Iron Maiden Song Ranking Thread (Currently Ranking: Mister Gold)

[425]

As I mentioned in the main Iron Maiden thread, I thought it would be interesting to make a thread where users can share countdowns of their top 50 (or top 30, or top 70, or top however many) favorite Iron Maiden songs. Like other threads like this, I think it’s best to run this thread by taking turns doing countdowns. I’m going to go ahead and go first, and hopefully by the time I’m done with my list there will be other people ready to share theirs.

As bosk pointed out, there was another thread doing this about 7 years ago, but since the original poster isn’t on the forum much anymore, I decided to create a new one so that I can update the thread title and OP as new lists are added. Here is a link to the previous ranking thread.

In this post, I’ll keep the waiting list and links to the beginning of each user’s list. I also have a waiting list with the names of people who already said they’d be interested in going (sorry if I missed anyone). Just let me know if you want to be added to the list or moved down if you’re already on it.

Please feel free to structure your list pretty much however you want to. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter whether you do a few songs and feature them pretty heavily, or do a longer list and spend less time on each song. The only thing is that I think each list should be completed within about four weeks so that people aren't waiting too terribly long.

Completed Lists (* = posted in the 2013 thread):
Scorpion*
Dream Team*
wolfking*
Mister Gold*
jingle.boy*
bosk1*
TAC*
425

Current List:
wolfking v2

Waiting List:
Mister Gold v2
DTA
cramx3
Stadler



My list will begin in the next post.

[425]

When I was putting together my list for this thread, I went back and forth a while on how many songs to include. 50 is a pretty standard number, but for a band with as big a discography as Iron Maiden, it’s pretty selective. Depending on what you count, Maiden has somewhere in the ballpark of 160 original songs, so a top 50 includes less than a third of them. Personally, I think the Maiden discography is so strong top to bottom that I think it’s warranted to do a slightly longer list, which is how I settled on a top 60, which is about the top 37% of their songs. Seems to me to fit the balance between too selective and too inclusive, though mileage may vary.

I’m going to try to complete this list in 20-25 days by doing 4 songs per day for 60-21 (10 days), 2 songs per day for 20-11 (5 days) and either 2 per day or 1 per day for the top 10, depending on how the pacing feels. I’ll also probably count down my ranking of the albums when I reach an appropriate time to do so.

My list, I think, will be rather… unconventional. Iron Maiden is a very important band to me, as they were the first band I listened to seriously. They were also my gateway into progressive rock, and as someone who was drawn to a more progressive style from very early into my experience with rock music, I’ve always gravitated toward the latter half of the Maiden discography more than most. I certainly enjoy most of their classic 80s output, but on the whole this is going to be a reunion-friendly list, to say the least. That said, 15 out of their 16 studio albums have at least one song featured.

Here are the first four songs:




60. The Number of the Beast
from The Number of the Beast

This is one of a number of live staples that almost all serious fans of the band have heard a disproportionate number of times as a result of their prevalence on live albums (I count 10 official live releases of this song). I found it particularly hard to judge these live staples that I’ve heard over and over again against the rest of the band’s discography, especially songs that have received little or no live attention. I think I ended up placing most of these songs below where a lot of people would put them (outside of an unspecified number of favorites). I’ll also probably end up saying less about them than some of the others, because I feel like they’re so well-known and mostly speak for themselves.

The Number of the Beast is a well-constructed song with an excellent mounting intro, one of the most memorable screams in rock music, and a solo section that I like a whole lot (and that is written on the inside of my brain, by now). I always enjoy it live because of how big a moment it tends to be the stage show and how fast yet tight they play it. They have plenty of better songs in my opinion, but I can’t really argue against the decision to keep playing this one, because it’s just made for the stage.


59. The Prisoner
from The Number of the Beast

Like a number of fans, I think this is one of the more overlooked songs among the 80s classics, and I’d call it one of the stronger offerings on a pretty consistent album. The Prisoner is just strong all around, with a great anthemic chorus and excellent solo section. Every time I return to it, I like it more than I remembered. I’m happy to have a live version on Maiden England, and I’m glad they pulled it out at the one Maiden show I attended in 2012.


58. The Unbeliever
from The X Factor

The first of many, many (many, many, many) controversial selections on this list. I’ve always been a big fan of both Blaze and The X Factor, and I find this to be one of the strongest cuts from that album, though it was one of the last ones to really click for me. The song is tailor-made for Blaze’s voice, especially the slow choruses, and I like the instrumental section quite a bit. The Unbeliever doesn’t rise to the level of some of the later epics, but I think it stands as a successful attempt at the longer format and a cathartic closer perfectly suited to a weighty, emotional album.


57. Phantom of the Opera
from Iron Maiden

It will soon become very obvious that I generally enjoy Maiden’s long-form songs more than their short rockers. The first song of this type isn’t the best, but it’s remarkably well-developed for a track on a debut album where the songwriting is still rough in places. Of the two singers who’ve performed this one, I think I slightly prefer Bruce, but Phantom of the Opera is not a song where the vocals are front and center. The instrumental section is what I love most here, especially the melodic guitar lead shortly before the 5 minute mark going into the solo section. Harris’s bass part under that section is wonderful!

[Mister Gold]

Awesome to see this thread get started!

Your list is off to a great start so far, 425! The only thing that I find particularly surprising so far is Phantom coming in this early, but hey, it's your list, not mine! I definitely agree that Bruce sings the song better than Paul though.

[Zantera]

Phantom of the Opera would be in my top10 for sure! Otherwise I kinda agree with placing Number of the Beast fairly low. It's a great track and a good hit song, but having been overplayed I just think many of their other tracks offer more. Prisoner is great too!

[wolfking]

Looks like I better get cracking then.

Unbeliever.    love The Prisoner pick too.

I don't know if I should look back at my list from last time.  I'm thinking not as it may influence my picks now.

60 songs is a big task too.

[Dream Team]

Prisoner has a killer intro too. And  at Phantom’s ranking. Agreed on Unbeliever.

[DTA]

All great songs - though I think Phantom would be the only one that makes my top 50. The Unbeliever is a pretty underrated song, and even though I really dislike Blaze's voice, the musical portion is high-quality stuff.

[TAC]

Wow, Phantom is about 57 spots too low.


Having the Unbeliever in a Top 60 isn't controversial. It's a great tune, with many excellent parts.

But it's a clear example of my overall problem with TXF. The verses are awful, and the transitions are so jarring. Really a missed opportunity.

[Mladen]

All great choices from the get-go. Kudos on including The Prisoner and The Unbeliever, especially the latter.

[425]

Wow, great to see such a strong reception! I definitely understand why someone would put Phantom of the Opera higher. I think I would be more interested in it if it had somewhat more robust vocal parts. Not that there's anything wrong with it as is, but that would be the difference-maker between it and the higher songs on the list.

I'm glad that The Unbeliever is held in higher regard here than I thought. TAC, I'd agree with you that some of the transitions are somewhat rough, but I like the verses pretty well.

[wolfking]

When the band re-recorded Prowler and Charlotte, I wish they did Phantom too.

[Stadler]

I'm really excited about this list.  I'll do one at some point too, if there's a spot. 

[425]

When the band re-recorded Prowler and Charlotte, I wish they did Phantom too.

That would have been cool to hear. But at least we have Phantom on Live After Death, while the other two are rarely played live.

I'm really excited about this list.  I'll do one at some point too, if there's a spot. 

Absolutely, would love to see yours! Glad you're following!



Here are the next four:

56. Fortunes of War
from The X Factor

Another selection from The X Factor. I think that album does a really good job of handling space and build-up, and no song is a better example of that than this one. This is the slow intro done completely right; I really like the step-by-step build from the morose opener to the heavier verses, and then eventually into the faster galloping solo section. Once again, I think Blaze is a perfect fit for this track. It’s one of a few on this album that I can’t really imagine anyone else singing. As a bonus, this is probably the song most compatible with the album’s admittedly poor production.


55. Run Silent Run Deep
from No Prayer for the Dying

The early 90s are generally my least favorite era of Iron Maiden. I feel like they took a step backwards on No Prayer and Fear while on all previous and subsequent albums they always felt like they were at least staying in the same musical place, or progressing in one way or another. However, I don’t hate No Prayer for the Dying, and this one in particular stands out as a real gem. The operatic chorus is up there with the best sing-along sections from their classic era, and Bruce’s raspy style actually works on the verses as a contrast. The main guitar melody is also one of many great ones that the band has written.


54. The Alchemist
from The Final Frontier

For me, short rockers from the reunion era have been very much hit-or-miss, but when they’re hits, they are quite good, and I think several really good songs in this style from this period haven’t gotten quite as much attention as they deserve. The Alchemist does not break any new ground, but I really like the way it tells a story. The music just flows so smoothly from one section to another, and Bruce really sells the emotions of this character. One of a great many little gems that Janick has brought to the table.


53. The Trooper
from Piece of Mind

Another one of these classics that has been played a thousand times. But one that is really deserving of having been played that much. The main riff is iconic for a reason, it’s one of Steve Harris’s most memorable bass performances, and it tells a pretty effective story in just a few minutes. I’m also pretty entertained by the reunion era live twist of Adrian and Janick playing the first solo in unison.

[TAC]

I love Run Silent Run Deep. Great chorus!

It also contains Maiden's only Mosh Part 2:20-2:35.


Love the dual solo at 2:52.

[425]

I love Run Silent Run Deep. Great chorus!

It also contains Maiden's only Mosh Part 2:20-2:35.

And of course it's a Janick solo

I like that dual solo part a lot, too!

[wolfking]

Fortunes of War, what a nice surprise.  Such a brooding song, and a thick, tense atmosphere.

Run Silent is one of Maidens most underrated

[Mladen]

I have to applaud you for including The Alchemist. It's one of their most underrated tunes of all time. In my opinion, it actually does break new ground in terms of verses, given that I've never heard a Maiden song with so many verses. It has four verses before it gets to what people consider to be the chorus, and within the verses, the key changes several times. It's pretty mindblowing in my opinion.

Also, Fortunes of war is amazing.

[DTA]

I love Run Silent Run Deep. Great chorus!

It also contains Maiden's only Mosh Part 2:20-2:35.


Love the dual solo at 2:52.

RSRD is such a great song...the dual solo is probably my favorite moment in all of Maiden's music. No Prayer is a lot better than its reputation would suggest

[425]

Sorry I missed yesterday's post. I don't anticipate it happening again. Really great to see all the love for Run Silent Run Deep and Fortunes of War!

We move into the top 50 tonight with a couple of old ones, and a couple of new ones.


52. The Great Unknown
from The Book of Souls

The first song from The Book of Souls to show up on my list. Even though this album is close to five years old now, it’s still a little harder for me to rank than the others. I listened to Iron Maiden a lot from around 2011 to 2013, and not as much after so the first 15 albums are all well-loved friends for me, while TBoS is still sort of the new kid on the block. Nevertheless, a number of songs from the album make my top 60.

The Great Unknown is just a really well-executed Iron Maiden song. I really like the intro and outro—I tend to like the soft Maiden intros, and this one is a pretty distinct one that sounds really nice with Bruce’s softer singing—as well as the driving march of the verses.


51. 2 Minutes to Midnight
from Powerslave

Another oft-played hit that I’m putting perhaps heretically low or perhaps in just the right place, depending on how worn out you might be on this one.

Again, I don’t really have a problem with this one being played as often as it is (there are hits I would consider a bit overplayed, such as a certain non-title-track from a certain Luciferian album). It’s got a bit more meat than the typical radio hit, with a middle instrumental section that for me is the highlight of the song. Hard to go wrong with fantastic solos from both Murray and Smith, plus a great lead part going back into the main riff (that I think Janick improves on in his rendition). A classic deserving of the title.


50. The Man of Sorrows
from The Book of Souls

While I enjoyed The Great Unknown a lot right from the start, this one was a bit of a sleeper hit from the new album. Maybe it suffered from being the penultimate song on a double album, and the last one before the big epic. Either way, this song is proof positive that 16 albums in, Iron Maiden could still write songs that are recognizably them, but not exactly like any previous track. The introduction is very, very strong, both in terms of Dave’s solo and Bruce’s emotional performance. Bruce really impresses me on this entire album. I tend to prefer his later sound even over the air-raid-siren style of the 80s, and he is astoundingly dominant on The Book of Souls, especially for a man singing with throat cancer.


49. Flight of Icarus
from Piece of Mind

One theme that has already come up and that I will continue to reiterate throughout this list is that I love it when a Maiden song does a good job of telling a story. I think they’re generally pretty good at doing it, even in songs with fairly standard structures. Here the story is a good adaptation of a classic bit of mythology, conveyed really well through both Bruce’s singing (I love the way the melody changes at the end of the second verse compared to the first—“Now his wings turn to ashes to ashes his grave”) and the guitar parts. Maybe it’s just an overactive imagination, but I think the guitar solos really convey the story—the first two by resembling flight, and the one at the end by conveying the desperate flailing of the falling Icarus.

[wolfking]

Sorry I missed yesterday's post. I don't anticipate it happening again.

Take your time, I haven't started getting a list together yet. 

Really interesting TBOS picks.  Man of Sorrows was a big grower but turned into a really nice song.  Great solo part.

2MTM is classic, and I really like your take on the solos of FOI, can totally see that.

[Mladen]

The Man of sorrows is one of their most touching songs. Bruce's performance gives me chills.

[Dream Team]

Love Man of Sorrows.

[MoraWintersoul]

I have to applaud you for including The Alchemist. It's one of their most underrated tunes of all time. In my opinion, it actually does break new ground in terms of verses, given that I've never heard a Maiden song with so many verses. It has four verses before it gets to what people consider to be the chorus, and within the verses, the key changes several times. It's pretty mindblowing in my opinion.

Exactly why I love it so much.

[DTA]

Not a fan of this group of songs besides 2 Minutes To Midnight - which I agree, the middle section is fantastic. I know Icarus is pretty beloved by the fanbase but it ranks at the bottom of PoM for me. Man Of Sorrows has a pretty decent chorus, but otherwise doesn't really stand out in any way. Doesn't Bruce have a solo song with this song name? And The Great Unknown does absolutely nothing for me, and Bruce's voice really shows wear-and-tear on it. Still, good to see some oddball choices on here!

[Mladen]

Man Of Sorrows has a pretty decent chorus, but otherwise doesn't really stand out in any way. Doesn't Bruce have a solo song with this song name?

I think you're confusing Man of sorrows with THE Man of sorrows. 

Also, I agree that Bruce sounds a bit strained on the pre-chorus in The Great unknown, but other than that section, it's a pretty killer tune. The guitar harmonies it the beginning of the instrumental are ten out of ten, reminiscent of Somewhere in time stuff.

[TAC]

The Great Unknown didn't really jump out at me when I got the album. But it was excellent live, and now I like it a lot.

[425]

Next four songs!


48. Fear of the Dark
from Fear of the Dark

Iron Maiden has always been a great live band. They produce excellent studio tracks, too, including some that have never left the studio, but almost every one of their songs is at least a little bit better live.

And some of them are a lot better live. This is the arch-example. It helps that Bruce has dropped most of the grit from his voice since the early 90s, but the main feature is the audience participation, which noticeably elevates not one but two sections of the song: the intro and the middle section.

As a song, Fear of the Dark is very good. It’s really nicely structured, with good riffs and melodies at every juncture. As a live experience, it’s even better. Sometimes I forget about it a little bit because they’ve come dangerously close to running it into the ground in recent years (not just by always playing it live, but by always playing it in the exact same position in the setlist), but this is an excellent song. It’s a mark of the strength of their catalogue that I’m dropping it this early.


47. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
from A Matter of Life and Death

I know that some people aren’t big fans of the quiet-intro pattern that Maiden has fallen into of late, and to them maybe this song is one of the worse offenders. I don’t mind the pattern very much, and for me the two parts of this song work really well together, even though they are mostly unrelated musically. For one thing, the sense of story helps me relate the two parts in my head. And musically, I find it awesome the way that big riff bursts out of the quiet section. This song has yet another great Maiden instrumental section, featuring one of my favorite reunion-era Davey solos.


46. Remember Tomorrow
from Iron Maiden

My favorite song from the Paul Di’Anno era sounds like nothing Maiden has done since. Like Phantom of the Opera, this song is structured with a couple of verses placed around a centerpiece instrumental section. The instrumental part here, while awesome, doesn’t quite match what we hear on Phantom. But what this song does have is a trio of great verses. The lyrics are touching, the melodies memorable, and the performance is easily my favorite from Di’Anno (who I prefer to Bruce on this song).


45. Satellite 15… The Final Frontier
from The Final Frontier

Yes, this is basically two pieces combined into one. But the two are conceptually linked, and the first goes into the second very well, in my opinion. The Final Frontier on its own probably wouldn’t make this list. I like it quite a bit, but there are songs I like quite a bit that are falling into the 60s, 70s, even 80s and thus missing the list.

But in combination with its other half, it belongs here. I like Satellite 15 a lot. It’s certainly weird. The weird, sort of lo-fi looping drums, the repetition, the spacey sound… but it works so well in my opinion. There’s a wonderful build-up to it, and it conveys the sense of desolation that an astronaut might feel lost out in space even before Bruce’s vocals come in. Really emotional, really evocative, and it makes the more traditional Final Frontier all the more meaningful and powerful. As for that section, I do want to mention that Adrian Smith, as usual, showed up to play on the last solo section.

[Mladen]

You're nailing it with the newer stuff, buddy. Benjamin is their best song in the last 20 years as far as I'm concerned. 

[Stadler]

I can't argue with any of that.    Nice job.

[DTA]

Man Of Sorrows has a pretty decent chorus, but otherwise doesn't really stand out in any way. Doesn't Bruce have a solo song with this song name?

I think you're confusing Man of sorrows with THE Man of sorrows. 

I think I am. I'm also confusing The Alchemist with The Alchemist.

Next four songs!

48. Fear of the Dark

47. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg

46. Remember Tomorrow

45. Satellite 15… The Final Frontier

All great songs, though I have a grudge against FotD simply because it occupies setlist space that I'd love to see utilized for something more unique. I think the Satellite 15 section of the song is one of the coolest things they've ever done.

[MoraWintersoul]

Benjamin was the first new Maiden single that came out after I became aware of them and at the time it was probably the gnarliest song I'd ever heard. Pure excellence.

[Stadler]

All great songs, though I have a grudge against FotD simply because it occupies setlist space that I'd love to see utilized for something more unique. I think the Satellite 15 section of the song is one of the coolest things they've ever done.

I get that this is only me, but for me I look at FotD on a setlist and I'm like "eh", but then when I'm there, in person, it's a different story.  Same with Blood Brothers, at least on the Book Of Souls tour, that song was a tour de force, and yet I look on a printed setlist, and I'm usually, "eh". 

Maybe it's just Maiden; maybe they could do a complete set of "Abba" and it would rock. 

[wolfking]

Ben Breeg is cool but never was one of my favourites.

[425]

Ben Breeg is certainly far from my favorite on its album...... 

I get that this is only me, but for me I look at FotD on a setlist and I'm like "eh", but then when I'm there, in person, it's a different story.

This was my experience. I've only seen them in person once (I know, I know, but they rarely come near my part of the US, and last year I had something unfortunate come up just weeks before the show), and while my reaction to hearing it come up on live albums/DVDs is "yeah, yeah, this part again," it was completely different being there in person.


Next four!


44. Sea of Madness
from Somewhere in Time

I like all three guitarists, but if I had to choose one of them, it would be Adrian Smith. And Somewhere in Time for Adrian, in my opinion, is the best single album for a single Maiden guitarist. Sea of Madness is one of only a few solo compositions by a Maiden guitarist, and while it’s not H’s very finest hour, it’s certainly quite a good one, and deserving of more attention from both the band and many of its fans. The riffs here do such a great job of conveying a sense of some confusion while still being pretty strong melodically. Bruce and Steve also show big on this one.


43. Montségur
from Dance of Death

Let’s talk lyrics for just a moment. I surmise that most Maiden lyrics are written by Steve or Bruce, with supplementary contributions from the guitarists. I like a lot of Steve’s lyrics, but when it comes to the storytelling quality that I’ve praised in a number of songs already, I think Bruce is more consistently excellent. And here’s a song that is undoubtedly one of his, and a great example. The best moment in this song, complemented by the constant forward drive of the music, is the variation on the prechorus that comes right after the solo section.  Bruce mercilessly delivers some truly chilling images:

As we kill them all so God will know His own [the expected repetition, but then unexpectedly we go to]
Laugh at the darkness and in God we trust
The eye of the triangle smiling with sin
No Passover feast for the cursed within
Facing the sun as they went to their graves
Burn like a dog or you’ll live like a slave

Musically, this song is also quite excellent. One of the most energetic reunion-era songs with some great lead guitar from Janick. Really a shame it will likely never see the stage, as it would probably do very well in a live setting.


42. Dream of Mirrors
from Brave New World

I love a good build-up, and Dream of Mirrors is one of the longest sustained build-ups in the Maiden discography. Over the course of almost the entire song, tension and intensity slowly increase until they finally explode toward the end of its runtime. There is a fair amount of repetition here, but on this song it is mostly used effectively in service of the increasing intensity. Worth mentioning the trivia fact that Blaze Bayley likely contributed to the writing of this one—which, indeed seems to have some of his fingerprints on it. To me, this song marks a clear transition from a lot of the kind of songwriting they were doing in the late 90s to the somewhat more refined variant of it on the later reunion albums.


41. The Nomad
from Brave New World

Another epic from Brave New World, narrowly ahead of the most famous one. It’s a less ostentatious piece than Dream of Mirrors, and it comes to mind for me less frequently outside of the context of the album, but I enjoy it a tiny bit more when I actually listen to the two of them. I really like the structure of this one, which always seems to be in motion, never standing still for too long, much like an actual nomad. The instrumental section is very good, only somewhat marred for me by the plagiarism issue. Is this Maiden’s most DT-esque song?

[Mladen]

Interestingly enough, this time an old song is my favorite of the bunch. Sea of madness is wonderful, Adrian truly delivers the goods on this one. Also, good call with Montsegur, it's very underrated.