The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[nick_z]

What about the 2nd half of Thin Line? Some beautiful melodies in there.

So very true - the quiet section around 5:15 sounds like Parallels-era Fates Warning to me...even the way Bruce sings. So good.

[bosk1]

If there are any songs on The Final Frontier as good as These Colours Don't Run, The Legacy, For the Greater Good of God or The Longest Day, I'll be pleased. 

Going back to the BNW, The Nomad is stellar.

The Longest Day is one I don't see mentioned too often, but I think it's one of the best of the reunion era. The chorus is one of their catchiest and the one melody in the bridge is so anthemic. Where The Wild Wind Blows and The Talisman are the standouts of TFF, and the title track + intro is a really cool way to open an album.

I will have to listen to Where the Wild Wind Blows on its own, as I know that song is highly regarded, because by the time I got to it when listening to the whole album, I was so aggravated by how poor the album sounded that I was just ready for it to be over.

There are also, as usual, live versions of about half the album (The Final Frontier, El Dorado, Coming Home, The Talisman, When the Wild Wind Blows). These all come on En Vivo!, which you may prefer from a production perspective. And the liveness elevates The Talisman quite a bit, as Kade mentioned.

En Vivo! is by far my favorite live album from them.  I absolutely LOVE what they did with When the Wild Wind Blows on that one.  Overall, it really isn't all that different.  But when the verse turns darker and heavier, the riff sounds so much heavier and more sinister on the live version.  And the way they play with the tempo creates a lot more tension, IMO. 

When I was first getting into the band during the TFF album cycle, a former user here made a statement that En Vivo! was the "definitive" live Maiden album.  I pushed back hard on that at first and wondered how you could say that about a live production so late in a band's career that features so much new material, when the band who had so much history and so much "classic" material.  But after watching it, I agreed with him.

[cramx3]

En Vivo is great.  It's amazing quality too on blu-ray.  The large crowd is wild too so it adds to the energy of the show.

[bosk1]

The large crowd is wild too so it adds to the energy of the show.

Absolutely.  The crowd is like a 7th member of the band.

[Max Kuehnau]

The large crowd is wild too so it adds to the energy of the show.

Absolutely.  The crowd is like a 7th member of the band.

especially on any live album in South America, but Rock In Rio would be that times 100 or something.

[cramx3]

The large crowd is wild too so it adds to the energy of the show.

Absolutely.  The crowd is like a 7th member of the band.

especially on any live album in South America, but Rock In Rio would be that times 100 or something.

If Rock in Rio had better editing, it would be the quintessential live video IMO, but because it's terrible, I think this becomes very debatable.  Flight 666 is what I watch the most, but it's not a single concert.

[KevShmev]

I will circle back to The Thin Line Between Love and Hate here soon, as that is one I thought was good, not great, but had major potential to be a grower. I just need to give it more listens. Will be a lot easier to revisit a lot of this stuff once we finish  everything. Three to go, although technically two since I do not plan on giving The Final Frontier (which we will review tomorrow) any more attention at this time. 

[TAC]

What about the 2nd half of Thin Line? Some beautiful melodies in there.

So very true - the quiet section around 5:15 sounds like Parallels-era Fates Warning to me...even the way Bruce sings. So good.

Great section.

Going back to the BNW, The Nomad is stellar.

The Nomad is a great tune and it was the one to first grab me on BNW.

[KevShmev]

Okay, I checked out the live version of When the Wild Wind Blows from the En Vivo! live album.  Ah yes, there is that great song I knew was in there, but buried in the studio mix!!

[Zoom E]

I agree with Kev on the production of TFF ruining the album. I think the production on Senjutsu, while not great, is not quite so smothering and I’m enjoying it so much more than TFF.

My ranking of the reunion albums

Brave New World
A Matter of Life and Death
Dance of Death
The Final Frontier
Book of Souls

I'm not sure where Senjutsu will end up in my ranking, but I think it will be in the top 3.

[TAC]

I've never even considered that The Final Frontier sounded bad. I was not aware that it did..

[wolfking]

I've never even considered that The Final Frontier sounded bad. I was not aware that it did..

When it came out I thought it was absolutely atrocious.  These days it's not as bad as I thought back then, but it's still not great IMO.

[TAC]

The highlights for me on TFF is The Talisman and Coming Home.

These are my two favorite tracks of the Reunion Era.

[Zoom E]

I've never even considered that The Final Frontier sounded bad. I was not aware that it did..

When it came out I thought it was absolutely atrocious.  These days it's not as bad as I thought back then, but it's still not great IMO.

People do hear things differently. I read something a while ago about how our left and right ears process sounds differently. I have some hearing loss in my left ear (thanks Exodus!) and that apparently changes how the brain processes sound as well. That might explain why
some people perceive the production to be poor, while to others it sounds fine.

[wolfking]

I've never even considered that The Final Frontier sounded bad. I was not aware that it did..

When it came out I thought it was absolutely atrocious.  These days it's not as bad as I thought back then, but it's still not great IMO.

People do hear things differently. I read something a while ago about how our left and right ears process sounds differently. I have some hearing loss in my left ear (thanks Exodus!) and that apparently changes how the brain processes sound as well. That might explain why
some people perceive the production to be poor, while to others it sounds fine.

yeah fair.  As I said, I remember hating it at the start, but I have no issues with it now, funny one.

[Kwyjibo]

While TFF certainly hasn't the best of sound, it didn't bother me personally and never kept me from enjoying it mightily.

But I think it's true that everyone hears those things differently, good sound and good production is very subjective imo.

[Mladen]

I'm not an expert when it comes to sound production, but I know what appeals to me. AMOLAD was so crisp and powerful that TFF immediately paled in comparison. It sounds slightly muddier.

[porcacultor]

[...] And the way they play with the tempo creates a lot more tension, IMO. 

[...]

I'd really like to emphasize how Iron Maiden works well with this (particularly Nicko, but the whole band follows him as well).

Take The Longest Day for instance: they drop from around 120 BPM in the bridge to around 100 BPM in the chorus (roughly) and the effect is just soooo good! It's one of those things where I have to give it to them about respecting the energy of a live band playing and recording together vs. each musician recording their parts separately.

Sometimes that approach may have lead to some sloppy parts here and there (I think TBOS is a bit guilty in this regard, where it sounds like they could've spent a little while longer on nailing things in songs like Speed of Light or even Death or Glory), but when it works, it's part of why they sound so fresh and "alive".

[KevShmev]

I've never even considered that The Final Frontier sounded bad. I was not aware that it did..

When it came out I thought it was absolutely atrocious.  These days it's not as bad as I thought back then, but it's still not great IMO.

Honestly, I think many are so used to the sound and mixes of albums of the 21st century that they just subconsciously accept it now and judge it on the "it sounds good by today's standards" scale, even if sometimes it really doesn't.

[bosk1]

I've never even considered that The Final Frontier sounded bad. I was not aware that it did..

Same here.  I mean, Satellite 15 definitely has some wonky things going on in that department, but that is somewhat purposeful.  But once TFF kicks in, the album sounds pretty "normal" to me.

[425]

TFF was one of the first albums I listened to intently, so I don't think I can fairly judge how it sounds, but I've never had a problem with it. The only Maiden albums with production issues that really stand out to me are TXF and VXI, which just don't sound as powerful as they should be, and DoD, which is brickwalled. But even those albums I've gotten used to over time and barely notice the issues of anymore. I was listening to Virtual XI the other day (still awesome) and was surprised at how unbothered I was by the production.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

[...] And the way they play with the tempo creates a lot more tension, IMO. 

[...]

I'd really like to emphasize how Iron Maiden works well with this (particularly Nicko, but the whole band follows him as well).

Absolutely!

That's one of the things that made me become interested in the band when I was 14. A friend lent me his Edward The Great CD, and I couldn't believe how they kept changing the tempo/time signature in "Fear Of The Dark" live.

[DoctorAction]

[...] And the way they play with the tempo creates a lot more tension, IMO. 

[...]

I'd really like to emphasize how Iron Maiden works well with this (particularly Nicko, but the whole band follows him as well).

Take The Longest Day for instance: they drop from around 120 BPM in the bridge to around 100 BPM in the chorus (roughly) and the effect is just soooo good! It's one of those things where I have to give it to them about respecting the energy of a live band playing and recording together vs. each musician recording their parts separately.

Totally.

[Lupton]

^^

I know these guys don't use a click track when recording.     Allows the music to actually breathe and not sound like robotic sterile shit.

[edit: And yeah.. Fuck modern production  ]

[KevShmev]

The Book of Souls will take a few more spins, but the first one was positive.  Empire of the Clouds was something else. 

[devieira73]

The Book of Souls will take a few more spins, but the first one was positive.  Empire of the Clouds was something else. 

I don't know exactly what songs are in my Maiden's Top 10, but I know that Empire is there for sure!

[DoctorAction]

Empire of the Clouds is perfect subject matter, is really different for Bruce/Maiden and has great lyrics. With a bit of an edit/rework and decent production it would be amazing.

Just imagine how good the Brucey solo album would have been with EOTC and If Eternity Should Fail with Roy Z producing. 

[Skeever]

If there are any songs on The Final Frontier as good as These Colours Don't Run, The Legacy, For the Greater Good of God or The Longest Day, I'll be pleased. 

Going back to the BNW, The Nomad is stellar.

The Longest Day is one I don't see mentioned too often, but I think it's one of the best of the reunion era. The chorus is one of their catchiest and the one melody in the bridge is so anthemic. Where The Wild Wind Blows and The Talisman are the standouts of TFF, and the title track + intro is a really cool way to open an album.

I will have to listen to Where the Wild Wind Blows on its own, as I know that song is highly regarded, because by the time I got to it when listening to the whole album, I was so aggravated by how poor the album sounded that I was just ready for it to be over.

There are also, as usual, live versions of about half the album (The Final Frontier, El Dorado, Coming Home, The Talisman, When the Wild Wind Blows). These all come on En Vivo!, which you may prefer from a production perspective. And the liveness elevates The Talisman quite a bit, as Kade mentioned.

En Vivo! is by far my favorite live album from them.  I absolutely LOVE what they did with When the Wild Wind Blows on that one.  Overall, it really isn't all that different.  But when the verse turns darker and heavier, the riff sounds so much heavier and more sinister on the live version.  And the way they play with the tempo creates a lot more tension, IMO. 

When I was first getting into the band during the TFF album cycle, a former user here made a statement that En Vivo! was the "definitive" live Maiden album.  I pushed back hard on that at first and wondered how you could say that about a live production so late in a band's career that features so much new material, when the band who had so much history and so much "classic" material.  But after watching it, I agreed with him.

I totally agree with this. For a band as late in their career to have a release like En Vivo feels truly special. The setlist is very representative of their career, the audio and performances are superb, and the visual is also fantastic. If there is one complaint to be had, it's that the guitar solos are improvised a little bit too far from there the original versions in some places, but this is only something I've noticed over time.

[wolfking]

Empire of the Clouds is perfect subject matter, is really different for Bruce/Maiden and has great lyrics. With a bit of an edit/rework and decent production it would be amazing.

Just imagine how good the Brucey solo album would have been with EOTC and If Eternity Should Fail with Roy Z producing. 

If the solo album ever happens, I still wish IESF opens the album.

[TAC]

The Book of Souls will take a few more spins, but the first one was positive.  Empire of the Clouds was something else. 

Kev, you're motoring through these at a pretty good clip.

Empire is indeed amazing, as is the title track and The Red And The Black. To me, those are the three standouts.

[KevShmev]

Due to length, we were doing one album a day during the week, but with these newer albums being longer, we are doing one every other day, so our review for The Book of Souls is not till Sunday, so I have time to digest it a little more, and I am still revisiting a few of the new albums and a handful of the live versions from that era.  Once we are through everything, I am sure I will revisit much of it randomly and find new songs that didn't grab me right away and whatnot, the exceptions of course being the last two 90s albums, neither of which I will listen to again.

[Cool Chris]

En Vivo! is by far my favorite live album from them.

Are you referring to the video, or audio, or both?

[wolfking]

Caved and picked up the book edition.  Actually saw 2 of the boxsets in-store today too but don't think I can justify $210.

[nobloodyname]

Caved and picked up the book edition.  Actually saw 2 of the boxsets in-store today too but don't think I can justify $210.

The box itself is quite nice - well, as boxes go - but the assorted gubbins contained within are nowhere near worth the outlay.

[TAC]

So, these are where my rankings are..

The Parchment
Hell On Earth
Lost In A Lost World
Darkest Hour
Stratego
Writing On The Wall
Death Of The Celts
The Time Machine
Days Of Future Past
Shenjutsu