Where should bosk1 go NEXT with Iron Maiden? (updated discog on p. 5)

[bosk1]

Yeah, I know.  I know.  But, yes, I'm being completely serious.  I was aware of them in the '80s.  But the subject matter of Number of the Beast was offputting, and I just never took the time to get into them at all.  But I've heard covers here and there throughout the years that have sounded good.  And the Todd LaTorre live cover with Stryper of The Trooper finally piqued my interest to finally give them a shot. 

So where to I begin?

I know Piece Of Mind is generally held in high regard, and I know a couple of songs from that album (including The Trooper).  So I was thinking about maybe starting there.  But then again, maybe something more recent with more updated sound and production might suit me better?  Any thoughts?

[lonestar]

*stifles laughter*





Peace of Mind is an excellent starting point.

[rogerdil]

Killers, Piece of Mind and Powerslave, can skip the rest.

[Mladen]

I won't laugh, it's never too late to start with the best band in the world.

You can't go wrong with any album from The Number of the beast up to and including Seventh son, those are considered their big 5. But something tells me you'd particularly enjoy Seventh son of a seventh son - it's very progressive for their standards, but it also has its share of hits and timeless classics.

[Scorpion]

Piece of Mind has some excellent highs, but there is also some filler here and there, like Quest of Fire or Sun and Steel, though its highs are amazing (Where Eagles Dare, Revelations, Flight of Icarus, To Tame a Land).

My favourite is Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, though the sound is a little different, because they've started incorporating synths. Somewhere In Time has a similar sound is is fairly highly regarded as well, though, again, some filler keeps it down.

If you want to check out some newer stuff, which is very good consistently, but a little samey over the course of one album, try A Matter of Life and Death. It contains my favourite IM song, The Legacy.

I'd go the following order:

Piece of Mind/The Number of the Beast (core IM sound)
A Matter of Life and Death (similar, but a little different, and awesome all the same)
Seventh Son/Somewhere in Time

Hope that helped!

[King Postwhore]

I agree with Peace Of Mind

[Gadough]

Bosk, The Number of the Beast is anti-satanism. It describes a dream Steve Harris had where he was frightened by an evil ritual or something. It's a warning against that kind of lifestyle. Nicko McBrain, the drummer of the band and a practicing Christian, enjoys playing the song for that very reason.

Killers, Piece of Mind and Powerslave, can skip the rest.

.....the fuck?

[wkiml]

Everyone will tell you to start with Bruce era as this is when they became a global act, but I much prefer the first two albums with Dianno...the sound is very raw and the production is not up to par, but it just connected with me the first time I heard it.

I know NOTB had the title song with the satanic overtone, but honestly they are nowhere close to being satanic in the least but it includes some great songs...Children of the Damned, 22 Acacia Avenue and Hallowed be Thy Name


Since its release, the album has received consistent critical acclaim, with Allmusic describing it as "quite simply one of the best heavy metal albums ever released."[15] Sputnikmusic calls it "a classic in the world of metal",[22] while BBC Music praised the record's complex arrangements, stating "Whereas even some of the venerable HM institutions (think Black Sabbath) would struggle to make material that was something more than a collection of minor-key riffs, Iron Maiden pull this feat off with considerable élan."[20] Q magazine placed the album at No. 100 in its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever" in 2000; in 2001 named it one of the "50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time";[26] and in 2006 placed it at No. 40 in its "40 Best Albums of the '80s" list.[27] IGN and Metal Rules placed it third and second, respectively, in their lists of the Top Heavy Metal Albums,[28][29] and Guitar World ranked the album at No. 17 on their list of "100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time".[30] Classic Rock placed it at No. 15 in their list of the 100 Greatest British Rock Albums, describing it as "the most important metal album of the decade."[25] The Number of the Beast is one of two Iron Maiden records listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (Iron Maiden being the other).[31] In 2012, the album was voted No. 1 in HMV's list of "The Best British Albums of the Past 60 Years".[32][33]

[Zantera]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the "classic" albums to be honest, the ones I would include there would be: The Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

Personally I would say Powerslave though. My favorite album by them, and just a brilliant album overall.

[TAC]

Bosk, Piece Of Mind is a fine place to start. It's their 4th album and 2nd with Bruce Dickinson. I would revisit The Number Of The Beast.

As far as the recent stuff, they've released four Reunion era albums. I'd try either of the last two, The Final Frontier or A Matter Of Life And Death. AMOLAD is a monster of an album.

[bosk1]

Bosk, The Number of the Beast is anti-satanism. It describes a dream Steve Harris had where he was frightened by an evil ritual or something. It's a warning against that kind of lifestyle. Nicko McBrain, the drummer of the band and a practicing Christian, enjoys playing the song for that very reason.

Really?  I had no idea.

[bosk1]

Bosk, Piece Of Mind is a fine place to start. It's their 4th album and 2nd with Bruce Dickinson. I would revisit The Number Of The Beast.

As far as the recent stuff, they've released four Reunion era albums. I'd try either of the last two, The Final Frontier or A Matter Of Life And Death. AMOLAD is a monster of an album.

Maybe I'll pick up Piece Of Mind and AMOLAD to start off with then.  Sounds like that will give me a good quality sampling of some classic material that I am already a bit familiar with and their current, modern sound.

[Gadough]

I think Seventh Son is an excellent starting point for anyone who likes Progressive Metal. It's not quite progressive, but it has familiar flourishes of the genre peppered throughout.

[Perpetual Change]

I'd say Piece of Mind, too. But I'd swap AMOLAD with Brave New World. BNW is just way more accessible.

Also, just Youtube the song "Revelations" immediately. They wrote it, iirc, to make up for the bad press NOTB got

[Jaq]

Start with Number of the Beast, work your way forward. Don't feel bad if Somewhere In Time or Seventh Son don't match their current online reputations-neither were too particularly well received back then, and have become classics much after the fact (I do like them both, but I find about a lot of Somewhere in Time lackluster and roughly half of Seventh Son bores me). Include Live After Death. Stop at Seventh Son and move ahead to the post-reunion albums. Then go back and fill in the cracks. Yes, No Prayer For the Dying and Fear of the Dark are, by Maiden standards, that bad. Don't kill yourself getting to the Blaze era-X-Factor has a lot of filler and Virtual XI is a disaster, despite a couple of songs. The debut is great, Killers a bit less so.

And...yeah, other than Live After Death, don't worry about live stuff. Maiden's got a ton of live albums, and they're a great band live, but Live After Death is essential.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I think Seventh Son is an excellent starting point for anyone who likes Progressive Metal. It's not quite progressive, but it has familiar flourishes of the genre peppered throughout.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

BTW Don't forget the debut and Killers! Clive's drumming on those first albums are pure awesome.

Purgatory! 

[Big Hath]

Bosk, The Number of the Beast is anti-satanism. It describes a dream Steve Harris had where he was frightened by an evil ritual or something. It's a warning against that kind of lifestyle. Nicko McBrain, the drummer of the band and a practicing Christian, enjoys playing the song for that very reason.

Really?  I had no idea.

AMOLAD also contains some fairly overt Christian-themed lyrics.

[Perpetual Change]

I really don’t like Number of the Beast much. It is probably my least favorite Bruce album, and I easily like the Paul and Blaze albums better, too.

[YtseBitsySpider]

Im going to go a different way.
The way that got me.

I would describe Maiden as 80% live band - 20% studio band. You'll notice with all of these suggested studio discs that production quaity is pretty bad.(most were 70's 80's 90's so it's to be expected) Think WDADU. Seventh Son if my favorite studio disc and in fact the ONLY studio disc I listen too.

My buddy got me into them by giving me Live After Death. I was HOOKED. Then I went and saw them live and fell in love. But, I tried to get into their studio sound was completely put off.

If you youtube Fear of The Dark live in Rio you'll see what I mean.

So.
no laughter from this guy: Live After Death - A Real Live One - A Real Dead One
You get the hits and you get them the way you'd want to hear them.

[ariich]

Personally I find Piece of Mind to be very overrated. It's ok, but I don't find it all that interesting.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Im going to go a different way.
The way that got me.

I would describe Maiden as 80% live band - 20% studio band. You'll notice with all of these suggested studio discs that production quaity is pretty bad.(most were 70's 80's 90's so it's to be expected) Think WDADU. Seventh Son if my favorite studio disc and in fact the ONLY studio disc I listen too.

My buddy got me into them by giving me Live After Death. I was HOOKED. Then I went and saw them live and fell in love. But, I tried to get into their studio sound was completely put off.

If you youtube Fear of The Dark live in Rio you'll see what I mean.

So.
no laughter from this guy: Live After Death - A Real Live One - A Real Dead One
You get the hits and you get them the way you'd want to hear them.

That is true. Live After Death - A Real Live One - A Real Dead One!

[Gadough]

I really don’t like Number of the Beast much. It is probably my least favorite Bruce album, and I easily like the Paul and Blaze albums better, too.

I guess I can understand why. Of the 80s Bruce albums, Number is easily the most straightforward. Not that that's a bad thing, but the others do have a bit more personality.

[Zantera]

It's almost hard for me to listen to TNOTB in full now. Mostly because "Run to the Hills" and the title-track have been so overplayed over the years. It's logical considering that they are classics though. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" hasn't gotten old in the same way, but it isn't as big of a radio-hit as the other two.
The album still has some nice songs though, The Prisoner and Children of the Damned for example.

A bit sad that not more people talked about Powerslave, I think the title-track is their best song, and add songs like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High" to the mix. 

[rogerdil]

Found debut to be amateurish while Killers is one of the great albums of all time, or at least of "heavy metal."  (Others don't seem to buy into the same dichotomy.)

[YtseBitsySpider]

**promptly cues up Fear Of The Dark (live)***


....."a light.......in the black.....OR JUST A FEAR........of the DAAAAAaaaaaaarrrrrk"

[bosk1]

If you youtube Fear of The Dark live in Rio you'll see what I mean.

I tried.  But...what is up with Bruce's pants?  What exactly is he wearing?  I'm sorry, those were so distracting I had to turn it off after about 30 second.  Please do not refer me to any other videos where he is wearing those pants.



























Just kidding.  That was actually pretty cool.  Well, I mean the music was.  I still stand by my comments about the pants.

[Jaffa]

A bit sad that not more people talked about Powerslave, I think the title-track is their best song, and add songs like "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", "2 Minutes to Midnight" and "Aces High" to the mix. 

Agreed.  Powerslave is fucking amazing. 

[ariich]

Yeah I think Powerslave is amazing, definitely my favourite of the classic years.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I really liked Powerslave, if for no other reason than the title track.  THEN take into account that you've got Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, and Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  Good stuff.

[kirksnosehair]

The golden era of Iron Maiden is:


Number of the Beast
Piece of Mind
Power Slave
Somewhere In Time
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son


The next two albums after that began a long decline in quality.  But if you took all of the best tracks from No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of The Dark, you'd have one great album.


The two albums after that are crap save for an odd track here or there.


As for the modern era albums, I'd rank 'em like this:


A Matter of Life and Death (excellent)
Brave New World (very good)
The Final Frontier (very good)
Dance of Death (decent)

[YtseBitsySpider]

bosk....estimates at that show put the numbers between 700,000 and a million humans.

...his pants?
seriously?
lol....weirdo.

[TAC]

Bosk, Piece Of Mind is a fine place to start. It's their 4th album and 2nd with Bruce Dickinson. I would revisit The Number Of The Beast.

As far as the recent stuff, they've released four Reunion era albums. I'd try either of the last two, The Final Frontier or A Matter Of Life And Death. AMOLAD is a monster of an album.

Maybe I'll pick up Piece Of Mind and AMOLAD to start off with then.  Sounds like that will give me a good quality sampling of some classic material that I am already a bit familiar with and their current, modern sound.

Great places to start. But TNOTB is where it's at.
TNOTB=I&W
PoM=Awake

[skydivingninja]

Bosk, The Number of the Beast is anti-satanism. It describes a dream Steve Harris had where he was frightened by an evil ritual or something. It's a warning against that kind of lifestyle. Nicko McBrain, the drummer of the band and a practicing Christian, enjoys playing the song for that very reason.

Really?  I had no idea.

If you listen to/read the lyrics I think its pretty clear.  I'd start with either Number of the Beast, Powerslave, or Piece of Mind (though that one has a few meh tracks, but a lot of other people seem to love it). 

[Phoenix87x]

1. Somewhere in time (my personal favorite IM album)

2. Piece of mind
3. Powerslave