Author Topic: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls  (Read 557498 times)

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Offline cramx3

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7805 on: January 19, 2022, 10:24:53 AM »
I don't think Death Of The Celts is a great tune. It's fine, but not in the elite league of The Parchment and Hell On Earth.

This. 

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7806 on: January 19, 2022, 02:18:07 PM »
I don't think Death Of The Celts is a great tune. It's fine, but not in the elite league of The Parchment and Hell On Earth.

While I think its a great tune, I completely agree with the rest of that statement.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7807 on: January 19, 2022, 02:23:35 PM »
Death of the Celts is my favorite of the album but I do agree that the whole second disc is just great stuff. For me this is their best post-AMOLAD album and I did not expect that.

Offline cramx3

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7808 on: January 19, 2022, 02:25:41 PM »
My problem with Death of Celts is that it feels like a worse version of The Clansman and immediately makes me feel the song is unnecessary.  Then add in that it just doesn't hold up to the other epics, it ends up being one of my least favorites on the new album. 

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7809 on: January 19, 2022, 02:35:45 PM »
My problem with Death of Celts is that it feels like a worse version of The Clansman and immediately makes me feel the song is unnecessary.  Then add in that it just doesn't hold up to the other epics, it ends up being one of my least favorites on the new album.

Its definitely The Clansman 2.0.

Damn that melody around the 8 minute mark though is one of the best moments on the album.
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Offline DoctorAction

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7810 on: January 22, 2022, 01:25:49 AM »
It's quite an uplifting tune. And those melodies do have a strong whiff of Scotland to me (though I don't know a thing about Scottish music). It's been a while since i listened to the Clansman but I don't recall it being either of those things.

I listened to the album through on a car journey last week and was blown away by it again. Had been a couple of weeks since I heard it. Hell On Earth is such a mighty closer. (And an amazing example of what NOT playing to a click can produce)
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Offline 425

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7811 on: January 22, 2022, 11:26:33 PM »
I have to say, I'm a little skeptical of the Death of the Celts/Clansman comparisons from a musical perspective. There are some similarities, but I have to wonder if the comparison would be made so often if the lyrics were about something else. Speaking strictly musically, I'd say When the Wild Wind Blows sooner than I'd say The Clansman.

Either way, I agree with "great, but not in the elite league of The Parchment and Hell on Earth." Those are my easy top two on the album, then Darkest Hour, then Death of the Celts is in a pretty close competition with Lost in a Lost World.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7812 on: January 23, 2022, 12:30:04 AM »
I certainly hear the comparisons but it doesn't kill me nor make the song any less enjoyable even if I do tend to find them a tad samey in headspace.

Of late...

1. Lost In A Lost World
2. Hell On Earth
3. Stratego
4. Days Of Future Past
5. The Parchment (lately replacing Senjutsu)

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7813 on: January 23, 2022, 01:17:02 AM »
I love Maiden but if I took the 'It sounds like X song they made earlier and therefor this has no purpose" reasoning into account, I could probably dismiss 70% of their discography.  :lol I don't think they're a band who constantly push themselves to be original and come up with new things and that's fine. What surprised me the most with Senjutsu was how many good riffs and melodic bits they still had in them. I might have to revisit Book of Souls because while I didn't dislike that album, at the time I remember thinking "Nothing about this really feels exciting" and to me Senjutsu has plenty of songs that feel great.

Overall I think it's good that Maiden in the 2000s and onward evolved into a slightly proggier band with longer songs because I think that's where their current strength is. I don't think Maiden has written a really good short 'radio hit' type song since maybe The Wicker Man which is over 20 years old, and I don't feel any of the short 'radio songs' of the last 4-5 albums have really managed to hold up well against the 80's equivalents, however I do think their epics have been very good and even if it's hard to match Rime of the Ancient Mariner or Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, I think the modern Maiden albums have done a great job of getting close.

Offline The Curious Orange

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7814 on: January 24, 2022, 04:56:04 AM »
I don't think Maiden has written a really good short 'radio hit' type song since maybe The Wicker Man which is over 20 years old, and I don't feel any of the short 'radio songs' of the last 4-5 albums have really managed to hold up well against the 80's equivalents,

I thought Different World was brilliant. Can't claim to be a big fan of Speed of Light, but I think it held up well.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7815 on: January 24, 2022, 05:49:37 AM »
I don't think Maiden has written a really good short 'radio hit' type song since maybe The Wicker Man which is over 20 years old, and I don't feel any of the short 'radio songs' of the last 4-5 albums have really managed to hold up well against the 80's equivalents,

I thought Different World was brilliant. Can't claim to be a big fan of Speed of Light, but I think it held up well.

Hmmm seems they've managed at least one each album fer my ears...

The Wickerman, The Fallen Angel, Rainmaker, Different World, The Alchemist, Death Or Glory, Stratego, Days Of Future Past.

Granted they may not exactly tick that box but regardless, agree it would be cool to have gotten a few more along the way.

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7816 on: January 26, 2022, 12:26:08 PM »

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7817 on: January 26, 2022, 12:47:40 PM »
Yeah I posted that when they released it.  They did a wonderful job.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7818 on: January 26, 2022, 12:53:35 PM »
Yeah I posted that when they released it.  They did a wonderful job.

Sorry I didn't see it. I love Lord!!!!!!!   :metal

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7819 on: January 26, 2022, 12:55:04 PM »
Yeah I posted that when they released it.  They did a wonderful job.

Sorry I didn't see it. I love Lord!!!!!!!   :metal

It was a while ago now so no need to apologize.

I love the little Trooper nod at the start of the solo.

They recently did a killer Judas Be My Guide cover also.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7820 on: January 26, 2022, 02:36:58 PM »
Yeah I posted that when they released it.  They did a wonderful job.

Sorry I didn't see it. I love Lord!!!!!!!   :metal

It was a while ago now so no need to apologize.

I love the little Trooper nod at the start of the solo.

They recently did a killer Judas Be My Guide cover also.
Yes! Their covers album is great!

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7821 on: February 09, 2022, 09:23:27 AM »
So I went to see Bruce Dickinson on his speaking tour in Boston the other night.

It was good.  Interesting.   Entertaining. The guy spoke for almost three hours, straight, with no teleprompter (when I saw the other "Bruce" -  Springsteen - he had a teleprompter on the front of the balcony, so while he improvised, it was a scripted show).  It was good; it was similar in scope to his autobiography in that it was more about HIM than the people around him.  There were more mentions of Iron Maiden here, but no dirt, nothing that might shed light into the band or inner workings.  Though, during the "Q&A" (which wasn't live; he came out with a stack of index cards like Ellen and answered what was on there), he did a killer impression of Steve running around pointing his bass like a rifle.  He also did a couple good impressions of Nicko as well.

I liked it, but my friend - whose favorite album of all time is Killers and still hasn't gotten over that Paul Di'Anno is no longer in the band - was less impressed.  He was right: you had to be a fan of Bruce and his schtick to like the show.   I am, so I did, but even I have one complaint:  I had hoped for something more... substantive.  The other Bruce, when the show was over, and I was heading back on the train, I realized there was insight there, there was a message there, there were even lessons there, if you wanted to go that far.  With "our" Bruce, there didn't seem to be a connection like that.  He had a thread of "mustaches" going through the talk, but it never tied off.  He had a bad mustache when he joined his first band, and he had a bad mustache when he beat cancer, and he pointed that out, but never gave it any import.  I suppose that might be for us to do, but it seemed a little... not pointless, but maybe weightless? 

I will say this, the dude has ENERGY.   Three hours bouncing around the stage talking constantly, and with enthusiasm.  On that level - hitting whatever you're doing as hard as you can - there was some inspiration there. 

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7822 on: February 09, 2022, 09:32:25 AM »
... it was similar in scope to his autobiography in that it was more about HIM than the people around him.  There were more mentions of Iron Maiden here, but no dirt, nothing that might shed light into the band or inner workings...

... but even I have one complaint:  I had hoped for something more... substantive.  The other Bruce, when the show was over, and I was heading back on the train, I realized there was insight there, there was a message there, there were even lessons there, if you wanted to go that far.  With "our" Bruce, there didn't seem to be a connection like that. 

Thanks for the writeup Bill, and the pic the other night.


These two passages are why I had ZERO interest in going. I'm not a Buce fan per se, though what you say about his energy is really incredible.


I would so much rather see Steve do a spoken word tour. That, I would pay to see.
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
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Offline cramx3

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7823 on: February 09, 2022, 10:12:46 AM »
Thanks for the review, but damn 3 hours? I really struggle with watching a long movie in one sitting, listening to someone speak for that long even someone like him would make me start to want the show to end about half way through.  Glad you enjoyed it though.

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7824 on: February 09, 2022, 12:25:51 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7825 on: February 09, 2022, 12:28:06 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Just imagine if Stadler could talk back...they'd still be there. ;D
would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7826 on: February 09, 2022, 12:28:49 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Just imagine if Stadler could talk back...they'd still be there. ;D

 :lol :lol :lol
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7827 on: February 09, 2022, 12:29:41 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Just imagine if Stadler could talk back...they'd still be there. ;D

 :lol
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Offline goo-goo

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7828 on: February 09, 2022, 12:30:23 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Just imagine if Stadler could talk back...they'd still be there. ;D

 :lol

 :lol :lol

I'll be seeing this show on the 24th in Austin. Pretty stoked about it.

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7829 on: February 09, 2022, 01:11:04 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Just imagine if Stadler could talk back...they'd still be there. ;D

 :lol

 :lol :lol

I'll be seeing this show on the 24th in Austin. Pretty stoked about it.
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Offline cramx3

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7830 on: February 09, 2022, 01:49:37 PM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Just imagine if Stadler could talk back...they'd still be there. ;D

 :lol

 :lol :lol

I'll be seeing this show on the 24th in Austin. Pretty stoked about it.
Yeah, catching it up here. Intelligent people with a knack for telling stories are always worth seeing.

TBH, my friend and I are big IM fans and were very much on the edge about going. I read his book so I know his stories and my friend kept thinking it would be boring.  We both mostly wanted to go for the Q&A.  It ended up just pouring so badly that day and I had other plans in the city for the following day that we both opted to not go.  Knowing it would have been 3 hours, I think I would have started getting bored and antsy to get up and do something else so I think it was the right call, but I do wonder if there was some good Q&A that we missed. 

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7831 on: February 10, 2022, 02:12:00 AM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Actually it's 2 hour of the "real" show, talking about the book, then a break, and then 1 hour of answering questions. Which of course adds up to three hours, but it's split that way, 2 hours about the book, and 1 hour of Q&A.

I got mine answered at my show, btw  :D I asked him about his stream of consciousness on stage, what he was thinking during a gig, and to put it very short, he told that he's basically concentrated on everything he has to do and everything that will come up next, to the point, he told it as a joke, that he barely notices he's playing in front of 40K people, too much concentrated to notice that.
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Offline DoctorAction

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7832 on: February 10, 2022, 05:34:48 AM »
Cool.

Would be great if they were to write a book about the inner workings of the band. Bruce's book didn't do much for me.
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7833 on: February 10, 2022, 08:29:20 AM »
He must really love himself to be able to talk for 3 hours.

Actually it's 2 hour of the "real" show, talking about the book, then a break, and then 1 hour of answering questions. Which of course adds up to three hours, but it's split that way, 2 hours about the book, and 1 hour of Q&A.

I got mine answered at my show, btw  :D I asked him about his stream of consciousness on stage, what he was thinking during a gig, and to put it very short, he told that he's basically concentrated on everything he has to do and everything that will come up next, to the point, he told it as a joke, that he barely notices he's playing in front of 40K people, too much concentrated to notice that.

How did the questions come about? Did you fill out a card at the start of the show?  Why didn't I have the chance to submit a question?!?!  :) :) :) :)

Look, it was three hours, it was not much new (for me), but I also said it was entertaining.  The guy is CLEARLY comfortable and at home on a stage, and seeing a man in his element is always a treat. 

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7834 on: February 10, 2022, 09:26:03 AM »
Don't know why they didn't give the chance to you, but that's exactly how it went down at my show, there were cards at the start of the show to write, and someone came to collect them.

Funny thing is that I'm not the best writer in the hall to put it mildly, so when Bruce was reading my question he stumbled a bit trying to decipher my handwriting, and so in the silence of the hall you could hear my small and shy voice tring to suggest him the word when he was stumbling on "stream of consciousness"  :lol
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Offline cramx3

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7835 on: February 10, 2022, 09:29:31 AM »
My friend and I were brainstorming interesting/odd questions we would have submitted if we went.  Things like, how did Steve Harris react to your solo song Zulu Lulu?  Of course we figured our oddball questions wouldn't get selected, but that was the part of the show I was most interested in seeing. 

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7836 on: February 10, 2022, 10:55:14 AM »
Some of the questions were good - how did you feel replacing Paul Di'Anno - since they triggered good stories (that was when he did the Harry impression) and some were softballs - what is your favorite American brewed beer - since he just answered HIS latest beer which is brewed in America. 

« Last Edit: February 10, 2022, 01:17:09 PM by Stadler »

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7837 on: February 10, 2022, 01:22:24 PM »
My question was not asked in 2019 when I saw the same "spoken word tour" of his. Feel free to ask if you think it's an interesting one: "What would have made you stay in Maiden in 1994?"

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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7838 on: February 10, 2022, 02:16:55 PM »
Interesting shoe colour selection.  :lol
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Re: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls
« Reply #7839 on: February 10, 2022, 03:29:58 PM »
My question was not asked in 2019 when I saw the same "spoken word tour" of his. Feel free to ask if you think it's an interesting one: "What would have made you stay in Maiden in 1994?"

That's a very interesting one!

But I assume that the "real" question should be "what wouldn't have made you want to leave", since I believe that nothing could have made him change his mind once he decided to go.
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