The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[Stadler]

To both of you, yeah.  That wasn't lost on me when I read that.

[TAC]

The band just put out a little teaser video featuring Steve, Bruce and Kevin Shirley talking about the album (no new music).

Love this. Hopefully there's way more studio footage to surface.

[WildRanger]

My thought on a new song "The Writing On The Wall": It's just OK, nothing special.

[emtee]

Thread title really needs updating.

[wolfking]

The band just put out a little teaser video featuring Steve, Bruce and Kevin Shirley talking about the album (no new music).

Bruce says pretty seriously and in a non-PR-y way that he thinks this album is better than TBoS: more complex and more varied. He repeats the claim that there are a couple of songs that he thinks will genuinely surprise people. Shirley acknowledges that everyone will always say the new record is best, but also says he thinks this is possibly the best album the band has done with him. Also says it's the hardest record he's ever made. Steve kinda says a whole lot of nothing.

This is the kind of stuff we've been missing the last couple of albums.  I hope there's a full documentary or some more studio recording footage.

Seems pretty standard what they are saying here, but still builds the anticipation nevertheless.

[pg1067]

A question that, for some reason, I never thought about before today:

Who did the spoken word segment in Rime of the Ancient Mariner?  I think if I had ever given it any thought, I'd have assumed it was Martin Birch, but I've seen some folks say it was Bruce, which it really doesn't sound like.

Anyone know?

Anyone?  Bueller?

[TAC]

It definitely doesn't sound like Bruce.

[wolfking]

A question that, for some reason, I never thought about before today:

Who did the spoken word segment in Rime of the Ancient Mariner?  I think if I had ever given it any thought, I'd have assumed it was Martin Birch, but I've seen some folks say it was Bruce, which it really doesn't sound like.

Anyone know?

Anyone?  Bueller?

I have no idea to be honest.  For some reason, I've never thought about it.

[wolfking]

Seems it's a mystery.  Found this;

https://www.reddit.com/r/ironmaiden/comments/p03zrw/spoken_word_part_in_rime_of_the_ancient_mariner/

[Anguyen92]

Thread title really needs updating.

It's been 170 pages.  We could get a new thread in order with an updated title if that's all right.

[TAC]

Seems it's a mystery.  Found this;

https://www.reddit.com/r/ironmaiden/comments/p03zrw/spoken_word_part_in_rime_of_the_ancient_mariner/

I saw that too, but it lacks confirmation.


I floated the question on Maidenfans..

[Cruithne]

It doesn't sound anything like Bill Nighy  Also, I think that's a bit of recency bias as he wasn't exactly a name back in 1984.

If anything it sounds like Richard Burton - I think I detect a slight Welsh lilt to a few of the lines.

[TAC]

The response I got was that it was Richard Burton from a 1950's radio show.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Loudwire has heard the album: https://loudwire.com/iron-maiden-senjutsu-track-by-track-guide-review/

[TAC]

Sounds like anyone that rails against acoustic intros will have a field day on the Harris tunes. But as the author points out, that is how Steve sets his songs up. Deal with it.

Steve's songs are pretty much all amazing on their own, so I have zero problem with it.

[425]

Most of the people who rail against acoustic intros aren't going to be satisfied with anything except Powerslave II, so I'm not particularly concerned that the band do anything to satisfy them. Just write good songs. It's basically impossible to judge from the Loudwire piece whether they've done that, but there's enough there to build some excitement!

[cramx3]

As long as the songs are good, the acoustic intros or repeating chorus' don't bother me.  It's when the song itself as a whole is not that good, that those things come back to be annoying.  Having said that, for me, most of these types of songs have ended up being very good so it doesn't end up being an issue other than "they've done that before".

[El Barto]

I never really thought about it before, but looking at those first 5 tracks I'm realizing that they could do an entire setlist of nothing but songs about wars.

Even sticking with their rule that they only play songs they played on the album tour, they could easily do concerts that were all about war, all about religion, all about novels, and perhaps all about movies/TV series. Hell, they could do a chronological history of warfare if they wanted to.

Part of what I liked so much about the Legacy tour was breaking the show up into war and religion segments.

And Rhyme certainly sounds like Richard Burton, but my hunch is that they slowed it down a bit. It's a little deeper and a little slower than his normal delivery.

[pg1067]

Seems it's a mystery.  Found this;

https://www.reddit.com/r/ironmaiden/comments/p03zrw/spoken_word_part_in_rime_of_the_ancient_mariner/

That thread is what prompted me to ask.  I'd honestly never thought about it before.

The response I got was that it was Richard Burton from a 1950's radio show.

Nope.  Here's the Richard Burton recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGH4p4z4s5A

The lines spoken in the Maiden song start at 10:19, and you can tell immediately it's not the same thing because Burton's cadence is different than what appears on the Maiden recording.  Also, Burton says "star-dog'd," whereas, on the Maiden recording, the narrator says "star-dogged."

[El Barto]

Seems it's a mystery.  Found this;

https://www.reddit.com/r/ironmaiden/comments/p03zrw/spoken_word_part_in_rime_of_the_ancient_mariner/

That thread is what prompted me to ask.  I'd honestly never thought about it before.

The response I got was that it was Richard Burton from a 1950's radio show.

Nope.  Here's the Richard Burton recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGH4p4z4s5A

The lines spoken in the Maiden song start at 10:19, and you can tell immediately it's not the same thing because Burton's cadence is different than what appears on the Maiden recording.  Also, Burton says "star-dog'd," whereas, on the Maiden recording, the narrator says "star-dogged."

I've found at least 2 different Burton recordings of it, and there are no doubt more. Originally it was suggested a radio broadcast. There's also an animated version he voiced, and a record he did of several poems. The voice definitely sounds like him, though as you said, the cadence is off, as is the pacing.

[emtee]

Loudwire has heard the album: https://loudwire.com/iron-maiden-senjutsu-track-by-track-guide-review/

Great write-up that has me excited for my first listen!

[cramx3]

Loudwire has heard the album: https://loudwire.com/iron-maiden-senjutsu-track-by-track-guide-review/

Great write-up that has me excited for my first listen!

Yeah, the write up is pretty solid and makes me salivate a bit

[Dedalus]

Sounds like anyone that rails against acoustic intros will have a field day on the Harris tunes. But as the author points out, that is how Steve sets his songs up. Deal with it.

Steve's songs are pretty much all amazing on their own, so I have zero problem with it.

Loudwire's review mentions the quiet intros a lot, but never mentions repeated choruses.
So people probably don't need to worry about that.   

[Cruithne]

I've found at least 2 different Burton recordings of it, and there are no doubt more. Originally it was suggested a radio broadcast. There's also an animated version he voiced, and a record he did of several poems. The voice definitely sounds like him, though as you said, the cadence is off, as is the pacing.

I'm assuming the one being referred to was done for the BBC in 1952 as detailed @ https://www.richardburton.com/works/radio/

It's not certain it is Richard Burton either, it just sounds quite like him to me.

[Dream Team]

Most of the people who rail against acoustic intros aren't going to be satisfied with anything except Powerslave II, so I'm not particularly concerned that the band do anything to satisfy them. Just write good songs. It's basically impossible to judge from the Loudwire piece whether they've done that, but there's enough there to build some excitement!

Come on. Why does the ratio have to be 1 Powerslave and 16 not? Wouldn't it be nice to have a more even ratio? Have a few bangers on an album for once that start energetic from the get go? Yes, I know they had a couple on BOS but they are few and far between.

And also no doubt you noticed, like I feared, that the reviewer mentioned those intros sound almost EXACTLY the same as other recent ones. Same chords, same key, same story. I'll listen to it of course, but not getting my hopes up.

[425]

I mean, if you divide albums into "Powerslave" and "not-Powerslave," of course it's going to be uneven, but that's an utterly bizarre way to divide them up. I could just as easily say "Why does the ratio have to be one Book of Souls and 16 not? Wouldn't it be nice to have a more even ratio?"

[Dedalus]

Most of the people who rail against acoustic intros aren't going to be satisfied with anything except Powerslave II, so I'm not particularly concerned that the band do anything to satisfy them. Just write good songs. It's basically impossible to judge from the Loudwire piece whether they've done that, but there's enough there to build some excitement!

Come on. Why does the ratio have to be 1 Powerslave and 16 not? Wouldn't it be nice to have a more even ratio? Have a few bangers on an album for once that start energetic from the get go? Yes, I know they had a couple on BOS but they are few and far between.

And also no doubt you noticed, like I feared, that the reviewer mentioned those intros sound almost EXACTLY the same as other recent ones. Same chords, same key, same story. I'll listen to it of course, but not getting my hopes up.

Preferences and tastes aside, but isn't it somewhat obvious what to expect from a new Iron Maiden record?

It is the sixth album of this formation and they all have several characteristics in common (many of them that are perennially discussed).

Is it really plausible to expect radical change? Expect the record to be full of mind-blowing riffs like some '80s records?

This discussion of new and old Iron Maiden is normal and expected. But let's assume that the last album of the old classic Iron Maiden is from 1988. It's 2021. In the meantime, all the albums haven't been what "fans of the classic phase expect". To still have some kind of expectation or hope in this regard is nothing short of amazing.

Of course, everyone dreams of what they want. I dream of checking my bank account and realizing that I am now a millionaire. It's just not very plausible.

[Dream Team]

Is it really that hard to start a song with an energetic uptempo riff? The guys aren't in wheelchairs. Keep some metal in there.

[Dedalus]

Is it really that hard to start a song with an energetic uptempo riff? The guys aren't in wheelchairs. Keep some metal in there.

No, it's not difficult. They could start off all the songs quite energetically. They could also start the songs with a small sax solo, accompanied by bongos.
They really could do anything they wanted.

Apparently they want to do it the way they are doing it.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Is it really that hard to start a song with an energetic uptempo riff? The guys aren't in wheelchairs. Keep some metal in there.

No, it's not difficult. They could start off all the songs quite energetically. They could also start the songs with a small sax solo, accompanied by bongos.
They really could do anything they wanted.

Apparently they want to do it the way they are doing it.

BUt I want them to want to do what I want.

[Dedalus]

Is it really that hard to start a song with an energetic uptempo riff? The guys aren't in wheelchairs. Keep some metal in there.

No, it's not difficult. They could start off all the songs quite energetically. They could also start the songs with a small sax solo, accompanied by bongos.
They really could do anything they wanted.

Apparently they want to do it the way they are doing it.

BUt I want them to want to do what I want.

 

We always do!

[425]

Is it really that hard to start a song with an energetic uptempo riff? The guys aren't in wheelchairs. Keep some metal in there.

No, it's not difficult. They could start off all the songs quite energetically. They could also start the songs with a small sax solo, accompanied by bongos.
They really could do anything they wanted.

Apparently they want to do it the way they are doing it.

They could start off a song with some spacey synths and a nearly a capella verse, or with a lengthy piano-driven section, after not doing either for the previous 15 albums. Oh, wait...

Part of the issue here is that the criticism I hear from Dream Team and others is put forth as though it's about the band repeating themselves, but when you push on it, it actually turns out that it's about the band repeating a style that they don't like instead of repeating a style that they do like. "Please, stop repeating the style of your last five albums and start repeating the style of your first five albums!"

[porcacultor]

This "quiet intro" talk is funny. Depending on how you look at it, songs like Brave New World, No More Lies, Starblind, Look for the Truth, The Red and the Black and Where the Wild Wind Blows all have quiet intros, but you'd have to be really dishonest to say they're all immediately comparable or sound "the same" (similar, maybe? But it is the same band...). The intro lengths are different, the musical ideas are different, the songs themselves are different... I dunno, it's not something that irks me at all.

In fact, some songs that already start "balls to the wall heavy" in The Book of Souls aren't necessarily my favorites, like Where the River Runs Deep and Tears of a Clown. The Great Unknown and The Book of Souls have "quiet intros", but I perceive them as very heavy and impactful songs.

Different strokes, everyone is free to have their tastes... but I for sure am excited for what the boys are cooking this time around, quiet intro or otherwise!

[425]

This "quiet intro" talk is funny. Depending on how you look at it, songs like Brave New World, No More Lies, Starblind, Look for the Truth, The Red and the Black and Where the Wild Wind Blows all have quiet intros, but you'd have to be really dishonest to say they're all immediately comparable or sound "the same" (similar, maybe? But it is the same band...). The intro lengths are different, the musical ideas are different, the songs themselves are different... I dunno, it's not something that irks me at all.

Part of what makes it funny, I think, is the use of so broad a term as "quiet." Like, speaking that generally, there's are really only two options for intros: "quiet" or "loud." Speaking in those terms, I'd say TBoS has six "quiet" intros and five "loud" ones, which seems really... normal? Just to pick another album off the shelf, let's take Dream Theater's heaviest album, Train of Thought. That album has five "quiet" intros and two "loud" ones. Or even a heavy classic, Master of Puppets: five "quiet" intros and three "loud" ones.

It would be a more understandable complaint if it was about a more specific type of intro—say, "acoustic intros," although even that's pretty general. But that's not the type of complaint that's raised, because there aren't actually enough of those to be considered overly repetitive. That's why I think it comes down to a complaint that everything isn't a four-minute rocker that's being repackaged as a criticism of "repetition," which has the advantage of seeming reasonable as long as one doesn't look at it too closely.

(Edited to fix the MoP tallies—forgot that Damage Inc. starts quiet, too)

[IDontNotDoThings]

I think the issue I have with the soft intros are specifically to do with the ones that don't feel connected to the rest of the song (Benjamin Breeg, Lord Of Light, The Talisman, The Man Who Would Be King). I like dynamics & all, but when an acoustic/soft section lasts for like a minute & then abruptly ends & gets forgotten about, I can't help but feel like it's a bit of a waste. TBOS did a good job at making the dynamics feel continuous though, so I'm hoping Senjutsu follows up with that too.