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

[TAC]

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.

Never seen it live, but the Death On The Road version is fucking nails.


If there was one Blaze Era track that I would like to see Maiden do, it would be The Educated Fool. Bruce would slay that chorus.



I rate For The Greater Good a lot higher. I think it's an amazing track. One of the best of the Reunion Era.


Where Eagles Dare is simply amazing. Holy shit when I first heard that!

[wolfking]

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.

Thanks mate.  A few more curveballs to come.

[Stadler]

Yeah, this last batch was a good one. I'd have "Where Eagles Dare" higher, though.

Tired old Maiden stories alert:  I saw the Piece of Mind tour in New Haven, with Coney Hatch (sucked) and Fastway (AWESOME) opening.   I was stage left, just behind the front edge of the stage (if that makes sense) so I could see the back stage area a bit (before the show, Bruce came out behind the stage for a minute and he waved to my friend and I).   Anyway, they opened with "WED", and the drums start, the band kicks in, and... Bruce's mic doesn't work.  He sang the the first verse or so, then came over to the backstage area in front of me and was LIVID.  But they got their shit together, they gave him a new mic, and he was able to resume the song.

The amazing thing was, you could tell something wasn't right because the balance was off, but because I was not in front of the amplifiers or monitors, to this day i swear I could actually hear him singing acoustically over the band.  He may or may not be a dick, but he's darn good at what he does. 

[wolfking]

That's a cool story mate.

[wolfking]

Not gonna get an update til ghe weekend unfortunately.  Thinking about ranking the albums, I just don't know if I can do it.  Each one is brilliant in their own way.

[TAC]

[The Realm]

Ranking the albums is tough - kind of like ranking your own children (for those who have them...)

[wolfking]

17. Starblind

This was always a fav from TFF right off the bat and has held strong.  It's hard to describe this one and mainly what I love about it, but it's just a well written epic Maiden tune.  Classic Adrian style riffing too.  I think why I rank it so high is because of the verses and mainly Adrian's improv.  That section after the chorus at 2:31 is one of my favourite Adrian moments.  Just pure soul and feel with that soloing.  I love how at the start of that section at 2:36 where he uses the dorian mode then switches straight back to aeolin.  Fucking class that.  His improv during that verse too is so calssy.  That tapping is brilliant.  then that lick at 3:16.  Makes the song so epic his work here.  The chorus makes me laugh.  Pure Infinite Dreams, so blatant, same key change from E to G then back to E, so good.

That bluesy e minor riff in the middle is cool too.  Adrian start the solo and again some more Dorain improv.  Pretty much the whole solo is in Dorian.  Then Dave solos in D then shifts to F.  It seems Janick's solo is in the same progression yet it seems he's playing in the D mixolydian mode.  Same with change to F.  Very interesting from Janick.  i'll spend more time on that one.  Anyone, epic track, somewhat underrated?

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


16.  Infinite Dreams

Let's go to the inspiration for Starblind like I mentioned.  Another track somewhat underrated but always been a fav.  Love the dreamy intro and that verse is just lovely.  All E minor, nothing fancy here.  That heavy verse things start to get going and I love the structure.  Slow verse, heavy verse and that stomping chorus is excellent.  The key change builds nice tension from E minor to G minor.  Love that 'heaven or hell' line from Bruce too and that next section draws heavy Hallowed Be They Name inspiration too.  Bruce's scream is top notch and here comes some classic Maiden power chords.  Love that change to G major in there too.  That classic 'Trooper' style harmony is just amazing and one of Maiden's best.  Great sounds.  Changes to F# before the solo, but Dave solos in strict E.  Back to F# for Adrian and strict F# minor too.  Love how it goes back into that harmony too.  Classic underrated tune.  Should have been pulled out live again IMO.

Solo 1 - Dave
Solo 2 - Adrian


15. Rainmaker

A short Davey rocker in the incredible Rainmaker.  I love Maiden doing songs like this.  This rips from start to finish and Dave takes full advantage of his song here.  All D minor, musically, there's nothing to say.  Dave likes D minor and everything here is melodic and strict to key.  The tension in the chorus though with that D pedal point is nice though.  Love the lyrics and love Bruce on this one.  The verses are brilliant. The 'feel the same as me' line, gets me everytime.  The D/Bb/F/C chord progression works so brilliant well.  This has FOTD Dave style leads all over it too, love it.  I really need to check the 2015 version of this album as the production is the only thing letting it down here.

All leads - Dave


14. Wasted Years

Maiden doing melodic rock stratches me right where I itch.  Love the open trill picked riff that goes on to get used countless times again in Maiden's career.  The verses are pure 80's, love it.  Musically again, it's simple, E minor yet the chorus changes to the relative key of G major.  Love Adrian singing backing on this too.  He and Bruce work really well together.  The lyrics are wonderful and we all can relate to, so positive.  The solo is classy as is everything Adrian does.  I love the open riff before hand once Dave kicks in with the rhythm, such a groove.  All E minor in the solo and is structured pretty standard Adrian.  That bend at 3:25 is bliss.  The next lick interesting with teh E/F#/G notes alternating with the open b string.  Love that run down at 3:34 then climbs back up to climax the solo.  Brilliant.  Perfect rock song.  When I saw it close the TBOS tour also was absolutely amazing, so good.

Solo - Adrian

[Mister Gold]

Really liking this list, Kade! Sorry I haven't been chiming in much so far, life's been busy. Nice to see Starblind and Infinite Dreams up so high!

Looks like I really need to sit down and finalize my own list quick too! As I said before, mine will inevitably not be as long or thorough as yours or 425's. I just don't think I could box in 50+ Iron Maiden songs in order personally.

[The Realm]

Two absolute classics in the latest batch. I love Infinite Dreams, is probably my fav song on Seventh Son which is a bit of a big call.  And Wasted Years is also one of my favourites, I agree a perfect rock song.

Starblind - I like this song but it just doesn't grab me the same way. All those 'background leads by Adrian' kind of get lost in the whole thing. As a song it has a really interesting vibe and feel but that is pretty much it for me. The verse riff is pretty cool.

Rainmaker - This is a cool song and some very classic Dave style and playing but feels a bit like a left field choice to be ranked so high.

[TAC]

Two absolute classics in the latest batch. I love Infinite Dreams, is probably my fav song on Seventh Son which is a bit of a big call.  And Wasted Years is also one of my favourites, I agree a perfect rock song.

Starblind - I like this song but it just doesn't grab me the same way. All those 'background leads by Adrian' kind of get lost in the whole thing. As a song it has a really interesting vibe and feel but that is pretty much it for me. The verse riff is pretty cool.

Rainmaker - This is a cool song and some very classic Dave style and playing but feels a bit like a left field choice to be ranked so high.

I actually agree with all of this.

I don't rate Wasted years though. I like it, and it is just about perfectly written, but I love a whole bunch of other tunes before it.

I definitely agree with Infinite Dreams. I love that song!!

[wolfking]

Interesting your thoughts on Adrians leads in Starblind verses lads.  I guess it's pretty self indulgent from him but being a guitarist probably makes me enjoy it more.

Rainmaker I just fell In love with the moment I heard it.

[TAC]

I actually really like Rainmaker.

Oh, and when I said I agree with Realm, I basically skipped the part about Adrian on Starblind. Not really sure about any of that.

[wolfking]

I actually really like Rainmaker.

Oh, and when I said I agree with Realm, I basically skipped the part about Adrian on Starblind. Not really sure about any of that.

What aren't you sure on?

[TAC]

Well, I quoted The Realm and said I agreed with all of it, because I generally agreed with his assessments of the songs. I had quickly forgotten he mentioned something about Adrian in Starblind.


Then you posted this:

Interesting your thoughts on Adrians leads in Starblind verses lads.  I guess it's pretty self indulgent from him but being a guitarist probably makes me enjoy it more.

And I thought...I wasn't endorsing what he said with that particular point. I just didn't want to take credit..or blame on that point. It was just easier at the time to quote his post than write a whole new one for me.

[wolfking]

Ah fair enough.  That makes sense mate.

[TAC]

The one thing I love about Starblind is it's pace. It is full on, and you can hear Dickinson really working to keep up with it, which I find refreshing and cool.

[Stadler]

This is a great batch.   Wasted Years is a tad too high for me, but it's still a great song.  The rest... good call.

[Dream Team]

Infinite Dreams is great, one of their best. And Starblind is one of the most unique songs in their discography for sure.

[wolfking]

Glad you're digging these.  Still a few more obscure ones to come too!  Will try and get a mid week update too.

[wolfking]

13.  Hallowed Be Thy Name

We all know this classic from front to back, and I've always loved it.  To be honest, I never tire of it live, it's a perfect live song.  I personally never get bored and one of my favs to jam along to on the guitar.  The studio cut I feel gets overshadowed by the endless amount of live versions, but the atmosphere of the original can't be understated.  Love the classic guitar melodies.  I especially love how the guys harmonize at 2:51.  That's special.  The thing I love is when they harmonize at the start of each section, Adrian starts on a G note but Dave alternates between starting on the E note and C note, very clever.

Love it when it kicks up a gear and the soloing is strict E minor. Dave first then Adrian.  That harmonized guitar melody at the end too is absolutely epic.  Great note sections between them too when harmonizing.  Bruce finishes this one off in epic style.

Solo 1 - Dave
Solo 2 - Adrian


12. The Trooper

Another absolute classic that gets played to death, but again I never really tire of it.  This is a really simple tune and I love the structure.  No chorus with the harmonized guitars being the focal point of the song, really interesting.  Classic E minor harmonized guitars with Dave taking the higher notes and Adrian the lower, which was normally the case.  The gallop is true and I love the pace of the original.  It's gotten lost with speed over the years live, but I love the original, it breathes and the gallop is strong is because of this. 

Adrian takes the first leads and the Schenker vibe is strong.  Not much to say with this one, nice blues note in that run down at the start and I like how the solo finishes on the B note.  Really different and interesting.  Dave shifts to A for his solo, and again, I can hear the Shenker vibes in here too.  Those blues notes in the first section rundown are very cool but the most interesting part are the trills at 2:41.  Really quite awkward and different and using the Dorian mode.  The way Dave finishes the solo is great too.  Classic tune.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Dave


11. Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner

Yep, this is probably another WTF? moment from most, but I've always adored this underrated cut.  The atmospehre is magic and the guitar tones are so thick and heavy.  Love the switch back and forth from E minor and G minor in the intro.  So many key changes too.  D in the verses, then E then F# then back to D for the chorus.  The speed of the verses is epic.  The chorus fucking soars too, love it, it's brilliant.  Bruce gives the images of a long distance runner too.  I like the structure.  The chorus is short and then there's only one verse/chorus before the mid section.

Those harmonies are absolutely sublime.  But 2:24 is one of my fav Maiden moments and might be Maiden's best harmony section, god damn that gives me chills.  Not to mention the rhythm of Steve and Nicko underneath.  Appreciate.  The solos are quite good.  Adrian is in G major and plays a lot around some E minor shapes but I love how he slips into a G minor lick at 3:33.  It's like he changes the key with his solo not the rhythm.  Back into a standard G major/E minor feel at the end too.  Dave solos in A minor and is a pretty structured solo.  Pretty strcit A minor but it tends to feel like it lends to D minor too in some of the shapes, interesting.  Love this song and love the reprise of the intro melody at the end at a faster pace like the runner is coming to the end of the marathon and pushing just that little bit faster at the end.  Brilliant.

Solo 1 - Adrian
Solo 2 - Dave


10.  Seventh Son of A Seventh Son

Here's one I always felt was a little underrated and underappreciated.  This one is epic and dark.  Love the chug here and Bruce sounds excellent.  The E minor key and the melodies going are all your standard Maiden but it all sounds so much darker then normal, good stuff.  Although I love that flattened 5th riff at 1:36.  Bruces' ooohhh's over the lead guitar soars too.  Love the repeated chorus too, I think it works really well.  All the melodies here are very majestic.

The structure is great too, and that Rime like quiet mid section is great.  The keys switch from E minor to C minor giving it an even darker feel.  This outro section, I remember purchasing the Maiden England VHS second hand and rewinding and watching that whole instrumental section over and over again.  I use to watch it every day along with the Donigton 92 concert and this instrumental section was a sticking point.  Let's look at it.

E minor harmonies to kick it off and Dave comes in and solos in F#.  Pretty much solid strict F#minor here.  Love that whammy work in the middle and his bend at 7:17 is insane.  The tension in that next section is immense.  It's like it's still based in F# but that C chord cuts in giving that flattened 5th feel.  Dave decides to tap in his second solo which is nice and all F# minor.  We switch to C# minor for Adrian and the riff is phyrgian like. The way Adrian starts the solo with his whammy bar is wonderful.  A nice blues lick with the note from the Dorian mode thrown in next.  The riff ends of the blues note too which actually gives an evil feel.  Next he starts up top and runs down a diminished lick and again finishing on the blues note of G. Great chromatic blues lick next and then he finishes off with a flattened 5th style chord shape up the next using blues notes, harmonic minor notes, dorian notes to gives off a wonderful dark feel.  Very creative.  His next solo is pretty strict C# minor until the end where he likes the blues note again.  Absolutely love the evil choir section and then the song climaxes to some beautiul strict F# minor guitar melodies.  This whole outro sections is one of Maiden's best, not doubt.  Love this song.

Solo 1 - Dave
Solo 2 - Dave
Solo 3 - Adrian
Solo 4 - Adrian


9. No Prayer For the Dying

Talking about underrated songs, this is one of the most underrated Maiden songs.  As I've said before, I really like No Prayer and the title cut is my fav song.  This is something different from Maiden.  The verses are beautiful and I've always found the lyrics to be brilliant.  Love the guitar melody as the chorus too.  The simplicity of the whole song is great and portrays the lyrics really well.  The middle section rips.  Absolute shred from both lads here.  Dave all E minor and same with Janick.  Not much to say as they just shred their nuts off.  The shift to F# and Dave's whammy work is brilliant.  Bruce in that last section is Godly too, absolutely gives me chills.  So underrated.

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

[TAC]

The Trooper is a classic for sure, and I never get tired of hearing it.

Hallowed is my favorite Maiden song and 2nd all time favorite song by anyone, so no argument there.

Seventh Son has really aged well. I mean I've always liked it, but it still keeps getting better. That instrumental section is fantastic. Really picks you up and carries you throughout.

Loneliness, well, I would never quibble with someone's unique choice as a personal fave.

I am totally with you on No Prayer! It didn't make my Top 10, but it easily made my Top 15. I really cannot understand why they've never brought it back into the set. It's a great song. The verses are really different in style. I love this song.

[wolfking]

I'm still amazed how underrated No Prayer is.  Dunno why it was never brought back out.  Unique and amazing.

[TAC]

I'm still amazed how underrated No Prayer is.  Dunno why it was never brought back out.  Unique and amazing.

I totally agree. I thought it was great live.

[jingle.boy]

I fell behind on following this, and didn't want to jump back in until I had a chance to get properly caught up.  I just updated a playlist with all this songs, and will dial back in around Run Silent Run Deep in a few minutes.

I will say it was hard to follow with those first sets of entries, cuz very few of them were what I'd consider A-list material.  Several of those selections as 'Top 50' were definitely hot takes (imo).  Couple of points though... I'm still struggling with Book of Souls and The Final Frontier.  Neither album is giving me anything to sink my ears into.  And in no universe could I ever rank anything from No Prayer or the Blaze era on my Top 50.  I don't even own TXF or VXI.  Sorry (not sorry).

I'm still amazed how underrated No Prayer is.  Dunno why it was never brought back out.  Unique and amazing.

Cuz it fucking sucks (and blows).     Seriously Kade, how you felt about Frequency Unknown is how I feel about No Prayer:

I think I might throw my copy of FU NPftD at some clown walking down the street tomorrow for laughs.

I'll chime back in tomorrow with some other specific, and more positive, thoughts.

[wolfking]

Jesus, comparing No Prayer with FU is something I just can't comprehend.

[wolfking]

Chad, I'd like to know more of your thoughts as to why you would rate No Prayer on the same level as that drink coaster.

[The Realm]

Wow! This is awesome! Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner! I have never seen/heard anyone else appreciate this song so highly. I totally agree, this is one of my favourites for sure. The intro is just awesome, one of Maidens best. Agree with all you wrote. My all time fav bit though is the start of Adrian's solo, that first phrase is just magic to my ears.

Hallowed - my number one song of all time by any artist.

The Trooper - all time classic, agree with TAC never get tired hearing this one.

Seventh Son - Agree with TAC, has really aged well. It was never one of my favourites when the album came out but I appreciate it a lot more these days.

No Prayer - I do really enjoy this one and it is definitely underrated. I personally wouldn't rank it this high but I have no issue with this placement. Also not sure how anyone could compare this song to FU?

[jingle.boy]

I said I was only going to offer POSITIVE thoughts. But if you insist ...

Tomorrow morning. Having a fire pit with mrs.jingle right now. S’mores are about to be roasted.

[wolfking]

Wow! This is awesome! Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner! I have never seen/heard anyone else appreciate this song so highly. I totally agree, this is one of my favourites for sure. The intro is just awesome, one of Maidens best. Agree with all you wrote. My all time fav bit though is the start of Adrian's solo, that first phrase is just magic to my ears.

Hallowed - my number one song of all time by any artist.

The Trooper - all time classic, agree with TAC never get tired hearing this one.

Seventh Son - Agree with TAC, has really aged well. It was never one of my favourites when the album came out but I appreciate it a lot more these days.

No Prayer - I do really enjoy this one and it is definitely underrated. I personally wouldn't rank it this high but I have no issue with this placement. Also not sure how anyone could compare this song to FU?

Glad someone else enjoys Runner like I do. 

I'm sure Chad must just be taking the piss.  Comparing these two simply is not logical at all.

[jingle.boy]

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not taking the piss.  I literally despised this album for many, many years.  I'm going to have to set this up a little, but will try not to be to verbose.  Also, I didn't compare the quality to FU, but how your felt about FU was how I felt about No Prayer (album).

Growing up, neither of my parents were all that in to music, so I just kinda wandered musically, never really finding anything that I could get truly connected to.  I had to discover things myself, and ultimately ended up on pop stuff like Wham, Madonna, Culture Club, Cindy Lauper etc...  Sure, there were some bouts of Supertramp, Yes, Halen, but only their songs that made it on to top 40 radio in the early/mid 80s.  So, in 1986, when I did finally start to 'get' in to rock, it was thru an introduction to Led Zeppelin.  That led me down a path of hard/classic/glam rock exploration.  A couple of years later, I started exploring some mainstream metal bands, with Maiden being my gateway.  7th Son was the active release at the time (it had just been released), so I grabbed it, along with the rest of the 80s/Bruce catalog.  Couldn't get enough of it.  Then, in '90 when NPftD comes out, I'm in the record store on release day to buy it.  My anticipation was high.  Drop the disc in, and fire it up full blast (no one else was home).  And ...

The opening riff of Tailgunner just felt so flat and deflating and lifeless.  There's nothing 'clean' about the production the way that SiT and 7th Son were - to me it's like those two were vibrant and colourful, where NPftD is black-and-white.  Bruce sounds like he mailed it in - there's very little variation to his delivery, and hardly any range in the vocal melodies.  The lyrics were so bland and pedestrian - this coming from a 19 year old jingle.boy!  Holy Smoke and Hooks in You sound like they're trying to be a commercial rock band.  Most of these feel like plodders .. songs they're just trying to start and finish.  Fates Warning... that song could've/should've had a few more minutes to it.  I mean, it ends literally 18 seconds after the guitar solos.  The Assassin and Mother Russia sound contain elements and melodies that are simply rehashing 7th Son (song) ... with a little Phantom of the Opera riff thrown in for good measure in The Assassin.  Bring Your Daughter - same, but stealing from Can I Play With Madness (a song universally disliked - but ironically one that I love).

After coming off of the run of 5 albums from NotB to SSoaSS, this was so disappointing. There was virtually no originality to it - 1/2 the songs feel like they're demos of the songs that didn't make the cut for 7th Son.  And this album suffered from far too many repetitive chorus'.  That's not to say that there weren't any in the 5 previous albums, but where they show up, the rest of the song and lyrics more than compensated it.  Here, it just feels lazy - and for me, is something that still plagues far too many of their chorus'.  The backing vocals sound like they woke up hungover, lit up a smoke, and laid them down in the final 15 minutes that they had the studio booked for.  Everything that I loved about Maiden up to this point, well... none of it was here on this album.

Now, I just spun it, and it's not as bad to me now as it was 30 years ago.  So, while I definitely felt about it the way you felt about FU - AT THE TIME - I guess the more apt comparison now would be FII; there's more than a few songs (or portions of songs) to like, but there's just as much that I don't like.  I'll say this, the most interesting parts of most songs were the solos. It's still an album I can't ever see myself reaching for when I'm in the mood for some Maiden.

You've got what ... 4 songs so far in this list from this album?  That is absolutely shocking to me.

I need to get to the meat of your list so that I can cleanse my ears.   

I'm on To Tame A Land right now....

[wolfking]

Thanks for the explanation Chad.  I can see being into the band at the time, this album would have been a bit of an unexpected uppercut.

I guess different circumstances for discovering the album plays a part in opinions.

I will say like you mentioned, the complete rip of 7th Son in the solo section of Mother Russia always made me laugh.  So blatant.

And yeah, 4 songs I have included here, but that's all of them.

[The Realm]

That is a really awesome explanation jingle.boy and to be honest it pretty much matches my own experience. I felt the exact same way upon release of No Prayer. I was devastated when Adrian left but my anticipation for the album was still extremely high. When I got the album on release day, I hated Bruce's vocal delivery and a few of the songs were extremely disappointing (Tailgunner, Hooks in You, Holy Smoke). But there are a few gems on the album that I have grown to appreciate more over time and even though I am not sure I would have any of them in my own top 50, I can see why some one would.

Also, I too love Can I Play With Madness.

[TAC]

I remember being really bummed when I heard Adrian left, but was happy it was Jannick replacing him.

I also remember getting the lead single, Holy Smoke, and I thought it sounded like B side material, both in quality and lyrics.

Also, there was a long (at the time) layoff between albums. This album just didn't cut it.

There's a handful of really good songs, as Kade has included them, but I'm sorry. The title track is one of their best ever songs.


I must say that as bad as this album is, I enjoyed this tour so much. I saw them twice and Jannick brought so much energy to the band, and especially pulled it out of Dave as well.

[jingle.boy]

I must say that as bad as this album is, I enjoyed this tour so much. I saw them twice and Jannick brought so much energy to the band, and especially pulled it out of Dave as well.

Of that, I would have no doubt.  Wish I saw them... not really sure why I didn't go see them - probably because I was still raging at how much I hated the release.