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

[wolfking]

I know Tattooed Millionaire is not a very serious album, compared to what Bruce would go on to do, but I think there's a number of really strong songs on it.

The first three is an amazing run.  There's not much else on there for me, but Gypsy Road is solid and No Lies is very good.

[TAC]

No Lies was awesome live.

[425]

30. The Aftermath

29. Montsegur

28. Moonchild

27. Judgement Day

The Aftermath is another really good X Factor choice. To me it's overshadowed a bit by Fortunes of War, which has a similar vibe and similar lyrical theme, but a bit more of a haunting sound, but it's still in the top half of a really strong album.

I never made the Montsegur-Fallen Angel connection until reading your writeup, but now I wonder how I missed it. Probably because I like Montsegur a whole lot better.

Moonchild is an excellent choice, and, as I've mentioned, I don't have enough familiarity with the b-sides to say much about Judgment Day.

[wolfking]

The riff is different in Montsegur to Fallen Angel, just the style of that heavy riff reminds me of it.

[Stadler]

I almost went to the Toad's show on that tour and I'm kicking myself to this day that I did not.  Bruce Dickinson in a 700 seat club. AND a fight broke out that stopped the show.   Legendary.

Hey, help a brother out; which parts of Born in '58 and Montegur are we talking about?  I THINK I know, but want to make sure.  Is it that harmony in Bi58 that sounds sort of out of place (in the latter half of the song) and the harmony in the midsection of Montsegur? Same with the Nicko fill; I THINK I know, but the "ending on the snare" is throwing me. 

By the way, I went to get a haircut and listened to Montsegur three time (alternating with Bi58) and WHAT A SONG. 

[wolfking]

Born in 58 - 2.26
Montsegur - 3.42

And you must have asked for a wicked haircut!! 

[TAC]

And you must have asked for a wicked haircut!! 

Same as always..



 

[wolfking]

 

[wolfking]

26. Alexander the Great

Here is the epic closer to SIT.  The great epic that has never been played live. Mainly being too tricky for the band to pull off and I believe a few members coming out with the excuse that they forget and couldn't relearn it or something.  I'd have to look that up. 

For the main bulk of the track, it's standard E minor, classic Maiden.  It's the instrumental part where things get interesting.  That 7/8 jazzy section at the start of the instrumental part is really nice.  Key changes From B major, A major, B major, C# major then Eb major.  It's interesting how the chord progression goes up in a whole tone formation.  I love the whole tone scale when improvising too if you can get it right.  Adrian is stricty major scale though for each of these transitions though I believe.  That evil sounding E riff shifts now to the B phrygian dominant scale.  The lead melody is in A, but the end of the riff seems to suggest it shifts to A phrygian with that B flat chord.  Adrians solo is in A.  Love the Gary Moore open pulls off too.  He plays with that B flat chord nicely too.  The strict A minor run on the last one works surprisingly well.  Dave plays in E minor and is pretty straight forward besides that one nice little E harmonic minor lick.

This is always been a favourite, and it's great to see Maiden branch out a little here with the instrumental section.  I never minded Bruce's weird phrasing in this one.  The lyrics just make it more silly and epic but the whole thing is a nicely rounded, wonderful Maiden song if you ask me.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Adrian
Solo 3 - Dave


25.  Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Let's back it up with the fall guy for Alexander.  Always found it weird they played this one on the SIT tour but anyway.  As a guitarist, I've always appreciated the rhythm guitar on this one.  It chugs nicely and one of the main reason I love it.  Portrays the atmosphere perfectly.  Not much going on musically this one.  All E minor with lovely harmonies as always.  I do love at 4:12 though the note selctions.  Goes form F#, to A, then E, F and G.  Cool shit.  The middle section is nice and eerie and the sound effects are cool too.  The Number of the Beast riff gets a reprise here and this section rocks.  It's in D, but I love how Steve plays through the scale but dave has a constant pedal point on D the whole time.  Very cool.  That scream from Bruce is beautiful. 

A minor for Adrian's solo and some nice cool blues shit going on here.  Love how he ends on the E note when it changes to E minor for Dave's solo.  Dave has some cool chromatic passing notes going on in this one and love his whammy bar work here too.  The harmonies are sweet and low how high Dave plays compared to how low Adrian plays.  Adrian playing like an octave lower.  A nice tough of E phyrgian dominant too in that riff before the main riff coming back in.  Excellent epic, love it.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Dave


24. Stranger in A Strange Land

Back to SIT and Maiden getting in touch with their melodic rock side.  E minor here and I love the simple 80's atmosphere of this one.  A bit of an awkward riff here.  Adrian comes up with a lot of these cool different sounding riffs.  The Some cool intervals in there.  Wonderful verse great chorus and the whole thing just breathes and moves nicely.  The solo though is where Adrian shows he's a cut above the rest.  Absolutely magic here.  The buildup, the phrasing, the note selection but just the simplicity of it.  What gets me everytime, is that break at 3:52 after that bend when it kicks in.  You tasteful motherfucker.  All E minor here and lots of simple pentatonic.  That run at 4:00 also and that pinch harmonic at 4:04, good lord.  That final phrase though is the money shot.  What a song, what a performance.

Solo - Adrian


23. Childhoods End

Yes, laugh away, I love this track!  An underratem gem from the FOTD album and this one always struck a chord with me.  I never understood the hate for the whole album, but that's another story.  I love the lyrics here, it's real, it's good shit.  Love Nicko's tom work and the simple melodies really let's that chorus breathe.  F# this one.  It's pretty simple but the verses are pulsing and urgent.  This song reminds me a lot of the X Factor.  It could have fit perfectly on that album.  That middle section is awesome.  I love how the guitars are in unison and no harmonies.  Janick is first up and the solo is in F# but the chord progression gives it an interesting feeling.  I love his rolling harmonics at 2:51.  Funny there's that one lick at 3:00 with the G note that isn't in the scale.  Classy solo this.  The most amazing thing about this solo is where Janick and Dave swap.  That lick at 3:01 is Janickbut then the chord progression changes and Dave enters at 3:04, but Dave is such a class player he echoes with that same bent D note and shreds on like it's the same player.  Fucking all class and seamless.  When the guitar harmonies finally come in, that's nice, real nice.  Tear away, but this song is beautiful.

Solo 1 - Janick
Solo 2 - Dave

[TAC]

23. Childhoods End

Yes, laugh away, I love this track!  An underratem gem from the FOTD album and this one always struck a chord with me.  I never understood the hate for the whole album, but that's another story.  I love the lyrics here, it's real, it's good shit.  Love Nicko's tom work and the simple melodies really let's that chorus breathe.  F# this one.  It's pretty simple but the verses are pulsing and urgent.  This song reminds me a lot of the X Factor.  It could have fit perfectly on that album.  That middle section is awesome.  I love how the guitars are in unison and no harmonies.  Janick is first up and the solo is in F# but the chord progression gives it an interesting feeling.  I love his rolling harmonics at 2:51.  Funny there's that one lick at 3:00 with the G note that isn't in the scale.  Classy solo this.  The most amazing thing about this solo is where Janick and Dave swap.  That lick at 3:01 is Janickbut then the chord progression changes and Dave enters at 3:04, but Dave is such a class player he echoes with that same bent D note and shreds on like it's the same player.  Fucking all class and seamless.  When the guitar harmonies finally come in, that's nice, real nice.  Tear away, but this song is beautiful.

Solo 1 - Janick
Solo 2 - Dave

No laughing here. I love Childhood's End. You rank it higher than me, but that's no matter. I'm a fan and will defend this song at all turns.

This is a great writeup here, Kade. I appreciate it. First, you mention Nicko's toms. Yes, they stand out, and while simple, you rarely heard tom work like that. The most underrated aspect about Nicko is how musical he is in his playing.

Your breakdown on the solo was terrific. I would've never guessed there was a swap at that point. That is some brilliant writing and producing. A last master stroke by Martin Birch?

[The Realm]

Also no laughing from me on Childhood's End. I get it. In following this thread I have revisited both No Prayer and FOTD albums quite a bit and I am appreciating them much more than I did on initial release.

The other 3 songs in the latest batch are 3 of my all time favourites for sure. Adrian is just epic on the whole SiT album, and the Stranger solo is magic.

Great write ups for these songs.

[TAC]

In following this thread I have revisited both No Prayer and FOTD albums quite a bit and I am appreciating them much more than I did on initial release.

Generally, speaking, these albums are usually properly ranked, but that doesn't mean they suck.

I have always loved Fear Of The Dark, and it I consider it 8 songs deep. Some filler to be sure, but deep tracks like Childhood's End and Fear Is The Key (a vocal tribute to Ian Gillan for sure).


No Prayer has some really nice songs on it, I and would never totally dismiss it.

[wolfking]

23. Childhoods End

Yes, laugh away, I love this track!  An underratem gem from the FOTD album and this one always struck a chord with me.  I never understood the hate for the whole album, but that's another story.  I love the lyrics here, it's real, it's good shit.  Love Nicko's tom work and the simple melodies really let's that chorus breathe.  F# this one.  It's pretty simple but the verses are pulsing and urgent.  This song reminds me a lot of the X Factor.  It could have fit perfectly on that album.  That middle section is awesome.  I love how the guitars are in unison and no harmonies.  Janick is first up and the solo is in F# but the chord progression gives it an interesting feeling.  I love his rolling harmonics at 2:51.  Funny there's that one lick at 3:00 with the G note that isn't in the scale.  Classy solo this.  The most amazing thing about this solo is where Janick and Dave swap.  That lick at 3:01 is Janickbut then the chord progression changes and Dave enters at 3:04, but Dave is such a class player he echoes with that same bent D note and shreds on like it's the same player.  Fucking all class and seamless.  When the guitar harmonies finally come in, that's nice, real nice.  Tear away, but this song is beautiful.

Solo 1 - Janick
Solo 2 - Dave

No laughing here. I love Childhood's End. You rank it higher than me, but that's no matter. I'm a fan and will defend this song at all turns.

This is a great writeup here, Kade. I appreciate it. First, you mention Nicko's toms. Yes, they stand out, and while simple, you rarely heard tom work like that. The most underrated aspect about Nicko is how musical he is in his playing.

Your breakdown on the solo was terrific. I would've never guessed there was a swap at that point. That is some brilliant writing and producing. A last master stroke by Martin Birch?

I didn't notice the swap either for a long while myself.  It's subtle but simply incredible.  One of my fav solo mo nbents from Maiden in general.  I appreciate you like the Solo writeups Tim considering you have no idea what you are reading. 

If no one else does a top 50 list, I may even do a top list of Maiden solos.

[wolfking]

Also no laughing from me on Childhood's End. I get it. In following this thread I have revisited both No Prayer and FOTD albums quite a bit and I am appreciating them much more than I did on initial release.

The other 3 songs in the latest batch are 3 of my all time favourites for sure. Adrian is just epic on the whole SiT album, and the Stranger solo is magic.

Great write ups for these songs.

Awesome mate.  That's what these types of threads are perfect for, revisiting old stuff you normally wouldn't.

Yeah, Adrian owns that whole album.  It's his album for sure.

[wolfking]

In following this thread I have revisited both No Prayer and FOTD albums quite a bit and I am appreciating them much more than I did on initial release.

Generally, speaking, these albums are usually properly ranked, but that doesn't mean they suck.

I have always loved Fear Of The Dark, and it I consider it 8 songs deep. Some filler to be sure, but deep tracks like Childhood's End and Fear Is The Key (a vocal tribute to Ian Gillan for sure).


No Prayer has some really nice songs on it, I and would never totally dismiss it.

You could make an 8 song album of FOTD and it would be an absolute classic.

[TAC]

I appreciate you like the Solo writeups Tim considering you have no idea what you are reading. 

 

Yeah, not a clue.

[TAC]

You could make an 8 song album of FOTD and it would be an absolute classic.

Side 1
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key
Wasting Love

Side 2
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

 

[wolfking]

You could make an 8 song album of FOTD and it would be an absolute classic.

Side 1
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key
Wasting Love

Side 2
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

 

Nailed it.  I would have Chains of Misery as the bonus track.

[425]

26. Alexander the Great

25.  Rime of the Ancient Mariner

24. Stranger in A Strange Land

23. Childhoods End

These two epics are very good choices. And I love to see appreciation for Stranger in a Strange Land, especially tons of praise for the best Maiden guitar solo.

And then you had to go and put Childhood's End ahead of all three of them.

Sorry, I'm going to tear away on this one a little bit. I'd rank it fourth-lowest on the album, and fourth-lowest of all the studio album tracks. I agree that you can make a solid eight-song version of Fear of the Dark. But, just... you... you just leave this one out. On TAC's version, I'd just swap it out for From Here to Eternity and be golden.

[wolfking]

Well, I asked for it.

[Stadler]

You could make an 8 song album of FOTD and it would be an absolute classic.

Side 1
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key
Wasting Love

Side 2
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

 

I don't disagree with your premise, but for me, "From Here To Eternity" needs to be on there.    I too like Childhood's End; I like Bruce's vocal on the staccato "No hope.... no life... just pain.... and fear..." part.   Love that. 

I've actually listened a couple times now and that swap... I mean, I believe you but I don't, if that makes sense.  I PLAY, I love Murray, and yet I never would have suspected that.

[TAC]

You could make an 8 song album of FOTD and it would be an absolute classic.

Side 1
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key
Wasting Love

Side 2
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

 

Nailed it.  I would have Chains of Misery as the bonus track.

As would I.

[wolfking]

You could make an 8 song album of FOTD and it would be an absolute classic.

Side 1
Be Quick Or Be Dead
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
Fear Is The Key
Wasting Love

Side 2
The Fugitive
Childhood's End
Judas My Guide
Fear Of The Dark

 

Nailed it.  I would have Chains of Misery as the bonus track.

As would I.

Dave rips on this one. Love the blues feel of it too.

[wolfking]

I'm really tempted to start collecting the 2015 remasters and even the 4 albums with the figureines.  Just because I can and am bored and want to spend some money since holiday plans have been cancelled.  This Maiden hit has me in a Maiden mood too to start really listening to all their stuff again.

[TAC]

26. Alexander the Great

Here is the epic closer to SIT.  The great epic that has never been played live. Mainly being too tricky for the band to pull off and I believe a few members coming out with the excuse that they forget and couldn't relearn it or something.  I'd have to look that up. 

For the main bulk of the track, it's standard E minor, classic Maiden.  It's the instrumental part where things get interesting.  That 7/8 jazzy section at the start of the instrumental part is really nice.  Key changes From B major, A major, B major, C# major then Eb major.  It's interesting how the chord progression goes up in a whole tone formation.  I love the whole tone scale when improvising too if you can get it right.  Adrian is stricty major scale though for each of these transitions though I believe.  That evil sounding E riff shifts now to the B phrygian dominant scale.  The lead melody is in A, but the end of the riff seems to suggest it shifts to A phrygian with that B flat chord.  Adrians solo is in A.  Love the Gary Moore open pulls off too.  He plays with that B flat chord nicely too.  The strict A minor run on the last one works surprisingly well.  Dave plays in E minor and is pretty straight forward besides that one nice little E harmonic minor lick.

This is always been a favourite, and it's great to see Maiden branch out a little here with the instrumental section.  I never minded Bruce's weird phrasing in this one.  The lyrics just make it more silly and epic but the whole thing is a nicely rounded, wonderful Maiden song if you ask me.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Adrian
Solo 3 - Dave


25.  Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Let's back it up with the fall guy for Alexander.  Always found it weird they played this one on the SIT tour but anyway.  As a guitarist, I've always appreciated the rhythm guitar on this one.  It chugs nicely and one of the main reason I love it.  Portrays the atmosphere perfectly.  Not much going on musically this one.  All E minor with lovely harmonies as always.  I do love at 4:12 though the note selctions.  Goes form F#, to A, then E, F and G.  Cool shit.  The middle section is nice and eerie and the sound effects are cool too.  The Number of the Beast riff gets a reprise here and this section rocks.  It's in D, but I love how Steve plays through the scale but dave has a constant pedal point on D the whole time.  Very cool.  That scream from Bruce is beautiful. 

A minor for Adrian's solo and some nice cool blues shit going on here.  Love how he ends on the E note when it changes to E minor for Dave's solo.  Dave has some cool chromatic passing notes going on in this one and love his whammy bar work here too.  The harmonies are sweet and low how high Dave plays compared to how low Adrian plays.  Adrian playing like an octave lower.  A nice tough of E phyrgian dominant too in that riff before the main riff coming back in.  Excellent epic, love it.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Dave

So, it's interesting that these songs are back to back.

First..Rime...I like it a lot. I love the driving feel of it. It has a great pace, and I like every section. This song has really aged well for me. Sure it was definitely curious to bring it out for the SiT tour, but Maiden was obviously quite high on this song. That slot should've been reserved for AtG.

As far as AtG...I have never loved this song. It's missing something to me. I listened to it on my way to work today. That whole album has really not aged well for me.
It's as if there's a tension missing from AtG. The instrumental part is way too slow and controlled. It's almost mechanical. Totally missing the feels of the instrumental sections in The Duellists, or The Red And The Black. And Maiden, for all of their great writing and arrangements, have never figured out how to rejoin a song after a long instrumental section. AtG is no different. The final chorus is strong, but that whole last part is really anticlimactic.

[wolfking]

26. Alexander the Great

Here is the epic closer to SIT.  The great epic that has never been played live. Mainly being too tricky for the band to pull off and I believe a few members coming out with the excuse that they forget and couldn't relearn it or something.  I'd have to look that up. 

For the main bulk of the track, it's standard E minor, classic Maiden.  It's the instrumental part where things get interesting.  That 7/8 jazzy section at the start of the instrumental part is really nice.  Key changes From B major, A major, B major, C# major then Eb major.  It's interesting how the chord progression goes up in a whole tone formation.  I love the whole tone scale when improvising too if you can get it right.  Adrian is stricty major scale though for each of these transitions though I believe.  That evil sounding E riff shifts now to the B phrygian dominant scale.  The lead melody is in A, but the end of the riff seems to suggest it shifts to A phrygian with that B flat chord.  Adrians solo is in A.  Love the Gary Moore open pulls off too.  He plays with that B flat chord nicely too.  The strict A minor run on the last one works surprisingly well.  Dave plays in E minor and is pretty straight forward besides that one nice little E harmonic minor lick.

This is always been a favourite, and it's great to see Maiden branch out a little here with the instrumental section.  I never minded Bruce's weird phrasing in this one.  The lyrics just make it more silly and epic but the whole thing is a nicely rounded, wonderful Maiden song if you ask me.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Adrian
Solo 3 - Dave


25.  Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Let's back it up with the fall guy for Alexander.  Always found it weird they played this one on the SIT tour but anyway.  As a guitarist, I've always appreciated the rhythm guitar on this one.  It chugs nicely and one of the main reason I love it.  Portrays the atmosphere perfectly.  Not much going on musically this one.  All E minor with lovely harmonies as always.  I do love at 4:12 though the note selctions.  Goes form F#, to A, then E, F and G.  Cool shit.  The middle section is nice and eerie and the sound effects are cool too.  The Number of the Beast riff gets a reprise here and this section rocks.  It's in D, but I love how Steve plays through the scale but dave has a constant pedal point on D the whole time.  Very cool.  That scream from Bruce is beautiful. 

A minor for Adrian's solo and some nice cool blues shit going on here.  Love how he ends on the E note when it changes to E minor for Dave's solo.  Dave has some cool chromatic passing notes going on in this one and love his whammy bar work here too.  The harmonies are sweet and low how high Dave plays compared to how low Adrian plays.  Adrian playing like an octave lower.  A nice tough of E phyrgian dominant too in that riff before the main riff coming back in.  Excellent epic, love it.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Dave

So, it's interesting that these songs are back to back.

First..Rime...I like it a lot. I love the driving feel of it. It has a great pace, and I like every section. This song has really aged well for me. Sure it was definitely curious to bring it out for the SiT tour, but Maiden was obviously quite high on this song. That slot should've been reserved for AtG.

As far as AtG...I have never loved this song. It's missing something to me. I listened to it on my way to work today. That whole album has really not aged well for me.
It's as if there's a tension missing from AtG. The instrumental part is way too slow and controlled. It's almost mechanical. Totally missing the feels of the instrumental sections in The Duellists, or The Red And The Black. And Maiden, for all of their great writing and arrangements, have never figured out how to rejoin a song after a long instrumental section. AtG is no different. The final chorus is strong, but that whole last part is really anticlimactic.

This is a fair and interesting observation.  I think the band spent so much focus on the technicality of the piece that perhaps the natural drive suffered?  They obviously were going for the epic feel hence the plodiness of it maybe, but I do feel while they did a good job in expanding their musical and technical horizons, I can see how the whole thing would seem so calculated in being technical for the sake of it, therefore losing as I said that natural drive and groove.

[TAC]

This is a fair and interesting observation.  I think the band spent so much focus on the technicality of the piece that perhaps the natural drive suffered?  They obviously were going for the epic feel hence the plodiness of it maybe, but I do feel while they did a good job in expanding their musical and technical horizons, I can see how the whole thing would seem so calculated in being technical for the sake of it, therefore losing as I said that natural drive and groove.

When Somewhere In Time came out, I LOVED it! Remember, I wasn't crazy about Powerslave. I thought SiT was so fresh, and songs like Caught Somewhere In Time and Stranger In A Strange Land were so interesting compared to what was on Powerslave, which felt like they were on autopilot.

While Maiden has a distinct style filled with Maiden-isms, they have never stood still in their writing or their performance. So while I totally appreciate their effort with AtG, as a listener, I'm not really moved by it.

[wolfking]

This is a fair and interesting observation.  I think the band spent so much focus on the technicality of the piece that perhaps the natural drive suffered?  They obviously were going for the epic feel hence the plodiness of it maybe, but I do feel while they did a good job in expanding their musical and technical horizons, I can see how the whole thing would seem so calculated in being technical for the sake of it, therefore losing as I said that natural drive and groove.

When Somewhere In Time came out, I LOVED it! Remember, I wasn't crazy about Powerslave. I thought SiT was so fresh, and songs like Caught Somewhere In Time and Stranger In A Strange Land were so interesting compared to what was on Powerslave, which felt like they were on autopilot.

While Maiden has a distinct style filled with Maiden-isms, they have never stood still in their writing or their performance. So while I totally appreciate their effort with AtG, as a listener, I'm not really moved by it.

I always dug it obviously, but I can totally understand that.

[TAC]

24. Stranger in A Strange Land

Back to SIT and Maiden getting in touch with their melodic rock side.  E minor here and I love the simple 80's atmosphere of this one.  A bit of an awkward riff here.  Adrian comes up with a lot of these cool different sounding riffs.  The Some cool intervals in there.  Wonderful verse great chorus and the whole thing just breathes and moves nicely.  The solo though is where Adrian shows he's a cut above the rest.  Absolutely magic here.  The buildup, the phrasing, the note selection but just the simplicity of it.  What gets me everytime, is that break at 3:52 after that bend when it kicks in.  You tasteful motherfucker.  All E minor here and lots of simple pentatonic.  That run at 4:00 also and that pinch harmonic at 4:04, good lord.  That final phrase though is the money shot.  What a song, what a performance.

Solo - Adrian

That, my friend, is Schenkerific. Especially at 4:07 

[wolfking]

24. Stranger in A Strange Land

Back to SIT and Maiden getting in touch with their melodic rock side.  E minor here and I love the simple 80's atmosphere of this one.  A bit of an awkward riff here.  Adrian comes up with a lot of these cool different sounding riffs.  The Some cool intervals in there.  Wonderful verse great chorus and the whole thing just breathes and moves nicely.  The solo though is where Adrian shows he's a cut above the rest.  Absolutely magic here.  The buildup, the phrasing, the note selection but just the simplicity of it.  What gets me everytime, is that break at 3:52 after that bend when it kicks in.  You tasteful motherfucker.  All E minor here and lots of simple pentatonic.  That run at 4:00 also and that pinch harmonic at 4:04, good lord.  That final phrase though is the money shot.  What a song, what a performance.

Solo - Adrian

That, my friend, is Schenkerific. Especially at 4:07 

Ah!  You're learning my good friend! 

[Stadler]

Born in 58 - 2.26
Montsegur - 3.42

And you must have asked for a wicked haircut!! 

That's the part!  Yay me! 

It was the ride to the haircut; but having said that, she DID take too much off the sides!   

[wolfking]

22. Paschendale

425's number 1 Maiden song comes in at number 22 for me.  I do love this one, and it deserves all the praise, I guess there's just 21 songs I like better.  I like Adrian's Wasted Years inspired tapping riff here, sets a nice mood.  This one would have been amazing to see live.  Musically it's very simple.  E minor Maiden always do these war songs well.  The 'home far away' chorus is excellent, very emotional.  The middle section is where it's at and I gave a rundown when 425 posted it.  E minor for Dave, C# for Adrian.  The 'blood is falling like the rain' section is in G# and the money shot is the key change to D for Janick.  The C# chord before the change just gets me everytime. I love his solo here.  It's standard Janick but he fucking nails it.  Percfet mood.  Wonderful epic song. 

Solo 1 - Dave
Solo 2 - Adrian
Solo 3 - Janick


21. Dance of Death

The title track now which is another massive Maiden epic.  The lyrics are absolutely stupid but you can't not love it.  Classic Maiden quiet intro and the E minor guitar melody is Maiden 101.  The verses rip hard, love them.  Love how there's no real chorus too.  Adrian solos in E minor and uses some awesome minor pentatonic stuff.  Really tasy H solo here.  Love that lick at 4:43.  Dave plays in the key of F# and it's pretty standard Dave.  Cool whammy stuff here too.  nice Maiden melody.  Maiden have never cease to amaze me with the amount of guitar melody lines they come in with, and they are always brilliant.  I remember people fucking hating Janick's solo here, it's cool.  I actually love his expressive style.  He was questionable live back in the day, but has been great for a while now.  Love that Gary Moore lick on the G string too.  Very Adrian like.  Epic song.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Dave
Solo 3 - Janick


20. Where Eagles Dare

We enter the top 20 with Nicko's introduction to the band.  This song crushes.  6 minutes of wonderful drumming, and just stomping tight rhythms.  The rhythms and rhythm guitar is what does it for me here.  Simple song, simple E minor but the groove is just so good.  Bruce sounds wonderful too.  Really really strong vocal.  I love how he sings a verse then it's 3 and a half minutes instrumental.  And not solos and melodies too.  So much riffing.  I love how the riffs just gets higher up the scale.  Dave enters though with some amazing whammy bar work which pictures the subject matter perfectly.  I do love that melody after his solo though.  How about that groovy riff at 3:15.  That's lovely.  Mid section key change to F# and back to E too to build some tension.  Cool shit.  That money note from Bruce though, oh yeah, that's the stuff.

Solo - Dave


19. For the Greater Good of God

When you hear this one, you know it's the go to Steve Harris epic.  But what an epic.  Lovely lyrics here, and Bruce really puts some nice emotion into them.  Slow intro which we all know and love but when that verse explodes in, that's the stuff.  Love the machine gun rhythm here.  Nicko's work here is really impressive.  The tempo change into that first chorus is wonderul and backs and forths between the verses is excellent.  Lots of tension.  That second chorus I guess you could call it is pure Maiden.  Love that Hallowed style guitar melody too.  All E minor here too like usual.  The instrumental section is nice and heavy and gets a bit darker, almost X Factor like.  The start of that section reminds me heavily of Sign of the Cross.  Janick is first up and that first lick is amazing. a nice melodic lick down the scale and that blues A flat note at 5:51 in there is incredible.  That next part at 5:52 also is like a mix of Dorian and the blues scale trilling between two notes down the scale.  Love it.  That heavy riff in there next is awesome.  Shifts then to B for Adrian with a B/C/D chord progression and Adrian uses mainly the B Phrygian Dominant to give that evil feel.  Back to E for Dave and his open string lick comes into play.  Always cool to hear.  That slide up at 6:36 is tasty AF.  The songs finishes off beautiful and even though I'm not a religious man, that last quiet verse at the end touches me a little.  Wonderful, yet simple and poweful epic.

Solo 1 - Janick
Solo 2 - Adrian
Solo 3 - Dave


18. The Educated Fool

Fuck I love this song.  Blaze absolutely owns this one, and is a very underrated tune from the VXI album.  Dark and brooding and I love the lyrics here.  The buildup is awesome and when that verse kicks in at 1:46, I just love it.  Great to play on the guitar too.  Just so simple.  E minor again and nothing tricky here at all.  This might be one of Maiden's most simple songs musically actually.  The chorus is strong.  I know people hate it, but I love the march of it and Blaze again sounds wonderful.  The instrumental section again, is all E minor.  That little melody line is so sweet, and not harmonized.  It's a classic one where it normally would be but not here.  The start of Dave's solo is insteresting, it's a trilled B and C note with a crazy slide and then the C note bent up to D.  Simple but something a little different bending that C note.  his climb up and then descend back down is awesome too.  The simple run up at the end of his solo too is excellent.  Janick comes in with a cool shred up the pentationic scale and follows that up nicely with a tasty melodic lick.  Love the way he finishes his solo too.  I also like the way the instrumental section bookends itself, very good songwriting.  The last chorus is not too long for me.  It could go on for longer, love it.

Solo 1 - Dave
Solo 2 - Janick

[TAC]

WOW!!

What a batch of songs.

I’ll comment tonight after work. 

[Dream Team]

Where Eagles Dare and Paschendale, can’t say enough good things about them. Both top 5 for me.

[The Realm]

Yes, awesome batch of songs here overall. The Educated Fool placement is interesting. I have to admit I do like this one quite a bit, it is a really cool song.

Dance of Death - I think I mentioned previously but I was originally never a huge fan of the song upon release but when I saw it performed live it blew me away and every since has become a favourite of the reunion era.

Paschendale and Greater Good of God are also favourites of mine from the reunion era, while Where Eagles Dare is an all time classic.

Really interested to see what the top 17 are now and great write ups as usual.