The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[MirrorMask]

Guitar god 

[wolfking]

Adrian Smith turns 67 today!

[Indiscipline]

And still living in the golden years.

[Stadler]

1. Senjutsu
1a. Final Frontier
2. Dance of Death
4. Book of Souls.
5. A Matter....
6. Brave New World

[cramx3]

And still living in the golden years.

[Mladen]

My ranking of the albums from the reunion era changes all the time. At the moment, I'd rank them like this:

1. A Matter of life and death
2. Dance of death
3. Senjutsu
4. The Final frontier
5. The Book of souls
6. Brave new world

All of them are great, though. Three, four and five are truly close.

[TAC]

My Reunion Era ranking goes like this...

1. The Final Frontier
2. A Matter Of Life And Death
3. Senjutsu
4. Dance Of Death
5. The Book Of Souls
6. Brave New World


Songs..

1. The Talisman
2. The Parchment
3. Coming Home
4. The Book Of Souls
5. For The Greater Good Of God
6. Lord Of Light
7. Dance Of Death
8. The Red And The Black
9. When The Wild Wind Blows
10. Hell On Earth

[emtee]

1 Final Frontier
2 Book Of Souls
3 all the rest


Last- Senjitsu

[Mosh]

1: A Matter of Life and Death

2: The Final Frontier
3: Senjutsu

4: Brave New World
5: Book of Souls

6: Dance of Death


Senjutsu and TFF are in a close race for #2, I could see Senjutsu taking the spot but I still need to let it marinate. I think those last three Harris epics really capture what the reunion era, and Iron Maiden as a whole, is all about. A real signature moment. I guess the question is whether the rest of the album is up there. I'm not crazy about Darkest Hour or Senjutsu, although both have grown on me. Writing On the Wall is an instant classic, as is Days of Future Past (really glad it's getting some love live). Lost in a Lost World feels like an X Factor leftover, but I don't consider that a bad thing. Stratego is really cool as well. TFF is 14 years old though and was a really important album for me when it came out, so it's hard to compare the two. I think the weaker tracks on TFF are weaker than the weaker tracks on Senjutsu, and maybe ditto with the stronger tracks, but TFF might have a better flow to it, and better variety with more contributions from other members/combinations of different writers where Senjutsu very much feels like the Steve Harris show.

Book of Souls has not aged super well for me and has more fillers than any other reunion album besides Dance of Death, and the song rarely hits super high marks. That said, the title track, The Book of Souls, might be my favorite of the entire reunion era. Immense song. Brave New World ends up closer to the bottom more due to the quality of everything that has come since. It's a great proof of concept but, with just two exceptions, everything after really improves on the BNW formula in every way. Dance of Death is what it is, the more reunion albums that get made the more unnecessary the album feels in the overall discography. The concept of Paschendale was further realized with several stronger songs on the next album, the Gers acoustic epic of the title track has been seen on every album since to different degrees of success, and there are a bunch songs that are just kind of generic which Maiden has thankfully moved away from. With the exception of Book of Souls, it feels like all 10 song slots are used as effectively as possible - and we're getting really close to a Maiden that only makes epics, which has tended to be my favorite stuff from the recent albums.

[wolfking]

Crikey!  BNW last for 3 of you!

Mine;

1. TFF
2. Senjutsu
3. BNW
4. AMOLAD
5. DOD
6. TBOS

[ozzy554]

I do like all the reunion albums so is like most to like least. I can't really say I dislike any Maiden albums anyway. No Prayer For the Dying comes close but it's just good enough to be mediocre.

1. A Matter of Life and Death (also my favorite Maiden album in general)
2. Book of Souls
3. Brave New World
4. The Final Frontier
5. Senjutsu
6. Dance of Death

[Cool Chris]

A Matter of Life and Death

Book of Souls
Brave New World/Dance of Death/Senjutsu

The Final Frontier

[WardySI]

Brave New World

A Matter of L&D
Senjutsu
Dance Of Death
The Final Frontier
Book Of Souls

Have been warming more and more to TFF these past years...

[nobloodyname]

Crikey!  BNW last for 3 of you!

Yeah, there's opinions and opinions. And then there's stuff that really does not compute

[porcacultor]

Time ta rank em!

1. Dance of Death
2. Brave New World
3. Senjutsu
4. The Book of Souls
5. A Matter of Life and Death
6. The Final Frontier

Top 10 songs?

1. Dream of Mirrors
2. No More Lies
3. Hell on Earth
4. Face in the Sand
5. Paschendale
6. The Book of Souls
7. Blood Brothers
8. Dance of Death
9. Montségur
10. Rainmaker

I missed the deadline to join the Top 100 Iron Maiden last time around and this was pretty much my top 10, only mine had No Prayer For the Dying at #3 and Tailgunner at #10.

[nobloodyname]

Dream of Mirrors! What a tune. Definitely in my top five Maiden reunion songs and probably in my top ten Miaden tunes overall. I'd also have Paschedale, Hell on Earth and Dance of Death in my top five reunion songs. Montségur and Rainmaker are also both excellent and quite unique in their catalogue in terms of feel.

I like No More Lies, really like it, but the repetition! That's a criticism that could also be levelled at Dream of Mirrors, of course, but I can overlook it there for some reason.

Face in the Sand is one of a couple of clunkers from Dance of Death for me, and Blood Brothers I always felt was overrated. The Book of Souls isn't bad but it's dragged down by being associated with the album. Bit unfair but that's life.

[Zydar]

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/bruce_dickinson_names_most_difficult_iron_maiden_song_to_sing_explains_why_they_still_play_it_in_original_key.html

"The song I find the most challenging to sing in the Maiden repertoire would be 'Aces High'. That's not just because I'm 60-something years old. Trust me, when I was 26, it was equally challenging. I always said, 'If we're going to do 'Aces High,' can we put it towards the front of the set please?'".

"We still do all the songs in the original key. I'm sure it would be easier if we dropped the key, but then it wouldn't sound as good".

[wolfking]

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/bruce_dickinson_names_most_difficult_iron_maiden_song_to_sing_explains_why_they_still_play_it_in_original_key.html

"The song I find the most challenging to sing in the Maiden repertoire would be 'Aces High'. That's not just because I'm 60-something years old. Trust me, when I was 26, it was equally challenging. I always said, 'If we're going to do 'Aces High,' can we put it towards the front of the set please?'".

"We still do all the songs in the original key. I'm sure it would be easier if we dropped the key, but then it wouldn't sound as good".

Not to mention Steve Harris is the boss.  It would help Bruce out though massively even just dropping to Eb.

Still a shame it wasn't on the table when Blaze was in the band.

[Mladen]

I have a feeling that Bruce is also trying to prove the point that he can still perform the songs in the original key fairly well. He might also honestly think that the songs wouldn't sound as good if they dropped the tuning by a half step.

[wolfking]

I have a feeling that Bruce is also trying to prove the point that he can still perform the songs in the original key fairly well. He might also honestly think that the songs wouldn't sound as good if they dropped the tuning by a half step.

No doubt mate.  Bruce definitely would probably take it as a knock to the ego.

[DoctorAction]

I absolutely love the Maiden chats. So many different opinions on them albums by a band we all love so dearly. It's fascinating to me. What are those hooks in our brains and specific triggers that make the differences? Fabulous. 

[Zydar]

I absolutely love the Maiden chats. So many different opinions on them albums by a band we all love so dearly. It's fascinating to me. What are those hooks in our brains and specific triggers that make the differences? Fabulous. 

I got the hooks screwed in.

[TAC]

I absolutely love the Maiden chats. So many different opinions on them albums by a band we all love so dearly. It's fascinating to me. What are those hooks in our brains and specific triggers that make the differences? Fabulous. 

I got the hooks screwed in.

For that well hung feeling.

[nick_z]

Mmmmh, ranking reunion albums...I'm fairly certain about my favorite (Dance of Death) and my least favorite (The Book of Souls). I have a harder time deciding on BNW vs. AMOLAD and TFF vs. Senjutsu. I think, currently, it might go like this:

1) Dance of Death
2) Brave New World
3) A Matter of Life and Death
4) Senjutsu
5) The Final Frontier
6) The Book of Souls

TFF has actually grown a lot on me over the years. I still think it starts very weak, and the final two long pieces don't blow me away, but as was just noticed here, there's a run of songs in the middle that's really great.

[Stadler]

Crikey!  BNW last for 3 of you!

Yeah, there's opinions and opinions. And then there's stuff that really does not compute

It doesn't SUCK, but the band has actually been getting better and better...

Face in the Sand is one of a couple of clunkers from Dance of Death for me, and Blood Brothers I always felt was overrated. The Book of Souls isn't bad but it's dragged down by being associated with the album. Bit unfair but that's life.

I thought so too (Blood Brothers) until I saw it live as the encore for the Book of Souls tour.  I think we saw the last show of the tour (in Brooklyn; might have been second to last) and it had SO much energy.  Really elevated the song for me.

[cramx3]

Face in the Sand is one of a couple of clunkers from Dance of Death for me, and Blood Brothers I always felt was overrated. The Book of Souls isn't bad but it's dragged down by being associated with the album. Bit unfair but that's life.

I thought so too (Blood Brothers) until I saw it live as the encore for the Book of Souls tour.  I think we saw the last show of the tour (in Brooklyn; might have been second to last) and it had SO much energy.  Really elevated the song for me.

We were at the last show of the entire tour.  I remember it well because Bruce sang TBOS final line as "The LAST Book of Souls" and he threw his clothes and boots into the crowd and I was so pissed the 7ft tall guy got the boot and not one of us 

[DoctorAction]

I absolutely love the Maiden chats. So many different opinions on them albums by a band we all love so dearly. It's fascinating to me. What are those hooks in our brains and specific triggers that make the differences? Fabulous. 

I got the hooks screwed in.

For that well hung feeling.

[porcacultor]

Dream of Mirrors! What a tune. Definitely in my top five Maiden reunion songs and probably in my top ten Miaden tunes overall. I'd also have Paschedale, Hell on Earth and Dance of Death in my top five reunion songs. Montségur and Rainmaker are also both excellent and quite unique in their catalogue in terms of feel.

I like No More Lies, really like it, but the repetition! That's a criticism that could also be levelled at Dream of Mirrors, of course, but I can overlook it there for some reason.

Face in the Sand is one of a couple of clunkers from Dance of Death for me, and Blood Brothers I always felt was overrated. The Book of Souls isn't bad but it's dragged down by being associated with the album. Bit unfair but that's life.

You know, I do get the repetition complaint for No More Lies. Even though it doesn't bother me, there's something in the execution that does: the second chorus lost all dynamics in the mixing/mastering process! A sad casualty of their idea with Kevin Shirley to mix it in the red.

Something else that got lost in Dance of Death was a few harmonized guitar parts in Montségur -- I had to explore the multitrack surround version and do a personal mixdown to figure those parts out (would love to share them if anyone's interested, in fact, and if that isn't against forum rules).

And yeah, TBOS is their funniest album in my opinion: some really high highs, some REALLY low lows. Definitely not an album I care to listen to in one sitting, but I do love about half of the tracks in that one.

[nobloodyname]

Something else that got lost in Dance of Death was a few harmonized guitar parts in Montségur -- I had to explore the multitrack surround version and do a personal mixdown to figure those parts out (would love to share them if anyone's interested, in fact, and if that isn't against forum rules).

Oooh, good shout on the 5.1 version of Dance of Death. I'm sure I have that somewhere.

[Stadler]

Something else that got lost in Dance of Death was a few harmonized guitar parts in Montségur -- I had to explore the multitrack surround version and do a personal mixdown to figure those parts out (would love to share them if anyone's interested, in fact, and if that isn't against forum rules).

Oooh, good shout on the 5.1 version of Dance of Death. I'm sure I have that somewhere.

Where is that?  I didn't know any of the Maiden made it to 5.1.

[MinistroRaven]

Any one here wants to review Bruce's solo record?

I will; by when?

Didn't see this one until you mentioned over PM. I just PM'ed you.

[DoctorAction]

Dance of Death is a really enjoyable album for me. Yes, it's brick-walled but a lot of it's heavy and a bit more up tempo than most of the reunion material. Wildest Dreams, Rainmaker, No More Lies, Montsegur, DoD, Gates of Tomorrow - such a solid run of banging tunes. Nicko sounds bloody great. I find myself air drumming to it a lot, and the band are barrelling through it. New Frontier is a bit of a dip, but fine. Then two cracking tracks in Paschendale and Face In The Sand. Not such a fan of the last two tracks, tbh, but Journeyman is at least a bit different.

My least favourite thing about it is that disgusting cover. 

NML is one of those repetitive Maiden choruses that I think actually works. Maybe because it's faster. Brave New World and The Mercenary, for example, repeat at a plod for me. Seventh Son even bugs me a little.

[cramx3]

My least favourite thing about it is that disgusting cover. 

By far  but luckily that work of art has no bearing the music.  I do also think it's not the best sounding album in terms of production, but once again, the songs override that.  I actually really like Face in the Sand too.

[porcacultor]

If anyone's interested, the deceptively titled Death on the Road documentary (available on Youtube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbYtz_o3ul0 ) shows a lot of behind the scenes moments of the recording of the DoD album proper.

Transcribing Kevin Shirley's words, this is pretty much the whole story on why Dance of Death sounds the way it does (as in, loud, brickwalled etc.):

"When we finished Dance of Death, I took the album to George Marino to master it. He was such a great mastering engineer, he's done everything from AC/DC to everyone. He said 'the bottom end's all wrong', so I said 'well, do what you do to it'. He tried to make the bottom end fatter, the top end nicer, this and that. I was kind of second-guessing myself at that point, because he knocked me down. So I sent the CD to Steve, and of course he's been in Iron Maiden for 30 years, and he said 'well, this doesn't sound anything like the mixes I heard in the studio', so I was like 'thank God for that!'".

(...)

"The album is mastered from a CD that I made for Steve. It's not ideal (laughs) but that's what the master was at the end of the day. I had this really old Apogee digital converter – I used to just smash the crap out of it to put it on a CD for him to play on his car. Then I printed all the other [versions], half-inch tape, 96kHz [sample rate] versions... and he just liked the crunching of whatever that horrible converter was. At the end of the day, I think he went to Tim Young and he said 'just transfer it off the CD, that's how I like it sounding, that's how I want it to sound'".

So there we have it. I've been calling it a "casualty of the loudness wars", but this was an organic decision from within the band. Can't fault them for picking a sound!

[TAC]

Death On The Road is my favorite Iron Maiden live album across all eras.