn’t be present for the final dates: https://www.zrock.com/ozzfest-2005-lineup-and-tour-dates/

They had other festivals to play in the U.K. and were never meant to finish the tour, Eggfest was their last scheduled show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on December 18, 2017, 02:25:57 PM
About Eggfest...that wasn't the last show of the tour. Because I remember it and was pissed off. That incident happened the date before Ozzfest came to Albuquerque, I was excited to see Maiden and Ozzy, plus Mudvayne in one show. Then heard what happened and Maiden was dropped for....Velvet Revolver. I got sad but still went, glad I did cause its the only time I got to see Scott Weiland.
Here’s a news post that says Maiden wouldn’t be present for the final dates: https://www.zrock.com/ozzfest-2005-lineup-and-tour-dates/

They had other festivals to play in the U.K. and were never meant to finish the tour, Eggfest was their last scheduled show.

Oh...haha. Either way, I was still pissed they had to leave right before our stop.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: sneakyblueberry on December 18, 2017, 05:52:53 PM
All the stories of auditioning guitarplayers and singers and the early footage of Ruskin Arms. You can smell the sweat and adrenaline through the tv screen.

Was it there at the Ruskin Arms gig that Andy Taylor went to see them to check them out, and deciding to sign them anyway without even actually seeing them, being content with the sight of the packed venue fill of headbanging people? :lol

That was Brian Shepherd, head of EMI A&R and the gig was at the Bandwagon :P Rod telling that story is one of my favourite sequences from the 12 Wasted Years video.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Mladen on December 19, 2017, 06:10:32 AM
I love the way that story is told on The Early Days documentary.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Dream Team on December 20, 2017, 11:09:14 AM
Early days is brilliant. The documentary alone is worth the price of purchase. All the stories of auditioning guitarplayers and singers and the early footage of Ruskin Arms. You can smell the sweat and adrenaline through the tv screen. Also, the Marquee bits are fantastic.

Love Early Days. Bruce i# amazing on Beast over Hammersmith.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Mosh on December 20, 2017, 02:06:09 PM
All the stories of auditioning guitarplayers and singers and the early footage of Ruskin Arms. You can smell the sweat and adrenaline through the tv screen.

Was it there at the Ruskin Arms gig that Andy Taylor went to see them to check them out, and deciding to sign them anyway without even actually seeing them, being content with the sight of the packed venue fill of headbanging people? :lol

That was Brian Shepherd, head of EMI A&R and the gig was at the Bandwagon :P Rod telling that story is one of my favourite sequences from the 12 Wasted Years video.
Yea that would’ve been about a year earlier. The gig on video took place on the same day as the album release. By then they’d already moved beyond venues like The Ruskin Arms and the gig was a sort of homecoming for them.

I was lucky enough to catch one of the few North American headline shows without Ozzfest. It was my second time seeing Maiden and by then I had familiarized myself with most of their music and watched The Early Days dvd obsessively. When I realized this tour was themed after the dvd and they’d only be playing from those albums, I was beyond excited. I still vividly remember being hyped for Wrathchild when the Ides of March intro tape came on and then being blown away when they launched into Murders In the Rue Morgue instead. I also remember finding it odd how early in the set Run to the Hills was, but in an exciting way. I don’t remember much else honestly, but I loved the show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: TAC on December 20, 2017, 02:23:14 PM
There's a great headline boot from Toronto from that tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Mosh on December 29, 2017, 09:13:31 PM
A Matter of Life and Death (2006)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Iron_Maiden_-_A_Matter_Of_Life_And_Death.jpg)
In late 2005, Maiden began work on their 14th album and the third with the current lineup. By this point, it had officially become the band’s longest lasting lineup and the musical chemistry had really solidified. The next album would be focused, complex, and one of their most ambitious to date. The more experimental aspects of Dance of Death were honed in on and combined with the tightness of Brave New World to create A Matter of Life and Death. The band themselves have described the album as progressive rock, but inspired by their heroes of the 70s such as Jethro Tull and Genesis. With bands such as Porcupine Tree, Opeth, and of course, Dream Theater, the modern definition of prog had evolved considerably over the past decade. As discussed earlier, Maiden had always adapted elements of prog rock into their sound to varying levels. The last time the prog influence was so blatant was on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but nearly every Maiden album had a prog influence somewhere. But even at their proggiest, such as on A Matter of Life and Death, it was merely one element of their sound and was unlike any classic or modern prog band. As a result, Maiden has never been strictly classified as prog.

 In the early stages, as new songs were being written, it became obvious to the band that this would be a special album. Bruce stated that he had a feeling similar to what he had going into Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. A theme of war, religion, life, and death was beginning to germinate. While not strictly a concept album, A Matter of Life and Death is the most thematically unified album since The X Factor and is probably the closest they’ve come to an all out concept album since Seventh Son. The band allowed themselves a longer period than normal to complete the album, although there were so many ideas and the band was so inspired that it actually ended up being one of their shortest productions. That’s not to say the album is short, however. It is known for featuring very lengthy tracks and was their longest album to date at a whopping 72 minutes.

The band realized they were onto something special early in the writing process when Steve and Adrian got together for a writing session. The collaboration was extremely productive and provided the material that would make up a majority of the album. Indeed, Adrian’s name appears on the credits for five out of the ten songs. This was the same amount as on the previous album, although he contributed to varying degrees depending on the song. On A Matter of Life and Death, he was heavily involved in each of his songs. These songs also happened to be quite long. It was as if the success of Paschendale inspired him and Steve to create nearly an entire album of war themed epics.

The first song the duo worked on also happened to be the first song on the album. Adrian Smith presented the opening riff to Different World, although it was in a much different format and an odd time signature. After Steve straightened out the riff, the song was worked into an energetic rocker similar to Wildest Dreams and The Wicker Man. Needless to say, it was immediately obvious that this would be the album’s opener and a single (although it wasn’t released first, more on that later). Different World serves as an accessible and familiar start to the album, easing fans into its more progressive side.

That progressive side reveals itself immediately after with another Smith/Harris contribution: These Colours Don’t Run. This time, the duo were joined by Bruce who provided the lyrics (and uttered the title a year before the album was released at the infamous Eggfest incident). Adrian initially presented the song’s intro with the intention of it being the start of a ballad-y track. However, the song was Maidenized and morphed into a heavy rocker. The “slow intro before a heavy song” format is abundant on A Matter of Life and Death, which tends to bring criticism although it also contributes to the album’s cohesiveness. The lyrics introduce the common topic of war to the album by appropriately describing the feeling one has when they are about to go to war. It is a good starting place for an album that explores war from many different perspectives, from the soldiers who fight it to the warlords who start it to the religions that inspire it. Songs from the soldier’s point of view are not uncommon in Maiden, although These Colours Don’t Run specifically explores a soldier’s motivation, which is new. In many ways it’s similar to Afraid To Shoot Strangers, which describes the anxiety of a soldier who is about to be deployed. However, that song gives a fearful take of the anticipation where These Colours Don’t Run almost glorifies it. Bruce explained that these people are all heroes, regardless of whether they want to be. Musically, the song isn’t quite as complicated as what’s to come but it’s also not your typical rocker. It has a steady pace and an extended instrumental section. It also has plenty of singalong moments that were tailor made for the live stage.

The Smith/Harris/Dickinson partnership continues into Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, which also serves as the first real epic of the album. At 8 minutes and 44 seconds, it is longer than anything that appeared on the previous albums and would’ve been considered the epic on an album in the 80s, yet here it is only the third longest song. Like These Colours Don’t Run, the song starts off with a soft guitar driven intro before exploding into one of the band’s heaviest riffs to date. Not only is it one of the band’s heaviest songs, but it’s also one of their proggiest and is the first song on the album to really showcase the heavy prog influences. The song contains many twists and turns with sudden shifts in tempo and dynamics. There are odd time signatures (the main riff is in 7/4) and unusual chords (the “out of the darkness” bit includes an FMaj#11 chord). Despite these experimental aspects, it’s unmistakable Maiden. The lyrics, written by Bruce, deal with The Manhattan Project. This was a topic that Bruce famously approached back in the 80s with Two Minutes To Midnight, but this time the lyrics are more raw and direct (like much of the music). It specifically discusses the scientists who made the bomb and the immense power in what they created. For Brighter Than a Thousand Suns Bruce  revisited the idea of an old Skunkworks song: Strange Death In Paradise. Indeed, looking at the lyrics of the two songs it’s easy to see a lot of similarities.

“Brighter than sunshine, for all of our lifetimes
1000 stars turned day into night at the end”

Following the sprawling three song onslaught comes the first song on the album not written by Adrian. Since joining in the 90s, Janick’s role and influence in the band had increased with each album. On the Blaze albums, he was a primary songwriter. Even on Brave New World, a large chunk of the songs came from him. However, with two primary songwriters back in the band, his role began to diminish. On A Matter of Life and Death, he only receives writing credits on two songs, his lowest contribution since Virtual XI. It’s unclear why he took a backseat on this album, although it’s possible that he just didn’t have as many ideas this time around. The benefit of having so many writers is that there is not much obligation to deliver the goods every time.

The first of Janick’s two songs is The Pilgrim. A collaboration with Steve Harris, The Pilgrim is one of the album’s few straightforward rockers. It’s typical Gers: fast paced riffing interlaced with melodic interludes complete with a manic guitar solo. The song was created out of two separate ideas that Janick presented to Steve. Steve then took what he considered to be the strongest elements of both songs to create a single track. That being said, it doesn’t sound like two songs awkwardly glued together. The song is cohesive and has plenty of interesting twists, although it was unfortunately overshadowed by the big epics. The lyrics, written by Steve, are not about a specific pilgrimage although it was heavily inspired by the Mayflower. It is a bit of a departure from the rest of the album’s themes, but it’s religious imagery helps it to fit in surprisingly well.

The next song on the album is yet another Smith/Harris/Dickinson contribution and another big epic, although this time it’s just under 8 minutes. In many ways, this song can be seen as Paschendale part 2. It once again deals with the feelings of a soldier in the middle of a horrific battle, but this time it’s the D-Day Normandy landings and the lyrics were penned by Bruce. The music for the song came from the earlier mentioned session between Adrian and Steve that birthed a majority of the album. The structure isn’t as vast as Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, featuring a more traditional ABABCAB structure. The instrumental section, however, is one of their most complex. It features more odd time signatures, intricate riffing, and tight syncopated rhythms. It also continues the cinematic style of Paschendale, with musical cues that are meant to illustrate the event, such as a machine gun sounding guitar riff in the instrumental. Bruce also wrote the lyrics and performed the vocals to help further portray the story.

The second half of the album starts with Out of the Shadows, a rare ballad in the Maiden catalog and also a rare collaboration between Bruce and Steve. While both are credited, it is really primarily a Dickinson track, as Steve only came up with the melody for the verse. It marks the first time since No Prayer For the Dying that the two worked on a song together without help from one of the guitarists. Like The Pilgrim, it serves as a departure from the war themes of the album. The song is about birth and the preciousness of life. While it’s not related to the album’s main topic, it is an eerie juxtaposition with the songs of war and death. It’s almost as if Bruce intentionally wrote the song to counterbalance the others and provoke further thought from the audience. It’s a fairly simple song musically, heavily driven by acoustic guitars and filled with bluesy guitar frills from Dave Murray (the actual solo is performed by Adrian, however). Being a ballad, the song feels like a musical progression from Journeyman. It has a similar vibe but with electric guitars. In context of the album, it serves as a nice break before the final sludge of epics.

The last four songs are all over seven minutes and are among the album’s densest tracks. The first, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, is the sole contribution from Dave Murray. After writing quite a bit on the last few albums, Dave has gone back to his more limited role of one song per album, which remains to this day. Like The Pilgrim, the song is an amalgamation of several different ideas that Dave presented to Steve. Steve then arranged the ideas into a coherent song and penned the lyrics. It starts like a typical Murray track with a soft bluesy opening before exploding into one of the album’s heaviest tracks. It is pretty straightforward in structure, although like many of the other songs on the album the form seems to be extended considerably. It’s fascinating to think that, at a little over 7 minutes, this is one of the album’s shorter songs, but it’s actually longer than epics of the 80s such as Phantom of the Opera and Hallowed Be Thy Name. While there are a lot of interesting musical qualities, the mysterious lyric has attracted the most attention for this song. Written by Steve, the identity of Benjamin Breeg caused quite a bit of buzz among the fans. There was even a viral marketing campaign around the character to help promote the album (more on that later). The lyric itself is actually pretty typical Harris fare, dealing with nightmares, the afterlife, and questioning your purpose in life. These are all themes that found themselves in classic Maiden tracks like The Number of the Beast, Still Life, and Infinite Dreams. Once again, the relation to the album’s main themes is not immediately apparent here, although an argument could be made that the song describes PTSD experienced by soldiers after returning home. This is another idea that Steve has approached in the past, specifically on The X Factor with songs like Fortunes of War.

Following Benjamin Breeg is For the Greater Good of God, Steve’s big solo epic. The longest song on the album, although not by much, this is the first Harris solo epic since The Clansman in 1998. It’s a fairly typical Harris song, with a soft slow intro, lots of guitar driven melodies, and a huge (although repetitive) chorus. It also features an extended instrumental section with guitar solos from all three guitarists (the only time all three players solo on a track). The lyrics show Harris trying to come to grips with how religion has inspired so much war. It can apply to current events, but Steve intentionally opted not to reference one specific religion or war so that the song could apply to many different periods of history. When speaking about the song, he states that he is neither pro-religion or anti-religion and wanted to look at it from a fairly neutral position. It is definitely one of the band’s most powerful songs and serves as the album’s centerpiece.

Next is the final entry from the Smith/Harris/Dickinson combo: Lord of Light. This is probably the proggiest song on the album, featuring a very psychedelic intro and unusual guitar chords. There are spacey effects all over the track, with flanged cymbals akin to The Beatles’ psychedelic period and processed vocals. Despite the album as a whole probably being their most raw, Lord of Light is one of the more “produced” songs of the reunion era. This is also yet another song that originated from the initial writing session between Adrian and Steve. Bruce came in with the lyrics, this time inspired by a Metal classic: Satan. It’s a different take from Bruce, writing through the lens of a character who worships and sympathizes with the Devil. It’s a dark lyric and one that would’ve likely encouraged the “devil worshiper” title that the band was tagged with in the 80s.

Finally, the album ends on an appropriately ambitious note with The Legacy. The second contribution from Janick, it’s another collaboration with Steve Harris and is a musical continuation of many of the ideas from Dance of Death and Dream of Mirrors. It is yet another epic with a heavy acoustic guitar presence. Janick came up with the bulk of the song before Steve helped arrange it and added lyrics. It starts out with a storytelling vibe, akin to Dance of Death, but quickly morphs into something else. The extended acoustic intro is reminiscent of a fairy tale, similar to classic Gabriel era Genesis songs such as The Musical Box. It also features the band experimenting with alternate tunings, with the acoustic guitars in DADGAE (a variation on a tuning commonly used by Jimmy Page). Once it gets going, the song still has several distinct parts that keep things unpredictable. There’s an instrumental section with a Black Sabbath inspired riff and a huge chorus with classic Maiden harmonies. For the lyrics, Janick presented Steve with the idea of “truth and lies”. Steve took the idea and wrote something that managed to tie the entire album together by discussing an aspect of war that is not often broached by Maiden: the politicians. Each section of the song takes a different perspective, making for one of Steve’s most vast and well formulated lyrics. There appears to be influence from the film Jacob’s Ladder in the intro, but after that it takes on a life of its own. It’s ambitious, but it’s hard to imagine a more fitting conclusion to the album.

It makes sense to cover this album track by track because it truly was created in a way that the sequencing from one song to the next impacts the overall experience. That is true for any album to some degree, but it was especially important on A Matter of Life and Death. The songs were also recorded in the order that they appear on the album. While it was a quick recording process, each song was meticulously crafted and given an equal amount of attention. The band would spend an entire day on each song, from the rehearsal tracks all the way to the final mix. This was the logical continuation of their mission to make the records as live as possible. Much of what you hear on A Matter of Life and Death is a first take. Many of Bruce’s vocals come from the rough run throughs and there are very few overdubs. Also like Dance of Death, all of this was immortalized through footage shot by Kevin Shirley when time permitted. A deluxe edition of the album was released with a documentary that covers the whole album track by track along with a general synopsis of how the album came together and the band’s recording process.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Early Days and Tyranny of Souls (2005 - 06)
Post by: Mosh on December 29, 2017, 09:15:07 PM
Part 2:

To make the album sound even more raw, Steve opted not to have it mastered. For those who don’t know, mastering is the final stage in the production process and is a lot like putting the final coat of paint on a car. EQ, compression, stereo imaging, and other techniques are applied to give the album a nice sound and volume across different formats. In the age of digital recording, it can technically be bypassed and that is exactly what Maiden did. The result is an album that sounds exactly as it did when Maiden left the recording studio.

It’s not clear when the album title came about, but it was suggested by Bruce as a reference to an old British war film. The suggestion likely came once the album had been finished, as it perfectly captures the album’s themes. A Matter of Life and Death, the film, is ultimately a love story in a war setting. While most of the album deals with war, there are also hints of optimism in songs like Out of the Shadows and themes of love in songs like For the Greater Good of God. It’s also the fourth Maiden album without a title track. Supposedly some songs were considered for the title, namely The Pilgrim and The Legacy, but ultimately these were not used.

The cover is a much more literal take on the album’s theme, featuring an army of the undead led of course by our beloved Eddie. Interestingly, and for the first time ever, Eddie doesn’t seem to be the focal point here. I actually remember seeing the cover for the first time and not being able to find him at first, I was shocked at the idea that his only representation in the artwork was on the tank. On the other hand, it’s a return to a familiar style after the more modern look of the last few albums. For this album, the band recruited Tim Bradstreet, best known as a comic book artist who has worked on titles such as The Punisher. The result is a return to the comic book style of the 80s covers and, thanks to Bradstreet being a big fan of Riggs himself, feels more like a classic Maiden cover than anything since the early 90s.

As I mentioned earlier, Different World was an obvious choice for first single but the band surprisingly decided not to go that route. Instead, they decided on a bolder move and released The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg as the first single. It was put out initially in the form of a video for fan club members, before being put out for wide release. It was their longest single to date and so long that it was ineligible for the UK singles chart. The artwork was designed by longtime Maiden collaborator Melvyn Grant and to many was even better than the album artwork. Naturally the single came with quite a bit of controversy, as some fans felt it wasn’t strong enough to warrant a teaser for the entire album. On the other hand, it was a great PR move because it allowed the mystery of Benjamin Breeg to be used as a promotional tool. An entire website was made featuring paintings supposedly created by Ben Breeg and a biography written by a relative. The website has since been taken down, but at the time it was an early example of viral marketing to promote rock music. Something that is extremely common today.

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Around this time, Different World and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns were also made available for streaming on Maiden’s website. Eventually, Different World was also officially released as a single. Where the video for Benjamin Breeg was simply footage of the band performing the song in the studio interlaced with archival footage of the band throughout their history, the video for Different World was an animated clip similar to the one made for Wildest Dreams. The single also marked the last time Maiden released a non-album b-side. A cover of Focus’ Hocus Pocus was included on some versions with a fun vocal from Nicko. The band actually also recorded a cover of Tush by Z.Z. Top, Angel of Death by Thin Lizzy, and Space Truckin’ by Deep Purple but unfortunately none of these were used. The former two have yet to see the light of day, although Space Truckin’ was eventually released in 2012 on a Deep Purple tribute album.

The album itself was released in August 2006, a couple months after being recorded. It was a similar release schedule to Dance of Death, but without the summer tour in between recording and release. It was a continuation of the increased commercial success Maiden were seeing in the new millennium, managing to hit #4 on the UK chart and #9 on the US Billboard (their first album ever to crack the top ten). It was a hit with fans and critics alike and was praised for its unified feel and the band’s willingness to continue to progress at such a late stage in their career. It was a huge hit among fans and is a fan favorite to this day. The less than successful experimentation on Dance of Death had finally come together in a way that was universally praised. If Brave New World showed that Maiden could still write competent music, A Matter of Life and Death showed that they could still capture their past glories. It was not all praise, however. Some fans criticized what they felt were unnecessarily lengthy songs and the frequent soft intro format also drew criticisms. Several songs also had fairly repetitive choruses, which has always been a common complaint about Maiden. That being said, most fans identified with the album in spite of its flaws and it is still considered one of their greatest albums. It is often cited as the best album of the reunion era and even their best full stop. Maiden’s dedication to progressing and continuing to evolve was paying off. Very few bands release classic albums 20 years into their career, Maiden had suddenly done it a second time.

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A Matter of Life and Death Tour (2006)

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In October, two months after the album release, Maiden hit the road yet again to tour the new album. As mentioned earlier, a lot of thought went into the sequencing and flow of the album to create a complete experience for the listener. With this in mind, along with the fact that the band felt that they had created something truly special, it only made sense to play the album live in its entirety. This was an extremely bold move. At the time, playing full albums live was starting to become a bit of a trend, although typically it was older bands performing their classic albums. The idea of a band such as Maiden performing their new album live in lieu of the “hits” was a risky choice. Maiden were already known for spending a lot of set time dedicated to new material when they were touring for an album, which tended to get mixed reactions from the audience, especially in America. Ten new songs in a row, which much of the audience may not have even heard before, would be taking it to a new extreme. To the band, however, it was a logical choice. In his biography, Bruce states that they did it for the new generation of fans that were supporting the band. He claimed that many people discovered Maiden because of Brave New World and that the new albums were to them what the “classics” were to older fans. The new fans were the torchbearers for Maiden and the album would be played as a token of appreciation to these fans. Personally, as part of that new generation of fans, I could absolutely see where Bruce was coming from.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the decision received a mixed response from fans. There were many complainers online and it’s obvious in bootleg footage from the tour that much of the audience in each show wasn’t really into it. An infamous moment from the tour was when a fan threw a sign at the stage that read “PLAY CLASSICS”. Bruce grabbed the sign and ripped it up to the sound of cheers from the front rows (this can all be found on YouTube). Many fans, especially, the hardcore fans and those who enjoyed the album, were delighted to see Maiden taking a risk and playing every song live. Part of the excitement of a new album release has always been the question of which songs Maiden will perform live, especially since one of their unspoken rules is that a song will not be performed if it is not played on the initial album tour. Inevitably this can lead to disappointment when a favorite is not played, but that was not the case here. Furthermore, the band had just finished a tour that was exclusively focused on the first four albums, so it was an appropriate time to give the hits a break.

That being said, a handful of classics was performed after the AMOLAD portion of the setlist. Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, Two Minutes To Midnight, The Evil That Men Do, and Hallowed Be Thy Name closed out the show. Even this selection was slightly controversial, as The Trooper, Run To the Hills, and The Number of the Beast were not included, despite arguably being the band’s 3 most famous songs. While Run To the Hills had been dropped from the sets frequently in the band’s recent history, The Trooper and The Number of the Beast were thought to be staples and had been present in nearly every setlist since their release. The decision made sense though, as it made room for fan favorites that were not played on The Early Days tour. The Evil That Men Do hadn’t been played since the Brave New World tour and Two Minutes To Midnight hadn’t been played since the Give Me ‘Ed Tour. This was not exactly a long period of time, but it was better than getting The Trooper yet again. The absence of The Trooper was a bit of a surprise though, as it fit in with the war theme of the show.

Speaking of the war theme, the band went all out for the stage production. The stage was designed to look like a war zone, complete with barb wire and sandbags. It was as if they took the idea for Paschendale on the Dance of Death tour and turned it up to 11. The lights were darker with warmer colors being used. It wasn’t quite as large or elaborate as the previous two tours, especially Dance of Death, but that wasn’t necessary for this show. The focus this time was completely on the music and the presentation of the album. The centerpiece, of course, was Eddie, who arrived in a large tank during the band’s eponymous track. A second walk on Eddie appeared during The Evil That Men Do later on in a soldier’s outfit complete with a machine gun.

As was the case for the Dance of Death tour, the A Matter of Life and Death tour was pretty brief. They started with a a short 11 date US tour before finishing out the month in Japan and then heading to Europe. The European tour lasted about a month but with considerably more dates. Given that the tour took place during the winter, it was primarily in indoor arenas. They finished out the year with a proper UK tour, one of their larger UK tours in quite some time. Overall, one of the band’s shortest tours, although it was technically just the first leg.

Sadly, an official live album or video was never released from the tour, so it was a very special event for those who were lucky enough to witness it. There are some good bootlegs out there though, as usual. I’m going to upload some here but I have to go through them first to pick a good one. So stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, here's the band performing Brighter Than a Thousand Suns and Hallowed Be Thy Name live in Abbey Road studios: https://vimeo.com/116793139

This sort of footage is rare from the band, so it's quite a treat.

A Matter of the Beast Tour (2007)

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While the A Matter of the Beast tour didn’t officially start until the summer European tour, the band did perform a few dates earlier in the year. They performed at Dubai and India for the first time, and also visited Serbia and Greece. At these dates, the band opted not to play A Matter of Life and Death in its entirety, which made sense as these shows were going to be many fans’ first opportunity to see Maiden live. It was still very much an AMOLAD focused show though, with five songs being played live, including three of the epics. There were no surprises in the set additions, just the return of The Trooper, Run to the Hills, and Wrathchild. The shows themselves were a success for the band and proved that they were still penetrating new markets. Their popularity in India in particular was growing at a fast pace, with A Matter of Life and Death being one of the highest selling Rock albums of all time there.

Following these sporadic dates, it was announced that the band’s upcoming European tour would partially serve as a celebration of The Number Of the Beast’s 25th anniversary. The tour would be renamed A Matter of the Beast and feature five songs from A Matter of Life and Death and five songs from The Number of the Beast. Considering most of these European shows would be performed at festivals in front of a more casual audience, this made a lot of sense. Unsurprisingly, these announcement was met with much excitement among hardcore and casual fans alike. Casual fans were excited to see more material they were familiar with, and hardcore fans were looking forward to potential surprises. Run To the Hills, The Number of the Beast, and Hallowed Be Thy Name were obviously in, but after that there were four songs that weren’t performed nearly as much and would be surprises. From the current lineup, Children of the Damned had only been played at select shows on the Brave New World tour. 22 Acacia Avenue was only played on the Gimme Ed Tour. The Prisoner and Total Eclipse had never been performed by the current lineup. Or maybe they’d finally do a song that had never been played live before. It was a long shot, but Maiden was full of surprises the past couple years, so anything was possible.

Eventually, the tour began and the setlist wasn’t quite as exciting as many may have hoped. It was exactly the same as what the band had played earlier in the year, but with the addition of Children of the Damned. It was certainly a rare song and a nice treat for the fans, but it only made for four songs from The Number of the Beast, instead of the promised five. Still, Children of the Damned hadn’t been featured regularly on a tour since 1982 (it was played sporadically throughout the 80s though). The five songs selected from A Matter of Life and Death were also unsurprising: the two singles (Different World and Benjamin Breeg), the Harris epic (For the Greater Good of God), and two other tracks from early in the album (These Colours and Brighter Than a Thousand Suns).

Once again, the tour didn’t last very long. It was a brief run through Europe and consisted of just 12 dates. Fortunately, some of it was actually filmed this time. The band’s appearance at Download festival in Donington was streamed on the internet and was filmed by the band with the intention of a DVD release. It’s unclear why the live release never came about, it was listed on Kevin Shirley’s website for a long time and there is footage of Kevin and Steve working on the mix in the Flight 666 movie. There has been speculation, however. For one, as can be seen in the live stream, a lot of the stage shots are blocked by the numerous flags being held by the audience. Secondly, it was still daytime when the band started the performance and the daylight prevented the full lightshow from being displayed until later on. There was also a slightly embarrassing moment during Wrathchild when Bruce fell on stage, although it’s hard to see how that would prevent the band from releasing the DVD. That being said, since it was live streamed, it can easily be viewed online. A polished fully mixed official version would be nice someday, but for now this is the best way to catch footage from the A Matter of Life and Death era of the band.

Donington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL42k2rnB38

The touring cycle for A Matter of Life and Death was uncharacteristically short. It’s hard to say why, other than the band simply wanting to slow things down as they got older. However, the continued success of Maiden albums and tours was about to reach a climax and this would be the last time a tour wasn’t a huge global affair.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Anguyen92 on December 29, 2017, 09:52:05 PM
All I got to say about the whole A Matter of Life and Death album cycle is, "PRAISE IRON MAIDEN!"  No other classic rock band (except for Rush when they were active) would put this much care and effort and wanting to go to create longer songs, explore more cerebral themes in their lyrics, and make the songs still enjoyable to listen to, etc.

Also, I loved the fact that they decided to spend the first leg of the tour playing the whole album in its entirety.  Again, no other classic band (except for Rush as well) would put this much emphasis in new material for their shows.  Too bad their US tour only composed of 11 shows and it was mainly focusing on the big markets (LA, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, etc.).  I don't think they played a solid leg of US shows when it comes to the reunion album tours until the Book of Souls World Tour where they played a lot of shows in the states, but we'll get to that point eventually.

One more point about A Matter of Life and Death.  For the Greater Good Of God is a tremendous song to me.  As mentioned, in the main Maiden thread, I heard Trivium's Matt Heafy play an acoustic cover of it, and that was good.  That got me into listening to the original version and it was a tremendous gem of a song.  I really enjoyed the orchestral instrumental part of it before they kicked in the solos.  Some people do not think that bands can create really great songs, 20 years past their "prime era", but Iron Maiden has been defying that logic on this run they have and to me, For the Greater Good of God was the peak of it, until they got to The Book of Souls album, but more on that later.

Anyway, great write-up Mosh on those two posts.  Very informative and loaded with great info on the creation of the album and the tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: ProfessorPeart on December 29, 2017, 10:58:50 PM
Count me in as one who was disappointed by the tour. I don't have many memories of the show other than it being rather boring. I remember being seated the whole time as no one bothered standing. Disappointing is the word I always use to describe the show.

The album isn't bad by any means, it just didn't deserve a complete playing.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on December 29, 2017, 11:55:01 PM
Does anyone else think that Out of the Shadows and Tears of the Dragon are similar, at least in the choruses?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mladen on December 30, 2017, 03:48:24 AM
This was the time I became a fan of Iron Maiden. I spent the summer of 2006 immersed in Powerslave and Piece of mind, purchasing the Edward the Great compilation several months later. I was aware there was a new album out due to the fact that it was surprisingly enough announced on local news in my country. I made a note out of it and bought the album mid November. At that point, I realized I have found my favorite band. A Matter of life and death was a masterpiece to my ears, one of the best albums I'd ever heard, and I still love it to bits.

The timing was perfect that at the moment I discovered the best band ever, the news came out that Maiden was coming to Serbia for the first time in 20 years. It would have been a perfect time to see them, but due to my financial situation and the fact that I was only 16 years old, my parents didn't allow me to go. It was disappointing and hearbreaking - little did I know, though, I would see Maiden 8 times over the next 10 years.

Had I gone to that show, I would have been thrilled to see the entire AMOLAD performed live. Instead, we got the mixture of old and new. The 18000 fans were thrilled nevertheless. Here's footage of Fear of the dark from that show. I like to think Bruce was blown away by Serbian crowd that he actually allowed the people to sing an entire verse ("...and when the light begins to change..."), something that I've never seen him do. Also, pay attention to 3:55.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hxGWcUaOV4
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: NoseofNicko on December 30, 2017, 04:26:52 AM
Great album. At first I loved it, then I hated it because almost every song has that same fucking chord progression, but now I love it again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 30, 2017, 03:17:47 PM
Once again another excellent write-up, Mosh!  :tup

Of course I knew the songs were long but until you pointed it out I never realized that Brighter than a Thousand Suns was longer than *anything* on Dance of Death. In a sense it's a prequel to Strange Death in Paradise, since his solo song is specifically about the outcome of the Manhattan Project - the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

About the album... good album, for sure. But I never was its biggest fan and I couldn't really explain why. First of all, I loved Dance of Death very much, and it was hard to top that album for me. Secondly, I wasn't impressed with the production, and the lack of mastering, I get the whole "Let's make it raw and live" but at times it put strain on Bruce's voice, to a casual listener it could sound like he was finally reached by his age and that he was straining and having difficulties.

Also little things here and there annoyed me, such as the many slow intros, and how Bruce starts "late" to sing during Brigher. Probably it was made on purpouse, to make it less predictable and more dissonant, but to me it always felt like he started a half bar late with "We are not the sons of God" (considering how he ends up the stanza with the heavy section already going) and I never got over it.

I was almost annoyed, also, at how people were praising For the Greater Good of God like it was the best thing ever came out of England (including the Beatles, every other metal band, Shakespeare and anything else) while to me it was just yet another variation of the same old same old Harris formula. And The Legacy, as long as it may be, it felt short to me - slow "storytelling" into, slow burn verses and choruses, solo section and then the big ending. It felt like there should have been some other stuff in there, the ending comes too soon and too upbeat and joyful after such a plodding tune.

Still: I don't think it's a bad album, I would never look funny those who love it, and in time I warmed up to it. For all my initial dislike of Greater Good, I have to say Bruce sings it tremendously well (live he filled me with emotion at the beginning and the end), and look how well it works translated for piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIXwvVZmvEc

The day Maiden ever plays with an orchestra, this song has to make the setlist!

About the album cover: of course it's a gazillion times better than Dance of Death, and Eddie IS there, on top of the tank with the gun. He's not just an insignia, he's actuallly standing on the tank.

--------------

About the live shows: I've seen them both!  :metal It was absolutely NOT a chore to sit through the whole album. Mosh explained brillantly the reasoning behind playing it in full, but I've also read that they were anyway undecided on which songs to keep and which to shelf. When other bands are undecided about a setlist, they just go for a greatest hits show, when Maiden are undecided, they play the whole new album  :lol I fully support, then and now, their decision to play it in full. There are plently of nostalgia bands and cover bands anyway, if you want to see just the classics. But a band that strives to remain vital and current has to believe in the new material, and it was a bold and daring move to go for the whole new album. Also, for a while I didn't have to sit through The Number of the Beast, it's not that I dislike the song, but I can live without it by now.

The show was good, it didn't drag at all, stage set was cool and the tank was FUCKING AWESOME. Seriously, people, the best video bootleg does NOT give the idea of how absolutely freaking insane was Eddie appearing out of a giant tank. A jawdrapping moment.

About the "Bruce lets the crowd sing the whole intro of Fear of the Dark": it happened also in Italy. At the second date out of two played in Milan. I was at the first, damn  :D

The second round of this tour, with the Number of the Beast songs back in, happened in Venice, at a Heiniken sponsored festival. It was a four day festival, and Maiden headlined the metal day, the other three days were way more mainstream. Slayer was the last band in the bill before Maiden, and the venue was a very nice park right outside Venice. I still remember me shouting "Hear how damn well he's singing!!!!" during the ending of For the Greater Good of God. And this time around I knew the tank was coming so I really enjoyed it. Very nice show, it left me happy and pumped, Doctor Doctor was not yet universally known as the intro song so I was one of the relatively few that was singing along with joy when it was on. I was so happy to have gone - I had at the time a very bitchy boss at work and I had to fight through mails to get the few hours off the day that would allow me to take the train and go to Venice, I was almost about to give up, also because it was hard to find a sleeping place, but after the show I was so happy that I made it happen.

Funny thing about the festival: I had to sleep there 'cause there were not night trains back from the show... UNLIKE the three other more mainstream days of the festival. Metalheads can screw themselves evidently, the fans of other kinds of music are more cared for. And the day after, as the second of the fourth days of the festival was about to start, and right as I was boarding the train, what happened? a frigging hurricane swept up the festival area, causing enough damages to cancel the whole festival.

I saw it as revenge from the gods of heavy metal, for not putting extra trains only on the metal day... and also frankly because after Iron Maiden have played, who else would be worthy to be on the same stage in the next days?  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on December 30, 2017, 04:13:01 PM
About the album cover: of course it's a gazillion times better than Dance of Death, and Eddie IS there, on top of the tank with the gun. He's not just an insignia, he's actuallly standing on the tank.

Sorry wasn't clear. I wasn't able to find him at first, of course I did see him quickly enough, but it was the first time Eddie wasn't the centerpiece of the artwork.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mladen on December 30, 2017, 11:20:42 PM
About the "Bruce lets the crowd sing the whole intro of Fear of the Dark": it happened also in Italy. At the second date out of two played in Milan. I was at the first, damn  :D
Way to shatter my illusions, man.  :lol The hurricane story is horrific, yet awesome.  :metal

Two more things I want to add about this album - it has my favorite Maiden production. It's the Maiden sound at the peak of vitality and live feel. It's just fantastic, aggressive and sensitive all around. The cover art is also amazing, one of their best overall. Such a brilliant album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on December 31, 2017, 02:30:53 AM
Yeah, as far as I remember there were a few people slightly injured, but no casualties or serious injuries. It sucked for everyone attending the other days of course, but looking back to it, it's funny how metalheads got the "worst" deal (Thursday while the rest was taking place in the weekend, no night trains added) and in the end we were the only ones to actually enjoy the festival  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: DTA on December 31, 2017, 07:01:12 AM
The Longest Day might have my favorite Iron Maiden chorus ever. This was the first of their new albums I picked up after becoming a fan, and I thought it was brilliant at the time. I still enjoy it, but do agree that many of the songs are too long for their own good and it's definitely a chore to listen in its entirety. I'm not sure how I would have liked it live, but I always respect bands who are unafraid of playing their new shit at the expense of older songs. I wish they'd play all of their post-reunion albums in their entirety. Maybe not in sequential order, but with substitutions during 2nd legs like they did with Tears Of A Clown and The Great Unknown.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on December 31, 2017, 08:03:37 AM
Maiden's Modern (Reunion) Era Classic!

I remember this was released on the same day as DT's Score. It was also about 3 weeks before my birthday. With young kids, I couldn't buy the Score DVD AND CD, along with the Maiden CD, so I opted for the Score DVD, which meant waiting for my birthday to get the two CDs.

It took me a couple of listens, but I immediately loved Brighter, and Lord Of Light, and the ominous opening to The Longest Day stood out.
There's a lot to chew on, so it took about 6 listens to really start to grasp all that was here, and what it was was a masterpiece.

While I personally find The Final Frontier just as strong, and a little easier on the ears, For me, The Reunion Era is defined by AMOLAD. An instant classic.

Unfortunately for the tour, the night they were playing in Boston coincided with a family trip to Disney World. Unfortunately, I misses the show. But the Boston Boot is awesome, especially the part where Bruce chastises a lighting guy.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: seasonsinthesky on December 31, 2017, 08:42:04 AM
I liked DOD and especially BNW so much when I got into the band that AMOLAD was pretty tough to get into. I sorta ignored the band for a while. One eventually comes around to good things, of course  :tup

I still enjoy it, but do agree that many of the songs are too long for their own good and it's definitely a chore to listen in its entirety.

Definitely. May suffer the most from 'progmaiden bloat syndrome' imo.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: jammindude on December 31, 2017, 10:25:55 AM
This was the album that got me back into Maiden. I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World, and just ignored the band for several years. It was about a year after FF came out that someone told me to check out AMOLAD, and I was completely blown away. Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on December 31, 2017, 11:29:49 AM
  Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.

Without question.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Lowdz on December 31, 2017, 12:04:13 PM
After falling out of love with Maiden years before, I jumped back in with BNW and sort o& enjoyed it. doD came and went and didn’t impress (apart from Paschendale) but I gave AMOLAD a go without expecting much.

Great album though, so much better than anything they did since SSoaSS.

The slow intros get a bit much. I particularly dislike when they go all folky Morris Dancery but that’s worse on the next one. Typically, the production is crap.

But yeah, excellent album

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on December 31, 2017, 12:28:56 PM
This was the album that got me back into Maiden. I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World, and just ignored the band for several years. It was about a year after FF came out that someone told me to check out AMOLAD, and I was completely blown away. Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.
So out of curiosity: there's a lot of repetition on this album. Choruses, structures, even the same chord progression shows up several times. How did that affect your enjoyment (if at all) compared to on Brave New World?

I have my own answer to this, AMOLAD is tied with Piece of Mind for favorite Maiden album, but I'm curious to hear other takes.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on December 31, 2017, 12:37:04 PM
There's an intensity to AMOLAD that just isn't there on BNW. As experimental as BNW feels, there seems to be a little trepidation that is not present on AMOLAD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: jammindude on December 31, 2017, 01:12:29 PM
This was the album that got me back into Maiden. I was extremely disappointed with Brave New World, and just ignored the band for several years. It was about a year after FF came out that someone told me to check out AMOLAD, and I was completely blown away. Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.
So out of curiosity: there's a lot of repetition on this album. Choruses, structures, even the same chord progression shows up several times. How did that affect your enjoyment (if at all) compared to on Brave New World?

I have my own answer to this, AMOLAD is tied with Piece of Mind for favorite Maiden album, but I'm curious to hear other takes.

 I saw this in the original post and I just don’t get it. I don’t hear nearly the  repetition on this album that I do on others. I hear nothing like the atrocity of blood brothers on this album.  In fact, I can only think of one or maybe two songs that repeat the exact same line 8 times or more. Almost all the rest of the songs change up the chorus a little bit or only repeat four times

EDIT-  in fact, the number one reason I love this album so much is because it WASN’T as repetitive as previous efforts had been. To my ears anyway.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on December 31, 2017, 01:21:00 PM
  I don’t hear nearly the  repetition on this album that I do on others. 

To my ears anyway.

To my ears anyway.
To my ears anyway.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: stargazer18 on December 31, 2017, 02:07:38 PM
I liked Brave New World but thought they took a dip with Dance of Death. This album restored the reunion era credibility with me. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns has a pretty cool groove, Lord of Light incorporates the galloping song style that they play so well. The other stand out epic to me is For the Greater Good of God. It took me a while to get into The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg and The Legacy but when I play the whole disc through they fit. Out of the Shadows is the only weak track on the disc.

I would have loved to have seen this show but they didn't stop anywhere near me. I'm a long time fan and listened to them a lot during their classic era but if they don't play a lot of classics and focus mostly on new stuff I'm fine with that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: jammindude on December 31, 2017, 07:31:05 PM
  I don’t hear nearly the  repetition on this album that I do on others. 

To my ears anyway.

To my ears anyway.
To my ears anyway.

LOL

It's like VXIception
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Stadler on January 01, 2018, 07:34:49 AM
I'm willing to give this another crack (maybe today as I'm not going outside at all - noon wind chills expected to be -5 degrees.  NOON!  But while it's good, and I think better than BNW, it doesn't - for me - touch Dance of Death. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Grappler on January 01, 2018, 08:14:01 PM
Incredible write ups - I just learned so much about the album that I never really knew before!  I've had this love/hate relationship with AMOLAD - when it came out, I loved it.  I remember hearing Benjamin Breeg debut on Sirius XM radio that year.  After a while, I grew tired of the record.  Probably because to me, it sounds quiet and sometimes flat.  Maybe it's because of the lack of mastering.  Maybe it's my brain thinking of the lack of mastering that affects how I hear it.  I don't know.  But I shelved this album for years and only listened to BNW and Final Frontier from the reunion era for a long time.

This thread had me going through all of these records in preparation a few months ago and I listened to AMOLAD in full several times for the first time in years.  The album blew me away like it did when it came out, and it was like discovering a new Maiden album all over again.  Bruce fucking soars on this album.  I think he still sounds at his best on BNW/Rock in Rio, but his vocals here are incredible.  Musically, there's some really nice, heavy riffs meshed with the super melodic reunion era sound. 

I skipped the tour (weeknight show!  ugh) but applaud the hell out of the band for standing behind their new album and playing it in full.  I'm a big fan of bands that really push their new music (especially when touring for a new album) and don't rely on the hits. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Cyclopssss on January 02, 2018, 01:43:19 AM
Great album, top 3 easily for me. Off course, the rumour at the time was that Benjamin Breeg was none other then Paul D'ianno, and the rumours were flying that there was to be a collaboration of some kind. Turned out, it was nothing of the sort....
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: The Curious Orange on January 02, 2018, 02:17:14 AM
Maiden's best album. Balls to the wall metal from first to last, all killer, no filler. I love this album! Shame they've never given any of this material an official live release though.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: kaos2900 on January 02, 2018, 06:55:26 AM
  Top 5 all time Maiden album for me.

Without question.

I agree with this and may even go as far as top 3. There is just something special about this album. I love the rawness and intensity and there really isn't any filler.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 03, 2018, 01:10:35 AM
About the album: I forgot to mention how godly and perfect is the entire first verse of Out of the Shadows. Absolutely brilliant performance from Bruce.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mladen on January 03, 2018, 02:54:11 AM
I also forgot to single out Bruce as the standout performer on this album. It might actually be my favorite vocal performance of his, ever.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 03, 2018, 09:14:09 AM
As promised, some bootlegs from the tour. One audio and one video.

Sweden: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v75z0m4m3q09kp0/Iron%20Maiden%20-%20Stockholm%2C%20Sweden%20November%2018th%2C%202006%20FM%20-%20DJ%20FREE%20%2BDefinitive%20Edition%2B.zip?dl=0

This is an audio bootleg from the 2006 leg and is probably the best sounding of the bunch (including Donington). It's sourced from a radio broadcast and is pretty close to pro quality, although it's a little rough sounding. Adrian's guitar is pretty low in the mix but other than that it's probably the best way to hear the album played in its entirety live.

New York: https://www.dropbox.com/s/21wryzp5xu6kt91/2006-10-12dvd.zip?dl=0

This one is video and is also really good. The audio is really good for a fan recorded boot and the video quality is really nice. The location of the camera is pretty much perfect and you get a lot of really great wide shots of the stage. Plus it's indoors. I almost prefer this to the blurry outdoor Donington footage, despite not being professionally recorded.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Stadler on January 03, 2018, 10:07:24 AM
Great album, top 3 easily for me. Off course, the rumour at the time was that Benjamin Breeg was none other then Paul D'ianno, and the rumours were flying that there was to be a collaboration of some kind. Turned out, it was nothing of the sort....

You hear that occasionally, and I have to say, from what I know about Bruce and Steve, there is a better chance of Donald Trump appearing on stage with Maiden than Paul Di'anno.  If it didn't happen around the time of Clive's illness and what not, it's never going to happen.   I don't see the control freak Harris inviting that shit show into his world, even for a one-off.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 03, 2018, 12:37:06 PM
Another thing I forgot to address: in the end, what was the whole Benny Breeg thing about? as cheesy as it was, the viral marketing was nicely done, with the website and the clues and everything, but it feels to me that everyone was obsessed with it, and then everyone simply forgot about it and moved on without anyone ever asking the band in any interviews. Kinda like the Pink Floyd stunt with the Publius Enigma.

There was a double mystery actually: who was Benny Breeg to begin with, and who is his reincarnation.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Grappler on January 03, 2018, 01:32:35 PM
Another thing I forgot to address: in the end, what was the whole Benny Breeg thing about? as cheesy as it was, the viral marketing was nicely done, with the website and the clues and everything, but it feels to me that everyone was obsessed with it, and then everyone simply forgot about it and moved on without anyone ever asking the band in any interviews. Kinda like the Pink Floyd stunt with the Publius Enigma.

There was a double mystery actually: who was Benny Breeg to begin with, and who is his reincarnation.

From Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reincarnation_of_Benjamin_Breeg

Quote
The website, as well as the biography of Benjamin Breeg, was completely fictional, and was later found to have been created by the band to increase publicity since they knew that fans would research the name trying to figure out who the character was. The date that the cousin and the informant were supposed to meet was none other than the date of the single's release. The website - which has since been taken down - sported an image that was allegedly painted by Benjamin Breeg himself.[citation needed]. This was a dead give-away for fans who recognized that it showed none other than Eddie, the band's mascot, easily discernible by Eddie's one red glowing eye which he has had since the album Somewhere in Time.

Mosh included the self portrat of Benjamin Breeg in his album entry under Part 2.   ;)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on January 03, 2018, 02:03:27 PM
Great album, top 3 easily for me. Off course, the rumour at the time was that Benjamin Breeg was none other then Paul D'ianno, and the rumours were flying that there was to be a collaboration of some kind. Turned out, it was nothing of the sort....

You hear that occasionally, and I have to say, from what I know about Bruce and Steve, there is a better chance of Donald Trump appearing on stage with Maiden than Paul Di'anno.  If it didn't happen around the time of Clive's illness and what not, it's never going to happen.   I don't see the control freak Harris inviting that shit show into his world, even for a one-off.

Maybe if and when they decide to do a farewell tour, but even that is a stretch. I've seen Paul live twice, and it's a horrible sight.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 03, 2018, 02:56:13 PM
I remember the painting of Eddie... so was it all a convoluted way to pay homage to their mascot?  :D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: cramx3 on January 05, 2018, 02:23:10 PM
Great write up as usual, but given my love for the album, I do love how this album got a track by track breakdown  :metal

This is IM at their peak IMO musically.  BNW and DoD are great albums, but it feels like they put things together even better for this release.  Every track is fantastic and given how late in their career this came out, it's simply amazing how experiment yet successful this album was. 

My first IM show was the early years tour during Ozzfest, but this tour was my first real Iron Maiden headlining gig.  I was in college at the time and they didn't play near school, but they did play near my home in NJ so my roommate and I travelled to my house to make this concert over the weekend.  We didn't have money so we had nose bleed seats.  While we both really loved the setlist, it was clear a few songs into the show that we were in a far minority.  No one stood besides us, and we got yelled at to sit which my friend eventually (and regretfully) did.  I was livid with the boring crowd.  IM were on FIRE yet no one cared because it wasn't classic material.  What a shame.  I remember so well going down the escalator leaving the arena and hearing EVERYONE bitch about the setlist and no Trooper, no Run to the HIlls, no Number of the Beast.... and I was yelling back at these people to shut up because you saw those songs on every other tour and will see them again on every other tour BUT THESE SONGS WONT BE PLAYED AGAIN!  My attempts were met to deaf ears and odd looks.  Oh well, I remember that concert and I remember loving it.  I guess that's all that matters.

New York: https://www.dropbox.com/s/21wryzp5xu6kt91/2006-10-12dvd.zip?dl=0

This one is video and is also really good. The audio is really good for a fan recorded boot and the video quality is really nice. The location of the camera is pretty much perfect and you get a lot of really great wide shots of the stage. Plus it's indoors. I almost prefer this to the blurry outdoor Donington footage, despite not being professionally recorded.

I have this video in my boot archive.  It's one of the best in terms of quality from the tour.  The problem... no one went to this concert.  It was after the NJ show the venue is not that far away.  Im guessing people heard about the dislike of the setlist and people didn't even show up for that concert.  The best boot has the worst crowd.  So sad for a big fan of the album and tour like myself.

Part of me feels like this tour went down the same as DT's TA tour, where they played the whole album to a crowd that didn't enjoy it and therefore the whole tour ends up being forgotten by the band without any proper live release.  Also sad.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 05, 2018, 03:10:05 PM
Where do I have to sign to never hear 666 live again?  :lol

Anyway, I listened to the album again today. It's probably the best I have enjoyed it in YEARS. First of all because most likely it's been years since I've heard it anyway, and secondly because I stand by  my opinion at the time (Good, but not OMG OMG BEST THING EVERRRR!!!111 good as everyone seemed to think back in the day), but I've just enjoyed the hell out of this record today.

I'll always cherish Dance of Death, I concede its lows are very average but the highs of the album are so good to carry everything else, but Matter is way more consistent. I still think that the beginning of Thousand Suns is cacophonic, and that Greater Good could have used a trimming especially in the first chorus (4 lines is enough), but probably Steve needed more space for the lyrics, but all in all the album is strong as it is. Lord of Light is such unique and unlike everything they've done, and one should almost be surprised that Steve wanted something like Out of the Shadows on the album.

I still think The Longest Day is the best song. I still remember how at my gig Bruce, unlike in the studio version where he sings the whole stanza low and calm, he went "The world's alight, the cliff ERUPTS IN FLAMES!!!", shouting it and giving me the idea of an explosion even if there weren't pyros for that tour.

So I guess that 12 years later I'm team AMOLAD now. But I still think Dance of Death is deserving of all the praise it can get  :D (and I still think the tank live was goddamn bloody awesome)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on January 05, 2018, 03:57:33 PM
Part of me feels like this tour went down the same as DT's TA tour, where they played the whole album to a crowd that didn't enjoy it and therefore the whole tour ends up being forgotten by the band without any proper live release.  Also sad.

That's an interesting take.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 06, 2018, 06:38:39 PM
Pulling back the curtain a bit: The lengthy writeup was for a few reasons. The first is personal; it's probably tied with Piece of Mind as my favorite Maiden album (I usually say Piece is #1, but it's really hard to compare them). So naturally I have a lot to say about it. The second reason is that I feel it's the most important album they've made since the 80s. Dance of Death and Brave New World are great albums, but with AMOLAD it's no longer about the reunion and it's now a band making albums as if they were still in their prime (and too many fans this is their prime). Finally, as I mentioned earlier, it made sense to present the album track by track because that's the way it was made and performed live. I also usually divide songs based on who wrote them, but the writing credits on this album are unusually lopsided toward not just one, but two members. The Final Frontier will be more divided in half, again to mirror the way the album plays out. On a side note: as more time passes since the release of TFF, I feel TFF and AMOLAD increasingly come off as companion albums the same way Somewhere in Time and SSOASS are. The fan opinion of the albums seem to mirror each other too.

Part of me feels like this tour went down the same as DT's TA tour, where they played the whole album to a crowd that didn't enjoy it and therefore the whole tour ends up being forgotten by the band without any proper live release.  Also sad.
There are definitely some similarities, although also some large differences. The biggest difference is that Dream Theater went through the US twice. I don't think the backlash would've been as bad if they didn't add the second leg, especially playing places they hadn't been to in a long time. Maiden were much more conservative with the US, only playing markets that they had been successful with in recent tours. When they started to play new locations, the setlist was adjusted to fit in more "classics". I think DT's Astonishing tour would've gone down better if it was also modeled that way. Do one leg of playing The Astonishing and then on the second leg maybe devote one set to The Astonishing and then the second set could be classics. AMOLAD was going to be a tough sell from day one. The Astonishing just overstayed its welcome. Not to mention it was made very clear that DT would be playing The Astonishing, where Maiden never really advertised (although to this day I'll never understand why people are still surprised when they see Maiden on a tour for a new album and the setlist is mostly focused on the album).

Edit: I'm glad both Maiden and Dream Theater did these tours though. I didn't get to see AMOLAD, but I did see the Astonishing and appreciated it despite not being crazy about the album.

I was disappointed that playing new albums live didn't become the new standard for Maiden, as I thought The Final Frontier was also deserving of that treatment. On the other hand, The Book of Souls was handled perfectly I thought. The ideal thing for Maiden though would be to rotate new songs so that everything gets played at some point, like what Dream Theater sometimes does and Rush did on Clockwork Angels.

 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on January 06, 2018, 06:59:40 PM
The second reason is that I feel it's the most important album they've made since the 80s. 

It is.

  Dance of Death and Brave New World are great albums, but with AMOLAD it's no longer about the reunion and it's now a band making albums as if they were still in their prime (and too many fans this is their prime). Finally, as I mentioned earlier, it made sense to present the album track by track because that's the way it was made and performed live. 
 

One has to think of the Reunion Era as a "second" prime. It easily compares, and in may ways eclipses the Classic Era. I did a poll thread a few years ago comparing the two.

  On a side note: as more time passes since the release of TFF, I feel TFF and AMOLAD increasingly come off as companion albums the same way Somewhere in Time and SSOASS are. The fan opinion of the albums seem to mirror each other too..

I've honestly never considered SiT and SSOASS companion albums. But as strong as AMOLAD is, TFF is the only album in the Reunion Era that matches it strength wise.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 06, 2018, 07:09:32 PM
  On a side note: as more time passes since the release of TFF, I feel TFF and AMOLAD increasingly come off as companion albums the same way Somewhere in Time and SSOASS are. The fan opinion of the albums seem to mirror each other too..

I've honestly never considered SiT and SSOASS companion albums. But as strong as AMOLAD is, TFF is the only album in the Reunion Era that matches it strength wise.
It's mostly that SSOASS is an extension of the synth heavy sound, more progressive influence, and more commercial songs on Somewhere in Time. They're very much two sides of the same coin. TFF and AMOLAD are a bit more abstract, but I'll go into that more when we get there.

I think I agree that TFF matches the strength of AMOLAD, although I might slightly prefer The Book of Souls. Again, I'll get more into that when we get to those albums.

Edit: As a side note, TFF seems much more popular here than on Maidenfans, which is totally unsurprising.

I'm not sure if I prefer classic Maiden or reunion Maiden. What Bruce said in his book about playing AMOLAD live for the new fans resonated with me because I definitely have a connection to newer Maiden that I've noticed a lot of older fans don't. Even those who enjoy those albums. Conversely, the 80s albums don't mean as much to me as they do to those older fans. That being said though, lately I find myself going for older Maiden more often.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: cramx3 on January 06, 2018, 07:19:24 PM
I have a stronger connection to newer Maiden because that's what really got me into them, but I rate TFF along with the lower level IM albums yet regard AMoLaD as their best, so no, I don't see the two as companion albums although stylistically, I can see why someone would say that.  I just don't think the end products are similar in quality.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on January 06, 2018, 07:32:33 PM
It's mostly that SSOASS is an extension of the synth heavy sound, more progressive influence, and more commercial songs on Somewhere in Time. 

OK, sure.


I think I agree that TFF matches the strength of AMOLAD, although I might slightly prefer The Book of Souls. Again, I'll get more into that when we get to those albums.

I don't think TBOS is even half as deep as AMOLAD or TFF. To me, TBOS benefits from the halo effect that Empire Of The Clouds gives it. Other than the title track and Empire, I don't think anything else on that album is in the same league as AMOLAD or TFF. I do like The Great Unknown, though, especially the Live Chapter version.

I'm not sure if I prefer classic Maiden or reunion Maiden.

I'm not sure either. And I grew up with Maiden in the 80's. But the quality of the Reunion Era cannot be denied, and I would say the same for the Classic era. It's really remarkable what they've done.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 06, 2018, 07:45:20 PM
I have a stronger connection to newer Maiden because that's what really got me into them, but I rate TFF along with the lower level IM albums yet regard AMoLaD as their best, so no, I don't see the two as companion albums although stylistically, I can see why someone would say that.  I just don't think the end products are similar in quality.
When I say companion albums, I'm specifically talking about the musical content and style, not the quality. There are several songs on TFF that musically call back to AMOLAD.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: cramx3 on January 06, 2018, 08:02:09 PM
I have a stronger connection to newer Maiden because that's what really got me into them, but I rate TFF along with the lower level IM albums yet regard AMoLaD as their best, so no, I don't see the two as companion albums although stylistically, I can see why someone would say that.  I just don't think the end products are similar in quality.
When I say companion albums, I'm specifically talking about the musical content and style, not the quality. There are several songs on TFF that musically call back to AMOLAD.

Yea, I see what you are saying.  I guess I feel there was more of a miss with TFF but a hit with AMOLAD in regard to those similar sounding songs.  Yet, there are a lot of similarities musically there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 06, 2018, 08:51:17 PM
I agree for the most part, but again getting ahead of ourselves. I liked TFF a lot when it came out but I've grown lukewarm to it over time, it hasn't aged nearly as well. I still really appreciate a lot of what it's trying to do.

One thing that keeps AMOLAD fresh for me is that my favorites tend to rotate. When I was first getting into the album, it was mostly The Legacy. Last year it was without a doubt For the Greater Good of God. Listening to it last night, it was Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (closely followed by These Colours Don't Run). So if I get tired of one song, another one opens itself up to me. The one epic that never really clicked with me is The Longest Day. I think it suffers the most from repetition, the chorus drags on too long. It does have some nice buildups though and a great instrumental section.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on January 06, 2018, 08:54:13 PM
One thing that keeps AMOLAD fresh for me is that my favorites tend to rotate. When I was first getting into the album, it was mostly The Legacy. Last year it was without a doubt For the Greater Good of God. Listening to it last night, it was Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (closely followed by These Colours Don't Run). So if I get tired of one song, another one opens itself up to me. The one epic that never really clicked with me is The Longest Day. I think it suffers the most from repetition, the chorus drags on too long. It does have some nice buildups though and a great instrumental section.

It has that quality (the bolded part).

I also agree that The Longest Day's chorus is a small drag on the song, even though Bruce is immense on it. But that ominous opening is one of the greatest moments in the entire catalog. The build up is incredible.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 06, 2018, 09:14:04 PM
Yes, Bruce's lyrics really make that song. My biggest gripe is that the choruses don't really give the lyrics justice. It should've been more like Paschendale with less focus on a chorus and more on letting the music move with the lyrics. The intro gets that, as does the instrumental section (love that "machine gun" bit).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 07, 2018, 03:41:37 AM
Maybe Maiden didn't come out officially stating it on their website "We will play the whole album", but I remember their thoughts about doing it were made very public, not hidden at all, and when I saw a headline on a site "Maiden play new album in full" it was just confirmation of what everyone already suspected, it was not a complete surprise at all.

About DT, I think they should have added an encore during the original run, just give something extra to the fans. I didn't mind at all to hear the new album with Maiden, but just playing 5 old classics after AMOLAD did wonders for the show, everyone was still reminded this was Maiden and which songs made them love the band to begin with, so even a 2 songs encore tackled at the end of The Astonishing would have worked better.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: cramx3 on January 07, 2018, 02:23:03 PM
Maybe Maiden didn't come out officially stating it on their website "We will play the whole album", but I remember their thoughts about doing it were made very public, not hidden at all, and when I saw a headline on a site "Maiden play new album in full" it was just confirmation of what everyone already suspected, it was not a complete surprise at all.

About DT, I think they should have added an encore during the original run, just give something extra to the fans. I didn't mind at all to hear the new album with Maiden, but just playing 5 old classics after AMOLAD did wonders for the show, everyone was still reminded this was Maiden and which songs made them love the band to begin with, so even a 2 songs encore tackled at the end of The Astonishing would have worked better.

On the first part, yea IM had hinted they would do the whole album, but I think it was only hardcore fans who knew that.  The average American fan had no idea that was happening when the show began.  I recall about 3 or so songs in Bruce said something at the concert I attendd about "well, we are just going to play the whole thing" to a big moan from the crowd as in people didn't expect that and didn't want that.

For the second part, totally agreed.  DT had a nice pop apparently when they changed the setlist at the end of the tour to add in some classics.  Although IM didn't play their typical classics, they did what I consider their second tier of classics.  It was pretty ballsy to not play The Trooper, Run to the Hills, or The Number of the Beast.  I'd guess the general crowd would have enjoyed those more.  I do remember the crowd getting really excited for 2 Minutes to Midnight, but I think the crowd would have gone crazier for one of the three I listed.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 07, 2018, 02:55:12 PM
I think Run to the Hills and 666 paid the price of being on the same album as Hallowed. With most of the set dedicated to the new album, they probably wanted to give as more to the fans as they could possibly do, and playing three songs from the same album when you have only 5 songs left in the setlist is not the best idea. Sure no one would have complained to get, say, The Trooper instead of The Evil that Men Do, but after a whole new album, any classic song would have done.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 07, 2018, 04:23:32 PM
Well I think they also wanted to focus on the part of the 80s that didn't get attention on the Early Days tour, hence the absence of The Trooper (despite the song fitting in thematically with the show). Run To the Hills also seems to be the first thing they drop when they decide not to do a classics heavy show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: The Curious Orange on January 08, 2018, 02:16:36 AM
AMOLAD is full of great songs, but there's one I always overlook, when actually I shouldn't - The Pilgrim. It's one of Maiden's best songs and needs more love.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Dream Team on January 11, 2018, 06:44:53 AM
One thing that keeps AMOLAD fresh for me is that my favorites tend to rotate. When I was first getting into the album, it was mostly The Legacy. Last year it was without a doubt For the Greater Good of God. Listening to it last night, it was Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (closely followed by These Colours Don't Run). So if I get tired of one song, another one opens itself up to me. The one epic that never really clicked with me is The Longest Day. I think it suffers the most from repetition, the chorus drags on too long. It does have some nice buildups though and a great instrumental section.

It has that quality (the bolded part).

I also agree that The Longest Day's chorus is a small drag on the song, even though Bruce is immense on it. But that ominous opening is one of the greatest moments in the entire catalog. The build up is incredible.

The build-up is indeed awesome. I wish it had led into an even heavier chorus which would have continued the foreboding feeling of doom, and maybe saved the huge hopeful chorus for the very end of the song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: El Barto on January 11, 2018, 10:19:21 PM
Damn, I'd love to hear Maiden cover Angel of Death. Damned underrated TL song.

As somebody who wasn't within a thousand miles of one of the shows and would have loved to see it, I always found the bitching about the setlist annoying.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: TAC on January 13, 2018, 08:19:54 PM
Damn, I'd love to hear Maiden cover Angel of Death. Damned underrated TL song.

As somebody who wasn't within a thousand miles of one of the shows and would have loved to see it, I always found the bitching about the setlist annoying.

Agreed on both points.


EDIT: EVERY TL song is underrated!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: A Matter of Life and Death (2006 - 07)
Post by: Mosh on January 14, 2018, 05:24:39 PM
Somewhere Back In Time Tour (2008 - 09)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/fi/5/5b/Somewherebackintimetour.jpg)
Following the usual pattern of 00’s Maiden, the tour following A Matter Of Life and Death would be focused on the band’s greatest hits. This time, however, the tour was being hyped up long before the AMOLAD cycle had ended. While on stage, Bruce would often make references to pyramids and ancient mariners to tease the upcoming tour. So the tour’s theme itself was no surprise, although there were other aspects of the tour that did come as a surprise. The tour was announced as a sequel to The Early Days and would also coincide with the release of Live After Death and Maiden England on DVD. A DVD was released just days after the tour began, but it only included Live After Death and content from the Powerslave era. Regardless, the focus remained on the entire 80’s era including Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Every song on the setlist was from the 80s, with the exception of Fear of the Dark. A compilation was also released, Somewhere Back In Time, which featured most of the same songs that were played on the tour. The combination of the exclusively 80s setlist and World Slavery Tour stage show made for a perfect storm that would result in Maiden’s biggest tour to date. If all that wasn’t enough, the band were also going to be flying in the highly publicized Ed Force One, a Boeing 757 plane piloted by none other than Bruce Dickinson.

The groundwork for Ed Force One was actually laid back in the 90s when Bruce was embarking on his solo career. The schedule for the Skunkworks tour saw him jumping from location to location around the globe in short bursts, so it made sense to fly as opposed to a traditional bus tour. And since Bruce had recently obtained his pilot’s license, he was eager to fly the plane himself (Bruce had also flown himself to gigs toward the end of his first Maiden stint). That being said, Skunkworks was a small tour with a small crew. The idea of taking a crew and production of Maiden’s size on a single plane was going to be far more complicated and was something Bruce had in mind long before they were finally able to actually do it. A commercial plane was then converted to also carry large freight in addition to the passengers and it was redecorated with the band’s logo and, of course, Eddie. The plane brought a ton of publicity to a tour that already had a lot of buzz around it. Major news networks were holding interviews inside the plane and fans were making the trek to their local airports to view the spectacle for themselves.

The biggest benefit to using Ed Force One was that it was now economically feasible to play locations that the band were typically unable to. Places like Australia, where the band had only toured three times before, were now possibilities. There were also locations that the band hadn’t visited at all before and markets that they had briefly touched on but could now explore more thoroughly. The tour began in India before jumping down to Australia, then back up to Japan. They then made a stop in California before going into Mexico and South America followed by a full North American tour. From here, the tour was closer to the typical Maiden itinerary and concluded in Europe with a combination of festival appearances and headline performances at various stadiums.
As expected, the stage show was heavily based on the World Slavery Tour. Naturally this time it was a bit bigger, with additional props and a more elaborate lighting rig. There are many small differences between the two stage productions, but for most fans these details were hardly (if at all) noticeable. The stage did borrow elements from other tours, though. There was the continued use of drapes depicting various artwork to go with a particular song or album, which didn’t start until the 90s. On the original World Slavery Tour, drapes were used but as backdrops to the stage set. Most of the drapes on the Somewhere Back In Time tour still followed the Egyptian theme, but there was also imagery from other eras. One of the Egyptian themed drapes even featured the Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son Eddies. Speaking of Eddie, the 2008 tour featured just one Eddie (probably due to the more limited space that comes with putting everything on a plane): the Somewhere In Time cyborg Eddie. In 2009, when the band embarked on a more traditional tour, they also brought the large mummy Eddie from World Slavery.

Unlike the Early Days tour, the setlist for Somewhere Back In Time was pretty predictable with few real surprises. The original press release more or less gave away the entire setlist and all of the usual suspects were present. That’s not to say it wasn’t a special set, however. As expected, the four songs from Powerslave that appeared on Live After Death were present. Two Minutes To Midnight had been played on several recent tours, including the previous one, but the other three songs were true rarities. Aces High and Powerslave were last played in 1999 on the Ed Hunter tour, which was a very small scaled tour, and before that they hadn’t been played since the original World Slavery Tour. Rime of the Ancient Mariner hadn’t been played since 1986 and once again served as the centerpiece of the concert complete with costumes for Bruce and pyrotechnics.

From Somewhere In Time, both Wasted Years and Heaven Can Wait were played. Wasted Years was another song that was last played on the Ed Hunter tour and Heaven Can Wait was last played on the Gimme Ed tour. Since both tours were very limited, this was the first time a lot of fans got to see these songs performed by the current lineup. That being said, there are always complaints about a Maiden setlist and this time the selection of Somewhere In Time songs was the cause of the complaints. Heaven Can Wait was played frequently throughout the late 80s and 90s (it was one of the songs that was still performed with Blaze in the band) and Wasted Years was also played pretty frequently, making both songs predictable selections. With so much of the tour’s promotional material being based on Somewhere In Time, not to mention the name of the tour itself a reference to the album, there was a possibly misguided expectation among fans that there may have been more from the album. Some even speculated that Alexander the Great would finally be played live. They weren’t totally wrong: Bruce performed a few bars of the song in Greece on kazoo. The lack of deep cuts from Somewhere In Time more or less solidified that the album would likely never receive the renaissance from the band that many fans crave.

The only real surprise of the setlist actually came from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son with Moonchild kicking off the encore. Moonchild hadn’t been performed since 1988 on the Seventh Son tour. Additionally, they played it complete with the acoustic intro and synth guitar riff for the first time (in 1988 it was merely an intro tape). It was an unexpected addition and a new way to hear the song. The other two Seventh Son selections were once again the expected choices in Can I Play With Madness and The Clairvoyant, both songs that had already been played by this lineup and were present throughout much of the 90s.

The rest of the setlist was made up of the songs that usually appeared on “greatest hits” tours. The usual staples were played with no real surprises. Revelations returned once again, now becoming a staple for modern Maiden. Fear of the Dark’s inclusion was the cause of some slight controversy, as it wasn’t part of the era being showcased on the tour, but by now it had really become as much of a classic Maiden song as anything else on the set. 
As was the case with the A Matter of Life and Death tour, Somewhere Back In Time continued into 2009 with an updated setlist and stage show. The tour returned to South America for a more extensive tour as well as countries which did not get to see Maiden often such as Serbia and New Zealand. Appropriately, the setlist was altered to be even more casual friendly. Five songs from the 2008 leg were replaced: Revelations, Heaven Can Wait, Can I Play With Madness, The Clairvoyant, and Moonchild. The new songs were Wrathchild, Phantom Of the Opera, Children of the Damned, The Evil That Men Do, and Sanctuary. In some ways, the new set was an improvement. Phantom Of the Opera is a fan favorite that is welcome in any set and, although it was brought back just a couple years earlier, Children of the Damned had rarely been performed in the locations that Maiden were visiting on this leg. On the other hand, Sanctuary and Wrathchild are not exactly songs that the fans clamor for.
 
The 2009 setlist was still solid though and is worth checking out. Perhaps the best bootleg from the entire Somewhere Back In Time tour comes from the 2009 leg: Santiago. As usual, the South American shows provide a great source for professionally recorded footage and this particular show is the best way to experience the 2009 setlist.

Santiago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1k1McAldj0

Of course bootlegs from 2008 aren’t necessary because this tour was immortalized in an official release:

Flight 666 (2009)

(https://img.discogs.com/j-iEL2iaC0K-BIIsrCPM-Sodig4=/fit-in/600x597/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2399022-1355062226-5254.jpeg.jpg)
For the 2008 portion of the tour, a documentary crew led by Canadian director Sam Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Global Metal, later on Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage) accompanied the band to document what was a monumental tour in many ways. A few weeks after the tour concluded, the documentary was released as a feature film to select theaters and also made appearances at various film festivals.

The documentary largely focuses on both the groundbreaking nature of Ed Force One and Maiden’s massive following. It depicts large crowds of fans swarming the band at airport, priests who deliver Maiden inspired sermons, other music icons fawning over the band at gigs, and fans who have turned Maiden shows into family events. The wide range of fans is also heavily touched upon in the documentary. Several members comment in the film that they notice the fans getting younger despite their heyday supposedly being 25 years ago. They use this fascination to explain the purpose of the tour: it was not meant to be a nostalgia trip for the older fans but an opportunity for younger fans to experience what they were not around to see the first time. There is additionally heavy emphasis on the South American and Australian portions of the tour, where the band has long been awaited by a rabid fan base.

Having a documentary crew follow the band around for an entire tour was also the sort of thing that isn’t typical of Maiden. Bruce and Nicko seem to be the only ones who are totally comfortable having a camera crew around, while the other members try to stay out of the spotlight. Steve and Adrian each mention multiple times on screen that they’re not used to it, with Adrian flat out stating that he was skeptical about the whole thing. Janick Gers is also hardly present and apparently did not interact with the crew at all until the end of the tour. The film also makes it apparent that the members are all pretty laid back and lead quiet lives off stage. There aren’t really any parties shown in the film and leisure time is spent sightseeing and playing relaxing sports such as golf and tennis. If anything, the largest personalities in the Maiden camp aren’t the band members at all, but the crew. For the hardcore fans who have watched other documentaries, this probably comes as no surprise, but the film highlights many of the characters who work on the Maiden crew. The film also does a good job of showing how involved a tour of this scale is. The actual performances are just brief moments within a much larger operation. 
None of that is to say the band members are boring or disconnected though. There are plenty of great interviews and moments that reveal more of what they are like both as artists and regular people. There are some funny moments and you can tell that this lineup has built up a solid group chemistry over the years (by this point it was already the band’s longest surviving lineup). While it’s true that Janick and Steve don’t appear much in the doc (Adrian and Dave are surprisingly prominent) they still provide plenty of insight in the interviews and have their own moments.

Unsurprisingly, Flight 666 was a big hit among fans. It further rode the momentum of the tour and and provided fans a rare glimpse at the behind the scenes of Maiden. It was also critically acclaimed. It won the award for Best Music Documentary at SXSW and the Juno Award for Best Music DVD of the year.

Of course it wouldn’t be complete without a live recording. The Flight 666 Soundtrack album featured the entire setlist but with each song recorded in a different city. The video was then included as a bonus to the DVD. The live portion is a great addition and features some really solid performances. In some ways, the live disc captures the spirit of the band and their fans more than the film does (that’s not to say the film doesn’t do a good job with these things). While much of the setlist has some overlap with the recently reissued Live After Death, it’s refreshing to hear these songs performed by a different lineup. Also being the third live album from this lineup, there is still a surprising amount of songs that haven’t appeared yet. That being said, it’s also the first Maiden video release not to feature any songs that have never appeared on video before, so it may not be as essential to some.

Somewhere Back In Time was really one of the most exciting times in Maiden’s recent history. At this point it became obvious the band had entered into a second golden age. They had recently released an incredible album with A Matter of Life and Death and were now embarking on the biggest tour of their entire career, including the 80’s. A second wave of this magnitude was just unheard of and it’s a wave that they continue to ride 10 years later. The band received a ton of press and were getting mainstream attention that they typically didn’t receive. I remember feeling like Maiden was this well kept secret that you didn’t realize others were aware of until you attended a concert. Suddenly I could turn on cable news and see an interview with Bruce Dickinson aboard Ed Force One or I would go to school and not be the only one wearing a Maiden shirt. The tour was the second highest grossing of 2008 by a British artist, second only to The Police and several of the gigs (especially in South America) went on to be some of the largest of their careers.

For most bands, it would be hard to avoid the temptation of just doing 80s nostalgia tours for the rest of their careers. However, Maiden have always been about pushing forward and they weren’t about to abandon the exciting musical horizons they had explored with the past few albums. With this chapter of the band’s history coming to a close, it was time for Maiden to prove that 30 years into their recording careers they hadn’t yet run out of ideas.

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LSvw_TZVrX4/VkThpJuW1LI/AAAAAAAAK40/k0ZQETmhjbs/s1600/Front.jpg)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61f6uM3BbtL.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Setlist Scotty on January 14, 2018, 05:59:45 PM
As always Mosh, great and thorough write up! I would have loved to have seen this tour and I had the chance, but the fact that they included Fear of the Dark (which it should be noted, they did NOT include in the Early Days tour) and only played a pair of songs from Somewhere in Time (the most predictable choices) really pissed me off, and so I passed on seeing this tour.

It angers me to no end that they pretty much blow off that album, being my favorite of their's, and one that has a great number of tracks - especially the title track and all of Adrian Smith's submissions. I would hope one day they'd finally give this album it's due, but as you said, it looks like any hope for that to happen is gone. I just wish someone would beat some sense into Steve so that he'd include more of the deeper cuts from that album as well as other tracks from their catalog that have been cast aside.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 14, 2018, 06:05:18 PM
The fact that Caught Somewhere In Time was not played was very disappointing.


And Flight 666 is simply amazing. I know people that aren't into Iron Maiden that think it's great.
Here's my favorite scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beW-gcjYxHw
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Anguyen92 on January 14, 2018, 10:28:09 PM
I think Flight 666 that the first thing I was exposed to when getting into Iron Maiden back around 2012-2013 and I was enamored with the plane concept and how they wanted to travel for this tour.  I thought, at the time, the idea to take the band, roadies, family, all the things needed to produce a big stage show and fit them on a plane and have the lead vocalist fly the plane all over the world was an awesome and tremendous endeavor to do and make it work.  I guess it is still an awesome idea to this day, since no one else (in the music world, as far as I know) other than Maiden wanted to do something like this.

I heard about Sam Dunn (the main guy that produced Flight 666) before watching this.  I knew that he was the guy that did Rush's Beyond the Lighted Stage and I learned about him while watching a small footage of A Headbanger’s Journey in my rock music history course back in college so I know that this was going to be professional well-crafted.  The one first things I noticed was that the guys in Iron Maiden looked to be pretty cool guys to be around and that it was nice to see them be very interested in hobbies outside of metal music and that they were very relatable.

Another thing I noticed was that they had a huge passionate global fanbase where if there's an Iron Maiden show happening in their country, there's going to be a big buzz in the air and electricity in the sky as evident as you see fans at the airports when they are landing.  Indian fans, Japanese fans, Australian fans, other well-known musicians like Tom Morello, Kerry King, Chris Jericho (they were there for the LA show of the leg back in 2008).  They were all pumped to see Iron Maiden.  South American fans, however, oh they were really ecstatic.  There was a priest in Brazil that preaches Iron Maiden.  I didn't even think a priest of any kind would be into them given their "supposed" image. The guy that caught the drumstick in that video that TAC linked.  I don't think I ever saw any kind of fan display that kind of emotion ever at a concert of any kind as that guy was crying when he caught the drumstick.

The concert footage was really good as well.  I think it was a good setlist for newer fans like me to see what they were all about.  I really enjoyed Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Clairvoyant, Can I play with Madness, The Number of the Beast, and Hallowed be thy Name.

Yeah, the Somewhere Back in Time tour was really successful, and it did not wore out its welcome which gives Iron Maiden a chance to keep moving forward with where they want to go with their new music.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: The Curious Orange on January 15, 2018, 01:58:40 AM
Can I just take back what I said about Dance of Death? Flight 666 actually has the worst cover. Why they didn't go for that Derek Riggs "Eddie ripping the plane" image is beyond me...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 15, 2018, 02:11:11 AM
Ten years later we can all discuss and nitpick the setlist, that's what message boards are for, but back then, seeing this wonderful spectacle brought back to life was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and it was something not to be missed for the world!!!  :metal

As Mosh brilliantly stated Maiden's second conquer of the world happened around this time. The attention was probably even bigger than the '80s golden era, and worldwide Maiden fans sold out venues making every show a night to remember. Also the move of getting a plane, branding it with their logos and Eddie, a plane that the lead singer himself could fly, was unprecedented on this scale, and badass (It is my understanding however that Bruce didn't always fly the plane, and that he was doing it on no concert days).

My chance to see this wonderful recreation of the World Slavery Tour came in form of a festival some 200 KM away from me - it didn't matter that they didn't play my hometown, I just had to take a train and be there!

By that time, I already have been a fan since 1995, and was seeing them live since 1998. I too watched and heard many times Live After Death, and I totally missed the show back then because I was just a small kid, so this was a gift also for me, a new millennium rendition of the World Slavery Tour to behold what it was like.

And boy... what a show. To this day, one of my best shows EVER, and top 3 of my Maiden shows, possibly the best along the Ed Hunter one. I was there with a friend who was seeing Maiden for the first time, I already was a bit of a veteran of their shows so I knew all about their customs, I even explained him about Doctor Doctor... when the song started he told me "Is this the song?" and I didn't recognized it, told him it wasn't, then I realized it was Doctor Doctor, stopped mid-sentence while I was talking, jumped up as I was sitting on the ground, and started to tell him beyond excited "Welcome to the World Slavery tour!!! welcome to the world slavery tour!!!"

Churchill's Speech leading into Aces High was glorious, everyone was singing the chorus and if we would have been in a closed venue (it was an open air festival), I'm sure we would have gotted the "roof is coming down" vibe. Revelations, symbolically my favorite song because it was the first Maiden song that I loved and started the avalanche effect of making me a Bruce, Maiden and metal fan, was already played third in the set and I got the feeling I was a kid in a candy store.

The treats were of course a line of classics, song after songs, with little pauses in between, performed brilliantly, and with Bruce absolutely fantastic and on top of his game. Rime of the Ancient Mariner was an absolute highlight, and now that Mosh mentioned a single walking Eddie I'll have to go find some YouTube videos 'cause I could swear I've seen also the mummy Eddie in Powerslave, probably I'm confusing Live After Death.

At the climax of the show I heard the four slow counts from Nicko, I was totally and completely braced for Hallowed Be Thy Name... and then Fear of the Dark came. I kid you not, I spent the whole intro of the song, until Bruce started to sing, yelling "No!! no!!! what's the matter? it doesn't fit!", I was very sure the whole setlist was about the '80s, I was both surprised and annoyed at the presence of the song, then I just resigned and went along with it.

Moonchild played in full, intro included, was another major surprise, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. But this applied to the whole show, Maiden (Bruce included) were at the top of their game and conquered once again the top of the world.

Flight 666 is a fantastic and well worthy document of the whole adventure, the documentary is interesting and comprehensive, the performances are all great and I loved the little backstage bits, where you get a feel of what it's like working backstage at a Maiden show.

I am very happy to have seen this pivotal part of Maiden history, a second chance for people like me too young to have seen the World Slavery Tour... and to think that the next tour will be attended by entusiastic Maiden fans and some of them were too young to see Somewhere Back in Time in 2008! The Maiden legacy goes on and on  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 15, 2018, 08:11:37 AM
... in that video that TAC linked.  I don't think I ever saw any kind of fan display that kind of emotion ever at a concert of any kind as that guy was crying ...

I have a similar experience which I will share very soon in this thread.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: El Barto on January 15, 2018, 08:37:17 AM
Ten years later we can all discuss and nitpick the setlist, that's what message boards are for, but back then, seeing this wonderful spectacle brought back to life was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and it was something not to be missed for the world!!!  :metal

As Mosh brilliantly stated Maiden's second conquer of the world happened around this time. The attention was probably even bigger than the '80s golden era, and worldwide Maiden fans sold out venues making every show a night to remember. Also the move of getting a plane, branding it with their logos and Eddie, a plane that the lead singer himself could fly, was unprecedented on this scale, and badass (It is my understanding however that Bruce didn't always fly the plane, and that he was doing it on no concert days).

My chance to see this wonderful recreation of the World Slavery Tour came in form of a festival some 200 KM away from me - it didn't matter that they didn't play my hometown, I just had to take a train and be there!

By that time, I already have been a fan since 1995, and was seeing them live since 1998. I too watched and heard many times Live After Death, and I totally missed the show back then because I was just a small kid, so this was a gift also for me, a new millennium rendition of the World Slavery Tour to behold what it was like.

And boy... what a show. To this day, one of my best shows EVER, and top 3 of my Maiden shows, possibly the best along the Ed Hunter one. I was there with a friend who was seeing Maiden for the first time, I already was a bit of a veteran of their shows so I knew all about their customs, I even explained him about Doctor Doctor... when the song started he told me "Is this the song?" and I didn't recognized it, told him it wasn't, then I realized it was Doctor Doctor, stopped mid-sentence while I was talking, jumped up as I was sitting on the ground, and started to tell him beyond excited "Welcome to the World Slavery tour!!! welcome to the world slavery tour!!!"

Churchill's Speech leading into Aces High was glorious, everyone was singing the chorus and if we would have been in a closed venue (it was an open air festival), I'm sure we would have gotted the "roof is coming down" vibe. Revelations, symbolically my favorite song because it was the first Maiden song that I loved and started the avalanche effect of making me a Bruce, Maiden and metal fan, was already played third in the set and I got the feeling I was a kid in a candy store.

The treats were of course a line of classics, song after songs, with little pauses in between, performed brilliantly, and with Bruce absolutely fantastic and on top of his game. Rime of the Ancient Mariner was an absolute highlight, and now that Mosh mentioned a single walking Eddie I'll have to go find some YouTube videos 'cause I could swear I've seen also the mummy Eddie in Powerslave, probably I'm confusing Live After Death.

At the climax of the show I heard the four slow counts from Nicko, I was totally and completely braced for Hallowed Be Thy Name... and then Fear of the Dark came. I kid you not, I spent the whole intro of the song, until Bruce started to sing, yelling "No!! no!!! what's the matter? it doesn't fit!", I was very sure the whole setlist was about the '80s, I was both surprised and annoyed at the presence of the song, then I just resigned and went along with it.

Moonchild played in full, intro included, was another major surprise, and I enjoyed the hell out of it. But this applied to the whole show, Maiden (Bruce included) were at the top of their game and conquered once again the top of the world.

Flight 666 is a fantastic and well worthy document of the whole adventure, the documentary is interesting and comprehensive, the performances are all great and I loved the little backstage bits, where you get a feel of what it's like working backstage at a Maiden show.

I am very happy to have seen this pivotal part of Maiden history, a second chance for people like me too young to have seen the World Slavery Tour... and to think that the next tour will be attended by entusiastic Maiden fans and some of them were too young to see Somewhere Back in Time in 2008! The Maiden legacy goes on and on  :metal
Yeah, that was one I had to travel for, as well. Caught it in LA at The Forum (Number of the Beast on the video). Excellent show full of really good fans with some great energy. It's the only show I've ever been to where all of the fans knew all of the words to Doctor Doctor and sang along. That was a fantastic way to start the thing off. And hearing Churchill lead into Aces High was a replay of one of my favorite shows as a kid. I saw the tour twice more during the second leg, but there was something about the original Ed Force 1 leg that really made it special.

No idea if it'd be in my top 3 Maiden shows. I can probably come up with five or six contenders in that contest. I've been kind of lucky there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 15, 2018, 08:40:20 AM
  I can probably come up with five or six contenders in that contest. I've been kind of lucky there.
Amen, brother.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 15, 2018, 09:35:16 AM
For me it would be:

- Ed Hunter tour, 1999
- Somewhere Back in Time tour, 2008
- Maiden England, 2013

Yeah, ME's setlist maybe could have been better, but having never seen the original, and seeing that wonderful stage set and an awesome string of classic songs one after the other was glorious.

Anyway, picking Maiden's best shows is like making a list of beautiful top models, or what's better between a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and a Rolls Royce. Pick the least beautiful thing and you're still in for a major treat.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: cramx3 on January 15, 2018, 10:46:04 AM
Another great write up and another set of really relatable moments that it seemed many of us had from this tour.  My first two IM shows were awesome (early years tour and AMOLD tour) but I think this is when "magic moments" started happening.  We used to love listening to IM in college and would always say we had "magic moments" listening to them.  Let me just start by saying I've gone to almost all of the IM concerts I've been to with my best friend and former college roommate.  After seeing AMOLAD from the nose bleeds and being yelled at to sit down, we both agreed, we aren't seeing another IM from the back.  We missed the sales for the NJ show, but we had now graduated college and had jobs both living at our parents houses again.  We bought the VIP GA tickets on ebay for $250 each.  Which is to this day, the most I've spent on a concert.  These were to get in the GA section closest to the stage.  A bit expensive, but we would find out that it was well worth it.  I had never been up close like that to a big concert.  The feel of the pyro from Aces High and the band coming out was just mind blowing.  The crowd erupting and going crazy, the rush of adrenaline, Steve's bass being pointed at you while Bruce comes running out!  Wow.  Great setlist too, I did not spoil myself so I was really surprised to see them come out with an acoustic guitar and play the Moonchild intro and then once again, get that pyro and band storming the stage moment for the encore.  I think the NJ and maybe LA shows were the only ones on the Ed Force One leg that had pyro?  I think due to laws and traveling with it, just made it not possible, but in the US they could do it for their two shows.  When we got home that nice, we couldn't sleep as our ears ringing and adrenaline pumping wasn't stopping anytime soon.  They announced at that NJ show that they would be back soon playing at Madison Square Garden.  And it was only 3 months later that we got to see them again and once again had another "magic moment"  I'm off work today so dug up some old photos from this show.  Most were blurry but got some cool ones:

The opener was Steve's daughter Lauren Harris:
(https://i.imgur.com/TwWXhEZ.jpg)

Bruce:
(https://i.imgur.com/UubyEMw.jpg)

Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which I had no idea was going to be featured in the new DVD...
(https://i.imgur.com/ww1GfmD.jpg)

Rocking out from the front:
(https://i.imgur.com/EunUrkg.jpg)

Dave battling Cyborg Eddie:
(https://i.imgur.com/yUWMA0u.jpg)


So then came the e-mail.  After paying $250 for that ticket and knowing IM were coming back, I did my research on how to get these tickets for face value.  I signed up for the fan club, got my pre-sale code and was ready at the sale time to buy those VIP GA tickets for the MSG show... and I couldn't get them.  I was really mad, but I scooped up a few tickets and was glad I was going to see them again.  I also only spent $90 so there was that.  Well, another part of the fan club was being eligible to win the Heaven Can Wait contest... and the magic moment came when I recieved an email a couple days before the concert saying I had won  :metal :metal  My best bud and I got our badges and passes to get on stage for HCW.  Sold out Madison Square Garden.  Maybe one of the best moments in my entire life.  The directions said to come to the seating section on the side of the stage during Rime and then you'll wait for HCW.  Well between those two songs was Powerslave and the power went out near the end of the song!  https://youtu.be/a23W_053DIg?t=5m40s (https://youtu.be/a23W_053DIg?t=5m40s)  Being up close to the side of the stage gave me a really cool viewing of this event.  The guys played soccer on stage and at one point Bruce came back near us and started yelling at the guy at the side stage sound board.  I'll never forget seeing Bruce so mad and yelling, I of course was cheering him on.  Anyway, we finally hit the stage and I was jumping around right next to Steve Harris.  Luckily someone got this on video as well: https://youtu.be/0oWV0pFKKLU?t=3m29s (https://youtu.be/0oWV0pFKKLU?t=3m29s) One regret about this, is that I didn't realize all their wives were on stage and we could actually run around a bit along the back.  I totally would have done more than stand next to Steve, but I was also really just struck in the moment.  You couldn't see far out on stage cause of all the lights on you, but you could just see an endless crowd watching.  I've never been on such a stage before.  It was over so quickly and I remember running back to my seats feeling so high on adrenaline.  However, by the time IM came on for the encore, I felt like death.  I had become so drained from that crazy moment, that I used all my energy.  The ending of the show was great and all, but I just wanted my bed.  I don't really have any pictures because I didn't want to risk bringing my camera (these shows were before I had a camera on my phone).

Then of course my friend and I went to NYC for the movie theater showing of Flight 666.  Sold out and awesome to watch that with a room full of hardcore fans.  The cheering and singing along during the film were also unlike anything I had ever seen.  So cool to see Rime featured on this when we were right in front watching that live.  It's funny because I thought this would be the best it could be.  Nothing could ever top these two concerts.  Well, IM still had more magic moments for us to come.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: cramx3 on January 15, 2018, 10:49:59 AM
Edit: double post
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Grappler on January 15, 2018, 11:03:47 AM
This was the third and final time that I saw Maiden.  After becoming a fan, there were two shows that I'd kill to have been old enough to have seen - Maiden on the World Slavery tour and Metallica on the Justice tour.  So this tour was absolute magic for me.  I didn't care to nitpick the setlist - I understood that the set was loosely based on Live After Death, but they'd still modernize it with some SIT/SSOASS songs.  They made that clear in the tour announcement.  Not that it would be a rarities tour, but it would follow the general flow of the original World Slavery setlist.  I just wanted my fix of 80's Maiden.  For the summer of 2008, they had the big mummified Eddie come out behind Nicko, which was incredible to see after spending 10 years looking at the picture in the Live After Death booklet. 

It remains one of my top 3, if not my favorite concert of all time - just an all-around awesome experience to see them play Rime of the Ancient Mariner and the big Eddie.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mladen on January 15, 2018, 11:07:38 AM
The fact that Caught Somewhere In Time was not played was very disappointing.


And Flight 666 is simply amazing. I know people that aren't into Iron Maiden that think it's great.
Here's my favorite scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beW-gcjYxHw
That might be my favorite scene in the movie as well. I almost cry every time I see it, too.

My buddy's favorite scene, on the other hand, is the one with dogs humping in Mexico.  :lol

This era was an amazing time for me, since it was the first tour I saw Maiden on. Serbia was the only European country the band performed in in 2009, if I remember correctly, so the year before we were rather skeptical that we would see the band any time soon. It was such a pleasant surprise and an exciting time. Before the gig, we hunted down the guys and found out which hotel they were staying in and eventually got Steve Harris to take photos with us. Needless to say, my hands were shaking. Imagine an 18-year-old, seeing his favorite band for the first time, having the opportunity to take a photo with a legend. It was killer.

Both the Flight 666 documentary and the concert footage are spectacular. Probably the best video release the band had ever come up with. Lets not forget how awesome the documentary on Live after death is - some of the stories crack me up, especially the explanation of Mission from 'Arry, the boys being mischievous in Canada and Bruce's rant on reality shift.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 15, 2018, 11:48:33 AM
Nice experience cramx3!!! Seeing Maiden front row must be one of those unforgettable experiences that words can't properly describe  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Stadler on January 15, 2018, 12:48:29 PM
I have nothing to compare to these memories, except those I've related back a few pages about seeing them as an opening band, and on their first headline tour.  It's awesome how this band is not only still around, but still creating "Greatest Moment of My Life" events after 35 fucking years.    AMAZING. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 15, 2018, 05:09:12 PM
Awesome pics Cram!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 16, 2018, 01:30:35 AM
I have nothing to compare to these memories, except those I've related back a few pages about seeing them as an opening band, and on their first headline tour.  It's awesome how this band is not only still around, but still creating "Greatest Moment of My Life" events after 35 fucking years.    AMAZING.

It's three generations or four by now. Come May, it will be 20 years since my first Maiden concert. When I started seeing them, I was a n00b that had missed Bruce's tenure in the band, and even if I don't remember such a thing, it could have well happened to have met someone at the concert saying "10 years ago I saw the Seventh Son tour", with me going "wow". Now in July I will see them again and there might be some 20 years old or younger who will see Maiden for the first time, and would look in awe to ME if I'd say "You know, ten years ago I saw them redoing the World Slavery tour show with the egyptian backdrop and everything".

Really impressive when you think of it! how many boybands or pop wonders have risen and fallen during just a couple of tour cycles of Maiden? how many Spice Girls carreers can you fit into Maiden's one?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: RodrigoAltaf on January 16, 2018, 07:10:10 AM
Yeah man... my daughter is THREE years old and she wants to see Maiden next time, "as long as you protect me from the monster, dad!"
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Stadler on January 16, 2018, 09:03:26 AM
I showed my 16 year old some footage from the "Live After Death" video, and since she has an affinity for that kind of stuff (Egypt and what not) she wants to see a Maiden show.  I told her they don't tour the pyramid, but when I showed her a clip of the big floating head from the recent tour, she said "no, that'll work".   

Plus, I feel like I have to show her certain things; it's my job as a parent to make sure she knows Zeppelin, knows Floyd, knows the Beatles, sees Kiss live with the makeup... whether she likes them or not is not the point, it's music history.  I feel like seeing Bruce Dickinson live is in that category. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 16, 2018, 01:43:11 PM
I showed my 16 year old some footage from the "Live After Death" video, and since she has an affinity for that kind of stuff (Egypt and what not) she wants to see a Maiden show.  I told her they don't tour the pyramid, but when I showed her a clip of the big floating head from the recent tour, she said "no, that'll work".   

Plus, I feel like I have to show her certain things; it's my job as a parent to make sure she knows Zeppelin, knows Floyd, knows the Beatles, sees Kiss live with the makeup... whether she likes them or not is not the point, it's music history.  I feel like seeing Bruce Dickinson live is in that category.

I took my 14 y/o to see Maiden this summer. He's not into them, but was curious about the whole thing. He was more than will to don the attire. What was cool to me was that I saw Maiden when I was 14!
After the show, he asked me what the singers name was, and remarked how sweaty he was and how much energy he had.

(https://i.imgur.com/Zr1zDRA.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: cramx3 on January 16, 2018, 01:52:27 PM
thats awesome

My gf was over yesterday morning and knocked over my Ed Force One model I have which lead to a discussion about what Ed Force One was.  I've talked to her a lot about it before, but usually in random comments.  She was really amazed by the whole thing, including Bruce Air.  Like how awesome is that?  What other band can offer something like that? 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Stadler on January 16, 2018, 02:05:47 PM
I showed my 16 year old some footage from the "Live After Death" video, and since she has an affinity for that kind of stuff (Egypt and what not) she wants to see a Maiden show.  I told her they don't tour the pyramid, but when I showed her a clip of the big floating head from the recent tour, she said "no, that'll work".   

Plus, I feel like I have to show her certain things; it's my job as a parent to make sure she knows Zeppelin, knows Floyd, knows the Beatles, sees Kiss live with the makeup... whether she likes them or not is not the point, it's music history.  I feel like seeing Bruce Dickinson live is in that category.

I took my 14 y/o to see Maiden this summer. He's not into them, but was curious about the whole thing. He was more than will to don the attire. What was cool to me was that I saw Maiden when I was 14!
After the show, he asked me what the singers name was, and remarked how sweaty he was and how much energy he had.

(https://i.imgur.com/Zr1zDRA.jpg)

I saw Sabbath at that venue this past summer (or was it two summers ago?  The End tour.). I love seeing shows there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 16, 2018, 02:09:03 PM
If you can get in the first few section it's a great place to see a show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: devieira73 on January 18, 2018, 09:00:13 AM
I don’t know if this was mentioned while talking about Bruce solo shows and bands, but I’ve only discovered this now:
https://www.facebook.com/craigblundelldrums/posts/1577622962327482
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 18, 2018, 06:28:15 PM
Who the F is Craig Blundell?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: devieira73 on January 18, 2018, 06:36:59 PM
Who the F is Craig Blundell?

 :D :D sorry, because there's of a lot of fans of Steven Wilson here, I thought Craig didn't need introduction. Craig is touring with Steven the last 2 years (I think) and recorded 4 tracks on his last album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 18, 2018, 06:38:32 PM
Who the F is Steven Wilson?  ;D
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 18, 2018, 10:43:40 PM
Nice to read all the fond memories! I especially like hearing about those who have taken their kids to see Maiden. Really cool how its become a family affair. Some really cool pictures too. I was not able to see the Somewhere Back In Time tour. That's one I really regret missing.

It angers me to no end that they pretty much blow off that album, being my favorite of their's, and one that has a great number of tracks - especially the title track and all of Adrian Smith's submissions. I would hope one day they'd finally give this album it's due, but as you said, it looks like any hope for that to happen is gone. I just wish someone would beat some sense into Steve so that he'd include more of the deeper cuts from that album as well as other tracks from their catalog that have been cast aside.
Actually I'd guess Steve is not the reason for SIT being ignored in the setlists. It was revealed recently that the setlist is primarily decided by Bruce, Steve, and Rod Smallwood. It's no secret that SIT was not a good period for Bruce and I get the impression that he doesn't really care for most of the album. It is also more of a cult classic, maybe not so much something the casual fans would recognize, so I doubt Rod is pulling for anything on there. Furthermore, I could also see Adrian being hesitant to play some of the songs because it's so hard to replicate the sound of that album and he's known to be a perfectionist. He also had a huge hand in the sound of that album, more so than any other Maiden album.

==========================

Anyway, lots to discuss here. First my general thoughts on the tour: Like I said, I wasn't able to attend. However I do remember this being the first tour where I was really tuned into what they were doing thanks to the internet. I eventually discovered the official Iron Maiden forum (the free one which no longer exists) and this great platform called YouTube was starting to become a game changer for live concert videos. I remember watching a ton of fan shot footage of the tour. I especially remember being surprised that not only were they playing Moonchild, but it was with the acoustic intro. That seemed different. I hadn't discovered setlist.fm yet so I pretty much found out they played it by finding a video of it on YouTube. There were also regular updates on the website and lots of news footage of the plane. It was a really exciting time.

That being said, among the reasons I regret not getting to see the tour, the setlist is not one of them. I can think of maybe two Maiden setlists since the reunion that were truly underwhelming. SBIT is one of them and the second is coming later. I have a hard time complaining because a lot of the set really was a treat, but it just felt like they didn't dig as deep as they could've. The promotional material really made it seem like they were going to focus heavily on Powerslave, Somewhere in Time, and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but unlike the Early Days tour they pretty much went with what you'd expect from those albums. Even Moonchild wasn't that exciting because I always assumed (perhaps naively) that a Seventh Son themed tour would come eventually. It was a nice surprise, but they really should've done something from Somewhere In Time. There were just a lot of missed opportunities. Even Stranger In a Strange Land would've been good. I also think of all the tours since 1999, this was the best time to do something really out of left field. Losfer Words would've been cool or even a song from Powerslave that was never played live. In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that makes this era worth going back to is Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and even that is probably going to be played live again before they retire. The Early Days and Maiden England both had several songs that were obviously only going to be played on that tour and then probably never again. SBIT had none.

It's still fun to see the band's energy and the passionate fans they were playing to. Maiden really start to feel larger than life again on this tour and, like I said, it was an exciting time to be a fan.

Flight 666 is OK. I have to say a lot of it is actually kind of boring. This isn't really anybody's fault, Sam Dunn did a great job on it and it's pretty much what you'd expect with a documentary about Iron Maiden. And therein lies the problem. They're all pretty quiet guys for the most part and lead relaxed lives offstage. It starts to feel repetitive after awhile. Watch them ride the plane, watch them get mobbed by fans, watch them get ready for the gig, watch them perform a bit, watch them drive back to the hotel, and repeat. There are some moments of sight seeing and leisure time but I just didn't find it that interesting. The best parts are the performance footage (which you might as well watch the bonus DVD for) and the footage of the fans. Seeing the passionate fans around the globe is definitely the highlight of the film and that never gets old.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 19, 2018, 01:12:58 AM
I still remember a quick interview with Bruce after the reunion and he was asked his thoughts about the albums, when asked "Somewhere in time?" the answer was "No thought in particular!"

So I agree with Mosh when he says that it's hard to play songs off an album which are hard to replicate to begin with, and with the lead singer that was absolutely uninterested in the recording of that album (because of his burnout from the World Slavery Tour and the rejection of his ideas for the album).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: PowerSlave on January 19, 2018, 01:24:11 AM
The setlist was predictable, but other than one song (FotD), it was an amazing show. In fact, I rank this show very highly out of all of the concerts that I've been to over the years. Mosh, it's a shame that you missed it. I think that you would have really enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mladen on January 19, 2018, 10:32:25 AM
In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that makes this era worth going back to is Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and even that is probably going to be played live again before they retire. The Early Days and Maiden England both had several songs that were obviously only going to be played on that tour and then probably never again. SBIT had none.
I don't think Rime of the Ancient Mariner will ever be played again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: cramx3 on January 19, 2018, 11:08:41 AM
I'd say it's possible.  If they do a final tour, they would almost have to pick at least one of their epics to be the centerpiece of the set.  It's possible it would be Rime.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 19, 2018, 11:52:03 AM
Just a counter argument for the setlist... the original one was way more predictable. Sure, it had all the very best songs they had to offer at the time so it doesn't matter, but it was very formulaic: two new songs, Piece of Mind songs, more new songs, climax songs to finish and classic anthems for the encore.

What I would change in the Somewhere Back in Time setlist? well, obviously Fear of the Dark with literally anything else, with the seven minutes song slot available used for Phantom of the Opera (nah, scrap that, it was played in the Early Days tour and would have been in Maiden England - play 22 Acacia Avenue instead, which wasn't played in the Early Days and was played at some dates back in 1984-85) or Caught Somewhere in Time, which would have been a nice encore opener, but then we would have never gotten Moonchild with the live and acoustic intro...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 19, 2018, 08:35:44 PM
Just a counter argument for the setlist... the original one was way more predictable. Sure, it had all the very best songs they had to offer at the time so it doesn't matter, but it was very formulaic: two new songs, Piece of Mind songs, more new songs, climax songs to finish and classic anthems for the encore.

World Slavery? Definitely not the most exciting 80's set, although the setlist for the European tour was more exciting than what ended up on Live After Death. Songs being rotated in and out such as Murders in the Rue Morgue and Children of the Damned, plus five new songs (including Losfer Words). It was a bit of a let down after 7 songs each from Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind, but at least Powerslave and Rime ate up a huge chunk of set time. One more Powerslave song would've been nice, but other than that I can't really complain too much about it.

I would've dropped Fear of the Dark, maybe for Phantom, but they ended up adding Phantom on the 2009 leg anyway and Fear of the Dark still stayed. Instead of Moonchild I would've done something from SIT, Caught Somewhere In Time would've been perfect for this tour although even Stranger In a Strange Land would've been an improvement. Finally, something else from Powerslave. Losfer Words would've been fine, but Flash Of the Blade is perfect for the three guitar lineup.

I'd say it's possible.  If they do a final tour, they would almost have to pick at least one of their epics to be the centerpiece of the set.  It's possible it would be Rime.
In the grand scheme of things, the only thing that makes this era worth going back to is Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and even that is probably going to be played live again before they retire. The Early Days and Maiden England both had several songs that were obviously only going to be played on that tour and then probably never again. SBIT had none.
I don't think Rime of the Ancient Mariner will ever be played again.

My thinking is that, like Rush, they won't do a "farewell tour" but it'll be pretty obvious when it's the last tour. They will probably want to play Rime one last time. I could even see it appearing on the upcoming Legacy of the Beast tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: stargazer18 on January 20, 2018, 06:59:53 AM
I became a fan right after the World Slavery Tour came through my city. I didn't check out the set list before the show but figured I might get a chance to see a few more classics live to add to my list. It was a great show, well attended and the crowd seemed to really be into it. Bonus for me was seeing Aces High, Powerslave and Revelations live as I had not seen them play these before. Sadly, Piece of Mind only had two songs represented, the Trooper and Revelations. I would have gladly seen them replace Fear of the Dark with, say, Where Eagles Dare or even the Flight of Icarus.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: sneakyblueberry on January 20, 2018, 12:38:53 PM
SBIT was the first time I saw Maiden, in 09.  I had been a fan since before I started primary school, so like 3 or 4 years old.  I was not disappointed, but I would've taken any setlist at that point.  It was their first time here since 92 or something ( I would've been two years old).  We got the second leg, so no HCW Moonchild, Clairvoyant or Revelations, but I was extremely happy with Phantom and COTD (although, they came back for TBOS and played COTD, so that was kind of a bummer).  I'd still kill to see Revelations live.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 29, 2018, 08:25:01 PM
Update is coming, hopefully this week. Like the albums being discussed, these writeups are getting longer and more detailed. At the same time, school is starting back up and things are getting busy again. Thanks again for the patience.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: TAC on January 29, 2018, 08:27:18 PM
All good. Take your time, Josh.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 30, 2018, 01:06:17 AM
All good. Take your time, Josh.

Indeed! Also, not that I really did it so far, but the wait for the updates often inspired me to try to revive the discussion with other details or memories. You can never run out of things to discuss with a band like this  :hat
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 30, 2018, 08:57:15 PM
The Final Frontier (2010)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/The_Final_Frontier_cover.jpg)
After spending two years looking back, it was time for Maiden to move forward yet again with their fifteenth studio album. Shortly following the Somewhere Back In Time tour, the band went to Paris to write the album. The first thing that was conceived for was actually the title, which came from Bruce Dickinson. Toward the end of the tour, Bruce suggested to Steve that they call the next album The Final Frontier due to the rabid speculation it would inspire.The title would also lend itself to a sci-fi theme that the band had explored previously in its history. It would be new but familiar territory, a theme that would seem to dominate the making of this album.

Nearly the entire album was written and rehearsed in Paris. The songwriting partnerships found on A Matter of Life and Death seemed to carry over with Steve Harris having a writing credit on every song (including one song entirely credited to him) and Adrian Smith contributing a huge bulk of the music. In fact, Smith has his largest contribution ever on a Maiden album with six out of the ten songs having his name attached. Janick Gers has writing credits on two songs, one short rocker and one epic, while Dave Murray’s sole contribution is the epic The Man Who Would Be King. Bruce provides lyrics on four songs (ironically not the title track), which is close to his normal contribution on a Maiden album. 

The band had two weeks in Paris to write the album and mostly worked off demos that were brought in by the guitar players. The rehearsals proved to be very productive with the band being able to run through 7 of the 10 songs by the end. The band meant to rehearse The Man Who Would Be King as the eighth song but, unfortunately, the Paris sessions came to an abrupt stop when Janick cut his hand on a door. He was rushed to the hospital and had to undergo surgery on his hands and fingers, meaning the rehearsals would have to come to an end. The remaining two songs were The Alchemist and When the Wild Wind Blows, which had not yet been completed by that point.

Once Janick recovered, it was off to the studio to record with Kevin Shirley once again at the helm. This time, the band decided on a familiar setting to record the album: Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. Compass Point, of course, was the location where countless classic albums were recorded, including Piece of Mind, Powerslave, and about half of Somewhere In Time. The band felt that by visiting a familiar location, they would settle in quicker and be more comfortable overall. As it turned out, the studio was seemingly exactly as they had left it in 1986. It was recorded in the typical quick modern Maiden format of devoting just a day to each song. A few days were spent setting up the recording room and then the band quickly began work starting on Coming Home and ending with When the Wild Wind Blows. After basic tracks for each song were recorded, guitar solos, harmonies, and other embellishments were cut. Finally, with the help of Michael Kenney, Steve Harris recorded some synth lines to top it all off. Although Bruce was present in Nassau during the recording, he ended up redoing all of his vocals at Kevin Shirley’s home studio in California after the production wrapped up.

Musically, The Final Frontier is very much a continuation of where the band was headed with A Matter of Life and Death. The prog rock influence continues to grow to the point of almost becoming the dominant style. By this point, even several members of the band (as well as Kevin Shirley) began to describe Iron Maiden as a Progressive Rock band rather than a Metal band. There’s still debate among fans over exactly how to describe the band, but it’s largely agreed that The Final Frontier is the proggiest album since Somewhere In Time. Despite having such a prog influence, there’s very little on the album that is actually new ground for Maiden. Nearly every song is reminiscent of something Maiden had done before. The Talisman features an extended acoustic opening similar to The Legacy, the title track is a short rocker in the mold of every opener since Futureal, and Starblind continues the combination of psychedelic sounds and heavy riffing found in Lord of Light. That’s not to say there isn’t anything new here, however. On this album the band experiment with backmasked tracks in The Man Who Would Be King, more layered arrangements throughout, and of course there’s the highly experimental album intro which is unlike anything they had done before. That being said, on the whole, The Final Frontier serves as a sort of summary of the modern Maiden sound. A punctuation mark to the last ten years.

While there were many rumors that The Final Frontier would be another concept album, or another album with a running theme like A Matter of Life and Death, this was ultimately not the case. Unlike its predecessor, The Final Frontier is very lyrically diverse. There are songs about alchemists, pilgrims, current events, and, of course, space. That being said, there are recurring themes that appear on the album, such as death and the afterlife. Although these are themes that tend to crop up in every Maiden album, so it doesn’t seem like there was a deliberate focus on anything in particular. It is worth mentioning, and members of the band have said as much, that as they get older and the end of their long career draws nearer, these things are naturally on their mind more often and show up more in their lyrics.

While a running theme isn’t apparent in the lyrics, there is an obvious pattern in the sequencing of the songs when looking at the track lengths. On this album, the short songs and the long songs were grouped separately. It almost has the vibe of a double album (although the actual sequencing on the vinyl version does not follow this). The Final Frontier starts with short accessible tracks that in a lot of ways resemble classic Maiden before switching gears entirely to the more progressive and dense epics. This was a controversial move. Some fans liked the division and the way the album was essentially in two “parts”, while other fans found the album to get tedious in the second half and would’ve preferred shorter tracks to balance it out. Regardless of the sequencing, there is more of a balance between short and long songs than there was on A Matter of Life and Death, in addition to a wider variety of musical and lyrical content. So it’s safe to say that The Final Frontier has something for almost every Maiden fan.

On the more accessible first half of the album, there’s a nice blend of heavy hitting rockers, ballads, and more matured mid paced tunes. This portion of the album is also heavily dominated by Adrian Smith, with four of the five songs having Smith in the credits. The album opener is technically two seperate pieces, as the ellipses in the title implies. Satellite 15 is perhaps the most experimental thing the band has ever released. Most of what you hear on the piece is actually a demo created by Adrian Smith, complete with bass synthesizers and drum machines. Adrian’s original intention was for Maiden to eventually record the demo as a band, as was always the case, but Steve decided he liked the atmosphere of the demo and insisted that they keep it. Being a notorious perfectionist, Adrian was against the decision but was ultimately overruled. So Bruce recorded the vocal passages and no other changes were made. This was another controversial aspect of the album as the piece is quite obviously a demo. The drum machine even has a very audible “skip” during the finale. Most fans seemed to enjoy it though and it was exciting to hear Maiden doing something different with what was possibly their most daring opening to an album.

On the total opposite end of the spectrum, the proper title track is exactly what fans have come to expect for a Maiden opener in 2010. Another collaboration between Adrian and Steve, The Final Frontier is a driving rocker in the vein of the last three Maiden openers. This time the song almost has a 70s classic rock vibe with the simple guitar riff and mid paced tempo. The lyrics obviously have a sci fi theme to them, describing the thought process of an astronaut who is about to die alone in space. While Satellite 15 describes pure panic, The Final Frontier shows the protagonist reaching the stage of acceptance of his fate.   

The other three short songs that Adrian brought in really run the gamut of the more straightforward side of Maiden. One of the three, Mother of Mercy, has the feel of a leftover from A Matter of Life and Death. It features a solo intro followed by heavier steady paced verses and a soaring chorus, a structure that was found on much of the previous album. To add to that, Steve Harris’ lyrics are about a soldier of war and broach many of the same topics found in songs like These Colours Don’t Run and For the Greater Good of God. The final two featured the classic Smith/Harris/Dickinson combination. El Dorado, the album’s lead single, is one of the most classic Maiden sounding tracks that this lineup has produced. It prominently and shamelessly features the classic Maiden gallop that had become a sort of rarity in the band’s modern output. The instrumental section also features an intense guitar tradeoff that includes all three players as soloists. The lyrics, penned by Bruce, describe a conman selling his “snake oil’, seemingly inspired by scheming politicians and the fairly recent stock market crash of 2008. Coming Home takes things in an entirely different direction, being a subtle ballad filled with guitar harmonies, 80s styled back-to-back solos from Dave and Adrian, and aviation themed lyrics from Bruce. Prior to Dance of Death, ballads from Maiden were fairly rare, now they had three albums in a row with ballads. Coming Home marks a pretty clear progression from Journeyman and Out of the Shadows with prominent acoustic guitars and a huge live ready chorus.

The last of the album’s short songs is one of Janick’s two contributions to the album. Just like on A Matter of Life and Death, Janick brought in a short rocker and an epic with an extended acoustic intro. The rocker was composed in a similar way to The Pilgrim, with Janick bringing in a demo that was then arranged into a song by Steve, but this time Bruce contributed the lyrics. The title for the song was originally The House of Dr. Dee but then changed to The Alchemist, with no relation to Bruce Dickinson’s solo song of the same name. Bruce had an instrumental demo to work with and came out with a song about John Dee, a mathematician who had a particular interest in alchemy. It’s a subject that was studied extensively in The Chemical Wedding, but Bruce takes this particular song in a completely different direction. There is less discussion of alchemy and more recounting of the character’s life. Musically, The Alchemist is probably the most straightforward song on the album (it is also the shortest). It’s a fast paced riff driven rocker that is reminiscent of Janick’s contributions in the 90s. It is a nice way to close out the first half of the album before things get proggier and less accessible.

The “epic” side of the album kicks off with two more Smith compositions. Both Isle of Avalon and Starblind came from Adrian’s own demos that were subsequently worked into full songs with Steve Harris. Both are also arguably the proggiest tracks Maiden have ever recorded. Both feature sudden and unexpected shifts in dynamics, long exploratory guitar solos, and odd time signatures. The instrumental section to Isle of Avalon even sounds like something Rush would’ve come up with. Although both are very unique, Starblind feels like a continuation of the style that Steve and Adrian developed on Lord of Light, the song has also been compared to Infinite Dreams. The two songs also seem to mirror each other lyrically. Steve wrote the lyrics for Avalon and Bruce wrote the lyrics for Starblind. The former details Celtic myths of immortality while the latter takes a more agnostic approach describing the lack of an afterlife.

Following these two heavy hitters are a pair of epics from the other two Maiden guitarists (one from each). The Talisman is Janick’s second contribution to the album and is a collaboration with Steve Harris. Musically, the song drew a lot of comparisons to The Legacy. Both feature an extended acoustic intro followed by heaviness, Both are in the key of D and make great use of alternate tunings. The comparisons really end there though, as The Talisman is clearly its own entity. Where The Legacy’s intro had a nursery rhyme feel, The Talisman is much darker and plays more like a sea chanty. When the song gets going, it’s far heavier and much more fast paced than The Legacy. Also unlike The Legacy, once it gets heavy it stays that way for the remainder of the song. The song is also lyrically far removed from The Legacy and is actually closer to The Pilgrim in that regard. The song details a group of pilgrims travelling by ship. This time Steve decided to describe their struggles on the ship and their near failure, somewhat similar to A Salty Dog by Procol Harum (a song that Steve was no doubt influenced by in some way or another). Despite being a 9 minute epic with an extended acoustic opening, The Talisman is one of the heaviest and most energetic songs on the album, making it an obvious choice for the live set.

From Dave Murray comes one of his most ambitious Maiden contributions: The Man Who Would Be King. It is one of the most complicated songs on the album, with many different moving parts and guitar melodies. It also contains some sonic experimentation, most notably a backwards guitar solo from Dave. The idea to backmask the guitar solo came from Kevin Shirley. When presented with the idea, Dave, a big Jimi Hendrix fan, loved it. There was much speculation about what this song would be about before the release of the album. Some pointed to a film of the same name starring Sean Connery, others pointed to the Dio song of the same name, and some pointed out that perhaps it’s linked the final line in Revelations. Ultimately, none of these theories were correct. Steve’s lyrics instead cover the plight of a man who has committed murder and his subsequent quest for redemption. 

The album closes out with the obligatory Steve Harris epic. When the Wild Wind Blows is a song that Steve actually began working on back in the 90s, but it was never completed. Years later, he dug out an old demo and sought to finally complete it. The other members of the band themselves didn’t get to hear the final product until it was completely recorded. When it came time to record, Steve presented the song in separate parts. They would learn a small part of the song, cut it, and then move on to the next part. Kevin Shirley was then left with the task of reassembling the recordings into a single coherent recording. The result was an eleven minute monster epic that became the band’s third longest song, behind The Sign of the Cross and Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It was also their third to surpass the 10 minute mark. Needless to say, expectations for this song were especially high prior to its release. It seemed to meet those expectations for the most part, although it did catch many listeners off guard by being so straightforward. The song stays at a consistent tempo and dynamic for the most part, foregoing complex musical sections and sudden unexpected shifts in favor of simply letting the music accompany the story. It was a surprisingly Dickinson approach to songwriting. The lyrics are indeed a central part of this song, being a storytelling epic in the vein of Dance of Death and Rime. The song is based on the 1986 animated film When the Wind Blows, about an elderly couple who try to survive the fallout of a nuclear bomb. Unlike songs like Rime or To Tame a Land, the source material here only serves as inspiration for the initial idea before Steve takes it in his own direction. It is without a doubt one of his most emotional lyrics and features some of his most effective storytelling. It’s a more than appropriate way to close out the album and was accepted by many fans as the band’s swan song if this was to be the band’s final album (of course that was not the case).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 30, 2018, 08:57:36 PM
Part 2
At a whopping 76 minutes, The Final Frontier pushed the boundaries of a single CD and was Maiden’s longest to date. It was also among their most musically and sonically complex. Consequently, the post production process was going to be more complicated than usual. Many parts had to be redone (including the vocals, as previously mentioned) and the mixing process required extra care to detail. Typically the mixing is handled by Kevin Shirley and Steve Harris with little to no input from any of the other members. However, since he had so much involvement in the writing of the album, Adrian was more present this time around. This led to a few disagreements, being that Adrian is a perfectionist who prefers a polished sound while Steve and Kevin typically opt for a raw “live” sound. According to Kevin, Adrian was mostly happy with the mix but toward the end suggested several tweaks, to the point where Steve eventually put his foot down and asserted that the album was finished and it would not be remixed. While he has never explicitly voiced dissatisfaction with The Final Frontier, interviews from that time period make it fairly obvious that the album would’ve been different had he been in charge instead of Steve. But as usual, Steve makes the final decisions in the band. The album was mastered three times, but once again Steve decided that he preferred the “unmastered” version so the album was ultimately released exactly the way it was heard in the studio without any added EQ or compression.

The album was completed in March, with plenty of time for release ahead of a Summer tour, but Maiden instead decided to take the Dance of Death approach and release the album after the summer tour. Dates for various European festivals as well as one of the band’s most extensive North American tour ever were announced in early 2010 along with the title of the new album and a glimpse at the new Eddie. As Bruce Dickinson intended when he suggested the title to Steve Harris, the title set off a firestorm of speculation in the online Maiden communities. While the press release didn’t indicate that The Final Frontier would be the band’s last tour or album, fans still wondered if this would be the case. To add to these rumors, an interview with Steve Harris had circulated where he stated that he always imagined that Maiden would record fifteen albums, and The Final Frontier was to be that fifteenth album. It’s still unclear whether he meant that or was just being humorous. When finally asked about their longevity directly, the band members were characteristically cryptic in their answers. They typically stated that while they did not intend on retiring or making The Final Frontier their last album, they were reaching old age and would have to quit at some point whether they like it or not. No promises were made, but the door clearly also wasn’t being shut on anything. Eight years, one album, and soon to be three tours later, there still seems to be no clear end in sight for the band. 

A week before the start of the tour, a more detailed press release was put out with the album artwork and a free download of a song from the album, El Dorado. The album artwork was done by frequent collaborator Melvyn Grant, his third album cover for the band. This time Eddie took an almost unrecognizable monstrous form, which drew some criticism from purist fans. On the positive side, it had the classic comic book feel of the 80s covers, which was a welcoming sight (it’s ironic that Melvyn was initially selected back in 1992 because Maiden were trying to move away from that comic book style). The single artwork for El Dorado took the comic book vibe even further by emulating the cover of a comic book. Despite having its own artwork, the single for El Dorado was never given a physical retail release, making The Final Frontier the first Maiden album not to have a physical single or b-sides. While it was disappointing not to have new Maiden b-sides, it was a sign of the times to go completely digital apart from the actual album. The release of the single and album artwork was punctuated by the band’s appearance on the classic radio program Rockline later that day, where they took questions from fans and discussed the new album and tour. With the Maiden hype machine back in full swing, they were ready to hit the road again.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 30, 2018, 09:00:09 PM
The Final Frontier Tour Leg 1 (2010)

(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wpconJfF4js/S_JjhWD4L_I/AAAAAAAAAwc/yNyMMaAX-ek/s1600/final-frontier.jpg)
Like the Gimme Ed Til I’m Dead Tour, The Final Frontier tour was meant to promote the album before it was even released. The tour proved once again that Maiden were no longer a band who toured to promote albums, but an a band that made albums to promote their tours. Unlike Gimme Ed, however, the setlist would not be a “greatest hits” that spanned their entire career. Considering the band had just finished a tour that focused almost exclusively on the 80s, it wouldn’t make sense to do that twice in a row. Instead, in typical Maiden fashion, they made the controversial decision of focusing the setlist on the reunion period. Since the band hadn’t done an extensive USA tour during a new album cycle since Brave New World, this would be the first time most American fans got to experience many of these songs live. However, since most American fans didn’t care about Maiden’s output post 1988, the reception was rather mixed. Many fans complained that Run To the Hills and The Trooper were absent and that the majority of the setlist was made up of songs they didn’t know. On the other hand, hardcore fans and fans of their new material were thrilled. The opening night in Dallas featured 11 songs in a row all from 2000 or later, followed by just five “classics” (Fear of the Dark, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast, and Running Free). Unfortunately, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns was immediately dropped following this song and replaced with Wrathchild, as the band felt a more energetic song was needed there. Anyone who attended this tour could immediately understand their reasoning, as much of the audience was already clearly bored by this point in the set, even though it was only two songs in. This was not the only change made to the set. For the first few dates of the tour, they switched back and forth between Paschendale and Dance of Death, before eventually settling on Dance of Death for the rest of the tour. This made the Dallas show very special, as it was the only show that featured both songs before they were dropped (and they haven’t been played since).

The rest of the setlist had a decent balance of songs from all three of the reunion era albums. The show opened with The Wicker Man and Ghost of the Navigator, invoking nostalgia for the now ten year old Brave New World. Also from Brave New World were the title track and Blood Brothers (which was dedicated to the recently deceased Ronnie James Dio). Brave New World was the most represented album on the set, which made sense as it was still probably the most revered and well known reunion era album. Next was Dance of Death, which had three songs performed at each show. In addition to the previously mentioned rotation of Paschendale and the title track, the band performed No More Lies and Wildest Dreams. Finally, three songs were initially performed from A Matter of Life and Death but this was narrowed down to two after Brighter Than a Thousand Suns was dropped. These Colours Don’t Run and The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg were predictable choices, with one being a single and the other being one of the song’s more live friendly and accessible tracks. Of course El Dorado was also performed to give fans a taste of the upcoming new album.

The stage set was one of their most elaborate. It was designed as a space station complete with light up backdrops and giant radio towers. There were also drapes that depicted the new artwork to go along with the album, in addition to the older artwork drapes. The initial leg of the tour featured just one Eddie, designed after the album cover, who came on stage with his own guitar, turning the three amigos into the four amigos.

Following the USA tour, the band did some additional dates in the European festival circuit. Even though European audiences tend to be more receptive to the band’s newer material, it was still a risky move to skip the classics in favor of the new material since they were performing in front of festival crowds and many casual fans. Maiden were always a band that stuck to their guns, and this was no exception.

Those who experienced this short tour got a very special experience. Nothing from this tour was ever officially released and there were many songs that have not been played live since (and likely will never be played live again). Further, to this day not a single song from A Matter of Life and Death has appeared on a live release. In some ways this was a more interesting set than 2011, so it is unfortunate that it was never immortalized. For those who like modern Maiden, this tour was a must. It also served as a nice reminder that, despite the success of the Somewhere Back In Time tour, Maiden were still about new music and moving forward, not becoming a nostalgia act.

Like the first leg of the A Matter of Life and Death tour, no professionally shot footage exists and bootlegs are extremely sparse. Unlike the first leg of the AMOLAD tour, there also isn’t anything in the way of soundboard bootlegs. So the well is pretty dry on the 2010 tour, which is unfortunate because, again like the AMOLAD tour, it was a very unique setlist that deserved to be immortalized. That all being said, I’d like to point your attention to two full length videos on YouTube. Neither are fantastic, but this is a classic case of “beggars can’t be choosers.” The first is from an early show on the tour, one of the few where Paschendale is present.  It’s probably the best sounding video of the tour, although that isn’t saying much. Most of the video is taken from the screens so you get some nice shots. The next is Madison Square Garden, which has a notably worse sound, but it’s also taken from the screen feeds and is the closest thing to a “proshot” video from this tour. On the other hand, Dance of Death is present instead of Paschendale.

San Antonio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xVFxGLHfhc&

Madison Square Garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVe1uoRCa5k&

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 30, 2018, 09:00:45 PM
The Final Frontier Release (2010)

(https://spinaltapdance.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/iron-maiden-el-dorado.jpg)
 
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/f407/f/2010/243/e/7/final_frontier_single_art_2_by_edheadkt-d2xji0a.jpg)

(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bm6Dt_fgyRQ/V4S0K0Uy7pI/AAAAAAAAUK0/FpwiiXMQ-oocvXkAt0OWbUb0dpbrHUIvQCLcB/s1600/Paper%2BFront.jpg)

(https://img.discogs.com/j8tYnWhQkRKvK0lUq4Ow5k0zn9w=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-3374583-1366705488-7894.jpeg.jpg)

The Final Frontier was actually released while the band were still on tour (although no additional songs from the album were added to the setlist). Also released while they were on tour was a music video for the album’s title track. The Final Frontier music video was released with heavy hype and was probably their most cinematic and high budget ever. It featured a story, CGI effects, and even dialog. The music video also served as the premier of the title track to The Final Frontier (minus Satellite 15).

About a month later, the album was finally released. The Final Frontier became the second album to have a deluxe edition in addition to the standard version. This time, the deluxe “Mission Edition” came in a steel box and included access to web content. Those who purchased this version could put the CD into their computer and access exclusive web content, including a flash game, a selection of wallpapers, and a short interview on the making of the album. The interview was nice but not nearly as insightful as the documentaries that were made for the previous two albums. The idea of hosting the bonus content online was an interesting one and yet another example of Maiden trying to stay with the times, but ultimately it was probably one of their more ill advised ideas. The website that hosted the bonus content has since been taken down, which renders the “Mission Edition” pretty much worthless, other than the different packaging. It also means that the documentary is no longer available, although luckily it was uploaded to YouTube (not by the band).

The decision to delay the album until after the first leg of the tour must have been effective as The Final Frontier became one of the band’s most successful albums to date. At every show on the Summer tour prior to the band performing El Dorado, Bruce announced that a new album was coming and asked that the fans get it to #1. It worked and the album reached #1 in 21 countries, including their home in the UK. It was their fourth UK #1 after Number of the Beast, Seventh Son, and Fear of the Dark. The album did astonishingly well in the USA, peaking at #4 on the Billboard chart which was their highest charting ever in the USA. The success of the album was a testament to the band’s unusual longevity and ability to maintain their relevance 30 years into their career. Fan reception was also mostly positive. Those who enjoyed the band’s increasingly proggy direction were thrilled with The Final Frontier and those who felt that the songs on A Matter of Life and Death were a little too plodding were able to appreciate some of this album’s shorter songs. The Final Frontier seemed to have something for everyone.

The album even brought some mainstream attention to the band, likely bolstered by all the press they were receiving on the Somewhere Back In Time tour. El Dorado later won Grammy for “Best Metal Performance.” For most fans and even the band, this distinguishment was not that meaningful, but it was still exciting to see Maiden finally being given much deserved recognition. The band also made the rare move of releasing a promo single exclusively to radio: Coming Home. The song didn’t receive any airplay that I’m aware of, but the single release showed an unusual amount of mainstream confidence from the band. It certainly showed that they put more worth into their new music than many of their contemporaries.

The Final Frontier Tour Leg 2 (2011)

(https://www.metaltraveller.com/images/iron_maiden/final_frontier_poster.JPG)
On the heels of The Final Frontier’s release, a proper world tour was announced for the following year. The band would once again travel with Ed Force One piloted by Bruce Dickinson, but this time the plane would be redecorated to fit the The Final Frontier theme. The tour was also give the nickname “Around the World In 66 Days” as a reference to the length and scope of the tour. Like the Somewhere Back In Time Tour, the use of a plane to carry the band and crew would allow them to visit new locations and regions that were typically ignored by the band. The tour kicked off in Moscow before a short run through Indonesia and then down to Australia. It was the first time Australia got to experience two Maiden tours in a row. The band then hopped around the globe, going from South Korea to Italy to South America. They were supposed to make a stop in Japan but were unfortunately caught in the middle of the devastating earthquake and were forced to detour at the last minute. All this was documented in a documentary included with the DVD for this tour, which will be discussed later. The tour then closed off with a run through Europe and, finally, a much awaited tour of the UK which was their most extensive in quite some time. It was still nothing compared to the UK tours that they embarked on in the 80s, but it was a solid run compared to other recent UK tours.

The stage set was more or less the same as the previous leg, but with some additions. The Satellite 15 intro tape came with an accompanying video, new drapes based on the album artwork and images from the booklet were added, and there was also a second Eddie. This new Eddie was a large inflatable in the vein of the Virtual XI and Somewhere On Tour Eddies. That being said, the Eddie wasn’t present for the entire tour as there was no way to fit in the cargo on the plane. It was used on the European tour when the band switched to a traditional bus tour and it was also shipped to South America for the shows being filmed.  Of course the walk on Eddie from the previous leg was also present at all the shows.

As is the case with any Maiden tour, there was a lot of speculation leading up to the tour about the setlist. This tour had an extra amount of speculation due to the fact that the last Maiden album was played in its entirety. Would playing the entire new album live become a tradition going forward? Even if not, it was always exciting to try and guess what songs would be played from the new album. Leading up to the tour, the band tempered expectations in interviews. Bruce gave an interview where he said they would perform “four or five” new songs but definitely not the entire album. This was somewhat disappointing, especially the prospect of playing just four songs. In the end, five songs were selected, which was still the smallest selection of songs since the Fear of the Dark tour (which also only had five songs played). On the other hand, among these songs were the two longest on the album: The Talisman and When the Wild Wind Blows. The Talisman was a song that members of the band routinely hinted at in interviews and When the Wild Wind Blows was an obvious choice being the Harris epic. Of course El Dorado was also expected as it was the single and played on the previous tour, and Maiden almost always play the album opener. Coming Home was another expected selection as members of the band frequently voiced their fondness for it and it had become an instant favorite among fans. Overall, it was one of their more predictable selections.

The rest of the setlist was made up of songs throughout their career with a heavier emphasis on the “classics.” Three songs from the reunion era carried over from the previous tour: Dance of Death, The Wicker Man, and Blood Brothers. All of the classics from the previous tour were still present with the addition of 2 Minutes To Midnight, The Trooper, and The Evil That Men Do. In other words, they stuck to the usual suspects. Surprisingly, however, Run To the HIlls remained out of the setlist.

The 2011 portion of the tour was another success for the band and showed that the popularity of Somewhere Back In Time was not a fluke, but a continuation of what was now over 10 years of momentum. Each tour was bigger than the last and even with a tour that was dedicated to mostly new material, people were still flocking to Maiden shows. The Flight 666 concept grew even larger and continued to expand the scope of an Iron Maiden tour. Fortunately, this was all immortalized a year after the start of the tour with the release of. . .
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Somewhere Back In Time (2008 - 09)
Post by: Mosh on January 30, 2018, 09:01:00 PM

En Vivo! (2011)
(https://www.rock.com/assets/products/266019/large/iron-maiden-en-vivo-fabric-poster-52098(13).jpg)
Pleased with their work on Flight 666, the band once again recruited Sam Dunn and his crew at Banger Films to chronicle the 2011 Final Frontier tour. Also likely as a reaction to the footage shot in South America on that tour, the band decided to record the next DVD there. Shows in Buenos Aires and Santiago were selected for filming with the band ultimately deciding to use the Santiago performance. In some ways, and the cover artwork reflects this, En Vivo would be a sort of successor to Rock In Rio. It would capture the band’s ability to still command huge crowds, it would show the dedication of their South American fans, and it would show that there was still an emphasis on moving forward artistically. The video would be the band’s most monumental to date, utilizing 22 HD cameras, an octocam, and, to the praise of Maiden fans everywhere, not edited by Steve Harris. It’s quite easily the most high quality footage that has been released of the band and captures them once again at the top of their game.

As usual, the DVD has its share of bonus features including the music video for The Final Frontier, a short featurette on the making of the video, and a documentary. Titled Behind the Beast, this documentary is a sort of sequel to Flight 666. It chronicles the tour yet again although this time there is a heavier emphasis on the behind the scenes. Technical aspects such as staging, set up, and sound are all given attention here. The documentary also inadvertently captured a historic moment when Maiden were forced to deter away from Japan after the country was hit by a devastating earthquake.

The DVD seemed to receive mixed reviews from fans. It’s definitely not bad, but, other than the songs from the latest album, there’s nothing here that isn’t already present on other live releases. Comparisons to Rock in Rio were naturally made with some still preferring Rios and others actually deciding that En Vivo surpassed it. The HD quality of the video is certainly a huge mark in En Vivo’s favor. Personally, I would say that this is essential if you are a fan of The Final Frontier and want to experience those songs live, otherwise there are more essential Maiden DVDs out there. Regardless, Maiden is still one of the greatest live acts in Rock history and this DVD is no exception, so it’s always worth checking out.


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 31, 2018, 02:14:22 AM
Massive undertaking from Mosh, echoing in a sense all the work the band put into this release! I didn't know about the incident with Janick during the recordings, it's always nice to find other Maiden fans even more educated in the details of the band than me, since I usually follow everything they do and say :tup I guess I'll discuss just the album and save my comments for the tour for another post, to avoid a wall of text.

About the album... I liked it then and I like it now, even though when the competition is so high (see all the other reunion albums), it's inevitable that even a beautiful model would look relatively plain compared to even hotter models. I love all the reunion albums so picking the "worst" would still mean picking a Rolls Royce instead of a Ferrari, but just for a slight margin, I'd say that The Final Frontier loses just for a tiny bit against the other albums.

Still, it's packed with great songs. Not a fan of Satellite 15, but I appreciate the daring move to do something so different. The only thing that annoys me is how they didn't split the track on the CD, something I immediately did the moment I ripped the album on my computer. The Final Frontier is as catchy and energetic as any other album opener, and even though he didn't write the lyrics, "Do more in my life than some do in ten" is kind autobiographical for Bruce.

Coming Home has haunting and poetic lyrics, and I make it a point to always hear it whenever I'm flying. Departing at sunset with a plane and going through the "Curving on the edge of daylight 'til it slips into the void" stanza is magical. Such powerful and evoking lyrics, as "Flown the dark atlantic over mariners stormy graves".

My favorite of the epics is Isle of Avalon. Second best song ever that Maiden never played live (The first is Empire of the Clouds). Actually the Alchemist - Avalon - Starblind sequence is the best portion of Maiden music that was never played live. Alternate history scenario: since all it takes is just one song to define the theme of the album and tour (See Powerslave, only song about Egypt on the album), what if Isle of Avalon would have been the title track and the whole thing would have gotten a celtic theme and vibe? maybe cheesy, but interesting for sure.

On the other hand, I consider The Man that Would Be King the least interesting epic of the entire reunion era. Where the Wild Wind Blows is good, but I think that it shoots everything at the beginning, with that catchy "jumpalong" section, and then it just drags and plods until the end, where the climax is only lyrical, but not musical. From 3 minutes or whatever onwards, there's nothing as fast or catchy as the initial melody, and that's kinda a letdown.

While I also appreciate the little experiments here and there, I feel the album doesn't really present anything new. Forget about Satellite 15 and reorganize the tracklist this way:

The Final Frontier
Eldorado
Mother of Mercy
The Alchemist
Isle of Avalon
Coming Home
The Man who Would be King
When the Wild Wind Blows
Starblind
The Talisman

What do we have? energetic opener, slightly longer and more classic song, brooding song about war, fast paced song, epic with a long buildup intro, balladish song, somehow bluesish epic, longest epic of the album penned by Steve, somehow psyschedelic epic, and epic with an acoustic intro.

It's the exact same tracklist of A Matter of Life and Death, only Brighter doesn't really match up. The formula was starting to wear thin and it's good they changed it up with The Book of Souls.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Zydar on January 31, 2018, 05:45:46 AM
The Talisman is one of their best songs from the reunion albums. Could very well be one of their best ever, in fact, for me.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: kaos2900 on January 31, 2018, 07:46:10 AM
Overall I think The Final Frontier is their weakest reunion album. It has some real gems on it though. I still hate the long opening intro.

This was the tour where I saw Iron Maiden for the first time. And the icing on the cake was that Dream Theater was the opener. One of the best shows I've ever seen and a great setlist.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: JayOctavarium on January 31, 2018, 09:44:02 AM
Oh boy.

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


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

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

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

I haven't listened to the record for a while, but it's not near the top of the reunion discs for me.  I do love a lot of the songs, but I think they just started to drone on and on.  I'll have to give it a few spins soon and see how it fares for me now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: JayOctavarium on January 31, 2018, 09:59:01 AM
They played the outdoor amphitheater in Chicago in 2010 and drew 18,000 people, which is their LARGEST crowd in Chicago, ever.  More people attended that show than any previous Maiden tours, given that the setlist was all new material.  That's incredible.



We had I think 30k people in San Bernardino. It was massive. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mladen on January 31, 2018, 12:45:45 PM
What an epic write up! Mosh outdid himself once again.  :hefdaddy

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

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

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

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

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

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

EDIT: Oh yes, and the biggest news for me was that all of Bruce's vocals were re-recorded. Where is this coming from, Mosh?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: MirrorMask on January 31, 2018, 02:51:23 PM
Well, forgot to mention, but the Eddie alien was kinda meh. On the tour it was ok, but on the cover... for a moment I thought "whoah, for the first time they went without Eddie?", before realizing that "thing" was Eddie.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mosh on February 01, 2018, 08:36:43 PM
EDIT: Oh yes, and the biggest news for me was that all of Bruce's vocals were re-recorded. Where is this coming from, Mosh?
Forgot to link it in the OP, but much of the information comes from Kevin Shirley's diary, a must read for Maiden fans https://ironmaiden.com/news/article/the-final-frontier---recording-diary-by-kevin-shirley

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

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

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

As an aside, it's a travesty that they didn't put out physical singles with the comic book artwork. If Maiden ever wants to do a record store day special again, I'd like those on 7 inch.
 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: MirrorMask on February 02, 2018, 01:37:31 AM
Some considerations about the tour.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maybe a solution could have been to sacrifice The Wicker Man for The Alchemist, Blood Brothers represented Brave New World anyway. Or, even better, make this change, and keep The Wicker Man as show closer instead of Running Free. A new classic song, fast and uplifting, with a singalong at the end? I could think of worse ways to end a Maiden show.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: The Curious Orange on February 02, 2018, 04:20:42 AM
What I love about TFF is that the band aren't afraid to experiment. Even at this late stage of their career, they're still bringing in new elements, new influences and keeping things fresh. Sure, it's not always successful, but at least they're not resting on their laurels. I can't think of many other bands of a similar vintage still making new music as original and powerful as Maiden.

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

I caught the tour at the O2 in London, and while it was visually very impressive (one of the best productions I've seen), I felt the set-list left something to be desired. Both The Talisman and When the Wild Wind Blows saw mass exoduses to the bar/toilets. I'd have swapped either of these for Isle of Avalon, and would happily sacrificed Dance of Death for any other song, really.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: cramx3 on February 02, 2018, 07:43:15 AM
I can still remember my dissapointment from this album the moment I hit play.  My buddy and I were soooo excited.  I enjoyed El Durado, didn't love it but also didn't get the hate from some fans.  It was a solid single, certainly didn't make a dent in my anticipation for the album after AMOLAD.  We sat down in my living room, put the album on, and after 5 songs we decided we will just listen to it later on our own and spend our time together that day doing something more fun.  We were both so depressed that our first half listen wasn't very positive. 

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

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

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

Seemed fitting to me.  Maybe because I was up close for these shows, but I also don't recall any negativity towards the setlist like I saw during AMOLAD. Maybe the fans were more adjusted to the new songs by this point?  I can't really say, I just know I LOVED this tour.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mladen on February 02, 2018, 11:02:10 AM
If only they had found the way to include The Alchemist into the set list. That song would have been perfect in a live setting. Maybe they should have gone with that one instead of The Talisman. I mean, I get that The Talisman is a brilliant epic track, but I find The Alchemist just as great. Maybe it would have also worked better at that early spot in the set list.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: MirrorMask on February 02, 2018, 11:37:14 AM
If only they had found the way to include The Alchemist into the set list. That song would have been perfect in a live setting. Maybe they should have gone with that one instead of The Talisman. I mean, I get that The Talisman is a brilliant epic track, but I find The Alchemist just as great. Maybe it would have also worked better at that early spot in the set list.

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

Satellite 15... The Final Frontier
El Dorado
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Alchemist
Coming Home
Dance of Death
The Trooper
The Talisman
The Evil That Men Do
Blood Brothers
When the Wild Wind Blows
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
=================
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Wicker Man
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: TAC on February 02, 2018, 03:43:29 PM
Humongously awesome writeup Mosh!



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

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

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



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

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: cramx3 on February 02, 2018, 04:49:34 PM
 :lol :lol that's great
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mosh on February 02, 2018, 10:01:48 PM
What I remember about TFF's release was that the TACs were vacationing in Chicago when TFF was released. In fact, we drove from Massachusetts to spend a week at Disney, and then drove from Orlando to Chicago. It was a long trip, and I bought TFF for the drive home. It was such a nice, but long trip, and for whatever reason, while listening to TFF for the first time, I remember a tearing up (as in crying), thinking this album was incredible. The Lovely Mrs TAC looks over at me, and is like, what is wrong? I told her that the new Iron Maiden album was amazing.. She responded with an eyeroll saying "you are tapped."

 :lol
That's awesome.

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

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

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

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

Following that show was two months of buildup to the album. That was also exciting. From the video dropping to a user posting lyrics on Maidenfans (the IMBB crashed during the tour announcement and never came back up) to reading reviews and finally the album leak (I waited for the album but it was extremely tempting). I did get the CD early though. This was when albums still came out on Tuesdays and I happened to visit the record store the Saturday before and they were selling it early. Coming home and immediately listening to it is still one of my most vivid Maiden memories and one of my best first album experiences. I'll post my thoughts on the album later.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: MirrorMask on February 03, 2018, 04:48:01 AM
So, in order to save time, they kept the entire pre-show song which lasts 5 minutes, but they skipped the 2 minutes (at best) intro?  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: stargazer18 on February 03, 2018, 06:42:47 AM
Like many I looked forward to this show so that I could see my two favorite bands play at the same show. I knew DT was the opener and would have a much shorter set but they did a great job setting the tone. Maiden were on fire and really sounded great. It was the first time I had heard anything live off of Dance of Death or A Matter of Life and Death. They played Dance of Death at this show but I would have gladly seen them play Paschendale instead. But No More Lies and Wildest Dreams are both great songs and came across great live. From A Matter of Life and Death they played The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg and These Colours Don't Run. Both are good but not my favorites from this disc.

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

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

Comparing the four albums out since 2000 up to this point it seemed pretty clear to me that Maiden had cultivated a new sound in the reunion era. In many ways I think that Maiden were evolving into crafting music that was something of a blend of their individual influences. Steve Harris has always cited early prog bands like Yes, Genesis and Jethro Tull as being his while others like Bruce mentions Deep Purple as one of his. I know some people who laugh when I tell them I'm a Maiden fan because they say that Maiden haven't done anything new or innovative since The Number of the Beast. Nothing could be further from the truth as far as I am concerned. These four albums prove the band moved on from the classic 80's sound to something that to me is a bit more substantial.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: stargazer18 on February 03, 2018, 06:51:31 AM
I did get the CD early though. This was when albums still came out on Tuesdays and I happened to visit the record store the Saturday before and they were selling it early. Coming home and immediately listening to it is still one of my most vivid Maiden memories and one of my best first album experiences. I'll post my thoughts on the album later.

My local "record store" gets music in early too. In fact, reading this forum days before the official release date of the electronic version of The Book of Souls, I already had the deluxe version in hand and had listened to it twice! My wife, who is more modern and hip than me asks me why I still go out and buy a hard copy of CD's. I tell her it's my backup copy that it just happens to have lyrics and cool pictures in the case to boot.  :lol
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: DTA on February 03, 2018, 07:21:03 AM
I think this album is great, and while AMOLAD feels long to me, TFF doesn't for some reason (even though it is actually longer).

My thoughts:

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

-Starblind is severely underrated. In fact, all of the longer songs in the 2nd half of the album rank among the best of their 8+ minute songs. They all feel unique to me, and while they contain normal Maiden long-track tropes, they feel fresh and less obvious here somehow. The melodies are just so damn strong.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mosh on February 03, 2018, 08:54:57 AM
So, in order to save time, they kept the entire pre-show song which lasts 5 minutes, but they skipped the 2 minutes (at best) intro?  :lol
Yea idk what the deal with that was. Could've been some technical error too I suppose.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Overall The Final Frontier is just a very special album for me and was a worthy followup to AMOLAD. I still go back and forth on whether I prefer this or TBOS, but either way I hold it in pretty high regard. Having this followed AMOLAD made me seriously reconsider whether the 80s albums were better than the reunion albums.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mosh on February 08, 2018, 10:04:00 PM
I said before that I can think of two truly disappointing setlists since the reunion, one of them being SBIT. The other has to be TFF 2011. I was very disappointed in the selection of new songs. After the entire previous album being played live, only getting five from TFF was such a disappointing amount. I felt that, like AMOLAD, this album deserved to be played front to back. I'm not sure if I still think that's true, but I still believe they could have done at least one more. The Alchemist would've been a good addition, and I was very disappointed that my two favorite songs were omitted (Isle of Avalon and Starblind). In interviews, it also felt like the new material was being treated like an afterthought. I remember one in particular where (I think) Bruce was talking up how they would be bringing back older classics and "maybe 4 or 5 from the new album." It didn't seem as important as, say, Brave New World when the new material was the most important thing about the new show in their minds.

The rest of the setlist was OK but extremely predictable. I remember seeing footage and the eventual DVD and thinking the band seemed kind of tired. Definitely not one of my favorite periods in Maiden history, even though I really liked the album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: MirrorMask on February 09, 2018, 01:10:53 AM
Well, there's only so much you can do. Once there is the mandatory Harris epic in the set, and as another epic you pick The Talisman, there's not much room for a lot more. The show was basically 2 hours long, usually they play 1h40-45 minutes.

As I suggested above, they could have either sacrificed The Wicker Man, or moved it at the end as show closer in place of Running Free, making room for The Alchemist. Or sacrifice Dance of Death for Isle of Avalon, but that song was so well received that some reunion era songs just had to be there.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: cramx3 on February 09, 2018, 06:33:51 AM
I still stick to my opinion that the NA tour before the TFF tour was the better setlist, less TFF and more other reunion era songs was a much better fit for me.  I'm not sure there's better songs from TFF that would work well in a live environment than the songs they chose though.  Maybe Alchemist, but I'm not even sure that works better than any of the songs they played.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mosh on February 11, 2018, 10:24:58 AM
Well, there's only so much you can do. Once there is the mandatory Harris epic in the set, and as another epic you pick The Talisman, there's not much room for a lot more. The show was basically 2 hours long, usually they play 1h40-45 minutes.

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


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

The time it passed from Iron Maiden (the debut album) to the reunion is the same time that passed since the reunion 'til now. Again, wow.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: cramx3 on February 12, 2018, 09:42:53 AM
Thats amazing  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mladen on February 12, 2018, 10:46:59 AM
The time it passed from Iron Maiden (the debut album) to the reunion is the same time that passed since the reunion 'til now. Again, wow.
Mind. Blown.

The funny thing is that I'm sure people at the time called the reunion one of those things to do to grab more cash before the retirement. Almost twenty years later, no sign of retirement.  :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Final Frontier (2010 - 11)
Post by: Mosh on February 25, 2018, 05:10:57 PM
Primal Rock Rebellion - Awoken Broken (2012)

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

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

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

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

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

Maiden England Tour (2012 - 14)

(https://i2.wp.com/www.metalinjection.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Iron-Maiden-Maiden-England-North-American-2012-tour.jpeg?fit=500%2C567)
After the massive success of the Somewhere Back In Time tour, it came as no surprise when Iron Maiden announced that they would be doing another “history tour in 2012. The Maiden England tour was promoted as the band revisiting the Seventh Son era with both the stage and the setlist. Unlike the Somewhere Back in Time and The Final Frontier tours, Maiden opted for a traditional bus tour instead of using Ed Force One. It is uncertain why they decided to go this route, although it might have to do with bringing a larger stage set than usual which wouldn’t fit on the plane. However, this traditional method of touring resulted in a more typical tour itinerary of North America, Europe, and South America. It was very much like the 2010 Final Frontier tour, but stretched out for two years. Once again, the tour started in North America with a schedule that was even more extensive than the last. In 2013, they made their way to Europe for the summer festival circuit and finished off in South America where they performed more festivals, including their third appearance at the legendary Rock in Rio festival.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(https://ironmaiden.com/media/images/tour-2014.jpg)

Steve Harris - British Lion (2012)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Steve_Harris_-_British_Lion.jpg)
One thing few Maiden fans ever expected was a Steve Harris solo album. But, in July 2012, such an album was announced with no prior hints or warning. Steve Harris has always been known as the unquestionable leader of Maiden. He is the main writer and everything on a Maiden album is approved by him. Furthermore, four of the last five albums contained his input on every song. Consequently, a common question for Steve in interviews was why make a solo album when he could do whatever he wants with Maiden? The answer becomes obvious when listening to the album. Musically British Lion is like a tribute to the music of the 70’s that influenced Steve early on. Steve cites bands such as UFO specifically as influences. It is more of a Hard Rock album than a Metal album and has a slight Progressive Rock influence, in the vein of bands such as Uriah Heep and Wishbone Ash.

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

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

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

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdYrDkXVjXU
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: Anguyen92 on February 25, 2018, 05:31:44 PM
I remember watching the Rock AM Ring stream live back in 2014.  I think I finished or closing in on finishing my associates degree in my local community college and I had a reduced schedule where I start my weekend on Thursday afternoon.

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

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

For some reason, I thought that German crowd was apathetic to them for some reason.  I think I remember Bruce doing what he can to get them into it.  I also knew that the show was still in broad daylight until the halfway part of the set.  It was around 7PM-8PM German time on a summer day and the sun was still out.  Not often you see an Iron Maiden show be in the sunlight.  Also, during the encore, that Bruce and Nicko was wearing some weird hats (Bruce was wearing an aircraft hat and Nicko was sporting a birthday cake hat, since it was his birthday around that time).  All in all, I thought it was a good show, not as great as their set in Wacken 2016, but we'll get to that part later, even though they played less songs (15 total) than in Rock AM Ring 2014 (17 songs).
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: Ben_Jamin on February 25, 2018, 08:24:18 PM
The Maiden England tour 2012 was an amazing set. Got to see 2 of my favorites, Seventh Son and Aces High. I was happy they were coming to Albq, and with Coheed and Cambria opening. It was windy and Coheed had to cut their set short a song. But maiden kept theirs the same. Hearing the middle section of seventh son was one the best live sections ever. Love build-ups like that.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: MirrorMask on February 26, 2018, 02:15:51 AM
Maiden England was awesome. Sure, after the fact, we can coldly analyze the setlist, the repeated songs, the missed oppportunities etc, but seeing once again a show that was performed 10 years before I would start to see Iron Maiden show, was absolutely great.

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

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

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

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

I'd rank Maiden England 2013 as my third best Maiden show, behind the 1999 reunion and Somewhere Back in Time tour. Still, more awesome concerts came in between and would have followed, as we'll discover in the next installment!!!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: The Curious Orange on February 26, 2018, 02:54:51 AM
I saw the Maiden England show at the O2 London, and I have to say it was one of the best Maiden tours I've seen. Seventh Son is a brilliant album and it was great to see some of those songs return to the set - the audience sure as heck appreciated them.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: cramx3 on February 26, 2018, 07:27:24 AM
I caught the show near the beginning of the tour in NJ.  Alice Cooper was the opener and my friend and I were right up front again for the show.  I remember really loving Alice Cooper as the opener.  He put on a really awesome show (and this opener slot was the reason why I really wanted to see him again last summer).  I stayed away from the spoilers so I didn't know the setlist and was really surprised with the Prisoner and Afraid to Shoot Strangers, but I thought both songs were great live.  Aces High also really surprised me in the encore slot, I really dug it because the fireworks in your face and surprise energy of the song was fantastic experience, but felt like the show kind of lacked something.  I think the setlist just wasn't what I expected.  It wasn't bad, but besides SSOASS, it didn't feel very Maiden England like.  Moonchild was awesome but having been done before and now without the acoustic intro live, it didn't make it feel as special.  At the end of the day, the concert was fucking awesome.  I was a bit disappointed in 2013 when it became clear 2014 was not going to be a year for IM to progress towards a new album or new tour.  I was thinking maybe they were really going to be calling it quits soon.  So much time off and not really doing anything new or different, but boy was I glad to be wrong when they finally got back into doing something new.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: Mladen on February 26, 2018, 12:55:44 PM
I saw them twice on Maiden England tour and loved it. Luckily I managed to witness both set lists.  :metal

Brittish lion wasn't too interesting. I liked Us agains the world and A World without heaven, but was turned off by the mellow vocals and thin production. It's still an issue I'm bothered by. Nonetheless, it's fantastic that Steve felt the need to do it. Him doing a tour with those guys is an absolute proof he's still doing this because he loves to play.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: MirrorMask on February 26, 2018, 02:54:15 PM
Couldn't post it earlier from work, but if anybody is interested, I have on my FB photo page some photos of the 2014 show in Bologna, Italy!  :metal

https://www.facebook.com/612493155488167/photos/?tab=album&album_id=647041055366710
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: Mosh on March 15, 2018, 10:35:09 PM
The Book of Souls (2015)

(https://dizw242ufxqut.cloudfront.net/images/product/music/album/image2/the_book_of_souls_2cd-33987923-frntl.jpg)
After a longer touring cycle than normal, it was time for Maiden to shift the focus back to new music. This time around, they decided to write the album in the studio where it was being recorded. By doing so, they could record a song as soon as the writing was complete to preserve the initial spirit of the track. As Maiden themselves and many other artists have stated, it can often be hard to recapture the vibe of a demo when going for a finished recording. Writing in the studio was also appealing because it removed the ever growing risk of a fan coming across the rehearsal space and recording from outside (not that this ever happened, but Bruce voiced concerns about it in his book). Like The Final Frontier, the band decided to revisit a studio they used in the past. This time it was Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, where the band recorded Brave New World 15 years earlier. Kevin Shirley was once again at the production helm and, being the fifth album with this lineup, this would make the current lineup the longest surviving Maiden lineup both in terms of years and albums recorded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(https://www.decibelgeek.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Book-of-Souls-Graphic-1.jpg)

(https://vinyl-boutique.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/maiden-empire-clouds.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: Mosh on March 15, 2018, 10:36:32 PM
The Book of Souls (2015)

(https://dizw242ufxqut.cloudfront.net/images/product/music/album/image2/the_book_of_souls_2cd-33987923-frntl.jpg)
After a longer touring cycle than normal, it was time for Maiden to shift the focus back to new music. This time around, they decided to write the album in the studio where it was being recorded. By doing so, they could record a song as soon as the writing was complete to preserve the initial spirit of the track. As Maiden themselves and many other artists have stated, it can often be hard to recapture the vibe of a demo when going for a finished recording. Writing in the studio was also appealing because it removed the ever growing risk of a fan coming across the rehearsal space and recording from outside (not that this ever happened, but Bruce voiced concerns about it in his book). Like The Final Frontier, the band decided to revisit a studio they used in the past. This time it was Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris, where the band recorded Brave New World 15 years earlier. Kevin Shirley was once again at the production helm and, being the fifth album with this lineup, this would make the current lineup the longest surviving Maiden lineup both in terms of years and albums recorded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(https://www.decibelgeek.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Book-of-Souls-Graphic-1.jpg)

(https://vinyl-boutique.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/maiden-empire-clouds.jpg)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Maiden England and solo albums (2012 - 14)
Post by: Mosh on March 15, 2018, 10:37:36 PM

The Book of Souls Tour (2016 - 17)

(https://www.wroclaw.pl/go/download/img-eda8165c0a18003d2ccf94a3a3e05849/ironmaidenkraken-jpg.jpg)
On February 24, 2016, a little over a year after Bruce completed chemotherapy, the Book of Souls Tour opened in Florida. The circumstances of the tour were unique due to Bruce’s cancer. It was not just another tour promoting an album, but a comeback to the stage after the first calendar year without any Maiden performances since 1997. As such, it was one of the most heavily hyped album tours arguably since Brave New World. The Book Of Souls tour was the third tour to feature the Ed Force One, although this time it came with significant upgrades. During late 2015, while still recovering from chemotherapy, Bruce Dickinson trained to fly a 747 jumbo jet. This was an upgrade from the 757 being used in terms of speed and cargo space. Consequently, the band were able to expand their itinerary and bring the full production on the plane. The 2016 leg of the tour was a typical Ed Force One outing, with the band hopping around the world and continually uncovering new places to play, such as El Salvador.

As usual, the stage set was based around the new album. The Book Of Souls tour marked one of their largest productions yet. The stage was designed to resemble the Mayan theme of the album with jungle vines and shrines. Drapes were used to enhance the visual, some which were based around the stage design, some were based on artwork or songs from the album, and others depicted classic Maiden artwork. Of course Eddie also made an appearance. For the first time on an Ed Force One tour, the band were able to bring both a walk on Eddie and a big Eddie. Both were based on the Eddie that appears on The Book of Souls, with the big Eddie using the same inflatable design that was used on the tour for The Final Frontier.

For the setlist, new considerations had to be made given Bruce’s circumstances. He was still recovering and it was uncertain how much his voice would be able to handle. He ended up receiving higher input on the setlist than usual. Despite his increased involvement, the setlist was not a major departure from what was typical for Maiden, although there were some noteworthy features. As usual, the album was featured prominently. More of The Book of Souls was represented than The Final Frontier on its tour, with six songs totalling nearly 50 minutes of set time.

The show opened with the 1 - 2 punch of If Eternity Should Fail and Speed of Light. If Eternity Should Fail opened up the opportunity for some theatrics from Bruce, who appeared on stage with a cauldron to sing the intro. Bruce made the interesting choice of actually singing along with his original vocal track. He intentionally sang out of time with the track to create an artificial delay. The original track was also used for the acoustic outro, although this time Bruce did not sing along. Tears of a Clown was also played, supposedly because it was such a favorite among fans and members of the band. Also from the new album were two of the epics, The Book of Souls and The Red and the Black. The former served as the show’s centerpiece, featuring Eddie taking the stage and having his heart ripped out by Bruce in a sort of throwback to 1983. The Red and the Black was an expected addition as the Harris epic of the album. It went down surprisingly well, with a decent portion of the audience singing along to parts that were clearly written to be sung along to. The sleeper hit of the new songs was actually Death or Glory, which became memorable for Bruce’s antics during the “climb like a monkey” line in the chorus. What started as a fun little dance eventually evolved into Bruce coming on stage with a monkey mask and bananas.

The one glaring omission was Empire of the Clouds, although it seemed to be a non starter for the setlist. Bruce stated that playing the song would be too much of an ego trip and would eat up too much set time. He also mentioned that he wanted to perform it as a special one off with a real orchestra. On the other hand, Nicko has especially shown a willingness to play the song as well as a desire to do a Maiden concert with an orchestra. It remains uncertain whether the song will ever be played live, although it seems to have more of a chance than any other never before played live Maiden song.

The rest of the setlist was an interesting mix of classics. Among the usual suspects were The Trooper, Fear of the Dark, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden, and Number of the Beast. Run to the Hills was notably absent, although at this point it is to be expected that the song will be dropped regularly. There were some surprising additions, namely Children of the Damned and Powerslave. Powerslave was a song that fit the theme of the show perfectly, but was unexpected due to only having appeared on three tours previously. Children of the Damned was teased prior to the tour as a song that would surprise fans. While it is not exactly a rare song, this was the first time it appeared on an entire tour since the 80s. Previously it was only played at select gigs or added on the second leg of a tour. Even the encore had some surprises. Blood Brothers was played as the only representation of 00s Maiden other than the new songs and Wasted Years was an unexpected way to close the show. This tour marked the first time either songs were used in an encore and made for one of the most unique encores since the Dance of Death tour.

Like the Maiden England, Final Frontier, and Somewhere Back In Time tours, the setlist saw some slight adjustments the following year. Unsurprisingly, Wrathchild was added. Furthermore, the legal battle over Maiden’s alleged plagiarism of Beckett lyrics prompted the band to drop it from the setlist. The most intriguing change however was the band swapping Tears of a Clown for The Great Unknown. This was a controversial choice for some, as Tears of a Clown was arguably the more popular song, although many fans were thrilled to see more material from The Book of Souls live. This also marked one of the rare occasions where a song from the latest album was added to the tour later on. The only other time this happened in the band’s history was on the Brave New World tour, when Out of the Silent Planet was played at select shows on the tour’s South American leg.

Unsurprisingly, the tour was a huge success for the band. The presence of Ed Force One once again brought lots of publicity and with this Maiden were also really upping their social media presence. High quality videos were frequently uploaded and photos of fans at gigs and plane sightings were posted regularly. The band played to huge crowds around the world and were praised for continuing to put on energetic performances. To commemorate the tour, a live release was compiled:
 
The Book of Souls Live Chapter (2017)

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1rP3ETC%2BKL._SY355_.jpg)
Released just a few months after the conclusion of The Book of Souls tour, Live Chapter was a strange release from the band. No DVD was released. Instead, a video was live streamed ahead of the album release and was then subsequently made available for purchase on iTunes video (although the video footage is still available on Iron Maiden’s official YouTube channel. It was not a particularly produced video, but simply a compilation of screen feed footage (with various performances edited together). The audio, however, was released as a double CD, triple vinyl, and digital download. Like Flight 666 and A Real Live Dead One, the audio was taken from several different performances on the tour rather than just focusing on one show.

Despite the fact that the recordings span both legs of the tour, not every song was represented on the album. Hallowed Be Thy Name was excluded presumably due to the legal issues with Beckett, but Tears of a Clown was also absent for unknown reasons. Fortunately, the band’s performance at Wacken 2016 was live streamed and can still be viewed online. This performance includes both those songs and is worth checking out for a single complete performance from a remarkable tour.

Wacken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUqoSIKyCb4

Overall, there is not much about Live Chapter that sets it apart from other Maiden live albums. That is not to say it isn’t worth checking out though. The Book of Souls Tour was one of the most exciting in the band’s career and boasts one of their strongest setlists. It’s a great memento for those who were lucky enough to witness the tour and a great way for those who missed it to experience it for themselves.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: MirrorMask on March 16, 2018, 03:45:18 AM
The (for now) Final Chapter in these entries is like the last ones, interesting, comprehensive, and well worth a read  :tup

The Book of Souls is awesome. I felt it was a much needed shake up in the formula; the first time I heard it I felt like it was a collective solo album by the six members (if that made sense... kinda like The Astonishing could be seen as a Petrucci / Rudess solo album within the Dream Theater world).

As I pointed out before, you could re-arrange the tracklist of The Final Frontier to make it match, for kind of songs, 95% with the one of A Matter of Life and Death... there were only so many variations of the short uplifting rocker + shorter songs + load of epics with slow intros they could do before it became stale, and this album was a good detour.

Just like DT, I managed to buy the album on release day without having heard a single note. I stayed away from the single and from possible snippets, bought the MARVELOUS book-like package, went home, fired up Doctor Doctor just to get in the mood and recreate the live experience, I even heard Rising Mercury (Maiden England's intro) to be a nerd completist, and then went into the album. I plan to do it again for the next one.

If Eternity Should Fail is a kickass and wonderful opener, I hope Bruce does release his solo album sometimes and that this song appears, maybe re-recorded.
I'm not the biggest fan of The Red and the Black, but I applaud the scope of the song.
Death or Glory is a kickass rocker and the verses are so damn catchy.
The Book of Souls is possibly the most majestic title track since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, a mammoth epic that plods along in an eerie way before exploding in the chorus and then in the final section (who cares if it's lifted from Montsegur).
Shadow of the Valley is Wasted Years meet Benny Breeg meet Out of the Silent Planet but again who cares, it came out pretty good!
Tears of a Clown is indeed touching and poignant.
The Man of Sorrows' intro is one of the most mesmerizing and beautiful performances from Bruce, akin to the first verse of Out of the Shadows.

And Empire of the Clouds... fastest and most beautiful 18 minutes of my life. Bruce so late in his carrer painted his Mona Lisa. The song is an absolute masterpiece and a musical mini movie, and you can find I believe on YouTube a Bruce / Nicko interview that explains into detail their musical choices for the song.

It was love at first listening: the piano melody, the moment the vocals come in, EVERYTHING. I can actually live through the song, I close my eyes and I see royalty and dignitaries with brandies and cigars, I see hanging at the mast in the early dawn red light the R101, I feel the anguish of the storm that was bringing the aircraft down. I thank and I'm grateful to (Ronnie James) Dio (in italian it means God), all the gods of heavy metal and the doctors that treated Bruce that all went well, but what a wonderful swan song it would have been if he had to stop singing.

I remember at the climax of the song, during the first listening, that I noticed I was 15 minutes in and I was like "Really? only 3 minutes and it's over?"... I just didn't want it to stop. An absolute masterpiece and the crowning achievement of the carrer of heavy metal's best singer and frontman (Sorry guys, to me Bruce is essentially Leonardo reincarnated with god powers). Marvellous album, one of their strongest for sure.

More thoughts later on the tour, I don't want to annoy everyone with a wall of text.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: The Curious Orange on March 16, 2018, 04:30:46 AM
Thanks for doing this, Mosh, it's been a great ride!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: jjrock88 on March 16, 2018, 07:36:53 AM
Excellent effort and job with this thread!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Grappler on March 16, 2018, 07:45:05 AM
What a ridiculously fun thread!  Amazing write ups too - since this one started, I've gone back over each album and spent time with a lot of their albums that I tend to skip in favor of my favorites.

I love The Book of Souls, and it's probably my second favorite reunion era disc behind Brave New World, though I do have a new appreciation for A Matter of Life and Death too.  I sadly missed out on the two legs of the tour that came through Chicago over the last two or three years due to them being weeknight shows, work and family commitments.  But it's awesome to see that they're still promoting their new material so heavily and filling up large arenas and amphitheaters this late in their career.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Samsara on March 16, 2018, 10:54:46 AM
Mosh,

Top notch job on this. Wonderful detailed history. And as a fellow music history buff, I don't think I've seen anyone write with more detail than you on a band. Thank you for doing it.

B
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Mladen on March 16, 2018, 12:14:47 PM
If I had a hat on, I would take it off to Mosh.  :hefdaddy

The release of The Book of souls was such a fun time. I still remember being absolutely floored by the album the first time I heard it. Empire immediately stood out and I still think it's one of their five best songs of all time. The Red and the black is another one of my favorites, as well as the underrated and energetic When the river runs deep. I need to single out the guitar harmony in The Great unknown as one of my favorite bits, as well as Bruce's performance on The Man of sorrows - it's intoxicatingly sad.

The tour was incredilbe and I had a chance to see it three times. The Red and the black was a clear highlight for me, although I'm not sure other people loved it as much. Death of glory was hilarious, Bruce did a fantastic job with the antics. And the combo of Blood brothers and Wasted years at the end is probably the best Maiden closer ever. I got very emotional every time.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: devieira73 on March 16, 2018, 01:57:19 PM
This thread is an amazing journey from the begginning, thanks, Mosh!
Just because we are arriving at nowadays in this thread, I'll leave this information here:
-Dickinson said the change in performance approach was partly because the band isn't promoting a new album but performing material from throughout its career instead. “When you do a show like we’re planning to do, I want it to be really slick, but awesome,” he told Kerrang in a new interview. "I want people to go, ‘Wow! Fucking hell, you’ve gotta see this show!’ I want people to be surprised as well. I want them to go home going, ‘Fucking hell, I can’t believe they played that song!’ That’s the reaction I want."-
Source:https://ultimateclassicrock.com/why-bruce-dickinson-wont-talk-much-on-iron-maiden-tour/
Pehaps this means we'll have something really different in the setlist?! Maybe something NEVER played live before by the band?!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: MirrorMask on March 16, 2018, 02:02:44 PM
I think we should be cautiously optimistic.

Flight of Icarus, Be Quick or Be Dead, unusual encore like the Book of Souls tour (not always Hallowed / Run to the Hills / Running Free) kind of optimistic.

Not Alexander the Great, Judas Be My Guide optimistic.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: devieira73 on March 16, 2018, 02:06:05 PM
 :D :D agreed
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: bosk1 on March 16, 2018, 02:52:46 PM
Now that we are onto the next album cycle, I guess I can end my self-imposed rage boycott of the thread after page 48.  :lol 

I was lukewarm on The Book of Souls when it first came out.  But I have warmed up to it considerably and enjoy listening to it.  Live Chapter is also pretty good, but I wish there was video.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Mosh on March 16, 2018, 07:37:30 PM
Thanks for the kind words everyone. This thread has been a pleasure. Expect a short recap next week.

Now that we are onto the next album cycle, I guess I can end my self-imposed rage boycott of the thread after page 48.  :lol 

I thought you were a fan of The Final Frontier? Or am I missing something.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: MirrorMask on March 17, 2018, 06:00:55 AM
On to the tour... if anybody's interested, here are some pics of mine from the Milan date back in 2016!

https://www.facebook.com/612493155488167/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1078973458840132

The show was awesome. The beginning was one of the coolest ever, I love theatrics in a show and the cauldron intro with Bruce was badass. Children of the Damned already third in the set was a pleasant surprise, and a sign of a slightly unusual show. Loved Tears of a Clown and especially Death or Glory, only Bruce could have taken the wackiest line of the song (which is historically accurate however - the Red Baron did describe going into the cockpit as climbing like a monkey) and turn it into a funny moment for everyone... love how they don't take themselves too much seriously.

Powerslave was a kickass and awesome surprise, they probably broke one of their unwritten rules for the first time ever - "The centerpiece of an album and tour gets played only in the dedicated tour".  And The Book of Souls is as majestic and captivating live as it is in the studio. Once again, good mix of serious theatrics, and wacky moments (Bruce defeating Eddie by sticking his fingers in his eyes).

Maybe the big Eddie of Iron Maiden wasn't the best ever (can't top the tank), but it was cool nevertheless. And the encore, opening with 666 aside, was unexpected - after Blood Brothers I was thinking "Oh please, do The Wicker Man, do something else, don't make the usual Running Free or Sanctuary"... and I got my wish.

Given Maiden's history, this was a highly adventurous setlist. All in the same show we got:

- Relatively rare track (Children)
- Title track of another album and centerpiece of another tour (Powerslave) instead of the "hit" song off that album (23:58)
- Final song that wasn't Running / Hills / Sanctuary or even the recently used Halloweed
- Even with the usual suspects in, they managed to discard at the same time the aforementioned usual closers AND Wrathchiild AND 23:58 AND anything off Seventh Son

Come on, unless Mike Portnoy takes over Maiden's setlists, this was realistically as good as it could get. One of my best Maiden shows ever!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Anguyen92 on March 17, 2018, 11:51:36 AM
Ahhhh, yes.  This is the great stuff.  To me, If Eternity Should Fail is up there in terms of my favorite opening songs of an album (others include Alter Bridge's Cry of Achilles and Queen's One Vision).  I didn't think a 92 minute album would fly by so fast on first listen, but Iron Maiden did just that.  If Eternity Should Fail, The Book of Souls, Empire of the Clouds.  Those tracks flew by insanely fast.  One thing I read on TvTropes.org when they talked about The Book of Souls album is that apparently at the 6:58 mark of Empire of the Clouds, they stated that the riff sounds like Morse code that states SOS which makes sense given the context of the song.  Was that part intentional?  That's amazing if it was.

Anyway, I checked the live stream of Wacken in 2016.  It was tremendous.  Good crowd, Maiden played great.  You wouldn't think a festival crowd would do the "climb like a monkey" dance during Death or Glory, but they did.  I also noted that Bruce came out with a luchador mask during Powerslave and I was like, "That's pretty odd, but I'm not complaining."

Anywho, great writing Mosh throughout covering 40+ years of Iron Maiden history.  Not that long now until their next tour begins and the next chapter of the band will be written.  It's still pretty exciting to this day to follow Iron Maiden and they give us a lot of reasons to be excited about as well.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: stargazer18 on March 17, 2018, 11:57:09 AM
This has been a fantastic discography thread not only because of the wealth of information presented by the OP but for me, personally, because I didn’t have to spend a dime on new music!

In the years between The Final Frontier and The Book of Souls I greatly expanded my own music horizons by digging deep into various prog bands old and new. (Read:  I’ve spent a ton of $$$ on music the past two years) As a result my music listening has been more focused on other styles as of late but I listened to The Book of Souls from the perspective of a long-time fan of the band who can enjoy the music for what it is. My only real complaint is the production but since most of the reunion era CD’s have sounded similar this was not new.

As I wrote previously, I bought the deluxe edition of the album days before it was available on line. In this day and age of music being downloaded electronically I find it remarkable that they would even consider this kind of packaging.
 
I find both CD’s listenable from start to finish with only "When the River Runs Deep" and “The Man of Sorrows" being slightly less interesting than the others. The rest is really pretty good. To me it has all of the ingredients of the kind of Iron Maiden album that they’ve been making in the reunion era. “Comfort” music.

It ranks number one of the reunion era albums in terms of minutes of music I like mostly owing to it being a double album.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: DoctorAction on March 18, 2018, 02:20:31 AM
Thank you so much for writing this thread. Has been absolutely terrific.  :)

The Book Of Souls is a mixed bag for me. I really enjoy Bruce and Adrian's songs (but wish they'd cut the outro of IESF - makes absolutely no sense).

Man of Sorrows is one of my favourites (but not quite as good as Bruce's song of the same name). Tears of a Clown i really like.

The title track is so epic and the three guitar harmonies just before the end has such energy and you can hear all three so well. Fantastic moment. The lyrics really bother me, though. They either don't fit or just sound unfinished on this song. Really, really clunky. Spoils the mood for me completely and i almost never listen to it for that reason.

The energetic vibe is captured so well across the record. It just sounds great. So immediate and fresh. I would LOVE it if DT could manage similar.

However, all other tracks I barely ever play. Just too familiar, i think. The Red And The Black annoys me intensely. Sounds like Steve made a jigsaw puzzle track from his previous songs and just stuck it together - right down to the whoa whoa whoas...

So yeah - a mix for me. Still delighted they're putting out records of this quality but is my least listened to reunion album. Will try and create and edited version on Spotify and see if that gives me more goodness, i think.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: TAC on March 18, 2018, 06:36:20 PM
Mosh, awesome job. As a lifelong Maiden fan, you've lead a very thoughtful and complete discussion. Your passion for Iron Maiden rings through. Your efforts are much appreciated.



DoctorAction, your post is interesting because I agree on your point about the album as a whole, but completely disagree in the song choices.

I made an abridged TBOS CD and left off Tears, Man, and DoG, and it flows much better. I love TRATB, especially the live version.

The Title Track and Empire Of The Clouds are two of the Reunion's best tracks, but overall, this album doesn't touch the previous ones.




The Live Chapter is a great live album. So glad they included The Great Unknown.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: wolfking on March 18, 2018, 07:35:09 PM
And the combo of Blood brothers and Wasted years at the end is probably the best Maiden closer ever. I got very emotional every time.

I have to agree with this.  When I saw them, I couldn't believe how well this worked.  I had all tingly feelings inside too.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Mladen on March 19, 2018, 06:20:01 AM
I was skeptical about it when I first saw the set list. But it was fantastic, truly touching.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: DoctorAction on March 19, 2018, 06:51:11 AM

DoctorAction, your post is interesting because I agree on your point about the album as a whole, but completely disagree in the song choices.

I made an abridged TBOS CD and left off Tears, Man, and DoG, and it flows much better. I love TRATB, especially the live version.

The Title Track and Empire Of The Clouds are two of the Reunion's best tracks, but overall, this album doesn't touch the previous ones.

 :lol It never ceases to fascinate me how close yet different people's impressions of the same thing are. Especially with a shared love of something. I guess that's what keeps us coming back to forums like this. Just what ARE those tiny details that click the happy switches in my brain but not in yours? And what would that say about us as individuals?

EDIT: Enjoying my edited version of BoS very much. Thanks to this thread!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: wolfking on March 20, 2018, 05:03:32 AM
I think the only song I'd leave off if I was forced to would be Tears.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: The Curious Orange on March 20, 2018, 05:59:53 AM
I love Man of Sorrows. It's one of the more original and interesting tracks on the album, and has some fantastic guitar work on it. I'm not sure what I'd leave off a single-disc version of the album, but Man of Sorrows would be a definite keeper.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: MirrorMask on March 20, 2018, 06:04:00 AM
Alternative scenario: Empire of the Clouds is deemed too ambitious and too daring for Maiden, and Bruce saves it for his solo album.

Without the need for a double album anymore, how would you rearrange the tracklist? I'd go:

01 If Eternity Should Fail
02 Speed of Light
03 The Great Unknown
04 When the River Runs Deep
05 The Red and the Black
06 Death or Glory
07 Shadows of the Valley
08 Tears of a Clown
09 Man of Sorrows
10 The Book of Souls

It's essentially the same order, but without Empire I think that the title track is a worthy closer of the album, just as it closes disc one. And I moved of one place The Red and the Black for better pacing of the long songs.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: devieira73 on March 20, 2018, 07:12:00 AM
I love Man of Sorrows. It's one of the more original and interesting tracks on the album, and has some fantastic guitar work on it. I'm not sure what I'd leave off a single-disc version of the album, but Man of Sorrows would be a definite keeper.

Totally this! Very different for Maiden, this song to me has a very "Fates Warning" vibe which I love.
This album is the second best IMO from the reunion (My faves: AMoLaD > TBoS > BNW > DoD >... TFF) and I think, for a double album, it has tremendous consistency. Maybe I think Shadows of the Valley is a bit weaker from the batch, but still this song has a lot of cool moments, like the intro and the solos. Empire of the Clouds is a incredible song, almost perfect for my ears and sooo different for Maiden, even for an epic, really cool!
To me another way to hear this album in a interesting manner is separating the shorter songs from the epics, in 2 albums like this:
CD2: The Red and The Black, TBoS and Empire...
CD1: The others, in its original appearence order, from CD1 to CD2 (this hypothetical CD would remind me a bit the normal structure of a Maiden album from The Number of the Beast to Seventh Son)
My stronger criticism that remains to TBoS and all reunion albums is the sound and overall production. I don't understand why Maiden can't make those albums sound as good as SiT or Seventh Son... it would be perfect for the nowadays style of the band. Or even sound like Firepower from Judas! This would be incredible...


Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: bosk1 on March 20, 2018, 08:25:01 AM
Thanks for the kind words everyone. This thread has been a pleasure. Expect a short recap next week.

Now that we are onto the next album cycle, I guess I can end my self-imposed rage boycott of the thread after page 48.  :lol 

I thought you were a fan of The Final Frontier? Or am I missing something.

Oh, I love it!  Favorite Maiden album.  But some of the things in the write-up just sent me over the edge.  :lol

I love Man of Sorrows. It's one of the more original and interesting tracks on the album, and has some fantastic guitar work on it. I'm not sure what I'd leave off a single-disc version of the album, but Man of Sorrows would be a definite keeper.

Totally this! Very different for Maiden, this song to me has a very "Fates Warning" vibe which I love.

I don't get a Fates vibe at all.  To me, even before the vocals, it just screams Maiden to me.  But it is always interesting to see what others hear in songs.  I sometimes also make connections between different band vibes and sounds that seem obvious to me that others do not hear.  :dunno:

EDIT:  You know, I kinda DO get a Fates vibe from the end of the song now that you mention it.  I doubt I would have made that connection if you hadn't mentioned it, but I do kind of hear it now in that part of the song.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: devieira73 on March 20, 2018, 11:08:06 AM
Cool, Bosk. For sure Maiden is a primary influence to Fates, not the contrary. Although The Man of Sorrows has that typical Murray feel in songwritting, IMO it just happens to sound a bit like Fates from Through Different Eyes's intro or The Road Goes on Forever's guitars harmonies. Another song from Maiden that I get a lot of a Fates vibe is in The Thin Line Beetween Love & Hate, begginning at 5:15.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: jammindude on March 20, 2018, 03:44:48 PM
 Maybe he was talking about the IM song?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: cramx3 on March 21, 2018, 07:38:52 AM
Thank you Mosh for some awesome write ups.  I would see these posts and kind of hold off because I would want to spend time and look forward to reading each post (hence my delays to share my feelings till usually a few days later).  Sucks we have reached our current point in time because I enjoyed following this so much.  Anyway...

I remember Iron Maiden shared a Holiday card online that looked like Eddie was in the studio.  It was a huge surprise as any new album talk was very very quiet, and it was strangely still quiet for awhile after that, but we found out why with the Bruce diagnosis.  Bruce continues to defy the odds.  He's a huge inspiration to many and overcoming cancer and coming back with such energy and force was amazing to see.  Bringing the bigger Ed Force One around was one of the coolest things at that time.  The album is great IMO.  Not their best of the reunion era, but a really strong album and just continues to show how great of a band they continue to be while keeping their old school sound a bit and still breaking new barriers.  Empire of the Clouds was never my favorite track on the album, but there's no denying that it's a monster song.   I always felt this album had a bit more of a Bruce solo style to it, obviously with IESF, but also with Empire and Tears and WTRRD. 

I was lucky enough to catch them four times on the tour.  First being on the first leg at a sold out Madison Square Garden.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64tqNQjn8no) We had front row in the top balcony section of the garden.  Even with the fan club presale, I couldn't get the floor seats for this so we settled for up there for the better view.  We both were fairly disappointing in not being up close as we had been accustomed to.  It was still an awesome show.  I didn't know the setlist so Powerslave seemed like a real surprise (you can see our reactions in the video  :lol ) and that encore really through me off.  The sound was really poor this show which was easily the worst part, but otherwise it was a sick stage show and setlist.  I really had a good time.

Then they announced a second leg of the US.  Coming to NJ first and then coming back to Brooklyn to end the tour.  I managed to get the floor GA tickets for both shows, and once the Brooklyn show sold out, they added a second night and final show of the whole tour.  I got a floor ticket for that as well. 

For the NJ show, I won the first to the barrier fan club contest. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlKzbUAZj-g)  This was really cool, and we hung out on the separate entrance line with a bunch of other really hardcore IM fans.  I got there about 4 hours before doors opened and maybe needed another 4 hours to actually be on the barrier, but none the less, I was the closest I had ever been.  Another superb performance.  I must say the worst thing about being so close is that after 6 hours of waiting for IM, I really had to go to the bathroom and I finally broke towards the end of the setlist and just watched the rest from the back.  Although I was the closest I had been, I would rate this as my least favorite of the 4 shows.  It just felt like another show, the MSG show was special, it was the only show anywhere close so there was a lot of energy.  The NJ show was relatively dead for a crowd (not surprising for the NJ crowd).  Not a bad concert by any means, but it was clearly not my favorite of the tour.

A month later and Iron Maiden were back for back 2 back sold out nights at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrzj_ncgVM) where IM had never played before.  This was maybe the best back 2 back same concert experience I have ever had.  There was no setlist change between the two nights, but both nights were spectacular for their own reasons.  The first night up close in the pit and almost everyone near me was foreign, from Europe.  Lots of Polish people actually that I met.  There was a different type of energy in this pit than I had seen before.  I really think it was because of the foreign influence.  The crowd was really rockin and into the show.  IM sounded so good and I just had a total blast.  The next night was a lot of fun as well, met up with some DTFers for beers beforehand.  Bruce stripped to his undies during Wasted Years throwing his clothes and boots into the crowd.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen.  From surviving cancer to ending a massive world tour in your boxers, Bruce is the man.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Stadler on March 21, 2018, 10:10:43 AM
I was at that second Barclay's show; I've seen Bruce too many times to count, including as an opening act back in '82, a headliner in the heyday, to a festival act in the reunion years, and that was as good as I've seen him.   So much energy, but he still delivered on the basics, sounding great!  It was infectious, too, because you could see it in the band as the show went on. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Mosh on March 22, 2018, 10:19:27 PM
I was having a hard time placing TBOS in the overall discography until now. Listening to everything in order has helped to cement my thoughts on where TBOS fits in Maiden's large catalog. The album has also been out long enough that the excitement of new Maiden has died down a bit. I don't think it's better than AMOLAD or TFF, but it's a notch above Brave New World and is at the same standard of quality I've come to expect from the band today. The only thing that keeps me from putting it on the level of the previous two albums is that it feels like the first album since Dance of Death to have filler. One thing I liked about the previous two albums is that every single song seemed to have a function on the album to create a single entity. Sure there where weaker tracks like The Pilgrim and The Man Who Would Be King, but they fit in really well in context of the album. On TBOS there are a couple songs that aren't as strong and don't really do anything for me on the album. Shadows of the Valley in particular is by far the weakest song the band has done since Dance of Death.

That being said, and this really speaks to the high quality of Maiden's recent output, that's really the only thing keeping the album from being rated as highly as the previous two. There's some really great stuff on here and I think this album has something for every Maiden fan. There are rockers, epics, and mid tempo pieces. Bruce Dickinson is by far the MVP of the album. His vocals are a huge improvement on The Final Frontier and his contributions are immense. Empire of the Clouds lived up to the impossible expectations and If Eternity Should Fail is quite possibly the best opener to a Maiden album ever. Even on songs he didn't write, like The Book of Souls and Tears of a Clown, he turns in a fantastic performance.

One thing that has really struck me lately is how many parallels there are to Powerslave. Both are the only Maiden albums to contain two Dickinson penned tracks, both have a song that set the record for longest Maiden track, and then there's the ancient civilization themes (the Mayans for TBOS and the Egyptians for Powerslave). This album also sees the return of the Smith/Dickinson duo writing the more accessible straightforward tracks, a partnership that really peaked on Powerslave. This album also has a similar balance of straightforward rockers, epics, and instrumentally driven songs. Old school fans have clamored for a return to the "classic" Maiden sound and I really think TBOS comes as close to that as anything since the 80s.

I got to see Maiden twice on this tour, both are probably the best Maiden shows I've seen. The performance, the stage production, and the setlist were all top tier Maiden. Incredible shows. The setlist is the closest they've come to perfection. Perfect balance of new material, "hits", and deeper cuts. Not to mention a great flow.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Cyclopssss on March 23, 2018, 03:21:01 AM
Wow, we've finally reached "the end"! Haven't got much to add to other posts here except that the Book of Souls was a very nice present from the band, so late in its life. I thought it was a very solid, well rounded album and for a band to come up with an epic track like 'Empire of the clouds' at this point in its carreer is really amazing. And it finally gave me the opportunity (after some thirty years) to see the band live! Kudos to Mosh for these write-ups. I look forward to any new projects you will start up.   :metal Up the Irons!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: The Book Of Souls (2015 - 17)
Post by: Mosh on March 25, 2018, 05:55:52 PM
Reflection/The Future of Iron Maiden

This was a behemoth. Thanks again to everyone for following along with the entire thread, leaving nice comments, and adding their own insightful contributions to this discussion. Initially I was only going to focus on the studio albums with small entries on tours and side projects, but as I got deeper into it I wanted to make sure that this thread was as exhaustive as possible. As I said in the beginning of the thread, Iron Maiden is my favorite band and I wanted to do their discography justice by covering as many elements of their recorded and live history as possible. My favorite discography thread on this forum is still the first one, Orbert’s Yes discography, so I used that as a model and wanted the Iron Maiden thread to live up to that. While a lot of the thread came from my own knowledge of the band, it became an all encompassing Maiden research project once I got more into the details of tours, side projects, and other supplemental material. I ended up learning a lot myself, especially when it comes to their tendencies as a live band. In total, the document I used had 143 pages, about 88 individual entries, and 81,000 words. As I mentioned earlier, this thread also helped me solidify my opinions on each album and where they sit in the overall discography for me. For those who are curious, here’s how I would rank the Maiden albums. The top 2 and bottom 2 are set in stone, but other than that a lot of it is interchangeable. Call me a fanboy, but 3 through 12 are incredibly close in quality for me.

1: Piece of Mind
2: A Matter of Life and Death
3: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
4: Powerslave
5: The Final Frontier
6: Somewhere In Time
7: The Book of Souls
8: Brave New World
9: Killers
10: The Number of the Beast
11: The X Factor
12: Iron Maiden
13: Dance of Death
14: No Prayer for the Dying
15: Virtual XI
16: Fear of the Dark

Also, since polls of random songs seems to be a thing here now, I decided to add one to this thread to close things out. It’s a random selection of lesser known songs without any fan favorites or cult classics. Feel free to comment on your own album rankings and favorites. Or anything else, I'm open to a free for all Maiden discussion at this point. 

Hopefully this isn’t the thread’s last entry. Obviously The Legacy Of the Beast tour starts in a couple months and there will certainly be a recap of that here, but I am holding out hope for one more Maiden album. Frankly, I felt that the band’s attitude in interviews during the TBOS cycle was hinting at them going back to the studio right after the conclusion of the tour. Now that they seem to be booked for the next two years, I am starting to doubt that there will be another album. I hope to be proven wrong though. Another British Lion album seems like a certainty and I know most fans really want to hear what Bruce Dickinson has been working on. There are also plenty of archival and live releases that still need to see the light of day.

Thanks again to everyone who followed along and contributed. This was a ton of fun and I hope y’all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Up the Irons!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: jammindude on March 25, 2018, 06:09:08 PM
1. Number of the Beast
2. Piece of Mind
3. Iron Maiden
4. A Matter of Life and Death
5. Powerslave
6. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
7. The X Factor
8. Killers
9. The Final Frontier
10. Book of Souls
11. Somewhere In Time
12. Brave New World
13. Fear of the Dark
14. No Prayer For the Dying
15. Virtual XI


To this day, Dance of Death is the only Iron Maiden album I have not heard, so I did not include it.  I do hope to remedy that in the near future.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Anguyen92 on March 25, 2018, 06:24:49 PM
To this day, Dance of Death is the only Iron Maiden album I have not heard, so I did not include it.  I do hope to remedy that in the near future.

You're going to have an aneurysm over No More Lies, that's a guarantee, but Paschendale makes up for it greatly.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: TAC on March 25, 2018, 06:37:29 PM
J Dude, how is that even possible? I mean, did you pick one random Maiden album and just decide not to listen to it?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: jammindude on March 25, 2018, 06:58:59 PM
J Dude, how is that even possible? I mean, did you pick one random Maiden album and just decide not to listen to it?

OK....the term LOL gets thrown around a lot, but I literally LOLed. 

No, it's just that I was a really big Maiden fan up through SSoaSS, and then they lost me with Bring Your Daughter, and so I just moved on to other things and ignored them for a long time.   Then I heard The X Factor from a friend and liked it more than I thought I would, but then really hated VXI.   Then I got really excited about the reunion, but was ultimately disappointed with BNW, and lost interest in the band again.     But about the time Final Frontier came out, someone insisted I go back and check out AMOLAD, and it absolutely floored me.   I've been trying to play "catch up" with everything I missed ever since.   Slowing filling the holes in my IM collection.  DoD is just the one album that came out during a lull in my interest that I haven't gone back to check out yet.   I keep checking my local CD shops to see if I can get a used one, but I haven't seen it yet. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: TAC on March 25, 2018, 07:10:50 PM
Ok J Dude. I guess...   ;D




So for the poll, I went with:

The Prisoner
Die With Your Boots On
The Duellists    ( I love the long instrumental part)
The Prophecy
Run Silent Run Deep ( one of Maiden's all time best choruses plus the first and only Maiden Mosh part)
The Unbeliever
The Educated Fool (This is the one Blaze Era song that I would kill to hear Bruce do. That chorus was made for him)
Montesegur

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Mosh on March 25, 2018, 09:57:28 PM
Dance of Death is a weird one. As more time passes and with three more albums since then, it is really the black sheep of the catalog. Even the best moments, like Paschendale and Dance of Death, have been eclipsed by what they accomplished later on. That being said, because it's so unlike any other Maiden album that it has a charm that makes it worth revisiting once in awhile. You're not going to find songs like Journeyman on any other Maiden album. Even some of the rockers like Rainmaker have a unique tone.

Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Cyclopssss on March 25, 2018, 11:41:31 PM
it's a weird one, indeed. But it proved surprisingly solid, quality wise. Once you get over the horrid artwork and really start listening. I mean, Montsegur.....holy shit!
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: nobloodyname on March 26, 2018, 12:23:03 AM
Wow. I wasn't the first person to vote for The X Factor and Virtual XI songs :biggrin:
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Zydar on March 26, 2018, 12:34:26 AM
Strange World
Invaders
The Prisoner
Sun And Steel
Sea Of Madness  :heart
Judas Be My Guide  :heart
Lightning Strikes Twice
The Alchemist
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: MirrorMask on March 26, 2018, 01:52:11 AM
Voted for:

Strange World
The Prisoner
Die with your Boots On
The Prophecy
The Fallen Angel
Montsegur
Out of the Shadows
The Alchemist

First ones left out:
Judas Be My Guide
Lightning Strikes Twice


As a fellow lifelong Maiden fan, you don't need to "justify" your Maiden obsession with me Mosh, I totally get it  ;D I'm too a bit puzzled at how they wanted to do another album soon and now they're touring for two years... they probably planned things in advance and decided they'll have their next and most likely final album in 2020, 40 years after the debut.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: devieira73 on March 26, 2018, 07:30:57 AM
My choices (Bruce, read this for The Legacy tour! ;D):
Invaders (Always surprises me that this song is not regarded at the same level of the classics from TNoTB)
Sea of Madness and The Loneliness of… (Love everything SiT)
Run Silent Run Deep and Judas Be My Guide (I guess nobody here will agree with that, but I like No Prayer and Fear albums as much as the reunion albums - and lesser than the 82-88 run. What put them at this level to me is the rocker vibe that I somewhat miss in the reunion albums, although they are more elaborate)
The Unbeliever and Lightning Strikes (Great songs with terrible production)
Montsegur (Just wonderful)
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Dream Team on March 26, 2018, 08:16:50 AM
J-Dude, you might like DoD. Hardly any of the overly-long acoustic intros. Mostly straight-up rockers with a consensus Top 5 song, maybe two of them. I like it more than most others here because I like Maiden up-tempo.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Cyclopssss on March 27, 2018, 03:38:02 AM
Damn.....forgot how good Sea of Madness is   :metal
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Mladen on March 29, 2018, 06:36:06 AM
That's a great selection of underrated, overlooked songs. I went with the following:

The Prisoner
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
The Prophecy
The Unbeliever
The Educated Fool
The Alchemist
When the River Runs Deep

Ranking the albums:

1. Somewhere in time
2. Seventh son of a seventh son
3. The X Factor
4. A Matter of life and death
5. Powerslave
6. Dance of death
7. Piece of mind
8. The Book of souls
9. The Final frontier
10. Number of the beast
11. Brave new world
12. Iron maiden
13. Killers
14. Virtual XI
15. No prayer for the dying
16. Fear of the dark

Keep in mind that the first twelve are all great. That's insane.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: ProfessorPeart on March 29, 2018, 09:26:04 AM
Song poll:

Strange World
The Prisoner
Die With Your Boots On
Sea of Madness
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
The Prophecy
Look For the Truth
The Fallen Angel

As for ranking the albums, I couldn't even begin to. At best, I can name my favorite and then the next couple.

1. Somewhere In Time

Others in the top:

Brave New World
The X Factor
Piece Of Mind

Worst albums:

Fear Of The Dark
No Prayer For The Dying
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: MirrorMask on March 29, 2018, 09:52:22 AM
Their albums are so amazing that a list does not give the idea of how close they are. Take the reunion albums for example, they're all great in their own way so if I'd make a list there would not be a "5 albums distance" between the first and the last.

Going through the eras, I'd say...

Di'Anno: Iron Maiden > Killers
Classic albums: Piece of Mind and Seventh Son absolute best. Powerslave and 666 slightly behind. Somewhere in Time least favorite.
Transition period: Fear of the Dark > No Prayer
Blaze: The X Factor > Virtual XI
Reunion: Personal favorites are Dance of Death and The Book of Souls. The other three are all amazing anyway.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Legacy of the Beast (2018/2019)
Post by: Mosh on June 21, 2023, 11:36:30 AM
The Legacy Of the Beast Tour Part One (2018 - 19)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cd/Legacy_of_the_Beast_Tour_Poster.jpg)
Nearly two decades into Iron Maiden’s reunion era, there was a reliable touring pattern: new album tour followed by nostalgia tour, rinse and repeat. Since Ed Hunter in 1999, Maiden stuck faithfully to this formula. With that being said, there was a bit of uncertainty as The Book of Souls era winded down. In 2005, Maiden did The Early Days tour, which focused exclusively on their first four albums. In 2008, Maiden embarked on the now legendary Somewhere Back in Time tour, which covered the rest of the 80s with a focus on Powerslave. Next, in 2012, there was the Maiden England tour, which some fans felt was redundant considering Somewhere Back in Time covered the entire 80s era, but it also made sense to revisit the Seventh Son tour and re-release the Maiden England video to go with it (you’ll find plenty of pre-2012 speculation online where a Seventh Son themed tour is expected). When the Maiden England tour was announced, the press release actually confirmed that this would be the last of the band’s “history of” tour series. Which made sense, a 90s tour would be neat but probably not something that is easily marketable.

That left a bit of a question mark going into 2018. Some fans mistakenly interpreted “no more history tours” to mean no more nostalgia/greatest hits tours, which was clearly unrealistic. On the other hand, Maiden’s enthusiasm around The Book of Souls was remarkable for a new album, even taking into account that Maiden always prioritized the new material on those tours. That enthusiasm combined with the close confrontation with mortality spurred by Bruce’s cancer led fans to believe that perhaps this time around Maiden would simply go back into the studio to ensure that it wouldn’t take another 5 years between albums. They could even follow the Dance of Death model and split the tour between a greatest hits run and a new album tour.

Around this time, Maiden had also partnered with a mobile game developer to create a mobile rpg titled Legacy of the Beast. The game was heavily marketed during the Book of Souls tour, with video ads playing prior to the set and shirts with the Legacy of the Beast logo being sold at the merch stands. Suddenly it felt like history was repeating itself. Last time Maiden made a video game, there was a tour to go with it. Consequently, rumors and fake tour posters around a Legacy of the Beast tour circulated well before any official announcements. Rarely being a band to take the unexpected route, the Legacy of the Beast European tour was announced immediately after the band’s final 2017 performance.

The announcement itself was met with mixed reactions. Some fans genuinely believed that Maiden would be trying to make new music on a more frequent basis given that they were obviously getting older. This Legacy of the Beast tour could very well be the band’s last, which meant no more new albums. But conversely, a tour that was not tied to a particular theme or era meant that anything in the setlist was possible. There was the chance of some true rarities, maybe even the long awaited live debut of Alexander the Great or other similar surprises. The tour announcement itself used For the Greater Good of God in the trailer music, that song’s inclusion alone (last played 2007) was enough to get fans excited. Maiden also promised that the stage show would be bigger than ever, with changing “worlds” to mimic the theme of the game. On the face of it, it was kind of hard to know what exactly to expect with this show, which actually made it really exciting. Most of the tours up to this point had followed a rigid theme, this would be the first tour in quite some time where anything was theoretically possible.

At the time, I felt that things could’ve gone either way. A big part of me expected that this would be largely a retread of Somewhere Back in Time Tour. For the Greater Good of God seemed like a solid pick for a modern era deepish cut and then the rest of the show could be a grab bag of 80s favorites including something like Rime as a centerpiece. Considering the setlists for both Maiden England and Somewhere Back in Time, I could see it being a less adventurous setlist. But I also felt going in that, with the right selections, this show could be a real treat.

Leading up to the tour, the band teased various songs on social media platforms such as twitter (as well as using the game to throw in some teases). Flight of Icarus was teased really early, which was a major deep cut pick. It had last been played by Maiden on the Somewhere in Time tour, and even then the last time it had been a regular part of the set (as in played at every show or nearly every show) was on the World Slavery Tour. It was played by Bruce Dickinson with Adrian Smith in the 90s however, and was long thought to be a song that Maiden would never play again due to disagreements over the tempo. Steve/Nicko liked to rush while Adrian wanted to play it more at the album tempo, see Wasted Years for another example of a song with tempo fights. You can hear that even by 1985, the tempo of the song was pretty fast. Other songs that were teased included The Clansman, Where Eagles Dare, and Revelations. There were also strong setlist clues in the tour poster. Needless to say, the band was hinting toward a tour filled with surprises.

On May 26, 2018, the long awaited tour opened in Croatia. As promised, the stage show was truly stunning. Possibly their most impressive since the 80s, if not ever. Further solidifying its place as the quintessential Maiden opener, Aces High kicked off the show with an impressive spitfire prop and a war themed stage complete with barracks and barbed wire. Bruce Dickinson also donned a flight helmet, and to help with the immersion the stage crew were in complete regalia. The whole production was similar to Paschendale in 2004, but on a larger scale. The bombastic opening set the tone for what was going to be Maiden’s most theatrical stage production ever. It also set the tone for how songs would be organized. In a somewhat unique move for Maiden, the songs were sequenced in a way to match the statge theming. The first third of the setlist was the “war” theme. To match the battlefield stage, the band selected some of their most iconic war themed songs. Aces High was immediately followed by Where Eagles Dare, another iconic Maiden opener and a welcome live rarity last played in 2005 on the Early Days Tour (and before that, a truncated version was performed on A Real Live Tour in 1993). The Trooper and 2 Minutes To Midnight were also included which is expected, you can’t have a war themed Maiden show without those tracks (or a greatest hits show for that matter). The Trooper in particular featured an early walk on Eddie appearance, surprisingly the first time we’ve had an on stage Trooper Eddie and the first time Eddie had appeared on that song in general. This helped make a commonly played song at least a little bit more exciting. One of the major surprises of this section was The Clansman, which not only was the first time played live since 2003, it was also the first time a Blaze era song had been included in the set since 2004. At this point, many fans had given up hope that the era would ever be represented on one of their live shows again. The return of The Clansman was a welcome surprise, not to mention in a pretty prominent early part of the set.

Following the bombastic version of The Trooper, the lights dimmed, ominous sound effects filled the room, and the second phase of the setlist was revealed. The stunning design mirrored the tour poster complete with stained glass imagery and a chandelier. The lighting was bright and colorful and created a strong mood. Revelations kicked off the “religion” portion of the show. By now, Revelations was an expected inclusion in Maiden’s greatest hits tours, but it took on a little bit more prominence in this setlist by opening up the second phase of the show. The tone of the song perfectly matched the stage reveal and I think it’s safe to say that the stage design and the song are closely linked in a lot of fans’ minds and memories. One fact about Revelations on this tour is that for awhile Adrian and Janick were switching off who played the solo from night to night. Since Adrian had returned in 1999, Janick traditionally played the Revelations solo, so this was the first time Adrian was playing his original solo since rejoining the band. It was also an unusual choice to switch who was playing a solo from night to night as usually that sort of thing is set in stone for the entire tour. Other songs in the “religion” section included The Wicker Man, by now a live staple as much as anything from the 80s, the aforementioned For the Greater Good of God, and yet another surprise Blaze track: The Sign of the Cross. To have one Blaze era song back in the set was a real treat, it was incredible to see two. No less the two Blaze era songs that most fans consider to be the highlights of the era. Sign of the Cross hadn’t been played since 2002. This song also featured a light up cross prop, similar to what was present at some shows on the Brave New World tour (you won’t see it in Rock in Rio, but it shows up in bootlegs from other shows). The centerpiece of this section of the show, and possibly the entire concert, was Flight of Icarus. The band knew that the return of this song would be a big deal for fans and they went all out on the stage production. There was a statue of Icarus and Bruce wielded a flamethrower. The song itself had a nice tempo to it, slightly faster than the original but not rushing to the point of sucking the life out of the song. It was nice to see the band reach a good compromise on the song and, honestly, I felt the 2018/19 rendition of the song was superior to any version in the 80s (including the original studio recording).

Icarus concluded with a fiery finish which brought forth the third and final section of the show: Hell. A logical conclusion to the show. The “hell” portion could also be seen as the hits portion of the show. While the first 10 songs contained many surprises, the last third of the set was for the more familiar territory. All the usual suspects were present, although there were some fun stage show moments for a few of the songs, such as in Fear of the Dark. Of course Eddie made an appearance during Iron Maiden, this time the demonic Eddie from the tour poster appeared as yet another inflatable. With a song selection as comprehensive and exhaustive as what the band presented to that point, it’s hard to complain when they start playing the go to classics. On the other hand, the predictability of these songs stuck out slightly more after a gauntlet of surprises. Still, the cool stage effects that took place during this portion of the set kept things engaging even for the most hardcore fans.

While a lot of the setlist was hinted at leading up to the first show, the Legacy of the Beast tour as a whole was one with a lot of surprises and struck the best balance of any Maiden concert in terms of pleasing casual and hardcore fans. Bruce Dickinson once again had a big hand in selecting the songs and supposedly the inclusion of the two Blaze era songs were his decision. Despite being teased from the very beginning, For the Greater Good of God as an inclusion on a greatest hits tour was quite the surprise. On the whole, several of the included songs were ones that hadn’t been performed in years and weren’t necessarily expected to be performed live again by Maiden. The setlist combined with the stunning stage production made it hard to be unsatisfied with the show.

On the less positive side of things, you could really hear the band starting to age on this tour. Especially going into 2019, Bruce sounded pretty worn out at a lot of the shows and you could also hear Nicko struggling with some of the fast kick drum parts. Given that Bruce had a lot of input on the set, there are quite a few vocally challenging songs and it’s actually a bit surprising how ambition the choices were. There were also a lot of stage antics from Bruce, which certainly contributed to any vocal problems. Still, the band is getting up there in age and it was impressive to watch them pull off this tour even if there were some hiccups.

While Maiden mind bogglingly did not release a video from the tour, it is the age of live streams and you can find high quality footage of the show with minimal effort. The best is probably Rock In Rio, Maiden’s fourth appearance at the festival. At this point, Maiden playing at Rock in Rio doesn’t have the same cachet as it used to since they appear there every few years now, but it was still a big event for them and it’s great to have quality video from the tour. As for audio, we did get an official release:

Nights of the Dead - Legacy of the Beast live in Mexico City (2020)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Iron_Maiden_-_Nights_of_the_Dead.jpg)
It’s hard to say what Maiden’s original intentions were regarding a live album. Released during the pandemic in 2020, it seemed like Nights of the Dead was put out so that Maiden would have something new released during a year meant to contain tour activity and even a new studio album (more on that later). The show chosen also doesn’t seem particularly special other than being in front of an enthusiastic-as-usual South American audience. It seems like a soundboard recording, but the use of raw off-the-board recordings is a norm for Maiden at this point. On the other side of things, it seems mind boggling that they wouldn’t want to immortalize these shows in the form of a live video.

Regardless, it’s good to have a live album from this tour. It marks the first time any song from A Matter of Life and Death appears on a live album, 14 years after the album’s release, which is insane to think about. It’s also only the second appearance of Flight of Icarus (Live After Death) and Where Eagles Dare (A Real Dead One) on a live album. Quite a few of the songs, while played several times, happened to almost always end up on tours without live albums.

Unfortunately, the audio quality isn’t great and Bruce sounds like he’s struggling throughout a lot of the show. His voice is strained and he struggles with timing on several songs such as The Clansman. Plainly, it’s just not the best representation of Maiden and it also poorly represents what was a great tour for them. I would say check this out for completists sake and if you want a live version of some of the rare songs, but you’re better off checking out the Rio show on YouTube.

To Be Continued (2020/2021)

As per the tradition with Maiden tours, one year was spent covering Europe and the next was spent covering North America (with a South American tour mixed in as well). By now, Maiden’s tour itinerary is never that surprising. Additionally, given the band’s age, it seems like they are mostly interested in the European and North/South American markets and not much else. On the other hand, nobody would be surprised to learn the Legacy of the Beast tour was a massive success. Consequently, Legacy of the Beast became the second tour (the first being Maiden England) to extend into a third year. Toward the end of the 2019 leg, Maiden announced that Legacy of the Beast would continue into 2020. The tour would reach territories rarily visited by Maiden such as Australia, Dubai, and Japan, as well as some more European shows.

While this announcement wasn’t a surprise, it did come as a disappointment for a lot of fans who were wanting Maiden to quickly get back into the studio for a new album. It’s understandable, the band isn’t getting any younger and every year feels precious at this point. Still, it’s also important to understand that Maiden is a global band and a lot of the territories that were announced in year three do not get frequent Maiden tours. It’s a tough call though. Of course, the most efficient thing to do would be to record a new album in between tour legs, as many bands are prone to do. Maiden usually opt to take that time off though and had never recorded while mid-tour. Surely that wouldn’t change now right?
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: TAC on June 21, 2023, 12:44:55 PM
I thought the Legacy tour was great, both in setlist and performance. I was amazed at the show I saw just how good they were. I was really impressed with Nicko. What a physical performance.
The bootleg is pretty good too.

The Live In Mexico City album is basically unlistenable because of Bruce. I still can't believe it was released, honestly. I have the same issue with R40 and Geddy. I simply cannot listen to it.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: cramx3 on June 21, 2023, 01:01:33 PM
Yeah, I don't care for the album much at all.  If they released it on video though...
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Grappler on June 21, 2023, 02:02:08 PM
I love that this thread has come back to life!  The Legacy tour is and was amazing - I think the band really outdid themselves as far as the setlist and the visual spectacle of it all, and the anticipation of the setlist was a lot of fun in the build up to the tour. 

I'm mad at myself for skipping the first leg of the US tour and not seeing the older songs (Where Eagles Dare) but I did see the second leg last year.

I also agree that the live album's downfall is Bruce, and I do wish they released a video of the tour. 
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Stadler on June 23, 2023, 02:18:15 PM
I thought the Legacy tour was great, both in setlist and performance. I was amazed at the show I saw just how good they were. I was really impressed with Nicko. What a physical performance.
The bootleg is pretty good too.

The Live In Mexico City album is basically unlistenable because of Bruce. I still can't believe it was released, honestly. I have the same issue with R40 and Geddy. I simply cannot listen to it.

It's a shame, too, because he sounded so good in Hartford, not long before that gig.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Mosh on June 25, 2023, 10:12:53 PM
Senjutsu (2021)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Iron_Maiden_-_Senjutsu.jpg)
In early 2019, some fans sighted several members of the band and Kevin Shirley in Paris, once again at Guillame Tell studios, where The Book of Souls and Brave New World were recorded. It seemed Maiden were taking the unprecedented step of working on an album while still in the middle of a tour. The rationale was obvious, The band had lost a year of touring due to Bruce’s cancer and while this wouldn’t get the band’s schedule totally back on track, it would at least ensure that the wait between The Book of Souls and the next album would be about the same as the wait between The Final Frontier and The Book of Souls. At least that was the idea.

The band was pleased with how The Book of Souls turned out, so they took a very similar approach to the next album. As a result, Senjutsu is pretty much a direct successor, much in the way Powerslave built on Piece of Mind, Seventh Son built on Somewhere in Time, to name two examples. They recorded in the same studio again, and they also took the same approach of recording the songs immediately after writing them, rather than separating writing and recording sessions.

Much of the same writing partnerships crop up on Senjutsu as what we saw on The Book of Souls. Once again, Bruce and Adrian collaborated on several tracks with an apparent aim toward once again writing more direct material, similar to what the duo contributed to The Book of Souls as well as back in the 80s. One song, Days of Future Past, was a straight ahead rocker that kinda harkened back to the Accident of Birth days with the riffing style and energy. Darkest Hour, similarly, was a ballad style track in the vein of something like Coming Home, but with a slightly darker sound, almost reminiscent of Gates of Urizen or The Man of Sorrows, again off of Bruce’s solo albums. The third Dickinson contribution was also to be the single: The Writing on the Wall. This track had an almost Southern Rock feel, with a twangy guitar introand mid tempo driving riff. Bruce’s lyrics are abundant with biblical references and an anthemic chorus. In other words, pretty much what you would expect from a late era Maiden song composed by Smith and Dickinson. The songs were also notable, particularly Writing on the Wall and Darkest Hour, for having some extended guitar solos from Adrian Smith. This was a refreshing addition, as Adrian didn’t really allow himself as much room to stretch in his guitar solos for The Book of Souls. On the previous album, The Final Frontier, there were some extended solo moments (namely Isle of Avalon) but Adrian alluded to being unhappy with some of the production decisions on that album particularly with the guitar sound, so it was hard to say whether he would be interested in that kind of instrumentally driven material in Maiden again. The solos on these songs stand among his most memorable that he’s played in Maiden. Unlike on The Book of Souls, where Bruce contributed two solo compositions, these three Smith tracks are Bruce’s only contributions to the album.

On the other side of things, Smith had one more song to offer. As has been the tradition since Dance of Death, Adrian and Steve also collaborated for a song. In the reunion era, we’ve seen two types of Smith/Harris tracks. One type describes songs like The Final Frontier or Different World which work as energetic if formulaic openers and accessible riff based tracks. The other is more emblematic of the proggy side of Maiden. Epics like Isle of Avalon and Paschendale which in some ways have gone on to define the modern Maiden sound. For their collaboration on this album, the title track Senjutsu, the two styles converge a bit. The 8 minute track has a lot of moving parts and Adrian was experimenting with different types of scales to come up with some of the exotic sounds in the riffs. This inspired Steve to write evocative lyrics dealing with a battle at a great wall. The theme was epic in scope, but at the same time it was also characterized by a big chorus and crushing riff. Naturally, it became the album opener and the title track, providing fans with a bit of a departure for a Maiden opener. Frankly, after several more predictable sounding Maiden openers from Virtual XI to A Matter of Life and Death. Even The Final Frontier, despite the experimental Satellite 15, was pretty much in the same vein as their openers. Between Senjutsu and If Eternity Should Fail, it’s nice to see Maiden trying different things this late in their career.

Also as expected was a couple of Gers tracks. Usually Janick has two types of songs on the album: a fast rocker (The Pilgrim, The Alchemist) and an epic track (The Legacy, The Book of Souls, The Talisman). On Senjutsu, Gers (with help from Harris) delivers again. The rocker was Stratego, which had a similar lyrical concept to Senjutsu and they even appear side by side on the album. On an earlier album, Stratego may have been the opener. It’s a classic Gers style rocker with a heavy riff and the classic Maiden gallop. You also get a very melodic guitar part, which often follows the vocal melody (a Harris favorite in the new century). Gers’ more progressive contribution was the H.P. Lovecraft inspired The Time Machine. This was one of several songs on the album that really take the listener by surprise. It starts fairly standard for a Gers epic with the classic open D tuning acoustic guitar intro and lullaby-like vocal part ala The Legacy, but when it gets going it’s pretty unlike anything else we’ve heard. The choruses have almost a folk rock feel with the strumming groove and crooning vocal melody. The instrumental section is filled with classic Maiden riffing and some of the time changes that happen are pretty unexpected. It’s a much shorter affair than the previous acoustic epics (The Book of Souls topped out at 10 minutes, one of Maiden’s longest tracks at the time), but it doesn’t feel any lighter on material.

The remainder of the album was made up of songs written solely by Steve Harris (Senjutsu was the first album since The X Factor with no Murray contributions). Four of the ten songs are Harris compositions. The last time Harris had contributed that much material by himself was on Virtual XI, where he also wrote four songs (in addition to cowriting three others). Since then, you could rely on Harris to contribute one song, usually a big epic, but with three other major songwriters in the band Steve was able to do more work arranging contributions from the guitar players who typically only contributed half baked ideas anyway. Additionally, you may remember on The Book of Souls that Harris had played a slightly less active role as a writer (emphasis on “slightly”, he still contributed to 7 of the 11 songs). After the album was released, we had learned that Harris was dealing with some heavy personal losses and his mind wasn’t entirely on the making of the album compared to previous albums, such as on The Final Frontier and A Matter of Life and Death where he contributes to every track. On Senjutsu, we get a return of the classic Steve Harris with a whopping four big epics.

The first appears early in the album. Lost in a Lost World really feels like something out of X Factor. The dark moody vibe of the song harkens back to tracks like The Aftermath and Blood on the World’s Hands. Not to mention the lyrics, as the title clearly implies Harris is lamenting a world that is fraught with injustice. Similar to a lot of the songs on The X Factor, there are many illusions to the afterlife and a general theme of hopelessness in the natural world that hopefully will be eroded in the spiritual realm. This theme will come back later.

Like Senjutsu and The Time Machine, there’s a lot of unusual for Maiden moments on this track.The psychedelic vocal harmonies that appear early in the song for example. You don’t hear a lot of vocal harmonies in modern Maiden to begin with, but this approach felt more influenced almost by 60s/70s bands like Yes or The Beatles, which you don’t hear influencing Maiden often. The vocals also had a lot of processing effects as well, which is unusual in the age of dry Maiden recording style.

However, the real meat of the album is in the final three tracks. As I mentioned before, during the reunion era it was typical to get one Harris solo track. Typically, especially on the last few albums, these songs represented the epic side and usually acted as the centerpiece of the album. Of course The Red and the Black got overshadowed a bit by Empire of the Clouds, but on any other album it would’ve served that purpose. So being treated to four Harris tracks is pretty unusual, and a gauntlet of three in a row at the end of the album is a first. Each clocking in at over 10 minutes, it was obvious before even hearing a note of music that the Maiden was going to deliver something special with these final three tracks.

Death of the Celts kicks off the Harris trilogy. From the title alone, it’s obvious that Harris was influenced by his own work with Maiden playing The Clansman on The Legacy of the Beast tour. Death of the Celts can almost be considered a rare sequel, other examples include anything from the Charlotte the Harlott saga and Back in the Village being a sequel to The Prisoner. Unlike those other examples though, it’s more of a musical link than a lyrical one. Definitely topically related, but only loosely. The melodic style and even the general structure of the song definitely harken back to The Clansman. The biggest difference is that Celts lacks that big singalong chorus and is also a bit darker in tone. The song is also a bit longer of course and the band allows themselves to stretch a little bit more musically. It’s interesting to hear Steve be so influenced by himself and, like Lost in a Lost World, you really hear some of the quirks of the Blaze era but with a more put together sound.

Next is The Parchment. This song represents the more instrumental side of Maiden, songs like Alexander the Great and The Red and the Black. This time the lyrics have more of a medieval flare with references to ancient civilizations such as the Parthians. Once again, familiar territory for Harris. I find this song to be pretty much a continuation of his epics on the last two albums: The Red and the Black and When the Wild Wind Blows. Primarily the way all three songs mostly stay at the same tempo, the vocal melodies are wordier, and there is a lot of room for the guitars. As a matter of fact, this song features more guitar solos than any Maiden song, a whopping six solos! So it’s similar to The Red and the Black in the way that it’s more instrumentally driven, but the vocals are more integrated in this song rather than the song being frontloaded with vocals followed by a long instrumental. In fact, the first instrumental section happens very early in the song. Also similar to The Red and the Black, there is a short section where it goes to double time before settling back into the main groove.

Hell on Earth is the last of the Harris epics trilogy. This one is probably the most lyrically and vocally driven, similar to Lost in a Lost World but also going back to tracks like The Thin Line Between Love and Hate and No More Lies that have a lot of dynamic and tempo changes. Once again, the song seems to be exploring the theme of the natural world as a desolate wasteland of evil, but with an uncharacterstically optimistic message of the possibility of peace on the other side. Conceptually it’s pretty similar to something like Hallowed Be Thy Name, but without the metaphor of a prisoner about to be executed. It’s a more aged and experienced version of that idea, what you would expect from the same band 40 years later. No wonder the fans love the song. Another notable trait of this song is that it reprises and mirrors some lyrics from Senjutsu, in a sort of callback to the bookended lyrics on Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (which in turn was inspired by Pink Floyd’s Animals).

From Senjutsu:
Survive on ledges bitten in dust
Knowledge and virtue is stricken by lust
Really believe that they're coming for us
Dancing on graves of those who bled for us

From Hell On Earth:
You dance on the graves who bled for us
Do you really think they'll come for us?
Knowledge and virtue, taken by lust
Live on the edge of those that you trust

As far back as Virtual XI, you can speculation about Maiden’s swan song. At some point there will be a final album and a final song on that album. Most fans expect that the final song will be an appropriate sendoff for the band ala The Garden by Rush. There have definitely been a couple tracks that seemed like they could qualify. Journeyman on Dance of Death had a unique ballad flavor and the lyrics seemed like they could be autobiographical. Later on, When the Wild Wind Blows seemed like an interesting candidate in the way that it captured much of what we expect from a classic Harris epic. A lot of people speculated that Empire of the Clouds would be a good swan song for the band, although I think it had three traits that made it a nonstarter. The first is that it was Dickinson solo song, the last Maiden song needs to be a Harris track. The second is that it was just too out there for Maiden’s style with the piano and orchestration. It’s not really a classic Maiden track and feels more like a Dickinson solo endeavor with Maiden as the backing band. Finally, I am convinced that a thoroughly British band was never going to end their career on the word “France.” Putting aside Hell on Earth itself, I can’t think of a more appropriate way to end Maiden’s career than with a trilogy of classic Harris epics. They pretty much run the gamut of Harris’ songwriting style and the characteristics we’ve come to expect from Maiden. It’s also great to see Harris acting in a prominent role as a writer again after spending most of the reunion era being more of an arranger. Then to end on Hell on Earth, the song’s mood and lyrical theme, not to mention the hypnotic studio fadeout (an interesting and unusual way to end a Maiden song), it sends a powerful message that would feel like an appropriate way to cap off Maiden’s career. It seems the band intends to continue as much as they can, but I also get the impression that Harris made a conscious creative decision in the case that this is the last Maiden album.

Senjutsu continued a lot of the reunion era conventions of Maiden. A lot of the songwriting partnerships are the same, the production style is the same, and while there are some unique elements to a few of the songs overall it’s the sound that fans have come to expect. Another one of the trends that continues on Senjtusu is that the songs continue to get longer. If you look at The Final Frontier, you see a sort of crossroads in song lengths. The first five songs (not taking Satellite 15 into account) all come in at under 7 minutes with one crossing the ten minute mark. Then the final five are over 7. On The Book of Souls, you still get five songs over 7 minutes, but three of them cross the ten minute mark (with two songs among Maiden’s longest). On Senjutsu, seven of the ten songs are over 7 minutes and three are over ten minutes. While Senjutsu isn’t quite as long as The Book of Souls, it does show more of a trend toward the epic side (if you take out Empire of the Clouds, Senjutsu is a longer album and has more epics). Naturally, Senjutsu was to be another double album. If you ask me, and I may have said this before Senjutsu was announced as well, double albums are probably the norm for Maiden now.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Recap
Post by: Mosh on June 25, 2023, 10:16:23 PM
Senjutsu Release (2020/2021)

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Iron_Maiden_-_Senjutsu_%28alternative_cover%29.jpg)
It’s not entirely clear when the band wrapped production. It seems they finished the album before embarking on the North American leg of the Legacy of the Beast tour in 2019, although it’s unclear if they did any additional work in late 2019. It’s likely that the album was mixed and mastered somewhere in that interval though, which means the album was finished and ready to go by the end of the year. While Maiden tends to be quiet about their intentions, one can speculate that the original idea was for Maiden to do a third Legacy of the Beast leg but throw in Writing on the Wall as a teaser for the album (likely replacing For the Greater Good of God) and release the album at the end of the tour. It could follow the Give Me Ed til I’m Dead and The Final Frontier 2010 models of building hype for the album ahead of release. Ironically, rumoured/leaked tour dates in 2015 suggested that Maiden had the same idea for The Book Of Souls: a short summer run followed by a release of the album in the fall. For the second time, those plans were about to be upended.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 put Maiden’s touring plans to a halt and the tour was postponed to 2021. The 2021 tour poster also had the letterings WOTW hidden, which gave fans another pretty strong clue that new material was on the horizon. Unfortunately, as we all know, the tour had to be postponed again to 2022. By now, the album had been finished for a couple years and was locked away in a safe (only Steve Harris had a copy). At this point, Maiden decided to go forward with their plans to release the album anyway and in summer 2021, they kicked off a viral marketing campaign. It started with some appearances on TV from Bruce Dickinson unrelated to Maiden in which he was wearing a t-shirt with the phrase “'Belshazzar's Feast.” Soon, other folks associated with Maiden were seen wearing the shirt and the poster started to appear in various UK locations and a social media account was created to track the poster. This was eventually followed by daily social media posts in which the covers for Maiden’s previous albums were posted with some clues including the WOTW insignia and other cryptic references. Each day a new cover was posted in chronological order, starting with the debut, suggesting a countdown.

Eventually, Bruce Dickinson formally invited fans to Belshazzar's Feast, which turned out to be the premier of the Writing on the Wall music video. The animated video was an unexpectedly high budget production with a full narrative and the reveal of the samurai Eddie. The timing of the release was a little weird as the release was not accompanied by any information about a new album and the aforementioned album cover countdown was still ongoing. Finally, the countdown concluded and Senjutsu was finally revealed to fans who were craving new material. This would be the longest wait between Maiden albums, at six years. The pandemic messed up Maiden’s plans quite a bit, but it was exciting nonetheless to finally be getting new material. It may have been delayed, but it ended up being fortuitous that Maiden recorded the album so early, so the creation of new music itself wasn’t affected by the pandemic. In fact, curiously, Maiden did book studio time during the pandemic with the intention of creating a second album. Eventually they decided not to, as it seemed pointless to record a new album when they had a finished unreleased album still on the shelf.

The album artwork was once again created by Mark Wilkinson and featured a similar look to The Book of Souls with Eddie against a plain black background. Just like The Book of Souls, a more illustrious painting was included inside the album (with a stunning gatefold sleeve on the vinyl version). Interestingly, there were two possible versions of the cover painted, with the “alternate” cover used as the back cover in lieu of the traditional tracklisting on the back style of Maiden albums. The Iron Maiden logo was altered a bit as well, with a new 3D sort of font. Visually, it was very much a continuation of what Maiden was going for on The Book of Souls. You could suppose that even Maiden is influenced by changes in technology and music norms and that the extravagant album covers are being traded for something more simplistic and satisfying to look at on a mobile phone.

Senjutsu was finally released Fall 2021 after much hype and buildup. The album was mostly positively received, although the density of the material as well as the generally darker tone of the album definitely turned some heads. The production of recent Maiden albums is also always a source of criticism and Senjutsu was no expensive. While I think some of the album presents the best sounding Maiden material since Brave New World (songs like Writing on the Wall for example), there are definitely some muddy moments as well and a couple songs where it’s actually kinda hard to hear Bruce. They also put the keyboards unusually high in the mix this time around, which was not well received by everybody. Finally, one of the oddities in Senjutsu is that there seems to have been a mastering error in the second disc, as the right speaker has some audible distortion for all four songs on the disc. Oddly, this only affects disc 2, but it affects those songs on all versions (even on vinyl where Darkest Hour shares a side of vinyl with The Time Machine). It’s unclear what happened there, although this time it seems likely that it was less a matter of Steve Harris having weird mastering preferences and more like an actual mastering error, as it only impacts half the album.

Generally, you know what you’re getting with a new Iron Maiden album as they have been using the same formula since the reunion (you could argue since the Blaze years even). So the reception tends to be similar. Fans of newer Maiden albums will be delighted, while those who don’t like the newer albums probably won’t have their minds changed. There are some slight differences though. Personally, I found the darker sound and more Harris dominated writing found on Senjutsu to be reminiscent of the Blaze era more than anything else. I’m still not sure if it’s a throwback style, or if it’s just a result of having more of Harris’ influence. I guess if you look at songs like For the Greater Good of God or The Red and the Black, you can hear that sound as well.

(https://www.wearethepit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Belshazzars-Feast-Flyer-Iron-Maiden-714x1024.png)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fe/Iron_Maiden_-_Writing_on_the_Wall.jpg)
Legacy of the Beast Leg Three (2022)

(https://cdn.glidemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/23113828/maiden55.jpg)
With the pandemic shaking everything up, Maiden was in a bit of a pickle with their touring plans. The Legacy of the Beast tour had already been announced and people bought tickets to see that tour. As Bruce Dickinson said: “People have all paid their money to see the 'Legacy Of The Beast' show, with Spitfires and flamethrowers and Icarus and everything that goes with. So they're gonna get all that.” In short, Maiden were going to keep their word and present a Legacy of the Beast show. Still, they had a brand new album out and it would have been a weird move to ignore it in the setlist. Presumably, the original plan for Legacy of the Beast Leg 3 was to include Writing on the Wall as a teaser for the new album. Now, since the album was out and people had heard it, more songs could be included. A full Senjutsu tour was promised for later, but in the meantime fans attending the Legacy of the Beast tour would be treated to a new Senjutsu themed world and several new songs. Promotional materials for the tour were adjusted to include the new Samurai Eddie and the band clearly managed expectations ahead of the tour by explicitly stating that the first three songs from Senjutsu would be included in the show.

It was the best way to handle a situation with no great solution. Frankly, most other bands in Maiden’s position would have just cut their losses with a new album tour and Legacy of the Beast 3 would’ve been the Senjutsu tour. Getting a clear signal from the band that the new songs would be included in the setlist but that this also was by no means the Senjutsu tour was a nice reassurance for the hardcore fans who wanted the album to get the live attention it deserved. I actually can’t really think of another example of Maiden outright revealing exactly what to expect on an upcoming tour.

So in 2022, after the tour being postponed twice, Maiden finally embarked on leg three of the Legacy of the Beast tour. Most of the shows announced in 2020 were rescheduled, although unfortunately a lot of the shows that were originally promised were either canceled outright or postponed indefinitely. This was especially disappointing for fans in territories like Australia and Japan who don’t get to see the band that often. On the other hand, the tour was expanded in other territories such as North America, giving it a sort of dual purpose as a post-pandemic comeback tour.

The stage show was largely the same, but with the added element of Senjutsu-themed staging. Pagodas and backdrops based on the album imagery were added in as well as a Samurai Eddie that, in a first for Maiden, appeared right during the first song. It seemed that Maiden, knowing that a run of new songs wasn’t exactly what casual fans came for, were trying to keep the excitement up through the staging. After the Senjutsu portion of the show, the stage switched over to the “religion” theme with the stained glass followed by hell. The spitfire that opened the show in 2018 and 2019 was now saved as the grand finale.

To that end, the setlist had some further adjustments to accommodate the new songs. The entire “war” portion of the stage, which was really just a cover for the stained glass stuff, was omitted. The songs from that portion of the set were all moved to the encore. This actually made for some surprising choices. The Clansman, once a song from one of Maiden’s least popular albums made during their least popular era, was now an encore track that contained a healthy amount of audience participation. Aces High closed out the show, which seemed largely for staging reasons more than anything else as this was a strange slot for the song. Other songs from the “war” section, Two Minutes to Midnight and Where Eagles Dare, were simply omitted from the setlist. The other omissions included For the Greater Good of God, which was unsurprising as this song probably got the most lukewarm crowd response in 2018/19, plus Maiden were now playing three brand new songs. The Wicker Man was swapped for Blood Brothers, which has become the other go to track from that album. The Evil That Men Do was dropped to make room for the aforementioned “war” songs in the encore, but it was nice to see this song given a rest after becoming a pretty frequent inclusion. Surprisingly, both Blaze songs survived the cuts, granted they were both pretty major setlist and staging highlights in the first leg.

As far as performances go, the show was a welcome return for Maiden. Although, as I mentioned in the previous Legacy of the Beast entry, you really start to feel the age of the band on these shows. Bruce struggled with timing quite a bit throughout the tour, although it was never certain why, whether he was suffering from hearing problems or if there were monitor issues. It could also be that all the running around was affecting his performance quality. Similarly, Nicko simplified a lot of his drum parts and some of the songs were noticeably slower than they had been in the past. To be fair, it seems most touring bands have needed a year or two to readjust to being on stage after taking so much time off. Maiden is no exception. Still, it is fortunate to see the band playing live again after an unintended hiatus and this was a great way to get fans excited about the band again before looking again to the future.

No official live release has come out from Legacy of the Beast 2022, although the band has posted some live videos on their YouTube Channel. You can also find the livestream of Maiden’s fifth Rock in Rio appearance - that’s right, they played Rock in Rio twice on Legacy of the Beast. It’s unlikely that Maiden will release any additional material from this tour. It’s wild to think that they won’t be immortalizing the stage show as it was probably the most impressive show they have ever (and likely will ever) put on.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Senjutsu
Post by: Mladen on June 26, 2023, 01:24:27 AM
I really enjoyed reading through all of this. Your Senjutsu write-up was fantastic. This is actually the first time someone has pointed out to me the correlation between Senjutsu and Hell on earth lyrics, my mind is blown. How did I not catch that?  :omg:

I love the album, honestly. I love it even more now than I did in 2021. Hell on earth, Darkest hour, Stratego, The Parchment, Lost in a lost world and the title track are my favorites.
Title: Re: Iron Maiden Discography Thread: Senjutsu
Post by: Grappler on June 26, 2023, 10:36:59 AM
Senjutsu is amazing.  I remember reading something about the band being in the studio in 2019, but with the pandemic, that was completely lost from my memory as life shifted.  So that countdown on social media and the debut of the WOTW video was a lot of fun.  I remember being thrown by WOTW, but it's become one of my favorite reunion-era songs.  I love how different it is for them, with a country feel and a big rhythmic stomp. 

The album is tied to another event in my life - it came out the week that my mom slipped and broke her arm/shoulder due to a change in her alzheimer's.  I remember burning the album to CD's and throwing them in my car for a drive down to the hospital to hang with my dad for the day while she was in surgery.  Listening to my disc 1 (I fit all songs except for Hell on Earth on one CD) will always bring me back to that drive.  Contemplating my parents' aging as I listen to songs like The Time Machine and Days of Future Past.  The darker mood fit well with changes in my own life.

In the winter of 2021, they announced the US leg of the Legacy tour and I immediately bought a ticket.  I missed the first leg, but wasn't going to miss this new one, especially with Within Temptation opening (who I'd never seen before).  The vibe in the arena was very celebratory and I was amazed at how much Maiden has grown since I had last saw them in 2008.  They were ON FIRE and sounded amazing.  There were moments where Bruce sounded strained, and other times, he was amazing.  Revelations was just a powerhouse vocal performance. 

Overall, I enjoyed the tour and was happy to hear three songs from Senjutsu, which is probably the album I gravitate to the most when I want to hear Maiden.