The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[jjrock88]

Its temporarily out of stock on amazon. 

And its still ranked number #1

[wolfking]

Its temporarily out of stock on amazon. 

And its still ranked number #1

Fucking should be.  Everyone needs to go and buy a copy of this album, should be number 1 worldwide.

[TAC]

Having a bit of a time deciphering the Gers/Murray solos. Either Murray is dirtier or Gers is finer.

[sneakyblueberry]

I do think Davey's gone a little mongrel on this one with his solos, and there are some memorable wah solos.  I can usually tell its him when he goes into his trills.  janick still peddling the same licks and phrases he has since forever.

[wolfking]

Murray's tone certainly is dirtier than normal.  dieveria pretty much got it right 2 pages back, I just corrected 2 of them I think.  There were a couple I wasn't sure on first listen I wasn't sure if it was Gers or Murray.  Here is the credits which I'm 99% positive on;

If Eternity Should Fail - ad lib outro - Smith
Speed of Light - Murray/Smith - main lead melody line sounds like Smith too
The Great Unknown - Middle solo - Gers - Outro section - Smith/Murray
The Red and the Black - Main solos - Smith/Gers/Murray - later section - Smith
When the River Runs Deep - Murray/Gers - after harmony section - Smith
The Book of Souls - Murray - later section - Gers/Smith - ab lib outro sounds like Murray

Death or Glory - Murray/Smith
Shadows of the Valley - Gers/Smith - after "into the valley.." section - Murray
Tears of A Clown - Smith/Murray
The Man of Sorrows - Intro - Murray - main solos - Murray/Smith  - Outro - Gers
Empire of the Clouds - Murray then Smith

[The Curious Orange]

Wow. Just wow. Been listening to this all weekend, and it's a brilliant mix of exactly what you'd expect from Maiden, with some new elements to keep it fresh, and some excellent guitar work. I can't quite believe this band could make an album this good at this stage in their career. Which is more or less what I said about the lest few albums.  Loving it, and can't wait for the tour!

[cramx3]

One of the biggest complaints of IM is the repeating of the same line or word in the chorus.... yea they completely avoided that this album.

[wolfking]

One of the biggest complaints of IM is the repeating of the same line or word in the chorus.... yea they completely avoided that this album.

I didn't even notice this to be honest, but you're right, and that's probably a factor at why this is so fresh and inventive.

And, the title track and TRATB are easily locked in for the tour IMO.

[Lowdz]

One of the biggest complaints of IM is the repeating of the same line or word in the chorus.... yea they completely avoided that this album.

I didn't even notice this to be honest, but you're right, and that's probably a factor at why this is so fresh and inventive.

And, the title track and TRATB are easily locked in for the tour IMO.

With Mayan imagery and some sort of pyramid as the backdrop.

[wolfking]

They might bring Powerslave back out too since the theme is somewhat similar.

[Phoenix87x]

So far I think my favorites are:

1. When the river runs deep (insanely catchy and always stuck in my head)
2. Empire of the clouds (just epic)
3. Tears of the clown (very catchy)
4.The man of sorrow (lots of cool melodic stuff going on)
5. The red and the black (just a kick ass song)

[jjrock88]

You can't go wrong picking any song as your favorite from this album

[NotePad]

After one listen I can only say that this will definitely surpass TFF but apart from that, it's too early to say. Something I did manage to do was make some alternate front covers using the illiustrations from the booklet. I might just use these for my digital library as the regular cover is about as boring as watching paint fall from an apple.

         

Looks like you were using some designs from Quake 1

[jammindude]

One of the biggest complaints of IM is the repeating of the same line or word in the chorus.... yea they completely avoided that this album.

Exactly why it's hitting me so hard....and exactly why so many of their other albums since 1990 have been such a turn off for me.

[TAC]

You can't go wrong picking any song as your favorite from this album

Yes you can. A WIDE gap between the best and the worst.

[ozzy554]

One of the biggest complaints of IM is the repeating of the same line or word in the chorus.... yea they completely avoided that this album.

That seems to mainly be a Steve Harris thing. I heard that he wasnt as involved in the writing for this album as he usually is.

[TAC]

Anyone see the mention of the Maiden-brand headphones in the liner notes?  Ed-Phones. lol. SIGN ME UP

 

[wolfking]

One of the biggest complaints of IM is the repeating of the same line or word in the chorus.... yea they completely avoided that this album.

That seems to mainly be a Steve Harris thing. I heard that he wasnt as involved in the writing for this album as he usually is.

He had one or two deaths close to him I think I read.  I don't know anything about it though or what exactly happened.

[Nick]

Anyone see the mention of the Maiden-brand headphones in the liner notes?  Ed-Phones. lol. SIGN ME UP

 

As with most branded headphones, chances are you're going to get better headphones for less. It's cool, but I highly doubt there would ever be any good reason to buy them.

[sneakyblueberry]

ONKYO immediately turns me off, but they look awesome as shit.

And, the title track and TRATB are easily locked in for the tour IMO.

Yep.  I'd love for IESF to open the show, I think that'd be epic. 

Speed of Light will almost certainly be played, which is fine by me. 

I'm hoping for When The River Runs Deep and/or Death or Glory. 

Also Bruce said on that Eddie Trunk interview that Empire was definitely not going to be played live, which was what I expected. 

[wolfking]

Yeah, Speed of Light is a given and they will more than likely do another faster one like one of those two you mentioned I think.

I'm actually fine with Empire not being played live, I don't think it would suit a live Maiden show to be honest.  I'd much rather see TRATB, TBOS, and would certainly love IESF, that should be the opener.  Valley would be cool too.  Clown, Sorrows and Unknown I think also wouldn't work in a live Maiden show.

I'm surprisingly happy with the production on this one too.  Happpiest I've been since BNW.

[sneakyblueberry]

It definitely has a similar production style; when the albums run into each other on iTunes they sound very similar indeed.  To me it has the right amount of 'crunch' that sits it between AMOLAD and BNW, which others have mentioned. 

How would everyone rank it with the other reunion ones, or is it too early to say?  For me its very close to being the best since BNW, maybe even bettering it over time as it reaches 'classic' status. 

[ErHaO]

Loving it so far. And the production is definitely better than the previous two to my ears.

Ranking is hard to say, but this one has a "special" feeling to it. The album has some elements that feel fresh in terms of songwriting, is their longest (yet seems consisten in quality), paces well, and has a big epic that delivers.

[wolfking]

For me its very close to being the best since BNW, maybe even bettering it over time as it reaches 'classic' status.

I think this could be quite possible.

I also think TRATB might be my fav from the whole disc, I think it's fucking brilliant, even though it's the most generic.  And the 6 minute instrumental section is among the best they have ever done IMO.

[TAC]

Told ya!

[wolfking]

Told ya!

About the instrumental section?  Yeah man, it's godlike.  Some of the melodies in that section are some of the most lucious melodies since some of those SIT ones.

[sneakyblueberry]

I dunno man...  I'll give it another listen, objectively - I think every subsequent listen of it has been coloured by my first impression of it, which wasn't that great.

Again, maybe it's just because of its competition on the album - Empire, Book of Souls, IESF are all long songs, but they certainly don't feel that way because of how engaging they are.  In comparison TRaTB seems to meander through a bunch of changes (well-trodden ones no less) without any real coherence.  It just feels long for the sake of being long.

[TAC]

While I don't think TRaTB is going to be confused with any Harris masterpieces, I totally dig the long instrumental part. I wish Maiden would do more of that kind of thing. I wish ALL bands would do more of that kind of thing.

And after Empire and the Title Track, it's easily my 3rd favorite tune on the album.

And I hate to say it Sneak, but while I love the album as a whole, I don't think there's that much competition.

[sneakyblueberry]

While I don't think TRaTB is going to be confused with any Harris masterpieces, I totally dig the long instrumental part. I wish Maiden would do more of that kind of thing. I wish ALL bands would do more of that kind of thing..

I think the fact that it cracks the 10 minute without relying on lengthy breakdowns (SSOASS, Rime, SOTC, etc) is admirable in itself - I just think there are a few issues with the execution in this case.

I think the song would be much stronger if they cut down on the similar sounding guitar melodies that happen either side of Bruce's 'the red and the blaaaack' melody.  If they got to the Sabbath-y sounding breakdown that happens around 11:40-50 ish quicker, it would be much stronger.  But yknow, opinions and that.

Its definitely not as bad as I thought it was, upon closer inspection.  If it appeared on an album as THE epic, it'd probably be fantastic, but up against songs that make far better use of their time (Empire, BoS, IESF) it pales in comparison. 

[Dream Team]

Wow, this is much better than I expected after some pans I read. Nothing terribly weak and Bruce sounds awesome. Also loving the dirtier wah-drenched solos. Too early to rank it but I can rank the Eras:

Classic Era

Reunion Era (getting closer to Classic after another great album)



Di'Anno Era

90's Bruce Era







Blaze Era

[wolfking]

I think the song would be much stronger if they cut down on the similar sounding guitar melodies that happen either side of Bruce's 'the red and the blaaaack' melody.  If they got to the Sabbath-y sounding breakdown that happens around 11:40-50 ish quicker, it would be much stronger.  But yknow, opinions and that.

No freaking way dude.  It's all brilliant the way it is, IMO, it all needs to be there and has a place.

I totally dig the long instrumental part. I wish Maiden would do more of that kind of thing. I wish ALL bands would do more of that kind of thing.

Agree 110%.

[sneakyblueberry]

I think the song would be much stronger if they cut down on the similar sounding guitar melodies that happen either side of Bruce's 'the red and the blaaaack' melody.  If they got to the Sabbath-y sounding breakdown that happens around 11:40-50 ish quicker, it would be much stronger.  But yknow, opinions and that.

No freaking way dude.  It's all brilliant the way it is, IMO, it all needs to be there and has a place.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!    Fair enough though. 

I'm actually fine with Empire not being played live, I don't think it would suit a live Maiden show to be honest.

It would be fantastic if they one day did it with an orchestra behind them, as a one off thing for a dvd or something.  It doesn't scream MAIDEN to me but it'd still be awesome.  I think Bruce would be into it.  Maybe for a solo show or summat. 

[wolfking]

I think the song would be much stronger if they cut down on the similar sounding guitar melodies that happen either side of Bruce's 'the red and the blaaaack' melody.  If they got to the Sabbath-y sounding breakdown that happens around 11:40-50 ish quicker, it would be much stronger.  But yknow, opinions and that.

No freaking way dude.  It's all brilliant the way it is, IMO, it all needs to be there and has a place.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!    Fair enough though. 

I'm actually fine with Empire not being played live, I don't think it would suit a live Maiden show to be honest.

It would be fantastic if they one day did it with an orchestra behind them, as a one off thing for a dvd or something.  It doesn't scream MAIDEN to me but it'd still be awesome.  I think Bruce would be into it.  Maybe for a solo show or summat.

That's all good bro, everyone has their opinions.

And yeah, a one off thing like you mentioned would totally be cool.  I think it's the type of piece built for that sort of thing, I don't think it's a song you'd play night after night in a regular concert, it's just that special of a piece.

[Kwyjibo]

First listen yesterday and the first impression is great. Sounds more Reunion Maiden than classic Maiden but that's no surprise. I don't mind the production, it's what was to be expected, it seems that this is how they want to sound like.

Much to take in but the first standouts are Eternity, The Red and the Black and Empire. Speed of Light is nice also. I have to listen to it way more times before I can form some kind of opinion, but I think this record sounds fresh and inspired an could grow to be up there with my favorites. We'll see.

[wolfking]

The first disc is so damn good I can't stop spinning it.  To be honest, I don't have much time for the second at this point, the first is too addictive.  If they just released disc one as the album, I'm would be super satisfied.  Disc two feels like a bonus.