The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[bobzor]

Saw them live here in Finland on Saturday. A few remarks:

- Senjutsu tracks work great live!
- Bruce was absolutely on fire, hitting those high notes without any problems. Tight performance by the whole band.
- In some tracks, it is somewhat noticeable that the tempo has dropped a bit, but in my opinion it just gives the songs a bit more groove and doesn't ruin them at all. Hats of to the 70-year old Nicko for doing a fucking world tour, playing 2-hour shows every other night at that age. We sang happy birthday to him, by the way. And he apparently got a nice snare drum cake made by some local bakery.
- The set list could have been a bit better with more changes, I think continuing with the Legacy brand was a mistake, as opposed to going full on Senjutsu tour. But perhaps they'll do that next year?

Up the irons!

[The Curious Orange]

I'm glad the never booted Janick. I think one the underrated things about Reunion Era Iron Maiden is the off stage chemistry, and I really think Janick is a glue guy for the band.

A lot of those sharp, monster riffs are actually Janick's, even in the songs he'd not getting a credit for. His soloing is incredible, perfectly off-setting Dave and H. He's never tried to copy them, he's always tried to bring his own thing. There's a lot of hate for Jan in the IM community, but people really don't see what he brings to this band.

[Stadler]

Empire of the Clouds Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is very good and there are truly fantastic moments in it, although I feel there was excessive hype around it, due to "OMG, it's the longest Maiden song evah!"

 

I was waiting for it 

I think TAC is sleep deprived.  Rime is as good as the hype.  Empire is interesting, and I'd love to hear more along those lines, but IMO not one of their more standout tracks.

[Stadler]

Went through Maiden England and No Prayer for the Dying the last two days.

What struck me this time is how much two of the better songs, the title track and Mother Russia, have in common with two of the best songs on Seventh Son, Infinite Dreams and the title track. Maiden, of course, are no strangers to repeating ideas, and it never really detracts from my enjoyment of a song as such, but compared to a lot of their repetitions, it doesn't feel like there's a lot that's new and interesting here. In fact, NPftD and MR sort of just feel like lesser versions of ID and SSoaSS. So there's a strange dynamic on this album where a lot of the songs feel very self-consciously stripped back and rougher, and then a couple of songs just feel like pale imitations of what they did on the previous album.

First off, I have criminally underlistened to Maiden England. That needs to change.


Regarding the two songs you mentioned, I have never made any connection to the previous songs you also mentioned. I thought the "Iron Maiden epic" jumped the shark when I heard Mother Russia. But listening to Mother Russia now, I can definitely see while you'd see that. I just never thought that song was up to snuff.

But I have considered Tailgunner to be a pale imitation of Aces High.

I love Tailgunner; I love how the guitars mimic diving planes.

I am frustrated with Mother Russia; it's got the place of album and the subject matter of an epic, but it's 5:30 long.  It's got great parts, but it never seems to go anywhere.  If there's any song in the Maiden catalogue where they didn't repeat things ENOUGH, it's that one.

I also really like Hooks In You; the lyrics are dumb and Bruce's raspy voice does it no favors, but that's a killer riff.

In listening to SSOASS and NPFTD, I'm amazed that I heard TWO things - one each album - that I totally did not remember:  the acoustic interlude at the end of The Prophecy, and the choral/chant part at the end of BYD...TTS.   And it's not like I haven't heard those songs a brazilian times before.

[Dream Team]

Another Tailgunner fan here. Can’t see a thing wrong with it except it’s not as good as Aces High. Also really like Mother Russia, great solo section and Bruce sings without the rasp. My 2 favorites of that album by a long shot. 

[425]

I think Tailgunner is fine musically, although not anything special in the context of Maiden's discography. I don't really like the lyrics. Compared to Aces High, which is heroic, Tailgunner feels at times like it's going out of its way to be crude: "Nail that Fokker, kill that son / Gonna blow your guts out with my gun."

[Stadler]

I think Tailgunner is fine musically, although not anything special in the context of Maiden's discography. I don't really like the lyrics. Compared to Aces High, which is heroic, Tailgunner feels at times like it's going out of its way to be crude: "Nail that Fokker, kill that son / Gonna blow your guts out with my gun."

That's a knock on the whole album.   "Holy Smoke" has a couple clever lyrics, but honestly I feel like rock stars taking shots at preachers is like shooting fish in a barrel. It's low-hanging fruit.  I think "Public Enema Number One" is silly, the "concrete" line in "Hooks In You" is, well, weird, and while it's tongue in cheek, BYD...TTS is also not typically Maiden.  Coupled with Bruce's singing style, it's got a whole different vibe.


 

[TAC]

Holy Smoke would've been a very fine B-side, which is what it feels like. But the only thing wrong with Public Enema Number One is the title. That's a cool song.

[wolfking]

Holy Smoke would've been a very fine B-side, which is what it feels like. But the only thing wrong with Public Enema Number One is the title. That's a cool song.

It's a brilliant song.

[TAC]

Holy Smoke would've been a very fine B-side, which is what it feels like. But the only thing wrong with Public Enema Number One is the title. That's a cool song.

It's a brilliant song.

It's the Sea Of Madness of the No Prayer album.

[wolfking]

Holy Smoke would've been a very fine B-side, which is what it feels like. But the only thing wrong with Public Enema Number One is the title. That's a cool song.

It's a brilliant song.

It's the Sea Of Madness of the No Prayer album.

I can get on board with that.

[TAC]

I love this picture. Has a real Lynyrd Skynyrd style to it.

[Cool Chris]

That's the pic on the Essentials CD set that was my first real serious introduction to the band's material.

[porcacultor]

I'm crazy about Tailgunner and slightly resent them for softly alluding to the track with the "Shoot that Fokker" t-shirt design in this tour's merch. Got my hopes up there for a bit.

==========

What do you guys think about the will-they-or-won't-they of them playing Alexander the Great before calling it quits? I'm of two minds about it:

1) Something tells me they'd leave the first lead guitar part in the intro (at the 1min6s mark) to Janick and it'd sound beautiful with him playing. It'd be amazing overall to hear them do it, absolutely. But...

2) I think Bruce is really not that crazy about the lyrics. I've seen people describe it as too... history book-y, and while that doesn't detract from the experience for me, I'd bet it's one of the reasons why he might not be that emotionally attached to it at this point.

Plus, if they were having a hard time with Paschendale on the first leg of the Final Frontier tour, I can imagine they could fumble the instrumental break at the 3min53s mark. Though the burden on that part lies mostly with Adrian and he seems to be well-rehearsed most of the time.

Still think it'd be a hoot if they decided to include it in the set JUST for Athens next month.

[jammindude]

I do not see them breaking the “if we didn’t play it on the original tour, it’s never being played” rule.

It’s a dumb rule, but Steve still runs the show and I don’t think he’ll ever break from that rule.

[The Realm]

Sorry, I don't see them ever playing Alexander The Great.

[wolfking]

There is zero chance ATG will ever be played live.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I seem to remember they did rehearse it but it didn't feel good so they cut it or maybe that was another song?

[Stadler]

I love this picture. Has a real Lynyrd Skynyrd style to it.

The Allman's at the Fillmore East in '69:

[Kwyjibo]

Yeah, I was thinking more Allman Brothers than Skynyrd 

[TAC]

Ok maybe that’s it then. Allman’s. You all know what I mean though. 

[Zydar]

[TAC]

I heard they were nuts.

[Glasser]

Been listening to B-sides a lot. There are some tunes that I'm surprised never made it to actual albums. King of Twilight is one of the better Maiden tunes and was released as the flip side for Aces High.

[Bentower]

King of Twilight is a Nektar cover though. The album that it was on (A Tab In the Ocean) is a prog rock gem.

[Stadler]

King of Twilight is a Nektar cover though. The album that it was on (A Tab In the Ocean) is a prog rock gem.

Most of the b-sides are covers, even if they are obscure.  I think Burning Ambition and Total Eclipse are the only (serious) b-side songs written by the band.

[425]

There are also the X Factor ones: Judgment Day, Justice of the Peace and I Live My Way. Also worth mentioning Virus, which was an A-side, but was not on an album.

[cramx3]

There are also the X Factor ones: Judgment Day, Justice of the Peace and I Live My Way. Also worth mentioning Virus, which was an A-side, but was not on an album.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Blaze b-sides are the best IM b-sides.  I actually don't think I like ANY of the cover song bsides that are included on the best of the bsides CDs from Eddies Archive.

[TAC]

Wow! I've Got The Fire? Rainbow's Gold?

[cramx3]

Wow! I've Got The Fire? Rainbow's Gold?

I forgot about I've Got The Fire.  I like that one alot but that was a Dianno one initially so I forgot about it (although the Bruce version is also really good).  Don't care for Rainbow's Gold.

[Glasser]

King of Twilight is a Nektar cover though. The album that it was on (A Tab In the Ocean) is a prog rock gem.

I meant their version, sorry. I also love cross eyed Mary. They make these songs their own to me. I like Invasion too! Dianno kicks ass on it!

[TAC]

I never cared for Cross Eyed Mary.

[Glasser]

I never cared for Cross Eyed Mary.

Bruce sounds excellent on it!

[wolfking]

Rainbow's Gold and King of Twilight are both 2 of their best, even though they are covers.

[DoctorAction]

Meta(l) observation:

I love that the are two threads about Maiden here and every day I can drop in and find a new post on both. Brilliant!